MAY 30, 2017
PERSU(ASIAN)
How Lack of Asians in the Media Affects Everyone Why Asian Stereotypes Are Always Bad
Which side is more "Asian"? (and why?)
History of "Yellowface"
Dana Chung DOC 3 Capstone Project
PERSU(ASIAN) • 2
5
History of "Yellowface" A timeline of films featuring nonAsians playing Asian characters.
6
Where are AsianAmericans on Screen? Graphical representations of diversity in the media from a USC study.
7
Stereotypes How stereotypes are inaccurate and can hurt those it stereotypes.
8
Search Engine Results How search engines' auto-fill feature proves bias among society.
3
My Story
9
My changing views of media representation growing up as an Asian-American in the United States.
4
Lack of Asians in the Media How Asian actors are rare in the media, and are stuck in stereotypical roles.
Next Steps What American society can do next to move beyond false representations.
10
Works Cited Sources of photos and information featured in this magazine.
My Story
I have always considered myself American, and I am, by legal definition. I was born in southern California, and grew up in Culver City, around the Los Angeles area, my whole life. Growing up in a fairly racially diverse neighborhood, I was surrounded by different backgrounds, languages and culture. This became the norm for me. My Japanese and Korean heritage seemed to fit right in with the other multitude of ethnicities that formed my community. However, what I saw on billboards, TV, movies and commercials was a different story. I don’t think I truly realized the lack of diversity in the media until I was in middle school, when I became more conscious of physical differences. What I saw on screen, which supposedly was representative of America, did not represent what I saw around me in my hometown. The media was filled with predominantly white actors and actresses, and not seeing any Japanese and/or Koreans alongside them, let alone Asian, made me question how America valued all their citizens.
PERSU(ASIAN) • 3 In high school, I grew increasingly aware of the lack of Asian-American representation everywhere and anywhere. It wasn’t that Asian Americans were completely absent, but relative to other races, there were not a lot of them. This might be why in reality TV shows, I would tend to root for the Asian competitor; not necessarily because they had the best personality, but because them being there in the first place was a huge accomplishment, and their presence on nationwide TV meant that Asian Americans were a little closer to being represented in American culture. In movies and TV, Asian-American actors were usually one of two roles: the sidekick or the doctor. This is why when shows like The Walking Dead and Fresh Off the Boat were released, this was a huge deal for the Asian-American community; Glenn Rhee of The Walking Dead was a returning main character (with Steven Yeun’s name featured in the opening credits!) and Fresh Off the Boat featured an all Asian cast. I recognize that Asian-American representation in the media has increased over the past decades, but it would still be nice to have more diverse faces in the shows I watch and the ads I see. By doing this, media can show their audience that Asian Americans are more than just how they are portrayed stereotypically on screen as doctors or nerds. The media has a lot of power over the American public’s thoughts about how certain groups of people are conceived as, but they also have the power to change it.
PERSU(ASIAN) • 4
Lack of Asians in the Media There is a clear lack of Asian representation within the media, whether it be on TV, in the movie theater, or on billboards. Asian characters in these platforms tend to play minor roles alongside the white main character. Countless times they are cast as the doctor, scientist or high school nerd. Why? Because that's what audiences expect.
With lack of diversity in roles, the media perpetuates ongoing stereotypes of Asian people. By not given the opportunity to play the crime-fighting superhero or popular jock, they are further confined to only a few selective roles. It is even difficult for an Asian actor to receive a role playing an Asian character. Hollywood would rather cast non-Asian actors to play Asian characters, historically using offensive make-up and accents to do so, through what is known as "yellowface".
PERSU(ASIAN) • 5
History of "Yellowface" "Yellowface", where a non-Asian person uses make-up and costume to appear of Asian descent, has a long history that still continues today. In the film industry, directors and producers have a pattern of casting typically white actors to play an Asian character over actual Asian actors. This can result in Asian caricatures and the reinforcement of stereotypes. 1937 The Good Earth Luise Rainer plays O-lan, a Chinese woman and won an Academy Award for her role.
2007 Norbit Eddie Murphy is a Chinese restaurant owner who acts as a father figure to the main character.
1961 Breakfast at Tiffany's Mickey Rooney is Mr. Yunioshi, a Japanese photographer and the main character's upstairs neighbor.
2015 Aloha Met with much controversy, Emma Stone plays Allison Ng, a quarter Hawaiian and quarter Chinese character.
1982 The Year of Living Dangerously Linda Hunt plays a Chinese dwarf, and won the 1983 Oscar for her performance.
2016 Doctor Strange Tilda Swinton transforms into the Ancient One, who was originally a Tibetan male monk in the comics.
1985 Remo WIlliams: The Adventure Begins Joel Grey plays a Korean martial artist who trains the main character to fight.
2017 Ghost in the Shell Scarlett Johansson stars as Motoko Kusanagi in the film based on the popular Japanese manga.
PERSU(ASIAN) • 6
PERSU(ASIAN) • 7
Stereotypes “You must be good at math.” “So you’re a bad driver?” “Do you play the piano?” Just based on looks, many Asians and Asian-Americans have dealt with some sort of form of racial stereotypes, whether it be as a joke, a question from a naive peer, or a rude comment. Where do these stereotypes come from? Stereotypes are formed when one does not have the information to correctly judge a social group, and instead begins to assume certain qualities/traits about the entire group. Stereotypes reflect someone’s judgement about individuals onto an entire group of people based on usually a physical category, like race and gender. Stereotypes can be seen as both positive and negative. For example, Asians as a whole are stereotyped as good at math, but Asian men are stereotyped as less masculine than other races. Either way, both stereotypes are false because they assume a fact onto an entire social group, and that is never 100% true. With more "positive" stereotypes, one dilemma that may arise is someone not feeling like they fit in with standards upheld by these stereotypes. For example, an Asian-American student may feel extra pressure to do well in math-oriented fields, or feel ashamed or embarrassed if they perform worse than their non-Asian counterparts. Jokes about the “Asian F”, where an A- equates to an F in an Asian household, may play a role in a student’s self-esteem when they earn low A’s and high B’s, grades not meeting the standards set for Asian-American students. On the other hand, more "negative" stereotypes may be met with an individual trying to prove they are better than the stereotype, and/or feeling pre-judged by others, and letting it impact their self-esteem. In a Washington University interview, the author interviewed AsianAmerican men about the idea of masculinity. One respondent described how because Asians are portrayed as less masculine, he has felt more insecure about his 5’6” height. Another interviewee admitted to putting on a front in order to distance himself from the stereotype. With this stereotype, some Asian men may attempt to break that stereotype by working out and/or acting exaggeratedly loud/confident. Others may allow the stereotype to overshadow them; they may choose not to do something based on the fear that others will judge based on that stereotype. Both “good” and “bad”, these stereotypes have negative effects on many individuals.
Search Engine Results Among some random searches, there is a clear indication that people who use these search engines are curious about certain Asian/Asian-American stereotypes. These three search engines have a feature that automatically suggests the next words a user types based on previous popular searches. From looking at the auto-fill results from typing in phrases such as "do asians" or "are asians", it is clear stereotypes play a role in people's curiosities. A few common searches involve a relationship between "asians" and their intelligence, "asians" and their ability to drink alcohol, and "asians" and their driving skills. These searches show the effect of Asian and Asian-American representation and enforces stereotypes. It should be noted that the phrasing is grouping all Asians into one category; the searches are not "are some asians terrible drivers", they are instead assuming that Asians as a whole are terrible drivers. *Each screenshot above came from either Bing.com, Yahoo.com or Google.com as of May 25, 2017.
PERSU(ASIAN) • 9
Next Steps So, where do we go from here? Even today, there is a lack of diversity in all forms of media. Skewed representations of Asians and Asian-Americans in film, ads and television portray and enforce stereotypes. In order to progress past this, and to try to get rid of these false representations, we have to start giving Asian actors more diverse roles. By doing this, we can show the public that Asian characters are more than nerds, doctors, bad drivers and martial artists. They can be cast as a variety of characters, while also being in more than 5 of every 100 movies. When audiences are exposed to seeing Asian characters in non-stereotypical roles, their mindset will start to change. Similar to how Jeremy Lin is fighting stereotypes by playing basketball, the media can also fight stereotypes through their casting. Once directors and producers make these changes, we can start to change perceptions and move towards a better represented society.
PERSU(ASIAN) • 10
Works Cited Table of Contents: http://dailytrojan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/racefiles.jpg Lack of Asians in the Media: https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/lucy-liu.jpg?w=970 http://s1.r29static.com/bin/entry/1af/0,0,2000,2400/x,80/1693683/image.jpg http://static.tvgcdn.net/mediabin/showcards/celebs/g-i/thumbs/harry-shum-jr_sc_768x1024.png https://www.celebritysizes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Mindy-Kaling.png http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/wennpic/george-takei-2nd-annual-lgbt-heritage-month-03.jpg http://www.hawtcelebs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/maggie-q-at-2016-marie-claire-s-imagemakers-awards-in-los-angeles-01-12-2016_1.jpg History of "Yellowface": http://brightlightsfilm.com/certain-slant-brief-history-hollywood-yellowface/#.WSaRIWjys2w Where Are Asian-Americans On Screen?: http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/~/media/MDSCI/Inequality%20in%20700%20Popular%20Films%208215 %20Final%20for%20Posting.ashx http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/~/media/MDSCI/CARDReport%20FINAL%2022216.ashx Stereotypes: https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199805/where-bias-begins-the-truth-about-stereotypes http://remember.org/guide/history-root-stereotypes http://www.wupr.org/2016/01/26/navigating-asian-masculinity-images-and-stereotypes/ http://www.streetcarnage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/koreanfood.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Homework_-_vector_maths.jpg http://www.potentialmatters.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/man-playing-piano.jpg Next Steps: http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/New+York+Knicks+v+Miami+Heat+54JEGdaK9hux.jpg