**miramarco** @miramarco · Apr 09, 2018, 21:19

**miramarco** @miramarco · Apr 09, 2018, 21:19

miramarco @miramarco

Apr 09, 2018, 21:19

Et tu, Lisa Simpson? Show more

Today I saw the clip in which Lisa breaks the fourth wall and briefly addresses the problem with Apu. I am not pleased, and for several reasons.

(Before I continue: I have not seen the last seasons of The #Simpsons, but I was and still am a huge fan of the Golden Era of the series, before Zombie Simpsons. Last but not least, I am not Indian, but I am a 2nd-generation immigrant, and I thought of what my feelings would be like if Apu had the same heritage as mine.)

**miramarco** @miramarco · 2018-04-09T21:25:29Z

miramarco @miramarco

Et tu, Lisa Simpson? Show more

One reason, of course, is the message itself. It deflects the issue by criticizing the political correctness (...ugh) and the current zeitgeist, rather than addressing the problems of the past. It defends a legacy from a generation ago – despite the fact that everything else did change in the show! – and does not even consider the idea that it may have been a wrong choice from the very beginning. They even say that Apu was “applauded and inoffensive” – end of story.

Apr 09, 2018, 21:25 · Web · 0 · 1

**miramarco** @miramarco · Apr 09, 2018, 21:32

**miramarco** @miramarco · Apr 09, 2018, 21:32

Apr 09, 2018, 21:32

miramarco @miramarco

Et tu, Lisa Simpson? Show more

Another reason why I don't like that statement is that it is not Apu who is addressing the audience. He is not even there in person. Yes, having him defend himself would have dealt with the topic only within the Simpsons universe, and it’s something that should be written very carefully. But on the other hand, choosing a white (erm, yellow) character to deliver the message with no PoC in the scene feels… bad? In a “stay away Apu, let us do the talk” kind of way?

**miramarco** @miramarco · Apr 09, 2018, 21:37

**miramarco** @miramarco · Apr 09, 2018, 21:37

Apr 09, 2018, 21:37

miramarco @miramarco

Et tu, Lisa Simpson? Show more

And the authors chose Lisa as their alter ego, but she has never sounded so out of character. They chose her because they see her as “the voice of reason”. It’s a rhetorical tool: “she’s the smart one, and she’s on our side”. But Lisa is the sound of reason only in the irrationality of Springfield; other than that, she's wrong a lot of times.

So the authors do not seem to get Lisa’s defining qualities as a character – but honestly they haven’t done it in the last 15 years.