Homer converts…Rev. Lovejoy in shock

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In my daily efforts to help bring you guys the most interesting stories from around the world, every once in a while I am just blown away.  Today is one of those days.  ABC News (via AOL news) reports on the revelation that Homer Simpson has embraced Islam:

After 17 seasons of entertaining U.S. audiences, “The Simpsons” can now be seen on Arab television. While U.S. foreign policy is not always a hit overseas, there is a huge audience for American popular culture.

So the Arab satellite network MBC is bringing the cartoon saga of Springfield to the heart of the Arab world. “The Simpsons” has been exported overseas and is now called “Al Shamshoon.”

With Omar instead of Homer, and Badr substituting for Bart, MBC hopes to win coveted young viewers. After all, 60 percent of the Arab world is 20 years old or younger. [link]

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p>Here is the catch.  In an act of what can only be described as “censorship wizardry,” MBC has to convince its audience that the entire time Homer is at Moe’s tavern, he is simply enjoying a cold mug of…soda.  Oh wait…

Moe’s Bar has been completely written out of “Al Shamshoon.”

…MBC is making some changes as the characters go from American to Arab. They will remove references to things forbidden by the Koran, such as bacon, beer, and other references that might be construed as offensive.

Homer Simpson’s ubiquitous Duff beer will now be soda in the Arab version of the show.

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p>Ooooh, that’s–got–too hurt–the Duff man.  Apu can’t sell hotdogs anymore but will instead sell “Egyptian beef sausages.”

With characters who are Jewish (like Krusty the Clown), Hindu (like Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu) and Christian (like the family’s pastor, Rev. Lovejoy), Al Jean — “The Simpsons” executive producer — says those changes mean they aren’t “The Simpsons” anymore.

You can watch a video of the story on the AOL website I linked above.

74 thoughts on “Homer converts…Rev. Lovejoy in shock”

  1. vidster, i didn’t even know that those words existed in tamil!

    look, if it isn’t glitteringly obwious by now, i’m no cunning linguist. if anything, i speak FRAT BOY malayalam, thanks to daddy, much to the eternal dismay of mummy. 😀

  2. the non-malayalam speakers are engaging in what is usually a southern, time-honored tradition of calling a friend who speaks the language which contains the word in question and asking THEM. far be it from me to prevent this delicious table-turning. 😉

    gasp! how did you know? i had just got off the phone w/my fellow tamil-speaking friend! subject of conversation: use of the word “oombe” in daily conversational tamil 🙂

  3. lucky vidster…when i asked my friends to clarify if what i assumed “thendi” meant was correct, they had no clue. the only person left to ask was my mom…who, despite my telling her it was research for the BLOG, promptly rained curses upon my father for creating such a foul child, right before threatening to hang up if i didn’t “find something else to do” (“penne…po vazha pani nthoke”). 😉

  4. It takes a lot of time to type such a lenghty Handle:)

    Vidster,

    You are right, the third word is used more as a slang than in real life. In College days, we used to use a lot for the same meaning what Rani has mentioned.

  5. It takes a lot of time to type such a lenghty Handle:)

    i know it must, but if it’s any consolation, the glee i’m experiencing is immense. 😉

    i LOVE how one wee bit of slang hasn’t changed in 50 or so years! the way PoAFA used “oombe” during college is the exact same way my father (ab)used it! 😀

  6. gotcha. not to create another conversation-derailer but i’ve found that tamil slang–more than other languages–seems to be an entirely different language on its own.

    thanks PoAFA!

  8. Now I like this Acronymn:)

    Before anybody start barging on me for kidnapping the thread let me give the exact Tamil version.

    In Tamil its used as ‘Poi Oombu”. (Means the same as in Malayalam)

    Alright I am done.

  9. This thread has gone so far off on a tangent from its original subject that it’s virtually in orbit 😉

  10. Some Mallu slang that I have come across:

    Kolam ai poi: Literally translated it means, “became a pond”, but generally used to mean, “things got messed up”

    Vadee ai poi: Literally it means, “became a stick” but generally used to mean, “someone is dead”

    Chethu: Literally means “slice/cut/peal with a knife” but generally used to mean something is “cool, slick, fly, sleak…”

    Btw, did I mention SM is chethu?

  11. “In Tamil its used as ‘Poi Oombu”. (Means the same as in Malayalam)”

    you really do learn something new everyday … can’t wait to use it on my tamil friends 🙂

    “This thread has gone so far off on a tangent from its original subject that it’s virtually in orbit ;)”

    That’s why its so much fun 😉

  12. This thread has gone so far off on a tangent from its original subject that it’s virtually in orbit 😉

    I agree Jai. However, if I step in to curb it then I will likely be insulted, and then I will need to call a South Indian friend to translate the insult for me.

  13. Abhi, it doesn’t take that long to learn the basic abuses.

    begin {geek} Thereafter, you can get creative by constructing independent convex combinations of the various components. end {geek}

    That’s all the Tamil I know after my college years in Chennai.

  14. I agree Jai. However, if I step in to curb it then I will likely be insulted, and then I will need to call a South Indian friend to translate the insult for me.

    considering which smurf you are, i thought you’d LIKE that it was in “orbit”. 😉

    all right kids, you heard him. show’s over. break it up. or attend the after-party here where a similar linguistic discussion is unfolding (though it’s nowhere near as blue)

    😀

  15. Abhi, it doesn’t take that long to learn the basic abuses.

    Dude, you are talking to a guju. All I need to do is put a “che” at the end of anything and I’m done. All this stuff is too complicated for me. 🙂

  16. Dude, you are talking to a guju. All I need to do is put a “che” at the end of anything and I’m done. All this stuff is too complicated for me. 🙂

    All the Guju, this Mallu knows is, “Soo che, saroo che, danda leke maroo che!”

    And I have no idea what that means, but it does have a rhythmic ring to it.

  17. “Soo che, saroo che, danda leke maroo che!”

    The Salman Rushdie Posse members will know what this means 🙂

    roughly translated:

    Wassup, It’s goin good hit you with a stick

  18. Abhi,

    I agree Jai. However, if I step in to curb it then I will likely be insulted, and then I will need to call a South Indian friend to translate the insult for me.

    Don’t worry about the abuses, Just get them, we will translate it for you 🙂

  21. re” the post being out of place on SM;

    it seems like the original commenter didn’t want to link “arab” issues to “south asian” issues. the whole “its out of place” angle makes sense from that point of view

    i can think of reasons for and against that issue. both sides of that issues have implications for what it is to be desi in America.

    which is what i think SM is about, being desi in america

  23. Vadee ai poi: Literally it means, “became a stick” but generally used to mean, “someone is dead”

    Actually translates to something close to ‘got tricked/fooled’

    It’s rather nice out here in orbit 🙂

  24. Anna,

    at one not-so-distant time, i was apparently considered “not mallu enough” since i didn’t know the exact definition of “thendi”, so kindly forgive me if i demur and defur to rani, lest i unwittingly lead you lambs astray. the people who need to get it got it.

    well played, you rogue.