Whether Apu's character, who, among other things, speaks with a heavy accent, is offensive or not has been debated since he first appeared. The 7-Eleven promos for the movie have started some new chatter on the blogsphere, and CNN aired a report on the stores. (See the YouTube video [1] above.)

Here's an analysis of the CNN report at Racialicious [2].

Manish at Ultrabrown [3] is a longtime critic of Apu and weighs in on the movie promos. He's also quoted in the CNN report.

There's always a fine line between satire that's funny and satire that offends, especially when it deals with race or ethnicity. I've not seen the movie, but Rob Schneider's Asian minister character in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry [4] may also fall into this category.

Apu and most of the other ethnic humor in movies and TV tend make a particular group the butt of the joke rather than lampooning stereotypes in an enlightening way. Are you laughing with Apu or at him? That's the question.