1. In the article Apu’s Brown Voice: Cultural Inflection and South Asian Accents, author Shilpa Dave mainly discusses the cultural narrative of Indian accents portrayed in “Brown Voice.” The most notable brown voice in the media comes from Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, a recurrent character from the widely popular animated series on television, The Simpsons. Dave argues that the white actor that voices Apu with an Indian accent strengthens the characters personality and humor and The Simpsons utilizes Apu as a figure to represent real racial and immigration issues in the media. However, Dave notes that there is a real debate in the Indian American community that argues whether Apu, being the most notable South Asian American representation on television, is enhancing Indian popularity in the media or hindering chances of future Indian characters to appear in the media due to the fact that Apu is not voiced by an Indian American but rather a white person.
2. Apu from The Simpsons is a powerful character on television as Dave notes, “Apu is the only recurrent South Asian representation on television today, and is now a beloved popular icon” (315). However, why is Apu so popular and notable? To start Dave states that “the character of Apu offers an ideal case study to portray how South Asians are situated and understood in the popular American imagination” (316). The most distinguished feature of Apu is his voice which is practiced as what is now known as “brown voice.” Voice actor Hank Azaria gave Apu his Indian accent and thus “defined Apu and created not only a humorous speaker but a culturally popular and significant South Asian American representation on American television” (322). Dave discusses the unique nature of the Indian accent compared to other accents stating, “unlike other forms of Asian English often seen as broken English, Indian English has a unique phonetic signature in which meaning is indicated by which syllables are stressed in particular words” (317). Dave also emphasizes that the Indian accent is “foreign but understandable” (317). Although it may appear offensive in nature, the utilization of “brown voice” in The Simpsons is not targeted from critics as much due to the fact that it is practiced in an animation style. Dave notes that “because of the audience’s suspension of disbelief, animated series can often tackle issues and situations that would be unbelievable or inappropriate on live action sitcoms” (321). Animation is a powerful tool to create and visualize anything beyond imagination. Even the animators were self-aware of the controversy it may create when having a white man conduct an Indian accent stating that “the impression of a good joke trumped any concerns they might have had about the stereotype” (324). However, even outside of animations there are stereotypes that denote the appearance of Indian Americans stating, “people’s general perception that Indians speak English intelligibly (though not without an accent) amplifies the notion that all Indians are educated” (329). This perception of Indian Americans reinforces the common myth of the “model minority” that frequently prevails in the Asian community.
3. The main recurrent concept that is highlighted throughout this article is the term “brown voice.” Dave describes it as “the act of speaking in the Indian English accent associated with South Asian nationals and immigrants” (317). Hank Azaria who voices Apu from The Simpsons is the most notable individual of brown voice. Being a white actor, Azaria’s performance of an Indian accent is well received from critics and audiences alike. What makes the Indian accent unique and accessible to be well executed from just about anyone is its use of annunciation and vocals on particular words and phrases. Also, Dave notes that the Indian accent is “an accessible dose of foreignness rather than an irritating form of speaking that resembles American English” (317). It is well understood in English and does not give a sense of mispronunciations of words and phrases. It is unique in that it isn’t reliant on the arrangement of words when spoken but more dependent on the performance of the voice actor. How well the voice actor can speak and annunciate words enhances the conduct of the Indian accent. As Dave reiterates in his article, brown voice is unique, versatile, and can provide humor in certain situations.
4. Apu’s attempt at humor and satire is well received by audiences of The Simpsons despite the offensive nature of brown voice practiced by voice actor Hank Azaria. However, parallel to the controversial brown voice would be the controversial concept of “yellowface” which is defined as the portrayal of East Asians in American film and theater and other Western media. In yellowface, Asian characters portrayed on screen were played by white actors, often using makeup to approximate East Asian facial characteristics. Most notable films that depict the concept of yellowface were Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan. Swedish actor Warner Oland who played both Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan became an archetype of what became known as the “bad Asian” and the “good Asian” stereotype respectively. Fu Manchu was marked as a notorious figure during the time of the Yellow Peril and has become quite the controversial East Asian villain archetype from his fiendish design (most notably his mustache) and his faux Chinese name. He was distinctively depicted as cruel, cunning, sexual, and mystical; eventually becoming a stereotype of East Asian villains in films. Charlie Chan on the other hand was a fictional Chinese star detective. Although he represented the positive stereotypes of Asians in films, his Caucasian actor was still in controversial yellowface. He taped up his eyebrows and drank a few drinks to make his speech more halting in order to portray Asian characteristics on screen. Both characters were not well received in their performance of yellowface as Apu was in brown voice however the difference being Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan were physically present on screen deliberately performing Asian characteristics from the way they dressed to how they spoke. Hank Azaria on the other hand is not physically featured on screen and is more representative of the embodiment of Apu’s voice. Although all three are performing heightened Asian characteristics from the standpoint of a white person, Apu’s performance successfully avoids the profound criticism that the likes of Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan have received in the media. Through clever and satirical humor to even cultural and spiritual references, Apu’s performance in The Simpsons allows the likes of brown voice to be acknowledged in the media of today. On a side note, Springfield Heights Institute of Technology gave me quite a good laugh in Dave’s article.