Opinion: Harsh stereotypes are nothing new for South Asians, but none are as brutal as the Indian accent
———-
Who comes to mind when you think of someone with an “Indian accent?” Is it a telemarketer? Maybe it’s a taxi or Uber driver. How about a gas station clerk or even a snake charmer? Too far?
Well, the reality is that these are just some of the many stereotypes placed on South Asian communities.
White culture has ignored the fact that South Asians belong to a geography full of diverse historical, social, religious and cultural practices for too long. This is yet another example of the lack of cultural awareness in the U.S., particularly among white populations.
But out of all the stereotypical examples, the first person that comes to mind when thinking of an “Indian accent” is Apu from the Simpsons.
Apu (whose full name is Apu Nahasapeemapetilon) is the beloved Kwik-E-Mart clerk on the Simpsons. He plays a polite and naive Indian immigrant known for telling customers as they leave his store, “Thank you, come again!”
Those words haunt me to this day. I respect Apu, but I know that most fans don’t respect him the same way.
They love him, but not out of respect –– out of comedic ridicule. This is the case with most South Asian character fandoms in Hollywood.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Apu and the Simpsons. I am a first-generation Pakistani American, and growing up, I was a fan of the show, particularly because Apu was one of the only representations of me on TV.
But Apu also represents the model minority tropes that all Asian Americans have to deal with. This includes being hard-working, submissive to cultural expectations and possessing some inherent spirituality and wisdom.
Beyond this, South Asians are subjected to a stereotype unique to all others.That is the infamous “Indian accent” or the politically correct “brown voice.”
You also may be wondering what “South Asia” is and why I keep mentioning it.
Well, that’s also my point. Chances are, if you’re American, you are probably unaware of the history behind the Indian subcontinent. Allow me to explain.
The India we see on a map today has only been around since 1947. The Indian subcontinent, however, has been around for 6,000 years. Today, the Indian subcontinent refers to the southern region of Asia — hence South Asia — which includes the individual countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
South Asia is home to 2 billion people. This population is full of different cultures, religions, languages and identities.
Despite this, the “Indian accent” serves as the leading trait for characters in Hollywood from the region. Historically, white actors have predominantly performed brown voices, oftentimes alongside brown faces.
Apu may be brown on the show, but his voice most definitely is not.
Hank Azaria — the white voice actor who voices many of the characters on The Simpsons — is behind Apu’s voice. In an interview with the New York Times, Azaria claims Apu’s character is based on his real-life interactions with Pakistani and Indian cash clerks in New York.
But Azaria has also gone on record claiming he drew inspiration for Apu’s voice from Peter Sellers and his portrayal of Hrundi V. Bakshi in the 1968 comedy “The Party.”
“The Party” features the first brown-face and brown-voice racial performances in Hollywood. Seller’s character is blatantly problematic, as his otherness is exaggerated through actions such as repeatedly falling in and out of a pool or riding a baby elephant.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Sellers’ character also had a pet monkey in the film. His name is Apu.
Brown voice leaves the audience with the notion that how one speaks is just as significant as what is being said. The exaggerations of accents in Hollywood serve as examples of various forms of racial hierarchies in mass media.
Today, the brown voice strips the privileges of American identity from South Asian Americans, just as the American accent awards them to everyone else.
It is crucial for stories to accurately represent every South Asian for the sake of representation and cultural correctness. American audiences need to understand that 2 billion people do not belong to the same country. Many cultures are shared, but those nuances are blurred by the lack of current representation.
Amid the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the overall escalation of racial tensions, Apu’s voice was ultimately retired from The Simpsons. He is now a background character on the show and does not speak.
There is still much work to do. Representations of South Asians in the media have caused severe systemic annihilation. Cultures of South Asia are so incorrectly interpreted in mass media that they end up being boxed into singular stereotypical caricatures — just like Apu.