The original voice actors were (and are) crazy-talented. I think most of Apu’s portrayals were positive and handled well. The only problem is that it’s an Indian man being voiced by a white dude. Despite not watching The Simpsons for well over a decade now, I think this is a positive change, and I might even try to figure out how to watch this episode!
It seems a little discriminatory to say only some people can play some characters.
This is the type of thinking that enables hiring based purely on marketing and reinforces existing power dynamics and stereotypes within the industry. It’s why they retconned the character of Motoko Kusanagi for the live action Ghost In The Shell - they wanted to cast a white Hollywood leading actress because Asian women are not considered marketable in leading roles.
Funnily enough, the idea that anyone can play anyone is actually the discriminatory position because it implies we live in a fair and balanced utopia where casting is based purely on merit, something that is clearly not true. Arguing in support of the status quo, when the status quo is discriminatory, is discrimination.
I can understand the sentiment. It seems weird. Though it’s far less about doing art “correctly” and more about actually hiring minorities for roles that are aping off of their uniqueness. Similar to how Warwick Davis was complaining about Disney not using real little people for the real life Snow White. A lot of people misconstrued his complaints, but he just wants little people actors to have jobs and not have to scrounge around and struggle for work and end up exploited.
Also similar to people complaining about Tom Cruise starring in Digger. Piles of makeup just to make him look old and frumpy. They could’ve saved millions and not paid scientology and had an actual old frumpy actor do the role, which would’ve been infinitely better than Cruise.
That’s not how discrimination works. Anyone can play Apu (it’s obviously not illegal or banned by the company or anything), but it could be problematic. Think of an impressionable young South Asian kid watching the Simpsons and listening to a white dude with a thick fake accent pretending to “represent” him. And if you’re okay with that, what’s wrong with looking the part in filmed TV/movies? Then it’s blackface again with white men used to exclude and stereotype other races and nationalities…
like minstrels you mean, instead of black people ? /s
The only problem is that it’s an Indian man being voiced by a white dude
The definition of racism.
Okay, but still not gonna watch this zombie show.
It totally made sense at the beginning of The Simpsons to have ~8 people doing dozen of voices each.
They probably could have gotten around paying the core group as much if they had split the voice into more actors so they didn’t have such power to demand hundreds of thousands an episode. Greed though is how Hollywood works.
They should have done this sooner but probably thought it wouldn’t look bad by waiting a decade so people don’t have a recent comparison.
Nah, they’ve replaced other characters’ voices with much less down time. I think it’s more of just the world moving past the whole cancel culture crap some people were getting way too into. Certain groups were hating on Apu hard, and the only semi-valid critique they had was he’s voiced by a now famous white guy doing a cliche voice.
Also, don’t some of the unions stipulate that minorities should be voiced by the appropriate minority? Not for cancel culture BS, but because they’re sick of having roles go to established famous people instead of the thousands of more than qualified individuals. (and then King of the Hill hired Ronny Chieng to voice Kahn Souphanousinphone which was quite the whiplash lol)
Too little, too late.
This is like going back to the village where you grew up and everyone is still there but puffy.
