Asian Americans In The Entertainment Industry

Today, when society talks about diversity, often times, Asian-Americans are brought into the conversation and are talked about as highly looked up to individuals, but they haven’t always been this way. On television, many times, Asian-Americans are represented as “nerdy” and “socially incapable/awkward”, Asian-American males are mostly shown as being weak and stereotypically awkward, while Asian-American females are either shown as “exotic” or also stereotypically awkward and nerdy, as stated by Takaki in his book Strangers from a Different Shore on page 479,

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

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.

Although Asian Americans comprise only about 5% of the U.S. population, this group is the fastest growing segment of American society. Despite such rapid expansion, Asian Americans are widely underrepresented throughout media, whether in television, cinema, or literature. Moreover, there are different stereotypes associated with Asian Americans. One of the most pervasive stereotypes details how Asian Americans are a “model minority”. In essence, this myth describes how anyone who is Asian American will become a successful individual able to achieve the “American dream”.

Television and film is a huge part of American culture. As the “face” of America changes, it is expected for our media to reflect it. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Since the beginning of film, minorities have been misrepresented and underrepresented. While there has been a significant increase in minority actors since the beginning of film, there is still a huge underrepresentation present in American television and film. Our media needs to reflect out diverse country. This topic is always important and relevant because race, gender, and sexuality, in general, have been issues throughout the growth of television and film. Even today, minorities are subject to

I have chosen the issue of “miss/underrepresentation of minorities in American television and film.” As America has changed over the years to become much more accepting and inclusive, American media seems to be a bit behind. There are countless instances in which characters from a book or graphic novel has been white-washed once they make it to the big screen. Some may argue these choices are made because the actor is very strong at their craft or they are a star and will bring in the big bucks in theaters. While this may be true, it completely discredits not only the original art and meaning of the work but also the community of talented non-white artist in America. I want to delve deep into the reason this can be happening in a generally

Usually that image has been shaped by people with little understanding of the Asian population. Limited portrayals of Asians have traditionally been the norm in the entertainment industry as well. Often there are no distinctions made between Asian Americans and Asians. The entertainment industry restricts its portrayals of Asians to a limited amount of characters. These portrayals can act as a stereotype. The media has affected how Asian Americans are perceived in the society. This journal entry increased my awareness about the effects of stereotypes. It is not fair to say something is true for every member of a group. By doing so this overlooks individuality and small differences within individuals. It also perpetuates a divide within the society. By combatting stereotypes, we can facilitate better understanding between people and

Asian Americans face constant subjection to what has become referred to as the “model minority” myth. This myth enforces both a false narrative and broad generalization upon all Asian Americans as the ethnic embodiment of an idealistic work ethic and outstanding academic and socioeconomic success. The deconstruction of this “single story” requires the introduction of new perspectives and proper representation of the intersectional spectrum of Asian Americans, who oftentimes do not fit this typecast. Perpetuating this single story, is the lack of understanding of how Asian Americans can stem from 51 different Asian countries, struggle from the effects of poverty, and also remain unrepresented in popular media.

As an Asian-American woman, I want to see better representation for the Asian community; if media is supposed to reflect the real world, then there is no excuse for leaving Asians out in American films. I want to dissect why Asians are still marginalized and stereotyped today when there is a demand for more diversity in media. In addition, I want to cover the history behind the stereotyping and whitewashing of Asians in Hollywood and how that still has a negative impact today. In fact, recent movies have white-washed Asian roles in favor of white actors. In May 2015, Sony released “Aloha,” where Emma Stone portrayed Allison Ng, a part Chinese-Hawaiian fighter pilot. This blatant erasure is also evident in Dreamworks’ casting of Scarlett Johansson

Throughout the semester we have learned that Asian Americans have gone through many hurdles and roadblocks in order to establish an identity for themselves. Although these social stereotypes have been established by other people, Asians didn’t allow this to define who they were as people. Either its projected by films, events or social media, we are able to see Asian Americans taking a stand with one another. Through popular Asian American Culture such as Beauty Pageants and films like Saving Face, we are able to see Asian Americans asserting their power by embracing their social identities. Through Beauty Pageants we are able to see Asian women truly embracing their ethnicity and Gender.

Media underrepresentation and representation is a major source for stereotypes. How Asians are portrayed in media is one source for the prejudice that Asians are geeky and nerdy friends; they are mostly casted as extras and minor roles, and few Asian actors have played a lead role. Yellowfacing also contributes to embedding stereotypes about Asians in others starting from a young age. Some stereotypes that branch out from media are:

During the course of history, African Americans have played a major role in the enhancement of film and television production. African Americans have enhanced not only the technology of television and film but also enhanced the story line of American Television. As contributors, African Americans have made the kind of changes that affected television and the outside world. These shows were made to relate to the average African American family. However, over the past few years, the so called demographic of “relatable’’ television has been questioned on it’s positive or negative affect society. A controversial question that has been discussed is, “Is social media, television, and film creating positive and relatable messages? Or is it

In order to to discontinue the stereotypes taught through media, Asian American Actors must take parts beyond the extreme roles offered to Asian Americans, in order to accurately reflect their identity and disprove stereotypes

I will use four to five articles in my essay to show what roles Asian Americans get in the Hollywood movies. In general Asian Americans students are most academic achievers but when it comes to act in movies they are stereotyped and their English accent is used as foreign accent even thorough they are born American. I will give all the information that is used in media about Asian Americans. In the movie when a Caucasian movie star lies to be an Asian American. When the director know about that he is lying he is not an Asian he a Caucasian they start fighting and for the race. But he becomes a famous star in movies later on. After a while the director heard that his friend who is the Caucasian star’s girlfriend. He meets her and explains her and says, “I think he make you fool do you know he is not an Asian? He lied you for everything but she didn't listen and she starts arguing with his friend. Yellow face gives us a unique understanding of Asian stereotypes.