When I heard the news, I knew this couldn’t be anything good. To me, The Simpsons series is just trash, and I hardly watch it. So I was surprised when one of my favorite Peruvian blogs –Amautacuna de Historia- posted the video. However, Arturo Gomez -author of Amautacuna- explain his reasons:
- "In the last days several media outlets are talking about this video of The Simpsons with is main characters in Machu Picchu. I saw it first in the Pospost blog, where there is a translation. If we see it “by its kind side” this video helps to promote the sacred citadel among the US viewers and many other countries where the show is watched. But we can’t avoid regretting the mistakes and bad intentions of the [Simpsons] authors when they refer to the Inca culture, and especially its habitants. The worst part is when they represent the Hatun Runas (people) and Aucarunas (soldiers) of the Tawantinsuyu [Inca civilization] as cowards that needed only to sight the Hispanics to run away scared. It seems that the majority of Americans may have that image about the Andean men, ignoring the heroic resistance that was led by Quisquis, Rumiñahui, Manco Inca, Willac Umu, Quizu Yupanqui, Cahuide, Tizoc Inca, Illa Túpac, among other Indigenous chiefs from the 15th century that are almost forgotten. But the worst part is that even Peruvians ignore the great achievements of the Tawantinsuyu men.
After watching this episode I expect for any Peruvian -or any person who knows well Peruvian history and culture- to be offended, at least. Even Americans should be ashamed of the way Indigenous men are presented by this show in front of about 8 million American viewers and many more in the world, especially through the internet:
The viewers who know little about the Tawantinsuyu civilization -whose leaders were the Incas- will think that the Indigenous Quechua men were a bunch of cowards. And that the Hispanic invaders were awesome and impressive warriors.
But The Simpsons have made also these huge mistakes:
- 1- The Spaniards never found Machu Picchu, that is why it was never distroyed.
2- The Hispanics never fought the Quechua alone –but with the help of thousands of Indigenous warriors from other civilizations that were jealous of the Incas.
But let’s remember who produces The Simpsons: Fox, the controversial media company owned by extremist right-wing Republican Rudolph Murdoch –owner also of MTV and MySpace- and who has one of Bush’s cousins as his major executives.
I ask, what is the best tool for corrupted leaders? Yes, ignorance of their people. That explains the role of Murdoch and others in American society -- with all these trashy media productions. Luckily The Simpsons are less popular every day, even a year after the premiere of their successful movie version.
Racial stereotypes
The insulting way how The Simpsons presents Andean Native people, unfortunately confirms some stereotypes that might be true, in some cases.
While there are some Indigenous men in the Andes who are can be submissive - out of respect and also after centuries of colonial oppression by Europeans and their descendants- but it's also true also that there are a lot of racist white Americans who look at other people’s cultures with a superiority complex, which give them permission to make fun of whatever they feel like it.
Unfortunately, some of those morons are making good money at several American media corporations, in this case by mocking the Quechua people from Peru. Really upsetting.
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"The Hispanics never fought the Quechua alone –but with the help of thousands of Indigenous warriors from other civilizations that were jealous of the Incas."
ReplyDeleteSorry but that is a complete simplification.
My ancestral people, the Wanka, did not ally themselves with the Spanish because of 'jealousy'. If you read Lumbreras or other ethnohistorical sources, like D'Altroy, you will find that the Wanka, along with the neighboring Tarama and Chinchaycocha people, were among the groups that offered the greatest resistance to the Inca expansion and colonization. The Incas were colonizers in the Mantaro River Valley, and the Wanka already had strong ethnic unity, even in the earliest phase, called Wanka I, from about CE 900-1350, a good 500 years BEFORE the Incas even organized themselves as a nation. During the phase known as Wanka II, CE 1350 - 1460 (when the Incas expanded into the valley), the Wanka were becoming an increasingly complex society, with hierarchical settlements at the village level. The sites of Tunanmarka and Hatunmarka had between 8 and 16 thousand inhabitants at their peaks. After Inca conquest, but not complete cultural hegemony as seen in other parts of the Inca Empire, there were always factions of Wankas who continued a guerrilla-style campaign against the invaders, particularly because the Inca employed centralization of rule and the imposition of state-control. When the Spanish arrived on the scene, the Wankas could not have known what the ultimate outcome was going to be, they just saw the Spanish as allies who would finally be able to rid their valley of the Inca oppressors.
Andean history, especially prior to the arrival of the Spanish, is very complex. I am surprised you of all people would simplify the struggle of oppressed non-Inca nations living under Inca subjugation by saying they allied with the Spanish out of simple jealousy. It had nothing to do with jealousy, it had to do with reclaiming their rightful place and the control of their own resources.
Perdón si fui muy contundente en mi anterior comentario, simplemente soy muy orgulloso de mis antepasados y conozco algo de la historia de mi gente y su opresión bajo el dominio Inca.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteWell, by jealous I meant all kind of reasons that might have caused, including the ones you mention.
By the way, I am from Junin and part of my family is from the area, so I may as well be Wanka in that sense.
Alejandro, what do you think of this video?
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OK, sorry ... tu sabes: Maychrupis kaychrupis ... Wanka walarshmi ka.
ReplyDeleteAs for the video, first off, it's just The Simpsons, it's not National Geographic or The History Channel.
Secondly, that whole scene where the Incas run away from the Spanish is in a dream sequence, so one could argue that it isn't true at all, or even meant to be true, but rather it is Marge's inner self dealing with her own fears about being an overprotective mother who doesn't give Bart the freedom he needs, and will raise him to be a coward. The viewer really can't tell if that scene is what the creators want us to believe happened historically, or if they want us to believe that it is all Marge's own projection of her feelings of inadequacy as a mother, and since she's in MP, she just had a dream with an Incan theme.
So, the whole clip is much more about Marge than it is about the Incas.
Then again, it's just The Simpsons.
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ReplyDeleteda risa Peruanista. Al menos lee algo de historia antes de soltar burradas, pobre ignorante.
ReplyDeleteGracias por citar mi comentario, Carlos. Y muy interesantes los del huanca Alejandro. Saludos.
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ReplyDeleteLa ignorancia se palpa con el insulto fácil, soez y anónimo de algunos.
ReplyDeleteBien sabes Carlos, que aunque discrepemos a veces, y tengamos a veces puntos de vistas muy diferentes, jamás te he proporcionado ningún insulto ni falta de respeto, siempre me dirijo hacia ti como me han enseñado hacerlo a todos, y como quisiera que lo hicieran hacia mi, civilizadamente y con el respeto que cada ser humano se merece.
A veces al igual que tú, el higado puede más que el cerebro, pero me permito ese lujo contigo porque al final de día, te considero un amigo y no un adversario, y entre amigos se permite la diferencia y la diversidad de opinión, y siento y espero que tú también me tengas igual consideración. Y se me olvida que este diálogo en la sección de comentarios no es sólo entre tú y yo, sino está a la vista de cualquiera que visita el blog Peruanista.
Me llega olímpicamente toda esa gentuza que te agrede con sus palabras e insultos baratos de mercadillo, gente que se esconde detrás de sus pantallas para hacerlo, me parece de lo más bajo y lo más vil que pueda haber. No sé cómo lo soportas, pero al soportarlo, dice mucho de ti, y de la madera que estás hecho.
Por lo menos cuando yo he discrepado contigo, lo hago con mi nick de siempre y sabes muy bien quién soy y cómo comunicarte conmigo.
Me he quedado admirado por el comentario de tu hermano, y para los ignorantes que digan que tu educación fue en un arenal, no sólo muestran su desprecio clasista hacia aquellos que viven en los arenales, y luchan por sobrevivir, pero también demuestran que no saben de lo que hablan, no tienen la menor idea de quién eres o cuál ha sido la trayectoria de tu vida.
No me sorprende que fuiste el chico listo de la clase, tu blog es ejemplo que tienes un gran cerebro, y espero que lo sigas trabajando, puliendo, refinando, machacando, y espero y anhelo un día ser tu invitado cuando te recibas con tu Ph.D. en alguna gran universidad, quiero ser de los primeros en felicitarte ese día.
Eres jovén y tienes la pasión y la convicción propia de tu edad, no hay nada malo en eso, todo lo contrario, me acuerdas mucho a mi a tu edad, compartía muchos de tus puntos de vista y era igual de apasionado y fiel a mis convicciones como tú lo eres.
Pero los años no es que nos hace mas conformistas, sino que nos brinda más experiencias, más vivencias, y más tiempo para macerar esas ideas, y trabajarlas. El tiempo, o sea los años, nos revela cosas sobre nosotros mismos y el mundo en que vivimos que de joven ni idea teníamos. Así es la vida.
Pero nadie puede imponer eso a otra persona, es el proyecto de cada uno encontrar esas lecciones por su propia cuenta.
Carlos, a veces sí me has provocado darte unas buenas jaladas de orejas, y de repente más adelante lo harás nuevamente, pero todo en buena onda, entre personas que se respeten intelectualmente, si pienso diferente que tú, no es que sea tu enemigo, dejarte un comentario es muestra que me gusta el reto y el intecambio de ideas. De eso se basa las relaciones humanas, como dicen, hablando se entiende a la gente.
Perdón (aunque realmente no es mi culpa) si alguna gente desubicada pensó que lo que te había escrito anteriormente les daba la libertad de insultarte gratuitamente, para nada fue mi intención, y sabes que te lo digo de corazón. Es una conversación entre tu y yo, y no con terceros, y mucho menos terceros que ni tienen la valentía de divulgar su verdadera identidad. Pero allá ellos, ya estás bien, pero bien curtido a esos tipos de comentarios, y eso es admirable. No sé si tuviera yo las agallas para aguantarlo.
Para concluír sólo me queda por decir que te considero mi pata y mi hermano menor. Por más que pueda renegar de algunos de tus puntos de vista, la totalidad de quién eres es mucho más grande que unos cuántos posts en un blog.
Pero sí te pido, de corazón, please keep studying, keep learning, keep challenging yourself and learning about this complex world in which we live: it's really not as black and white as you sometimes portray it, there so many nuances, so many greys in it. And your mind is clearly so capable of assimilating it all. Be a sponge: soak it all in.
Adelante Peruanista! Te lo dice un amigo.
Otra patinada tuya Peruanista (el anterior fue el del Bayly Facsio), a veces ya no sé qué pensar.
ReplyDeleteTe explico. Cómo puedes comentar sobre algo que no conoces, sobre algo quetú consideras como "trash". Es recontra infantil. Los Simpson se burlan de todo lo que esté a su paso, sólo que los peruanos acomplejados se ofenden por todo. No son más que dibujos animados.
Por lo pronto a mí no me afecta, por que los símbolos -como banderas, historias, escudos etc...- han sido creadas para dormar una identidad propia, para que gente obtusa diga, soy peruano, soy cristiano...
Para los que tenemos bien marcada la idea de lo que somos en realidad no nos afecta el que Lesysi Suarez se siente en una bandera o si Los simpson hacen mofa de unos Incas a los que pintan de cobardes -lo cualno está lejos de ser cierto, no por que huyan, si no por la visión tirana que manejaban-. A nosotros nos disguta cosa que digan sobre nosotros por que no sabemos ni lo que somos (pero nos reimos cuando Los simpson critican a bush o se burlan de los árabes, por ejemplo)
La próxima que vayas a comentar -o criticar sin fundamento- piénsalo y, sobretodo, estúdialo primero. Por que si no vas a ocasionar que entre gente como ese anónmio a comenatar en tu blog.
Saludos,
Telo Dije, asiduo fan de Los Simpson (gracias por darme tópico para mi próximo post)
Vamos muchachos, leyendo sus comentarios -su colección de vanidades, bobadas, bravatas, humor involuntario, jutificaciones étnicas, etc.- es obvio que el sueño de Marge se justifica. Bien por los Simpson.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked at all the attention this post has attracted from people who do not like me personally. Well, I will have to moderate comments again and delete some offensive messages (sorry brother I have to keep family away from this.)
ReplyDeleteArturo, gracias por escribir uno de los mejores blogs peruanos. Saludos.
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Alejandro, thanks for your word and I do appreciate them knowing where you come from and because I believe you. I have a weird relationship with my brother and I must be protective with him sometimes. Well now I have you as one more brother, that's nice. Thanks again.
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Maxi and Enrique, bienvenidos a Peruanista. No uso patines, solamente en hielo.
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Despues de todo, sigo creyendo que esta serie de Los Simpsons es ofensiva, y de muy mal gusto. Es mi opinion.
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