Asian Characters In The Cheat And The Toll The Sea

Imagine a distant post-apocalyptic future in which a group of researchers discovers a stack of DVDs of 20th and 21st century Hollywood movies of Asian American actresses. After watching those movies, what might the researchers conclude about the characteristics of Asian American women in the movies? Certainly, they will view Asian American women as sexual and erotic objects of the society that white men can score with ease. Why do I assume they will think that way? The answer is a simple, yet controversial one: mostly, the media, as the history proves, portrays Asian American women either as erotic sex slaves of white men or as insidious personalities who lure their prey into a trap with their sex appeal. If we look into the history,

Asian American actors and actresses are portrayed in Hollywood movies as always being the silent and yielding foreign victims to social injustice and prejudice. Whether or not these depictions are true, they are nonetheless stereotypes that Hollywood producers have come up with. According to the US Census in the year 2000, Asian Americans make up 4.2% of the entire American population, and knowing that most Asian Americans live on the west and east coast of the United States, many Americans living in central parts of this country have not really been exposed to any Asian Americans. Because of this fact, it is highly probable that most Americans get their exposure to the Asian American lifestyle only through television and movies. Even if

Japan is home to millions of individuals. All of them with different beliefs, religions, and traditions. Japan has a long and influential visual arts history. More specifically, the Japanese film industry has had a large influence on the cinematic world stage. Due to Japans tragic and destructive history, several different categories of society were affected. Their economic industry and visual arts industry are just some examples. Japans history has had consequences on both its social and political sectors. These reactions/repercussions can be seen in Japans film industry. In my paper, I will be looking at the political and social issues involved in the movies Spirited Away and Roshamon. The repercussions of World War 2 are important in understanding both of these Japanese films. The women portrayed in these films are both respected and docile. Moreover, the genres of these films have had a lasting effect on society.

culturally inaccurate. At the time, Asians were still very much underrepresented in film and many

Whether it is on TV or movie screens, the faces of white actors and actresses have always been prevalent in the media. For generations, many teenagers have been exposed to countless movies with white people in major roles. Moreover, the few roles that are cast to minorities feature the characters in their stereotypical personas (Bonilla-Silva 179). Even in advertising, Asians are placed in business settings, upholding the hard-working Asian stereotype (Taylor and Stern 50). As Taylor and Stern mention in their paper, the “model minority” has made the issue of stereotyping seem less important for Asians. The majority of these actors that are examined, regardless of race, are typically middle-age and well established in their acting careers. However, there is a lack of research behind Asian youth acting and their perceived roles. To account for this knowledge deficit, I examine how whiteness influences the media to portray youth actors as individuals that stray from their stereotypes in an attempt to achieve whiteness. My research site centres around Fresh Off the Boat (FOB), a comedic television series featuring a Taiwanese family. The title of the show Fresh Off the Boat or “FOB” is also a term used to describe a person that is considered too ethnic and as a term of denigration. I utilize Pyke and Dang’s categorization of “FOB” and “whitewashed” to analyze the narrator, Eddie Huang. I chose to limit my research primarily to the first “pilot” episode where the audience is

Despite the fact that Asian Americans have been in Hollywood for decades, there are very few positive representations of them in film. More often than not, they’ve been depicted as stereotypical caricatures, and more specifically, as foreigners who can’t speak grammatically correct English. Moreover, the negative representations of Asian Americans in film has perpetuated certain misconceptions about their culture. Chan is Missing (1982) calls for more genuine representations of Asian American identities through its cast of complex characters and defiance of Asian stereotypes. The film also urges its viewers to critically think about their own notions of identity through the use of several recurring themes and filmmaking techniques.

directors have stated that they cannot well-finance their film if the name of their leading actor is not mainstream name (Kim). White Americans during this time too, probably believed that if Asians were casted in the film, it would not be as good as they did view Asians as inferior in every way including in the performing arts. Even when Asians actors were casted to play Asian roles, Asian Americans would go out of their way not to watch. David Henry Hwang, who would later go on to write his own version of Flower Drum Song, said as a young man growing up in the sixties, watching how Asian characters were featured made him feel “icky”. All the Asian characters that he saw were either portrayed in an unrealistic or comical way or as a character that was dependent on the leading white character (Hwang). It made it hard for Asian Americans to look to media for role models when they were hardly ever represented and represented in inhumane ways.

Maxine Kingston's Making of More Americans like Amy Tan's Mother Tongue has been a controversial addition to Asian American literature. The writer has tried to answer the critical question of Chinese American identity and hence been criticized for adopting an orientalist framework to win approval of the west. Similarly Rendezvous by Frank Chin and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan also speak of a culture that neatly fits the description of the "Other" in the orientalist framework. It appears alien, remote and immensely degrading to women who were treated like non-human beings by Chinese chauvinistic society. However things changed for the generation of Chinese that grew up in the US or at least that is what authors wants us to believe.

"Implicitly, these films warn white women to embrace the socially constructed passive Asian beauty as the feminine ideal if they want to attract and keep a man" (Espiritu). What Hollywood may have failed to portray about these Asian women is that they are prostitutes merely trying to support their families by offering sexual services to men whom they see rich. Because they come from poor families and lack education, some Asian women earn their living by these means, and preferring to sleep with a man due to his skin color has nothing to do with it. Their financial situation takes precedence over the act which they are partaking in.

culturally inaccurate. At the time, Asians were still very much underrepresented in film and many

In the movie industry, no minority has been exempt from being negatively portrayed in films, such as the Asian Americans. During the first half of the 1900’s, Asian Americans were victimized through racist cartoons and movies. Further negative representation of Asian Americans gained momentum during World War 2, particularly towards Japanese Americans. Further, in today’s modern society, movies often depict Asian Americans through stereotypes, such as Asian American women being portrayed as sexual objects, the smart Asian, and the Wise old man who possess infinite wisdom. Asian American women have been continuously being used as sexual objects on the big screen. Asian and Asian American women in the movies play the role of being extremely submissive to their male counterparts. This could be noted in many films, such as Rambo part

     Asian Americans only make up a small percent of the American population. Even more significant is that this percentage live mostly on the west and east coasts of mainland United States and Hawaii; leaving the rest of the American population to most likely get their exposures to Asians through television and movies. However the exposure they have receive throughout the history of cinematography has been hardly flattering. Throughout the course of history Asians in film have been portrayed as evil or the "yellow peril" as described by others. If Asians are not being classified as evil in this picture then they are most likely the comic relief, with their lack of coordination or grasp of the English

Asian American and Pacific Islander women do not only challenge with their vulnerability, cultural norms and reputations, language barrier, and negative experiences and attitudes, but media is also another factor that keeps these women unsafe and cannot run away from sexual violence. In some American combat films, it shows stories of World War II and some stories of other War between the United States and other countries. However, there are several significant representations of sexual violence in these American combat films as well. It also shows the differences between American female characters and Asian, including AAPI, female characters. China film in 1943 is about the Asian war between China and Japan. There are two main characters—which

Before I saw the movie, I only noticed the stereotypes that people from my generation have, of the Asian culture. After I saw the movie, I realized how deep the Asian stereotypes go, and how many generations are effected by the stereotypes. The movie shined a light on how family-orientated the Asian people truly are. They spend a lot of quality time together and always put each other first, especially in a time of danger. The Asian people flawlessly embrace their traditions, despite the overwhelming urge to be

While the movie progresses, the minority group shown in the movie intensifies and takes on a larger role in the movie. The two stereotypical views portrayed in this movie are the common ones, such as Asians are weak and smart and or the view that Asians drive around in lowered cars and cast themselves as thugs. One scene