Asians on American TV | Asian American Poll

HOW THE TV NETS TREAT ASIANS
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:08:02 PM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Which U.S. TV network is most Asian-Friendly?
ABC | 24%
CBS | 28%
FOX | 27%
NBC | 21%

Which U.S. TV network is least Asian-Friendly?
ABC | 28%
CBS | 20%
FOX | 26%
NBC | 26%

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WHAT YOU SAY

[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]

Some of the Latest Asians on TV issues:
The Comedy Channel seems to find Asians very amusing. A show called Strip Mall has a Chinese restaurant run by two lesbians; one a beautiful white woman and the other an obese, ugly Asian woman. Gee, an Asian character who happens to be unattractive and homosexual. No stereotypes there! Their restaurant is called, Wok, Don't Run. One episode has her cousin from China working for her, who happens to be a cannibal. They kill and serve Carrot-Top (the comedian) as part of their buffet. You know, the Asians eat anything inappropriate stereotype. 'Nuff said.
So, I decide to try viewing another night. How bad can it get, right? Premium Blend, a compilation of short stand-up routines by various comedians; there's this guy closing the show (a slot reserved for your "best" guy) named Anthony Spock. He launches into 3 jokes about: there's so many Asians on campus, he can cheat off all of them, and lastly, he knows that his penis is bigger than any of theirs. There is some groaning and lots of snickers from the audience on the last joke. Let's look at his thought process in building this joke. The assumption is that EVERY Asian guy has a small dick. And if you're a white guy you can be sure that you automatically have a larger one than any of them. Now if you make any jokes about EVERY person of any other race having a certain characteristic you'd be seen as an idiot for such an outlandish, prejudiced, and inaccurate assertion. For instance, if you said that all non-Asians had small brains and low IQ's, do you think that you'd get laughs? Of course not, because it's ridiculous, not funny. But putting down Asians is funny and quite ok by Comedy Central's standards. I've seen this guy's standup act aired 3 times now. So they are not getting enough flack to stop showing it. Let's all email Comedy Central about Anthony Spock's act as being unacceptably racist. If we don't speak up, it goes on and on and on....
Naki Saturday, April 13, 2002 at 18:45:56 (PDT)

To News Reader and All:

I think the article you referenced has good insight, whether it knows it or not, into attitudes and the prejudice we encounter. Here is a quote, explaining a Jewish, white guy's explanation for the lack of Asian men vs Asian women as news anchors:

"Steve Friedman, a senior executive producer at CBS News in New York, conceded that there was a glass ceiling for Asian-Americans of both sexes. But he also attributed the lack of male faces to a higher number of female applicants and a lack of prominent male role models who would inspire more Asian men to go for anchor jobs.

He also saw an unwillingness by Asian-American men, unlike women, to take the time to scale the corporate ladder and undergo grooming at smaller city stations.

"TV is a mercenary business," Friedman said. "We will put on Martians if people watch them." He added, "I picked the best people I know..."

So that's it. AA men won't work hard at climbing the corporate ladder. We all know how lazy and undetermined AM's are compared to AF's and of course, white and black reporters. And because there are no AA male role models in news, AA men don't go into that work. What a bunch of crap. I wonder how he thinks that there might become some role models in that line of work if guy's like him don't dare to promote them? He hopes to convince people that there are NO qualified AM's out there, not that there is ANY prejudice involved. Here's a perfect example of a guy who can't admit his own prejudice. Actually, he is aware of his prejudice, but seeks to exclude AA males like the rest of the media. Best way to keep the males of a competing (in his mind)race down is exclude them from high visibility jobs.
The same article quotes others as saying that AM's are seen as effeminate by the general public, and therefore could not be anchors. There's only two possibilities here. Either all of us are or the public is being fed that conception. I think we all know which it is. The media IS our ENEMY.

Naki Saturday, April 13, 2002 at 18:16:21 (PDT)

The Kahns don't suck. They're hillarious!!!
King of the Hill Fan Saturday, April 13, 2002 at 17:41:17 (PDT)

hey sick,

I don't think it's so bad that there is support for an asian male character that isn't considered a eunuch/effeminate/loser/weakling/etc.

I don't think it's so much that it is glorifying the WF/AM combination as much as it is just showing an asian guy in a less sterotypical image. That's why I thought it was a good step. He actually is allowed to be part of the group and isn't relegated to being some outsider who is a fringling who they only resort to consulting when they want help with their math homework.

That is all
chickypoo Saturday, April 13, 2002 at 07:47:19 (PDT)

Hey sick, I don't know if you're either a white guy or asian girl but whoever you are, you're a moron. Can you even comprehend the disparity of AA's shown in the media? Friends, Ally Mcbeal, 90210, ER....blah blahblah blah blah...guess what they all have in common? asian women/no asian men. asian women/with white men. Have you ever seen an AA women with an AA guy as a couple in the media? have you seen AA guy's portrayed as atractive at all? Ya damn right we're proud, because it's just so rare to ever see an asian guy portrayed attractively in the white media....how can you consider yourself an AA, if thats who u are, when you don't even know the stereotypes and issues that we have to deal with.
sick of sick Saturday, April 13, 2002 at 00:00:24 (PDT)

To all the people who think it's an Asian-American male neurosis to worry about race in the media, check out a white woman complaining about the increase in the number of Arab males being portrayed as sexy, stylish, and filial post-9/11. In WSJ's Opinion Journal, no less:
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=105001919
T.H. Lien Friday, April 12, 2002 at 23:41:43 (PDT)

Ever watch UPN's WWF Smack Down? Tajiri, A Japanese wrestler, has a WF girl friend named Torrie Wilson. She is a tall, hot, gorgous blonde with a killer body. She stands by his side everywhere, and sometimes even takes a beating in the ring when she tries to fend for him. This is on national TV! Hurray!
Red-blood masculine AM Friday, April 12, 2002 at 10:56:04 (PDT)

why is everyone all excited about seeing white girls with asian guys? there is SO much hypocrisy with the people that post on this site, it's unbelievable! time for the angry asian bitches to start speaking up like the guys do when an AF is with a WM.
sick Thursday, April 11, 2002 at 19:58:22 (PDT)

Yeah, Eddie Shin did get down with the white bank teller (about time his horny behind got laid...sex is the boy's #1 priority, after all). When he's at the club, it's hilarious how bizzare his dance style is, but he thinks he's got it going on in the dance dept. That's why he's such a cool character...loads of self-esteem, even when he looks like a dork.
T.B. Thursday, April 11, 2002 at 15:36:59 (PDT)

Here's an article in the Houston Chronicle on AA men in the TV news industry--it's neutral, but odd:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/features/1358934
News Reader Thursday, April 11, 2002 at 10:08:22 (PDT)

I can't stand the Kahns on King of the Hill. They act like they are so superior to everyone in the neighborhood, the father forces the daughter to play violin and study day and night, the mother is bitchy and made fun of Peggy's shoes because they were big. I think it's pretty dead-on.
the kahns suck Thursday, April 11, 2002 at 10:01:02 (PDT)

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