|
|
|
|
|
GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
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
|
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?
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
CONTACT US
|
ADVERTISING INFO
© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.
|
|
|
|
WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 04:38:55 AM)
You guys raise some very interesting points. I too am not convinced that money/bottom line rules these folks running the media. I have a suspicion that there is something more sinister that rules their way of thinking. Yes it's true Asians have done some very good things for the Jews that JJ brought up yet they don't seem very appreciative and would rather sweep these good deeds under the rug and revise history. When portraying Asian females as sex objects and us as sexless objects they can take our women and also prevent us from taking theirs evidenced by their method of hi tech castration. How brilliant and shrewed of them;to take and not have to give. Sort of brings to mind their tactics in the mideast with the Palestinians;to seize their land and let them try to get it back by having them 'behave'properly and make all of the concessions. They're bargaining with the other guys chips, brilliant. Again, take and not give. Whether this is their design raises disturbing questions. More important is that we are living the effects and what to do about it. Let's ferret out the source of the problem. We know who is responsible.
GOT THEIR NUMBER
Thursday, July 04, 2002 at 23:35:53 (PDT)
the Captain,
I think it's mostly diet. Europeans and Americans were purdy darn short n' scrawny not too long ago. I remember visiting a the Rijks Museum in the netherlands and saw a old, old bed there that couldn't of held a person taller than 5' maybe 5½' tops. And the Netherlands supposedly have the tallest europeans (current is avg. 5'11", same as me BTW : ) Sure you can't judge everyone of a race by just one person, or two, or ten or a thousand.... But I do know they were quite short then.
I think Korea is definately getting a head start in asia W/R to height/weight, with a combination of their meaty diet and US food imports like beef/milk.
Just a matter of time... nothing to see here, people, just a little tempus fugit : )
kimchi u.y.a.
Thursday, July 04, 2002 at 14:33:09 (PDT)
Curious Girl said:
>It took a brave woman like Rosa Parks to change the world. Maybe we need the Asian equivalent of her.<
Actually she already did it for everyone.
No one has to sit in the back of the bus, use a seperate water fountain and on and on...
There are many more racially unequal places in the world today than the USA.
And it you want to throw in gender equality, then the US is like a paradise.
If more AA's want to be portrayed more fairly in movies then lets make them ourselves, just like the AfAm community did.
MiMi
MiMi
Thursday, July 04, 2002 at 10:14:29 (PDT)
Yonsei:
As an avid baseball fan I think it's a good idea for more Asian Americans to participate in the game.
Arguably, there's no other sport that's more woven into the very fabric of American culture than baseball. There are some really good Asian athletes in the game today. Among them are Hideo Nomo, Ishii, Chan Ho Park and Ichiro. The Boston Red Sox has a Korean starter now. He's 2-0 with a pretty good ERA. I saw some highlights of his last start the other night.
The important thing - and certainly my main point - about baseball is fan loyalty. When you want your team to win you'll root for whatever players get the job done (black, white, Asian, Hispanic, whoever).
Before WWII some American major league players went to Japan to compete against their local teams. The Tokyo crowds welcomed and cheered them on like hometown heroes (many waving American flags, too). Did you know that a young Japanese pitcher once struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig? Yep...he became a national hero in his country. He later died in action on board a Japanese submarine off the Island of Taiwan (then called Formosa, I believe) in December 1944. He was 26 years old when he was killed in action.
"Think about baseball in the early 1950s-- right after Jackie Robinson, they slowly and tentatively let in a few black major leaguers (who all went through racist hell), and none were marginal or "so-so". On the other hand, there were tons of marginal white big leaguers"
There are some misconceptions about segregated baseball in America. Jackie Robinson was not the first African American to play major league baseball! Fact is, African Americans played in organized baseball in America up until the late 1880's. Some white players complained about black teammates to the white owners. The white owners decided on a gentlemans agreement to exclude blacks since excluding them would quiet the controversy. It wasn't until 1947 (almost 60 years later) that another black man - Jackie Robinson - would be allowed to play in the major leagues again. Before Jackie played in the majors, white teams played against black teams about 438 times during the offseason. The black teams won 309 of those games.
Geoff DB
GeoffDB02@aol.com
Thursday, July 04, 2002 at 01:45:09 (PDT)
Kimchi u.y.a:
"white/black american society finds it so acceptable to bad mouth and be belligerent to asians"
Yes, there are black and white comedians who make a living off making fun of and bad mouthing Asians. It's crude.
While I acknowledge that there are some really cool white guys who I can hang out with, most white people prefer to associate, work, socialize, politicize, drink and have sex with other white people. Afterwards, they prefer Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, Eskimos, Hapas...down the line...and martians from outter space. Then, and only then, will they relent and speak to African Americans.
"This is regardless of their (meaning blacks) abilities, the same is apparently not afforded to asians."
There are, unfortunately, negative depictions of Asians in American cinema. It's a Hollywood formula that makes money at the box office. We've seen it over and over again. These negative stereotypes attempt to deprive Asian Americans of their true birthright - legitimate American citizenship. It is, in my opinion, deliberate and callous. I find it offensive and tiring.
Kimchi, you need to stop accusing African Americans of not being qualified for certain professions or movie roles. How would you even know? I doubt if you've even spoken to a black person in the past year.
"White guilt?? LoL, more like white fear of getting the sh*t kicked out of 'em."
Kimchi, the next time you want to argue a point with me, please be sure to bring an American history book with you, OK! Better yet, you won't find most of the racist activities in our history books.
Let's discuss race riots. Especially the 1919 race riots in Northern cities. Let me tell you about lynchings. Let me tell you about Jim Crow laws. Let's talk about segregated schools. We can discuss anything you want, Kimchi. Just please be sure to brush up on your U.S. history first, please.
Geoff DB
GeoffDB02@aol.com
Thursday, July 04, 2002 at 00:45:43 (PDT)
JJ,
You have brought up a very good point. Hollywood is definitely controlled by the Jews (not whites). First of all, it is very hard for people to admit that Hollywood is a Jew town because everyone wants to be politically correct. Secondly, indeed, Chinese and Jewish cultures are somewhat similar in many ways. Finally, I think most Jewish folks are very pre-judgmental and very much set their thoughts in stones.
The best way to combat this perpetual stereotyping of us is to produce our own movies and series. We DO HAVE enough actors, directors, and writers in the business. The problem is that MOST of them are not employed by the system. We need Asian-American executives to take initiations. Scott Sassa, one of NBC top dogs, once said that American media is not ready for an all Asian-American cast series. He's a coward. That's bull! John Woo has enough clout to produce/direct an Asian-American movie. And so far, he has not done jack for our community. He might have donated money to Asian organizations and so on, but that is not going to do anything to improve the situation. He needs to lend his name and support new talents.
Finally, most important of all, we need to support Asian-American movies. We need to go out there and buy tickets for Asian-American films. Even foreign films from Asia. Dollars and cents speak louder. We need to exercise our economic power and let the Hollywood community know that they need us, not the other way around. After all, the Jews are all about $$$$$$.
T.
Thursday, July 04, 2002 at 00:08:58 (PDT)
The problem with blaming Jews is it plays right into the hands of racist whites. It's a form of "divide and conquer" and the oppressed vying for a higher place in the racial hierarchy by punching another oppressed group. It's easy to be racist, anyone can be...possibly oppressed people can be even more racist as it feels good to punch down another minority group and feel some power when you've been punched many times yourselves. We are certainly not immune to the racists stereotypes perpetuated by whites and we can take our frustrations out through these stereotypes.
Look, stop blaming Jews. It's like blacks blaming Jews or Koreans for owning little mom and pop stores. Well, you ignore the giant corporations that won't even come into your neighborhood or the massive system of slavery and segregation and white flite and unequal schools because it's easier to pick on the little chink or kap. So stop it!
NOattackJews
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 20:02:39 (PDT)
JJ,
Just goes to show what wretched bigots we have to deal with in America, you don't have to do a damn thing to these 'people' to have 'em look down on and mistreat asians. Who knows maybe in their warped little minds they feel asians owe them something. Apparently, the Indians did (does that make sense?).
BTW anyone else notice the unusual number of whites on the mexican/hispanic channels despite the lack of whites in mexico? Same thing.
And the Jews, well no comment, but interesting that even Spike Lee commented on how offended they get, when their presence in Hollywood is merely mentioned. Funny how they like to push their pain (suffered in europe) onto the rest of the world while downplaying what asians have gone through back in their homelands. Like we don't matter. Who benefits here?
I suggest: it is THEY who do not matter.
kimchi u.y.a.
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 18:16:54 (PDT)
JJP,
It's a way of putting down a certain group without actually "putting them down". Kinda like rooting for the german team against its match with america, but in fact only wanting america to lose. Hell, I did that, and I'm happy with the results. hahaha.
No JJP, it is better to generalize all white american men, 'cause until you do, they'll just pull the same sh*t over and over again, crawl back to their holes, then act like the three stooges, pointing their fingers at each other. Blame ALL their racist white a$$es and let them figure it out themselves. They do like to play their little games don't they? Oh yeah, did I hear someone say, "you're a racist too"? blah blah blah blah blah. Probably from someone who doesn't see a thing when it comes to racism against asians, or others for that matter. Nice try.
And one more thing, this "home team advantage thingy" apparently didn't mean a whole lot when the world cup was held in the united states. And you'll have a chance to say the same when it's held in deutschland, although I'll root for germany and poo-poo the US team (yes!! the official team of white american bigots : )
kimchi u.y.a.
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 11:52:12 (PDT)
JJ, I think you're absolutely right.
curious girl
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 10:47:34 (PDT)
"Perhaps only interracial marriage will completely bridge those cultural and racial divides. And come to think of it, that's happening more and more, too. I welcome it, I think it's inevitable-- and it can't happen soon enough for me."
HOORAYY!! I agree 100%!!
There are some on this site that would say that marrying outside your race is a mistake, since a white person can never truly understand what an Asian person. I think that is utterly false. The only way to bridge the gap is to make friends with and marry across the races.
curious girl
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 10:40:48 (PDT)
"Basically his response was that their performnace wasn't "extraordinary" because they were the host country"
Yeah, well, the host country always does better in international competition. Look at this past winter games. USA usually sucks, but came out looking pretty. They emphasized this point during the winter games by constantly playing that "My House" song during the commercials.
TSJ
Eric@KristinKreuk.net
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 10:27:19 (PDT)
Reading kimchi, Asian Thoughts, and others, I've come to this conclusion: What AAs lack is a formidable "White Guilt Exploiting" machine.
Think about Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the NAACP-- they are incredibly vigilant watchdogs for any slight against blacks, real or imagined. So the white media has been cowed enough by the stigma of guilt to make sure NEVER to insult, caricature, or ignore blacks. And this guilt has been so thoroughly established in our country that corporations can be pulled down if they are not careful. But somehow, incredibly, this guilt does not apply to treatment of Asians. Let's face it-- we still see humiliating caricatures of Asians in the media all the time, right? (And you can almost see whites doing it and going, "nyah, nyah, you can't do anything about it!"). Isn't it odd that you see this free hand at dumping on Asians, but you almost never see that with blacks anymore?
Sure, you look back over the last century, and the patronizing, dehumanized portrayals of blacks make you sick to your stomach. But today, if even the slightest affront or neglect happens, it's rooted out and held to light by the Jacksons and Sharptons of the world. Think what you like about them, but they sure do their job.
The AA community has nothing like them. There doesn't seem to be a big lobby or interest group to protect AAs-- just the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. The problem is, like kimchi says, we get sh*t on while minding our own business-- because that's exactly what we do. We're not clamoring for rights, we're too busy trying to earn a place for ourselves as Americans, by studying and working hard, sacrificing, and keeping our families intact.
Now before people jump all over this, this is NOT to say that blacks and other minority groups don't also work hard to be productive citizens. I'm not here to judge how different groups rate on a scale. But I do sense that each group has had different historical circumstances, although it's a sure thing that all non-white groups have experienced discrimination. But I do think that some groups are more oppositional, while some are more assimilationist, vis-a-vis the dominant white culture. In other words, some groups have had to cope by being rebellious and to reject the dominant culture's values; some found it advantageous to work more strictly by its rules. Of course, these strategies have not been entirely by choice, because not all groups have been treated "equally unfairly" by whites. But I think these differences have contributed to how different groups fare socioeconomically in our society, and also how they are perceived and treated by the dominant white culture.
Given that, let's say the following are generally true: 1) AAs are perceived by the public as successful, well-educated, family-oriented, etc.; 2) They somehow manage to succeed in a free-market, democratic white world, in SPITE of historic and current racism and discrimination; 3) They have no watchdog machinery to put enormous pressure on the white establishment to treat them how they want to be treated; 4) as a consumer marketing segment, AAs are still too small a population for whites to cater specially to (i.e., AAs can still pretty much be ignored).
What does all this lead to? I'll tell you: human nature takes over, not an artificial, pressure-driven, do-good reaction from the white media establishment. Like I've been saying: many individual whites are great (maybe even the majority of whites), we know that. But as a dominant group, how it all shakes out is that the vestige of their racist tendencies is still allowed to express itself against Asians, without guilt. That's why we still see so many thoughtless racist depictions of Asians in the media. There's no Jesse Jackson looking over their shoulder; no guilty legacy of slavery; no guilty image of a disheveled minority culture, ruined by historical white colonialism.
I'm not sure why all this is. And I can't say that Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, or anyone else would be much better than whites if they were the population majority and dominant culture. But I will conclude with this: in spite of the occasional burdens I have to bear as an AA, I sure as hell am grateful that my ancestors left their small village to try their luck in America. I love my ancestral heritage, but I also love being American. One has to believe that, in spite of the many f*cked up racist individuals in this country, the principles of American democracy have yet to be beat. That's why AAs can succeed here in spite of it all. That's why we can have posts like this.
Happy 4th of July!
Yonsei
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 10:14:53 (PDT)
NEWEST COMMENTS |
EARLIER COMMENTS
|