You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'Racist' tag.
I just listened to a pretty good NPR discussion on positive stereotypes.
Are Positive Stereotypes Racist, Too?
L’Heureux Lewis, assistant professor of sociology and black studies at the City College of New York, said, “…we have to recognize that [positive stereotypes] are gross generalizations. They may have a kernel of truth based on some social reality but ultimately they limit the choices and limit the opportunities and limit the things that people can do.”
In retrospect, I think this is…sort of…what the humor in Yo Teach! is trying to do with the teacher telling the Asian student that she will never be the president, and should instead aim for menial work. However, my problem is that the Asian kid is THAT “Asian kid.”
I think that the more common complaint about Asian American portrayal in the media these days is that the Asian characters are always either imported from Asia (and thus, Asian, not Asian American), or they are specifically ethnic Asian American characters. There are very few (though their numbers are growing*) simply “American” or “normal” characters that happen to be Asian American.
If you missed it earlier, check out this wonderful NPR piece:
Long Duk Dong: Last of the Hollywood Stereotypes?
It features founders of Giant Robot magazine, Martin Wong and Eric Nakamura, as well as Gedde Watanabe himself, the actor behind Long Duk Dong.
And here’s Adrian Tomine’s take on it (also on the NPR page):
—
*Here’s a short(hand) list of some characters that just so happen to be Asian American. Some aren’t the greatest actors, characters, or parts, but hey, “The Donger” set our standards pretty low, and anything is better.
John Cho and Kal Penn as Harold and Kumar in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
I remember that when this first came out, “grownups” from my Chinese church were recommending that we go see this. “Finally!” they said, “A movie featuring two Asian protagonists in a non-stereotypical way!” I don’t think they realized that the main reason they aren’t stereotypical is because well…they’re in a stoner flick.
In any case, Cho is widely recognized a big groundbreaker for Asian men in the media, especially beginning with his work in Better Luck Tomorrow.
Not my favorite film, but certainly noteworthy as an Asian-Am film.
On to more recent stuff, Daniel Henney plays a pretty swell Agent Zero in the latest X-Men: Origins film.
Zero is a pretty slick character with some nice gun-handling skills, though he’s a bit of a d-bag and is pretty much William Stryker’s lackey. At least he makes it look good!
Aaron Yoo: I want him to be my best friend.
Yoo plays a really great best friend to Shia LaBeouf’s character in Disturbia.
Of course, he’s usually stuck as a supporting actor. Kind of like James Franco. He’s always stuck being the backup man: Pineapple Express, Milk, Spider-Man. Some actors never really catch a break.
As for actresses….this one’s a tough one. In my opinion, Asian American women have it the hardest getting into non-specifically-Asian roles in movies.
Well…here’s a shoddy list:
Maggie Q sort of gets the short end of the straw in Die Hard 4, and is pretty much the serious lady on the wrong side who gets owned by her prickish evil lover. And then by Bruce Willis. But who wouldn’t get owned by Bruce Willis?
At least she has a good sense of humor about it:
She was also in MI:3 and a bunch of Hong Kong films, where she got her start.
Hmmm..a bit like Henney, who also started in Korean films/dramas.
So…I guess for some of these newer stars, they’re following the ol’ Imported from Asia path, though in Asia, they’re imported from America.
Ah, Asia-America.
Few do.
This guy does not:
So I’m guessing “all those Asians” he talks about comprise maybe…..5-10% of the Colorado University’s 13% “students of color”? (http://www.colorado.edu/pba/qfacts/demog.html)
Karson makes a sore attempt at being clever/witty/original/cava
lier by mocking a stereotype after feeling victimized by reversed racism. It could have worked, but it definitely does not. This guy sounds like a complete muscle head, and of course, while he’s working his well-toned abs, the scrawny Asians with small eyes and thick glasses are playing–no duh–racquetball. And probably ping-pong at the other end of the gym.
Something like this would be much more clever, if the race card must be pulled: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/
There is a way to be cleanly cavalier about racelessness and race, yet still remain throughly humorous. Funny enough so that regardless of ethnicity or the ethnicity of the author, we can all sit back and chortle a bit at our stereotypical, often cultural/ethnic antics. There is no need for war, which is in itself an extremely overloaded term.
Nor do we have to be serious about racial tensions all the time. It is a dangerous field to play on, and most, like Karson, fail to mock the stereotype in a useful way, and instead perpetuates it. “When I blow my whistle, we will scatter in every direction and catch as many Asians as possible. Make sure to pay special attention to the Rec Center, the UMC, the math and engineering buildings and Lollicup. If you’re not sure if someone is an Asian, give them a calculus problem to do in their head. If they get it right, net ‘em.” Yeah, I might be in the Rec Center–I’ll be one of the few girls in the weight room, so what. But trust me, you will not find me anywhere near the math and engineering buildings, and likely not in Lollicup either, I’m not a big fan of boba. Though I am pleasantly surprised that there is one in Colorado. It must be for that >13% of “colored” students.
I recently wrote an article for the Daily Bruin Arts and Entertainment section about students who make successful videos on YouTube. (http://www.dailybruin.com/news/2008/jan/24/youtube-makes-hot-venue-amateur-artists/)
A week later, I got a message via our website from a reader who chose to remain anonymous (and therefore I could not contact him/her back). Essentially, they complained about the fact that I had only represented Asians in my story (we hadn’t), and accused me and my co-writer of being biased because we are both Asian. (We happen to be possibly the only two Asian writers in our beat, and two of the (guesstimation)four writing for a 25+ person Arts and Entertainment section) They concluded their rather curt email by saying “All the rice sticks together”. Needless to say, I was outrageously offended. It was like saying that if I wrote about women, I am potentially biased because I am a woman. While I could understand that the reader might have liked to see Hispanic or African-American talent represented, the fact of the matter was that the videos that happened to have the most web traffic happened to be created by Asians or a group containing more than a few Asians. I wasn’t actually out on the lookout for Asians to cover, otherwise I might have changed the angle to be solely about Asians–which would have made for a rather flat article. And I had no intention or thought of writing such a piece. But in three short, bitter sentences, I had been the one labeled racist, biased, and a bad journalist. Just because I’m Asian. Which is funny, because even though I attend UCLA, and am constantly surrounded by Asians, I choose to work for the Daily Bruin as a photographer and writer, where suddenly things are a lot more diverse, and I almost had forgotten that I’m Chinese-American. (Oh I’m sorry, maybe my eyes were too small to notice, and I forgot to wear my heavy prescription, black-rimmed glasses Made in China) Most of the time, race really doesn’t matter to me–until of course I’m labeled racist by a racist.
Asian Reporter, signing out for the night.
