Only 1% of Asians are represented in the media. Can we just take a moment to think about that?
Here’s a bit of my cultural background:
I am a 19-years-old Asian-American girl. Yes, I was born in America. And yes, I do speak a 2nd language (Cantonese not Mandarin.) My Chinese culture means a lot to me and it’s a part of who I am. Although I’m Chinese, my ancestors come from all over Asia (China and Vietnam), mainly due to communist rule and wars. I even have family relations in France (that’s a longer story.)
SO ANYWAYS, why is Asian-American representation in Hollywood or the media in general so important to me?
Let’s start the discussion:
Simply because of the representation? I mean it should be a no-brainer. I knew that Asians were rarely cast for lead roles but I didn’t know this:
What does this say to you, readers? Because to me, it says that my people have no voice on the entertainment and social platform. Where are my people? Where is my culture? Recognition? I had a discussion with my best friend recently, who also shares the same culture as me, about how she felt about the lack of representation. Her response was indifferent, not in the sense where she disagreed but she said that not seeing Asians as a major role in media was “kinda normal.”
When you do see an Asian character on screen, their part is sometimes ridiculed, almost like the comic relief- playing jokes off of stereotypes. While some comedic shows poke fun at stereotypes- that doesn’t make it okay for everyone to normalize it. It downplays the cultural background of those people. And I’ve experienced this first-hand, from hearing Asians with accents being called “dumb” or people trying to hold back snickers when they encounter an Asian person being “too Asian.”
I don’t want little kids to watch T.V. or movies and not have a role model they can relate to in appearance/culture/history. I can’t even name more than 5 famous Asian-American artists and that isn’t because they aren’t talented enough (Oh yes, I’ve actually heard that argument before.) It’s because most casting directors will literally steer out of their way to NOT HIRE Asians because they don’t think that having Asian leads will sell well to the public. OR, another excuse, there aren’t any Asian actors “big enough” to be cast in films. That’s because you never hire them in the first place!!!!!!!!!
Recent instances include the Netflix Original Series, Death Note, and the film Ghost in the Shell. Both stories take place in Tokyo, Japan. Both stories have Japanese protagonists. Both series and film have white people playing Japanese characters. I can’t speak much for Ghost in the Shell because my knowledge would be based on other movie/anime critiques. However, I have read that they used CGI effects to make Scarlette Johansson appear Asian. Are you kidding me? That’s more time & effort wasted when you could just hire an Asian actress.
I’ve been a huge fan of Death Note for a few years now and was thrilled when I found out that they were going to try a hand at live-action again. I’m not going to rant too long about this one but I will state this: they really had to change the main character, Light Yagami’s, name to Light Turner in order to pertain to a white actor playing a Japanese character? I mean, that’s better than the whole “let’s use CGI to alter facial features” but again- are you kidding me? What is this, Fairly Odd Parents?
I think a film and series that have (currently) done Asians justice are Disney’s Andi Mack & Moana. The series, Andi Mack, includes Asian lead roles and tackles diverse topics while Moana dove into the cultures of Pacific Islanders (Polynesian and Samoan culture, please correct me if I’m wrong.) And both have received incredible reviews!! Regardless of having Asian leads or more cultural backgrounds!! Crazy right?? no, not really.
Whitewashing can be separated into many different and intricate conversations. If this blog post wasn’t long enough then I would try my best to break it down but I don’t like to keep my readers scrolling. I just included it in the title because whitewashing in Hollywood is still a thing and it really shouldn’t be. However, I do want to keep the conversation going. So there will be a part 2 focusing more on that topic but for now, I’d like for people to comment or even share this post with your friends/family/pet. Start the conversation! Agree to disagree! Just talking about topics like this brings more awareness to the people around you and that’s where change starts.
So let’s start talking.
-Jessica C.
