Guest guest Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 Episode: Homer the Heretic (Homer is conversing with Apu about the statue of Ganesha sitting on the counter) Homer: Hey, Ganesha, wanna peanut? Apu: Sir, please do not offer my god a peanut. Homer: No offense, Apu, but when they were handing out religions, you must've been out taking a whiz. Apu: (angrily) Mr. Simpson, please pay for your purchases and get out and(cheerily) come again! This show is usually funny with its stereotypes but this time they committed Vaisnava aparadha by insulting Ganesha, Hinduism, and Hindus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 This is extremely offensive to hundreds of millions of Hindus. The writers of that show must think Hindus are an easy punching bag, that will just sit there and take it while our Gods are made fun of. Where can we write to show our offense at such portrayals of our religion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhakta Don Muntean Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 How long ago was this episode produced? It's been around for years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 How long ago was this episode produced? It's been around for years... They've had several episodes in the past few years that insult Hinduism. The writers aren't very witty to begin with, and that episode dialogue is prime example of the lack of wit that's prevalent in the Simpsons. Very crass handling of the religion, and it propagates false stereotypes about Hindus making them out to be primitives. There was an episode recently in the Simpsons where Homer goes to India to run a nuclear plant there, and all the Hindus working there end up worshipping Homer for his generous labor benefits. In that ep, I believe they insulted Hinduism a couple of times and portrayed India in general as an incredibly backward country. This is not the first, nor the only time they've insulted the religion. However, it has to be noted, Homer's a moron, and his comments reflect that fact. In reality, Simpsons lampoons just about every religion there is, especially Christianity and Hinduism since there are characters that are representative of that faith. There was one episode however, that was inexcusably offensive. One in which Apu and Ned Flanders were sitting together in a car, and Ned tries to get Apu to convert. Apu displays ignorance of his own religion by talking about something like how millions of gods are needed to maintain the universe. Ned pinches Apu and asks where are his gods now... basically, that's where I ended paying even a modicum of attention to the Simpsons. I can understand other characters not knowing Hinduism, but they should have at least made Apu to be an intelligent and educated Hindu. True, there aren't that many Hindus well educated about their religion, but given the prevalent misinformation present about Hinduism in the show, they needed SOME character to balance out all the misinformation with proper representation of Hinduism. They just never bothered, unfortunately to even understand Hinduism and portray it the way it deserves to be portrayed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhakta Don Muntean Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 They've had several episodes in the past few years that insult Hinduism. The writers aren't very witty to begin with, and that episode dialogue is prime example of the lack of wit that's prevalent in the Simpsons. Very crass handling of the religion, and it propagates false stereotypes about Hindus making them out to be primitives. There was an episode recently in the Simpsons where Homer goes to India to run a nuclear plant there, and all the Hindus working there end up worshipping Homer for his generous labor benefits. In that ep, I believe they insulted Hinduism a couple of times and portrayed India in general as an incredibly backward country. This is not the first, nor the only time they've insulted the religion. However, it has to be noted, Homer's a moron, and his comments reflect that fact. In reality, Simpsons lampoons just about every religion there is, especially Christianity and Hinduism since there are characters that are representative of that faith. There was one episode however, that was inexcusably offensive. One in which Apu and Ned Flanders were sitting together in a car, and Ned tries to get Apu to convert. Apu displays ignorance of his own religion by talking about something like how millions of gods are needed to maintain the universe. Ned pinches Apu and asks where are his gods now... basically, that's where I ended paying even a modicum of attention to the Simpsons. I can understand other characters not knowing Hinduism, but they should have at least made Apu to be an intelligent and educated Hindu. True, there aren't that many Hindus well educated about their religion, but given the prevalent misinformation present about Hinduism in the show, they needed SOME character to balance out all the misinformation with proper representation of Hinduism. They just never bothered, unfortunately to even understand Hinduism and portray it the way it deserves to be portrayed. Yea and i didn't like that episode where they gave Lord Shiva murti breasts [even though He has a 'female' aspect] - i don't watch the simpsons anymore either - for almost two years ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Many shows make gross racist stereotypes about Indians. In a lot of western shows Indians are made fun of for their thick accents, their place of employment (usually Punjabi taxi drivers or Pakistani clerks), their naive worship of cows, etc. It is very offensive, but Indians must stand up and show their displeasure. And they need to do so in an intelligient manner, not in a stereotypical manner, as in the way the guy got mad at Homer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 the guest stated "their place of employment (usually Punjabi taxi drivers or Pakistani clerks), ". Funny, if I were to stereo type, Id say electronic whizzes at places like microsoft or TRW, having much more security clearances than I did as a Trident Sub techie. What is the answer, JIHAD? Whose god do we offend was the question, and I said "all of them". What, you watch the simpsons for social commentary? Is homer a role model to emulate? No, he is a buffoon, and the makers do not hide this fact. If he says something stupid, then the effect is that other buffoons will maybe see how stupid he is. Ganesha is not offended. mahaksadasa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 the guest stated "their place of employment (usually Punjabi taxi drivers or Pakistani clerks), ". Funny, if I were to stereo type, Id say electronic whizzes at places like microsoft or TRW, having much more security clearances than I did as a Trident Sub techie. You are correct, Indians are very successful in America. Many are doctors and hi-techies. In the american spelling bee championships every year, there are several indian kids in the top 10. So Indians have much to be proud of. It's just these stereotypes that is portrayed on tv shows of taxi drivers and store clerks, that is quite silly. I think indians are doing a lot to change this stereotype though as more move to the west, and blend in all parts of society. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 the guest stated "their place of employment (usually Punjabi taxi drivers or Pakistani clerks), ". Funny, if I were to stereo type, Id say electronic whizzes at places like microsoft or TRW, having much more security clearances than I did as a Trident Sub techie. What is the answer, JIHAD? Whose god do we offend was the question, and I said "all of them". What, you watch the simpsons for social commentary? Is homer a role model to emulate? No, he is a buffoon, and the makers do not hide this fact. If he says something stupid, then the effect is that other buffoons will maybe see how stupid he is. Ganesha is not offended. mahaksadasa I already made that point, however, the ignorance of Apu himself is inexcusable. That is what was really offensive with the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gHari Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 Apu posts here all the time about his gods and idols. His misconceptions seem to be common among Americanized Britishized Indians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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