The Problem with Apu

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1

I was doing this show

in Brooklyn --

in Brooklyn, diverse Brooklyn!

This kid comes up to me

and he's like,

"Dude, I think

you're really funny.

That's a big deal

coming from me.

I don't usually

find ethnic comedy funny."

I was like, "Why would you

say that to my face?

You could've tweeted that.

Why...

Why are you hurting me

in real time?

Why is this happening

right now?"

Ethnic comedy?

What does ethnic comedy mean?

It's not like my whole act is,

"Hey, brown people

look like this.

Hold up.

White people,

they look like that!"

I'll take your laughs,

nonetheless.

I mean...

Thank -- Oh, that's a racist

Apu joke in Denver.

Boulder just went up

another notch,

just like that.

I know you from high school,

even though I don't.

You're the reason

I do comedy, sir.

You're the reason

I thought to myself,

"Nobody like us exists

except this cartoon character.

I'm gonna show up,

and I'm gonna be the best

comic in the country,

and I'm gonna make less

than I deserve in Denver."

28 years later, and the words

"Thank you, come again"

still follow me wherever I go.

Hey, my name is Hari Konadabolu,

and I'm a stand up comic

in Brooklyn, New York.

I'm the son of two immigrants

from India who,

despite me being

a stand up comic,

are still alive.

My brother Ashok and I

grew up in Queens.

Here is a picture of us

pretending to have Christmas.

I've had a great career filled

with laughter,

critical acclaim,

and me shaking the hands

of many famous white men

on television.

I should be completely happy.

But there's still one man

who haunts me --

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.

Serving the customer

is merriment enough for me.

Thank you, come again.

Hey, Ganesha.

Want a peanut?

Please do not offer

my God a peanut.

You're stealing wishes?

Please pay for your purchases

and get out and come again!

Oh, look.

It is encrusted with filth.

Oh, well.

Let's sell it anyway.

Now, this is just

between me and you.

Hari Konadabolu, everybody!

Hari Konadabolu!

I publicly declared

my war on Apu in 2012

on the FX show,

"Totally Biased

with W. Kamau Bell."

I did a piece about

Indian-Americans in the media.

We've had an amazing run

the last few years

with more Indians in

the public eye than ever before.

There's, like, 14 of us now.

There's now enough Indian people

where I don't need to like you

just because you're Indian.

Because growing up,

I had no choice

but to like this.

Yeah.

This all started

because you asked me

to do a piece

on your old television show,

"Totally Biased,"

when I used to write for it.

You said,

"If you don't do this,

I will fire you."

And I'm like,

"You know what?

That's -- that is...

That's good advice.

That's good advice."

That's good advice.

I couldn't imagine anybody

wanting to hear

about Indian representation.

As soon as people

got what you were doing,

and it wasn't like it was

an all Southasian audience,

but it was an audience who

understood about representation.

And it was, like,

the pop of like,

"Yes, we know exactly

what you're talking about.

We're ready.

Take us on the journey."

Apu -- a cartoon character

voiced by Hank Azaria,

a white guy.

A white guy doing an impression

of a white guy

making fun of my father.

If --

If I saw Hank Azaria

do that voice at a party,

I would kick the

out of him.

Yeah.

Or I'd imagine

kicking the out of him.

Now, I realize some of you

think I'm some annoying

P.C. social-justice warrior

that's very sensitive

and is obsessed

with a 28-year-old

cartoon character.

You're probably thinking,

"Come on, snowflake.

Let it go."

Well, I have let it go...

for 28 years.

Look, man.

I don't hate "The Simpsons."

In fact, I have always

loved "The Simpsons."

It's one of the main reasons

that I knew you could be smart

and funny and political

at the same time.

It taught me about

Pablo Neruda

and Gore Vidal

and Stanley Kubrick.

It shaped me into

the person and the comedian

that I am today.

And, yes, I know Apu is one of

the smartest characters

on "The Simpsons."

Granted,

the bar isn't very high.

But that's not

why people liked him.

They just liked his accent.

I never heard anyone say

they liked Apu

because he exposed the idiocy

and bigotry of Americans

and the struggles

of the average immigrant.

No.

It was just, "I love Apu.

That voice is hilarious."

Pardon me, but I would like

to see this money spent

on more police officers.

I have been shot

eight times this year.

And as a result,

I almost missed work.

I hate Apu.

Hate Apu?

Hate Apu.

And because of that,

I dislike "The Simpsons."

Wow, the whole series?

Yeah.

The whole series?

Yeah.

I love "The Simpsons."

I just don't love that character

but the whole thing?

I have never been able

to divorce the two.

I love "The Simpsons"

because...

You hate yourself.

...'cause I comple--

This whole film

is me trying

to get over the fact

I hate myself.

How many of you were bullied

in any capacity as a child?

-Are we raising hands?

-Yeah, raising hands.

We'll do the hands thing.

Yeah. Okay.

Now, how many had

to deal with, like,

being called Apu

or that being referenced.

I'm driving with my dad

as a little kid,

and someone goes like,

"Bing, bing!"

They say like, "Oh, hey," --

and they're doing, like,

the Indian voice --

like, "Hey, I need to get

another Slurpee.

Can you tell me

where the Kwik-E-Mart is?

Thank you, come again!"

And they drive off.

I remember in seventh grade,

actually, being bullied

by this guy

who would speak to me,

actually,

with Apu's accent

or the accent that he thought

all Indians spoke with.

We lived next

to, like, 7-Eleven.

And there was always, like,

a sense of like,

"Oh, please don't let it be

an Indian person

working behind the counter

because if it is,

my friends are gonna do,

like, the Apu thing."

I just would wonder

how many Indian-American,

Southasian-Americans,

have had to deal with this.

This guy,

this Apu,

this one character created

so many problems

psychologically, emotionally,

for so many people.

They didn't mean for it

to happen.

We just were underrepresented,

and so we struggled.

And the kind of racism that made

Apu possible in Hollywood

still exists everywhere.

Apu represents an America

that makes fun of immigrants

and anyone who is not white.

Yes, trolls, I know.

They're yellow.

My mission is to figure out

how we ended up with Apu

and how we can get rid of him.

And I think I know someone

who might be able to help us.

1989 was a big year.

The Berlin Wall fell.

Billy Joel claimed

he didn't start a fire.

I got the chicken pox.

But most relevant for this film,

"The Simpsons" was created

and my life was never the same.

Can you give us a brief history

of "The Simpsons"?

There was a brand-new

network, Fox,

and they were

desperate for content.

And they needed content that

no one else was doing,

that would sell, and that

was a little controversial.

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