The Problem With Apu is a new documentary about the negative stereotypes created by The Simpsons‘ character, and on today’s Nerdist News Talks Back the film’s star and creator Hari Kondabolu joined us to talk about why he needed to make the movie. But we also asked him about the latest looks at The Last Jedi, and some of the first teases of The Incredibles 2 and M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass.
Host Jessica Chobot and producer Jason Nguyen welcomed Hari Kondabolu on to the show today, but before getting to his documentary they talked about the new promos for The Last Jedi. Are they getting us more excited for the film, or have we seen too much footage from the movie at this point? And what do we make of it being the longest running Star Wars film ever?
Also what do we think of our first-ish look at The Incredibles 2? What about those images of the cast of Glass? Are we excited for the films? How much did we like the originals?
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But then it was time to get the full story behind why The Problem With Apu, which deals with the problems the way the non-Indian Hank Azaria-voiced character represents South Asian Americans, was something he had to make. Apu might have been created during a different time, but does that just mean things behind the camera still need to catch up to the progress being made in front of it? How does he deal with people who miss the entire point of his criticism about the character? How long into The Simpsons nearly three decade run did he realize Apu was a real problem?
Did that realization change the way he views the entire show? Did anything he heard from the people he interviewed for the documentary surprise him? Is there any way The Simpsons could fix the damage they’ve done? Could Apu help solve some of the problems he created? Listen to Kondabolu’s thoughts above.
Get in on the conversation with us every weekday when Nerdist News Talks Back airs live at 1:00 p.m. PT on our YouTube and Alpha channels. On Monday’s show we’ll be breaking down everything from Justice League. Hopefully there won’t be too many problems with it.
But we want to hear from you today, including what you think of the character Apu, so talk back to us in the comments below.
Featured Image: TruTV
