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Blowing It Scenario #68-Comedian Double Standards Expressed In Simpson’s Response To Apu Controversy.

The Problem With “The Problem With Apu”

The Simpsons recently released a clip responding to the controversy surrounding one of their main characters Apu. An Indian store clerk who is voiced by an white american voice over specialist and actor Hank Azaria. Hari Kondabolu a comedian of Indian decent, wrote and starred in a documentary film called “The Problem With Apu.” Noting the problem with this characters representation of Indian culture to the public. I completely agree with Hari, it is an over the top generalization of an Indian character voice by a white man. Which by all accounts in our current cultural climate is racist.

I believe it has and always will be a fun non malicious character for the creators of Simpson. Never have they had ill intent pushing forward characters that may be seen in a poor light. What are the Simpson to do with Apu now after thirty years of representation without backlash? If anything the problem lies in the general society that use the Apu name as a derogatory term. Those are the true racist. And since Simpsons is such a huge cultural phenomenon it’s the lowest hanging fruit for the ignorant and misinformed.

On the other side of this problem with Apu. I’m quite surprised this documentary has been brought forth by a comedian. The one art form that habitually crosses lines and pushes the boundary of all political correctness to expose not only our own insecurities but often times how ridiculous those insecurities play a role throughout our lives. Thank goodness for those comedians that shine a light on some of our darkest demons and make us laugh while doing it. There is an Indian comedian that his whole act is literally making fun of nearly every single culture and people love it. They’ll laugh hysterically at his over generalized conceptions of their cultures. This is absolutely no different then what the Simpsons do. Something we should never censor. It’s the right to free speech. Just like it’s the Simpsons right to create characters that may every so often offend some and Hari’s right to make a documentary about those who have been offended.

We’ll all say and write stuff that will offend another, and this will happen through out life. There is no avoiding that. That just the nature of the beast, everyone is an individual who is entitled to their own feelings and emotions, try to stay respectful of others, don’t do things with malicious intent. And if your trying to be funny, make sure it’s funny. Once it’s stops being funny maybe it’s time to move on.



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Blowing It Scenario #36-They Did Not Blow It Series-Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee

Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee Is Hilarious.

Good wholesome fun every show. Every now and again on blowing it I tire of my own cynicism. And feel I need to discuss something that makes me feel good or happy or is successful. Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee is all of that and more. What a better way to spend some down time then to have a good laugh. Every single episode accommodates that. And does it in under twenty minutes. You have one of the all time greats in Jerry Seinfeld, taking other comedians out in classic, often funny cars, that suit the guest he has that day, to go get coffee in a very informal relaxed environment. What you get is the perfect blend of effortless, all natural humor.  On top of that Jerry is a very clean comedian so he often kindly shuts down any negative direction one might head in. The results are a positive fun hilarious twenty minutes of show.

Most recently the show did come under fire with a blowing it story. Some gentlemen claims to have given Jerry the idea for the show and now wants created by credits and royalty checks. That very much is the american way, isn’t it? Don’t do any of the work but take full credit. Even if the story is true, let this be a lesson to you. Have contracts signed prior to shooting anything.  Or before you outsource any of your ideas. If you are not going to be doing the work for whatever reason. And you are going to contract it out to someone else, who does your work for you. Make sure you have legal protections behind your idea. Always remember the idea is the easy part.

It was the same thing with Facebook. Some guys had an idea, which they copied from Myspace, to make a exclusive social media website for Harvard. They chose not to do the work themselves and outsourced it to a young guy named Mark Zuckerburg. Who actually did the work and far exceeded anything they could ever dreamed of making themselves. And then they wanted to take full credit for it. They luckily got paid later for the idea. Which I think is generous, they didn’t do anything and they never had any legal protections, but at least they had a paper trail. In that case, the difference between the idea and the work was a few billion dollars. And it might be the difference of a couple million in the situation with Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. This guy who wants to take credit for Jerry’s work after doing absolutely nothing. Did he get the sponsorships? Did he line up the interviews? Did he market and grow the viewership? Did he star in the show? Did he do anything other then claim to come up with an idea? The easiest part of the whole process. Just do the work. And if you can’t bring yourself to do that much, get a contract signed. Regardless of where you stand on that, I think we can all agree it’s a fantastic show and one you’ll be better off for watching. If you can’t think of anything to do today, do yourself a favor, go have a good laugh and pop on Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.



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