A new study explores AAPI representation onscreen

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Karen Gillan, Dwayne ”The Rock” Johnson, and Kevin Hart in “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”

Industry Asian Characters Still Minor or Stereotyped in Film

A new study also cites media as a key factor in the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes

By Diep Tran

ASIANS ARE STILL COMMONLY

stereotyped and tokenized onscreen, according to a new study from the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. The study analyzed 1,300 of the top-grossing films from 2007–2019 and found that, of 51,159 speaking characters, only 5.9% were Asian or Pacific Islanders. Only 44 films featured an AAPI actor in a lead role, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson booking the most work, in 14 films. The study also cited portrayals in mass media and entertainment as a key factor in the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S.

The study, called “The Prevalence and Portrayal of Asian and Pacific Islanders across 1,300 Popular Films,” found that, for the most part, Asian characters are stereotyped, tokenized, or have less than five lines of dialogue onscreen. The study says that film representation falls far below the Asian and Pacific Islander population of the U.S., where 7.1% of residents identify as AAPI. And for every 15 white male actors hired, only one AAPI actor was hired.

The study found that stereotypical representation included characters speaking either English with an accent or a non-English language (playing into the “perpetual foreigner” stereotype), Asian men portrayed as emasculated, and the hypersexualization of Asian women. Asian characters also frequently experienced harassment or death onscreen. The study also found a connection between onscreen violence and the recent increase in antiAsian hate crimes.

“With the rise of anti-AAPI violence in the United States, onscreen deaths of Asians and Pacific Islander characters are particularly jarring,” said Nancy Wang Yuen, who co-authored the study, in a statement. “In the top 100 films of 2019, just over a quarter of Asian and Pacific Islander characters die by the end of the film, and all but one death ended violently. This, along with 41.8% of AAPI characters receiving onscreen disparagement—some of which are racial slurs—[means that] films can fuel anti-AAPI hate.”

There’s also a noticeable lack of AAPI representation behind the scenes. Out of 1,300 films, only 50 films (3.5%) were directed by an AAPI director, and 98 films (2.5%) had an AAPI producer. No female AAPI directors had a sole directing credit—though the study doesn’t include Cathy Yan (“Birds of Prey”) or Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), whose films were released in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Films with AAPI directors or producers were more likely to have an AAPI lead. The study also included a series of recommendations to improve onscreen representation, including hiring more AAPI actors in leading roles, hiring AAPI storytellers behind the scenes, and supporting organizations that nurture AAPI talent. The study was funded by Amazon Studios and the United Talent Agency Foundation.

UTA partner and TV literary agent David Park said in a statement, “One year ago, our community was erroneously blamed for a global pandemic. Now, we see violence against and hatred of AAPIs reaching unprecedented levels. The words we use, the stories we tell, [and] how we portray people matters. The creative community is uniquely positioned to tell more authentic and inclusive stories that diverse audiences yearn to hear. This effort to document the quantity and quality of AAPI portrayals is an essential starting point for lasting progress in how our community is represented in the mainstream.”