Join gender justice organization Sakhi for South Asian Women for a special screening of comedian Hari Kondabolu’s documentary “The Problem with Apu” followed by a panel discussion on South Asian representation in media and more!
*WHEN YOU ENTER BROOKFIELD PLACE LOBBY, GO UP ESCALATOR ONE FLIGHT TO TIME, INC. LOBBY + CHECK IN
TICKET SALES CLOSE 1/31 AT 12PM
ABOUT THE FILM:
The Problem with Apu is a 2017 documentary film written by and starring comedian Hari Kondabolu, produced and directed by Michael Melamedoff. Kondobolu interviews celebrities of South Asian descent about the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from the animated sitcom The Simpsons. When the show first aired in 1989, Apu was the only figure of South Asian heritage to appear regularly on mainstream American television. In The Problem with Apu, Kondabolu and his peers assert that Apu portrays negative stereotypes of South Asians that were picked up and parroted by non-Indian people in the form of racial microaggressions and slurs against people of Indian and South Asian heritage.
This screening + panel discussion will take place Wednesday, January 31st, at the Time, Inc. theater at Brookfield Place at 6PM in lower Manhattan. Tickets are $10.
PANELISTS:
Ahmed Ali Akbar is a writer and host of the critically-acclaimed BuzzFeed News podcast See Something Say Something, a show about the many ways to be an American Muslim. He writes about American Muslim culture, nostalgia, the immigrant experience, video games and more. Follow him on Twitter @radbrowndads
Arun Venugopal is a reporter and the host of Micropolis, WNYC’s ongoing examination of race, sexuality and identity. The series has explored such issues as the global skin-lightening market, the problems with ethnic sitcoms and the meaning of turbans. Arun is a regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has appeared on PBS Newshour, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. His commentary on Indian-American issues has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Post and the Associated Press. He also frequently serves as an emcee and moderator of panel discussions on race, religion and identity issues. Previously, Venugopal wrote for India Abroad, and served as an editor at the multi-faith website Beliefnet. He lives with his family in Queens.
Krutika Mallikarjuna is the Features Editor at TV Guide. You can find her work all over the internet (including BuzzFeed, Inverse, and Teen Vogue), but her best writing is on Twitter (@krutika) after she’s drunkenly watched Bend It Like Beckham for the millionth time at 3am. Intersectional representation is the hill she will die on.
MODERATOR:
Aditi Natasha Kini is an essayist and multimedia artist who loves to share unsolicited opinions with anyone who will listen, including readers of magazines like Jezebel, Vice, Teen Vogue and Bitch. Aditi has appeared on The Brian Lehrer Show and The Grapevine to talk about race and representation. Recently, Aditi co-directed, co-produced, wrote and acted in a horror comedy short parodying Asian assimilation narratives, started production on a documentary about gentrification, and feebly began tweeting into the void. Follow her at @nansequiturs