This article by Justin Chan explores the lack of realistic and dynamic representation of Asians in Hollywood. The statistics are troubling and I think the lack of representation is evident as we look around us at commercials, book characters, and video games. This picture, taken from Fusion, shows just how sparse Asian representation in media is:
As well, “of the nearly 800 actors considered main cast members across more than 100 network TV shows, just 52 (6.6 percent) are of Asian descent.”
And when there are Asian bodies in the media, they often play insignificant roles and/or are over-stereotyped. Asian men are often desexualized and play characters meant to be laughed at. This can be seen in the role of the angry Asian neighbour (played by Mickey Rooney – a white man) in Breakfast at Tiffany’s as well as the role of Mike Yanagita, played by Steve Park in the movie Fargo.
Asian women on the other hand often play roles that fall into the stereotype of the quiet, obedient, often helpless, Oriental doll. This stereotype can be seen in many films such as You Only Live Twice and Pitch Perfect.
The article also discusses the issue of mixed-race performers, more specifically performers who identify as both white and Asian. “Television, generally unable to deal with racial difference more complex than the black-white binary, has no idea what to do with mixed-race Asians,” Jung writes. “Basically, if you pass as white, it’s a don’t ask, don’t tell type of situation.”
The article mentions the role of Angela Montenegro in the show Bones played by Michaela Conlin. Conlin is half-Chinese herself, and is half-Chinese in the show as well. The article applauds this role as a step forward; however, having watched the show, I’ve noticed that her being mixed-race is only mentioned briefly in the show and the show never mentions her Chinese mom, and only her Caucasian dad appears, and is ever mentioned.
I think another issue worth bringing up is that for many roles played by Asian bodies, their Asianness is either their entire character (e.g. exaggerated accents), or none at all. There is no in-between.
With the evident lack of real representation of Asian heritage, I think it’s unsurprising that many people with Asian heritage internalized racism growing up in North America.
Interesting opinion,this issue is indeed long been controversial. While the Hollywood movies have less barriers to entry and generally considered high quality production, Asian movies have higher barriers to entry the North American market. For example, Asian production usually have to use English as primary language when entering the North American markets. However, Hollywood movies are easily accepted without switching to local languages.(only translated to local language)