Who Needs the Kwik-e-Mart?

It's 4 AM and I'm sitting down here blogging. I think it's safe to say that I'm having a much more difficult time recovering from jet-lag than either my pregnant wife or my kids. Whereas they have all blossomed in their new environment full of Carl's Jr, Target, afternoon pool parties, sleepovers (and no homeschool); I don't have quite as much to occupy my day. I've been usually waking up around 5 AM, and without a full-time job or routine to distract me, the afternoon nap is much too tempting. Then I'm awake until atfer midnight, and the whole cycle repeats itself.



One of my only distractions has been the marketing assault accompanying the summer release of the first Simpsons movie. Not since 1990 has Springfield's favorite family been so obnoxiously omnipresent. There are tie-ins everywhere. Clothing, snackfoods, websites, airlines, you name it. A few people have begun to criticize the advertizing overkill, but I embrace it. The Simpsons (on one level) have always represented the boorish aspects of our culture. The advertizing campaign is one big reminder of the crassness of capitalism. Burger King plasters Homer's face on their windows and walls, even though his pear-shaped body is the quintessential stereotype of fast-food induced obesity. The pink donut itself has become a symbol for our society's tendency to overindulgence. In an age of PC rigidity, the Simpsons celebrate material and ideological excess.

The other day I watched CNN's story on how 7-11 has agreed to temporarily remodel a select few of their stores to operate as Kwik-e-Marts. These new stores also include many products featured in the cartoon world, such as Krusty-O's cereal and Buzz cola. The most amusing part of all is that many of these stores are managed by Indian immigrants to the US, just as Springfield's Kwik-e-Mart is run by Apu Nahasapemapetalan. If you don't watch the show, Apu is an unscrupulous, bullet-riddled, small-time capitalist who charges outrageous prices for shoddy (often expired) merchandise. The fact that 7-11 would welcome this image as part of a promotional campaign tells you the power of satirical humour.

The best part of the story involves 7-11's response to the criticism it has received for propagating demeaning stereotypes of Indian-Americans, and Indian convenience store owners in particular. The Apu character is not an ethnic slur, they counter, but is meant all in good fun. Besides, since they began operating as a Kwik-e-Mart and displaying a cardboard cutout of Apu, the sales volume of these stores has increased 15-20%.



In other words, Indian store-owners don't have a problem with exploiting stereotypes of Indian Americans being overly greedy in order to help them make more money.

The move itself couldn't possibly be this entertaining.