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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):
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*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.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/76183/yo-teach-miki-moves-up
So…Yo Teach! apparently is a show that exists in the fictional world of the summer film, Funny People. I personally can’t wait to watch this; it’s a bit like Queen Latifah’s Last Holiday, where she discovers she has a terminal illness and wants to do all the things in life she’s missed out on. Only this film is a Judd Apatow movie, so it’ll probably be pretty hilarious and not horrible. And in both films, the protagonists discover that they are, in fact, not dying. Stupid cop-out ending. Nevertheless, wouldn’t it be nice?
Anyways, back to Yo Teach!
Granted, this show is a parody of a high school serial, akin to Saved by the Bell, etc.
Under that genre, I assume also that the characters are archetypal: the jock, nerd, Molly Ringwald, and so forth.
And while this astute Asian student is no Long Duk Dong, she is painfully archetypal and stereotypical of the modern Asian American: Miki is afraid of her parents’ expectations, complains that they want her to become a doctor, lawyer, rocket scientist, and so forth, and that she fears failure. She doesn’t want to be dumb, because she’s ASIAN.
Of course, Mr. Bradford is no Shylock; he brings up a racial stereotype and says, it just ain’t so! Although, in his case, he doesn’t BEGIN as a racial stereotype.
(Speaking of Shakespearean references, here’s another Yo Teach! short that I do like, a lot. William Shu-Shu-Shu-Shu-Shakespeare!!)
On one hand, this parody show-within-a-show is perfectly excusable. It’s supposed to represent a really corny TV show, heavy on the laugh track and cliché dialogue.
But on the other hand, perpetuating a racial stereotype is very different from perpetuating the nerd, jock, rebel archetypes. While social labels might be an oversimplified, juvenille method of identification, they usually remain in the halls of high school. Well, usually.
Racial stereotypes, however, generally outlast that juvinile propensity to identify with a social group. Racial stereotypes exist in every social environment, at any age.
I’m not terribly offended by this representation of an Asian American. Maybe I’m desensitized and I’m used to that caricature. Maybe I just don’t want to make a big deal over it.
But what bothers me the most is that this really isn’t that funny.
And it would probably be even less funny if say, the student was black. Latin American. Gay.
We can rag all we want on social stereotypes. The avid members of the chess club, un-academic athletes, airheaded cheerleaders, and the hippies playing guitar on the grass (and on grass) probably won’t be up in arms. If they even exist outside of teen dramas. Representing these “groups” of people is largely inoffensive because when they do appear in the media, they are written off as archetypes, as characters.
But when a stereotypical racial character shows up, they only function to deepen those stereotypes.
It just saddens me that after so many years of attempts to break down stereotypical Asian American portrayals in the media, that something shows up to reinforce them.
And come on, when will the Asian finally be the jocks? The preps? We’re tired of being the nerds. Down with calculus club and parental demands! We’re ready for some STUDENT GOVERNMENT!
