the bad

For decades, the most dominant South Asian representation in western TV and film was Apu, an eccentric convenience store owner on the animated sitcom The Simpsons. With his fun quips and dramatic monologues about what it means to be American, Apu quickly became a well-loved household staple...but, what does this attachment to Apu and his image mean for the larger South Asian community?

 

As alluded to in my explanation of the 'Beyond Apu' project, Apu's character essentially has two main personality traits - he is a convenience store owner, someone in pursuit of the American dream, and his validation primarily depends on how he relates himself to social ideals i.e. whiteness. As an immigrant, Apu is consistently portrayed as someone who wants to leave that 'past' behind and move onto 'better' things i.e. fully embody every aspect of what it means to BE American. This desire that acts as the driving force of his character not only puts whiteness on a pedestal but it also cements the notion that anything that does not fit within its terms and conditions, has no place in America today. While Apu's character was conceived, fleshed out, and voiced by individuals with little to no understanding and/or relevance to the South Asian identity - Apu single-handedly shaped the South Asian stereotype that continues to haunt and impact people in the real world. 

 

While there is relatively more South Asian representation in the industry now, the one-dimensional character trope has stayed on. Raj, from the Big Bang Theory, exemplifies how even after all these years - South Asians are still seen as the aspiring Americans with traditional, conservative, 'alien' cultural values. 

 

Considering that media props itself up as a portal to the world, consistently engaging with and consuming these fixed narratives causes the masses to develop and confirm fixed perceptions of these communities, further marginalizing and dehumanizing them. In this context, it is vital for us to question who and what leads to the construction of these narratives - why have things not changed? who is this hierarchy truly serving? 

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