Apu Nahasapeemapetilon the shopkeeper of the “Kwiki-Mart” from “The Simpsons” is a fictional character on the TV but one that influences many.

Through a woman’s eyes Apu would seem like the typical foreign man. By seeing him in this way they are also automatically thinking that if they marry someone like him they will have multiple babies (like Apu’s wife did) and that they will not be able to make enough money to live on, just enough to buy basic day to day necessities. Another side that a woman might see is that if they marry any Indian guy they will have an extremely long last name. A further aspect that a woman may see is that Apu is very cheeky (he is always changing expiry dates on old items, etc.) Lastly a woman may see that Apu is very peaceful and they may assume that all Indian men are.

Through a real Indian’s lens (that lives in India) Apu would seem like a great man, a normal Indian guy that went to the US, got a job, and is now living what some call “the American Dream”. However many Indian people may see Apu as what will happen to you if you move to America, meaning that they’ll think all Indians in America work in mini-marts and that they would never be able to succeed. One last point of view that is definitely shown is that when an Indian goes to the US he (or she) may get made fun of and even shot at by robbers; this would create a stereo typical lens that some Americans make fun of some Indians.

From an extremely poor person’s lens Apu may seem like a very lucky man with a wife, a nice sports car and a job that manages to keep him alive. Many poorer people may also see Apu as a rival and may get jealous of him with such a good income. Some other poorer people may even see Apu as a role model, they may see this because Apu is based on a poor person who came all the way from India, managed to get a job, and is now succeeding with a healthy income that he managed to create without the help of his parents or anyone around him.

What all of this means is that Apu is a fictional stereotype of an Indian man living in America, and that people are mistaking him for the truth so they are basing there own stereo types on him which will eventually change this fictional stereo type to one that everyone believes to be true.