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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
A New Image for Asian Men?
he original flavor stereotype of Asian men may have its inspiration in Hollywood mockery of the first wave of Chinese immigrants in the Old West. Bonanza's gimpy Hop Sing was the only recurring image of Asian men for most of TV's formative decades. For variety's sake, Hollywood racked its brain and added the coolie, the waiter and the bucktoothed enemy soldier.
Corean soccer star Ahn Jung-hwan
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Fortunately, Hollywood is no longer a one-stop outlet for depictions of Asian men.
Pro sports's $30 billion estimated annual U.S. rake rivals the $35 billion pocketed by Hollywood. Driven by athletic excellence, pro sports allow no room for image jiggering to satisfy racial biases. The exploits of dashing Ahn Jung-hwan in the World Cup wasn't scripted for white American mass audiences. The straight-sets drubbing that a tall young Thai named Paradorn Srichaphan gave Andre Agassi at Wimbledon can't be left on the cutting-room floor. Ichiro's leadoff-hitting and base-stealing can't be imitated with wires and special effects.
Hi-tech and bio-tech -- whose estimated $400 billion annual revenues dwarf the media -- have spawned another set of images that clash with Hollywood's. How do Americans reconcile premiere AIDS researcher David Ho or Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang with Hollywood's Hop Sings and Long Duck Dongs?
Questions arise. Doubts are engendered.
Even modern culture -- commonly tarred by association -- isn't entirely subject to Hollywood's reflexive Asian-male undercutting. Classical music lovers are nourished by Yo-Yo Ma's gourmet cello notes and thrill to the daring rifts of Japan's iron chefs. Younger Americans surrender racial identities to a no-holds-barred universe created by manga artists. Linguists and speed readers frequently abandon Hollywood's relentless quest for the lowest common denominator in favor of films made for Asian sensibilities.
To the extent sports, culture and business enjoy a tighter relationship with reality than does Hollywood, they offer Asian men a fairer, more compelling stage. And these spheres too pack big audiences that take note of the yawning abyss that separates Hollywood's "original flavor" Asian men from the crispier, spicier variety in the real world.
Is America seeing the emergence of a new, improved Asian male image? If so, is it making life easier for Asian American men? Or just stimulating a more determined effort at undercutting?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:38:55 AM)
I wouldn't worry about Hollywood too much. Once China has a more open restriction on big screen movies. Hollywood will try to make pictures for that audience. Why did hollywood import the biggest names in HK cinema? Because they want a piece of that action.
You think by the time there are approx 2 billion people ready to buy theater tickets in Asia, Hollywood will not make movies where Asians don't take a positive lead role and be relegated to arties movie buffs in Asia.
AC Dropout
Friday, June 28, 2002 at 06:32:08 (PDT)
Yonsei:
In response to your comments:
"I don't think most whites (i.e., white males) want Asian men to enjoy favorable portrayals (can you blame them? It's not hard to understand!)"
Uh, I'm a White male and I don't have a problem with Asian males being portrayed favorably. I don't see why you think that White males wouldn't want Asian males portrayed favorably. How does portraying Asian males favorably hurt White men? In my opinion, it doesn't hurt White men to have men of another ethnicty portrayed favorably. In fact, it only helps the male of the species in general, especially since Women in the media think it's okay to diss on all men--i.e we're all pigs, we all act like kids, we only care about sex, we're all deadbeats who'll impregnated a woman then leave her, etc. Of course I realize I would be in the minority among the males of my ethnicity.
I think most White men wouldn't care if Asian men were portrayed favorably, it wouldn't affect them adversely. They'd probably see the favorable portrayal think "Oh there's some Asian guy. Whatever."
"Whites are already exhausting themselves bending over backwards for blacks when they really don't want to."
I don't "bend over backwards" for anybody. Most White folks have gotten to the point that they feel that treating African Americans with proper dignity, respect and tolerance is just part of living in a diverse community. It isn't "bending over backwards," it's just being a decent person. The KKK, Nazi party and other White hate groups are a loud voiciferous minority among the Caucasian/Euro-American race. They don't represent us anymore than the Triads represent all Asians, or the Crypts represent all Blacks.
No, not all White folks in general "like" Black folks whom they don't know. But that is not the same as "hating Black folks" whom they don't know. It's the same as if you see someone of your same race on the street whom you don't know. If you don't know someone, how can you "like" or "hate" them? You have no feelings for them one way or the other.
Lastly, as far as the Hop Sing and Fu Manchu portrayals, do you honestly think the typical middle-class White Male on the street has control over the the media? Do you honestly think that me and thje other males my ethnic group are conspiring with the likes of the TV Networks and the Movie production companies in order to keep the Asian man down? Do you really ascribe that much power to the average White man? If that's the case, you need to rethink your perception of us. Most of us are just trying to live our lives and not do any harm to anyone in the process.
Brad Renfro
Friday, June 28, 2002 at 05:51:15 (PDT)
As a film/TV actor-writer, I have a different take on how marketing works in mass-media vs. pro-sports. The same profit motive that allows for Asian sports-stars is what hinders Asian-American movie stars.
Hollywood has welcomed the already-huge Asian actors & directors (mostly from HK) because they are "bankable" -- that is, they can be counted upon to draw huge numbers on the strength of their names alone. Good for them, but I don't think these FOBs do much to help AAs get better roles and visibility. If anything, they get in our way & perpetuate the image of "Asian as Foreigner". If any American still compliments you on your excellent English, you know who to thank for that.
This partly explains why there are no American-born Asians on the A-list alongside Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Ang Lee, John Woo, Chow Yun Fat, etc. Jason Scott Lee was probably the closest thing we had until "Rapa Nui" tanked. There are more AAs visible on TV, but TV is another world, and rarely do TV actors cross over and become A-list movie stars (even white ones).
Rather than whine about the current situation, I'll tell you what it'll take for American media to create true Asian-American movie idols on the level of Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, & Russell Crowe. I believe it'll take a rich mogul who, unlike the media corporations, will accept short-term losses & go way out on a limb to profit many years later. This mogul would have to bankroll a studio-wide affirmative-action program to create progressively bigger (higher-stakes) jobs to promising AA actors, directors, writers, and producers.
This system would develop AA careers & promote them to the public relentlessly. Individuals would progress by talent & charisma from walk-ons and 2nd-banana roles to love-interest and hero roles in a long series of steps (low-budget to mega-blockbuster). It must be a long, deliberate process, because the Audience must also be trained to appreciate these future stars.
Now, even if we had such a mogul in this country, we'd still need great writers to come up with meaty roles, the kind that get Oscar nominations. Some parts that currently go to white stars might work with minor revisions for AA stars. Other roles should reveal the more specific backgrounds of AA characters, and that requires in-depth knowledge. Now, you may not need to be Asian to write an Asian hero role, but it could help, right?
I won't speculate on the odds of any of this ever actually happening. If you know anyone rich enough and crazy enough to be that mogul, lemme know! Media decisions are now totally driven by fear and greed, and the only thing that'll change that is a brilliant long-term effort by people who are phenomenally brave, rich, talented, and unstoppable.
Wayne
waynio@jps.net
Thursday, June 27, 2002 at 23:50:23 (PDT)
Of course, all this could just be cyclical. I mean, in the 1980's, I think there was a brief period where things were looking good for Asian men, and then they went back to being bad guys. Then in the early to mid 90s, we went back to being good guys. Then, over the last few years, we were bad guys again.
So now, it's just out turn to be good guys again.
I just hope that this time, finally, the image stays for good.
JJP
Thursday, June 27, 2002 at 15:08:29 (PDT)
I'm sure many Asian-Americans are proud of Ahn Jung-hwan, Hong Myung-bo, and the other stars of the Korea-Japan World Cup. I was surprised to find so many ABC friends cheering for the Red Devils.
For once, we ABCs are showing more sense than our counterparts in the motherland. It's shameful to see the ridiculous accusations against the Korean team which some people post on Chinese-language bulletin boards in Taiwan, the mainland, and even as far away as Malaysia. After Chinese people made no inroads in the cup due to our lack of international football experience, these sore losers could do nothing but tear down the successes of other people who had paid their dues and trained hard.
I can understand the Europeans complaining. But why are Chinese and overseas Chinese wasting so much time whining about Korea's success instead of enjoying it? Ironically I am now proud to be Asian and ashamed to be Chinese.
T.H. Lien
Thursday, June 27, 2002 at 14:40:43 (PDT)
It's refreshing to see that you're posing some positive thoughts on this page for a change. I was beginning to get sick of all the negativity. Asian men need positive reinforcement, so I'm glad that you have decided to accetuate the positive.
I agree that Hollywood is behind the curve when it comes to the Asian male image. But, like any other business, they have to respond to the marketplace. And if the marketplace likes Asian men, Hollywood will eventually have to take notice.
JJP
Thursday, June 27, 2002 at 14:34:10 (PDT)
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