Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 1

Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling

Christopher Atwell

Miami University

Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling

Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 2

Do you ever get home from a long day of work, kick back, and just lose yourself in your

favorite TV-show? We all do. Maybe some more than others. But just imagine, what would

happen if none of the characters on the screen look like you? Well, if youre Asian-American, it

might make you feel marginalized, unseen, or even invisible. Representation matters. Inclusivity

matters. Asian-Americans matter. However, for far too long and all too often, Hollywood and the

film industry have abstained from casting Asian-Americans. Additionally, movie producers and

filmmakers have angered the Asian/Asian American community in the past by their use of

offensive yellowface--casting non-asian actors and using makeup/prosthetics to give these actors

the appearance of a presumed Asian character. While there have been numerous accounts of this

practice in past films, Mickey Rooneys role as Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffanys and

David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues are two serving

examples. Not only have these yellowface portrayals been poorly misinterpreted, overly

exaggerated, and offensive, theyve designated stereotypes for Asians; with a lack of authentic,

Asian American castings, these stereotypes have become an assumed idea of what Asians are

actually like. Fortunately, the use of yellowface has become more and more a practice of the past

as producers and filmmakers have received backlash. This is due in large part to the existence of

modern day social media and its ability to react instantaneously and call out offensive, unhealthy

behaviors of the film industry. However, another practice equally offensive to Asian Americans

and other racial groups still persists, preventing authentic acting portrayals to emerge and thus,

continuing the existence of an ever-present glass-ceiling (or commonly referred to as the

bamboo ceiling) for Asian American actors. That practice is what has come to be termed as

whitewashing. Whitewashing, similar to yellowface but more broad in its definition and

defined by Wikipedia, is a casting practice common in the film industry of the U.S. in which
Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 3

white actors are cast in historically or originally conceived as non-white character roles. The

film industry has a history of frequently casting white actors for roles not only involving Asians,

but many other non-white roles as well. That being said, only 1% of lead roles go to Asians

(Briones, 2017) as illustrated in the broken down statistical figure below.

Whats even more startling, the statistical data report below examined 10 major media

companies including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, and NBC Universal; in total, the study looked at

109 films released in 2014 and 305 scripted, first-run TV and digital series released from

September 2014 to August 2015, representing 31 networks and streaming services (Lam, 2016).
Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 4

Whats so troubling about this reported data is discerningly pointed out by Stacey Smith, one of

the authors of the study, as she states We dont have a diversity problem. We have an inclusion

crisis. Its as though the producers are unaware of the rapidly growing minority population in

the United States. Whether theyre unaware or simply turning a blind eye to the inequality, its

apparent that major media platforms clearly hold a racial bias that is present in many forms and

the data aforementioned only supports this claim.

When confronted with each recurring controversy as to why Asian-Americans and other

non-white actors are not being given a shot at lead roles, directors and filmmakers have turned to

excuses that raise additional suspicion and leave others wondering if they hold any merit at all.

The most common rebuttal among the film industry is that Non-white stars arent bankable

(Han, 2017). However, this statement is extremely contradictory and could be considered bias in

itself, because box-office studies and results would indicate otherwise. According to the 2016
Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 5

Hollywood Diversity Report as referenced by Austin Siegemund-Broka in his article for The

Hollywood Reporter, diverse casts deliver higher ratings and bigger box office earnings than

more popular, predominantly white casts do. In fact, in the Harold and Kumar trilogy, in which

John Cho played the titular lead, the series amassed $102,817,243 in box office revenue across

the three films with only a total $40,000,000 budget (starringjohncho.com, 2016). So if these

studies indicate diverse casts gain substantial box office revenue and yield higher returns on

investment [Revenue/ $ amount to make the film], then why isnt this fact reflected in

Hollywoods decision to cast Asian Americans in lead roles? Furthermore, the Harold & Kumar

series has taken progressive steps forward in not only casting two Asian Americans in lead roles,

but the actors roles are portrayed authentically and go further in allowing Asian Americans to

breakdown stereotypes in giving white America a realistic view of the Asian American narrative

that has been previously construed by non-asians (Beale, 2011). After all, this rationale

employed by Hollywood and other major film industries that non-whites arent profitable is

seriously flawed, as they forget that stars arent just employed, rather, the industry creates them.

Whether its whitewashing, favoring a white lead actor in a narrative that borrows

problematically from non-white cultures, or simply overlooking potential Asian-American or

other non-white talent, and thereby defaulting to white characters and white actors time and time

again without any apparent narrative reason to do so, there is a bright side to all this controversy

(Han, 2017). The bright side has modern day social media once again to thank and that is

because the controversy is able to make headlines, thus awakening critical judgement and in turn,

decrease the willingness of moviegoers to see a film that has received such criticism and

prejudicial judgement. Recent receivers of such critical judgement have been Scott Derrickson in

his decision to cast the white, British actress Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in the movie
Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 6

Dr. Strange, as well as Cameron Crowe in his casting of white, American actress Emma Stone

as a girl of half-hawaiian, half chinese heritage in the movie Aloha. The reason this is a

problem and why it is so frustrating to see Emma Stone in Aloha or Tilda Swinton in Dr. Strange

is because it is already challenging enough for an actor of color to snag a lead role without

getting shut out of stories that borrow from their own culture or revolve around people of their

heritage (Han, 2017). In short, as Hollywood continues to abstain from casting actors of color,

their arguments and rebuttals are only growing weaker and being picked apart by sound,

statistical evidence. The only real fix is for this industry to become more inclusive (Han, 2017).

While some Asian-Americans lie concealed beneath the film industrys bamboo ceiling and

anxiously wait with hope for more opportunity, others have taken it upon themselves to venture

into alternative media platforms in efforts to lift the ceiling for the rest of those who are trapped

beneath.

Amongst those who have ventured into a different media platform is Aziz Ansari.

Working with Netflix, a streaming service that allows subscribers (total subscriber base just shy

of 99 million) to watch a wide variety of TV shows, movies, documentaries on an Internet

connected device, Aziz has written, produced, directed, and acted in his own series Master of

None. The show incorporates the relatable issues of Asian-American representation in film and

racism directly into the plot; in fact, theres an entire episode in the first season titled Indians on

TV, which begins with an assortment of examples, showing how Indians have been represented

ranging from monkey-brain eaters in Indiana Jones to Zac in Saved By the Bell making jokes

about 7-Elevens in a fake Indian accent (Mahdawi, 2017). In addition to relatable material,

Ansaris character, Dev, finds himself dealing with the struggles of trying to break down these

stereotypes and push the barriers of the preventative Asian-American glass ceiling, all whilst still
Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 7

trying to make a living as an aspiring actor. He refuses to use an accent for the role of Unnamed

cab driver for a TV show audition, for example, and doesnt get the part (Mahdawi, 2017). The

show has earned outstanding ratings and holds a perfect 5-star rating on Netflix. Such examples

like that of Devs in the requiring of Asian Americans to do accents for roles in TV shows and

movies is a realistic reflection and expectation of the film industry that still exists today (DAV,

2017).

In efforts to break through the prevalent glass ceiling that prevents Asian Americans from

opportunities to advance in their fields, Hasan Minhaj (Asian-American comedian, actor, and

The Daily Shows Correspondent) is also making waves in working toward serving as a catalyst

of social change for the Asian American community. Just recently, Minhaj headlined the White

House Correspondents Dinner in which he delivered a comedic speech that, while although

making others obviously uncomfortable in attendance, pulled back the blinds on social issues in

a manner that can be deemed as an appropriate approach to dispelling the widespread fear of

muslims in the U.S. as he generated laughter and caused people to think more about the issues

behind his comical demeanor.

Similar in nature to Ansaris lone venture in an alternative platform in efforts to reach

others, the leisure Hollywood would most likely otherwise deny, Minhajs approach to bringing

about change for the Asian American community is wisely put: I believe artistic expression is a

strong catalyst of social change (Mahdawi, 2017). Additionally, in Patrick Ryans article

questioning why there arent more Asian American actors in his interview with casting director

Julia Kim , she states An acting career was never an option that parents encouraged (or) young

adults felt like they could make a living as (Ryan, 2017). However, because of the successes of

Asian-American writers such as Mindy Kaling (Mindy Project) and Aziz Ansari (Master of
Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 8

None), accompanied by the inspiring words of comedians like Hasan Minhaj and authentic

performances like those of John Cho and Kal Penn in Harold and Kumar, opportunity is

becoming more and more realistic for Asian-Americans. With the creation of these self-made

Asian American TV vehicles, along with the slow-but-surely moving diversity initiatives of

studios like Disney (currently working on the remake of Mulan and starring an authentic actress

of Chinese heritage), its encouraged Asian Americans to pursue careers in acting (Ryan, 2017).

There are clear signs that Hollywood is changing but not as fast as some would like, with

the existence of social media acting as a major influence in its ability to instantly highlight

unhealthy industry behaviour (Child, 2016). Yet, the existence of recent modern films like Aloha

and Dr. Strange serving as just a few examples, signifies some film-makers still dont quite

what the real issue at hand is and that there is still a long road ahead in the United States film

industry before more subtle examples of prejudice have also been consigned to Hollywood

history (Child, 2016).

Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 9

References

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stereotypes/2011/10/20/gIQAaoVgMM_story.html?utm_term=.85e4a0ceed61

Briones, I. (2017, May 25). Asian Actors Are Still Only 1% of Hollywood's Leading Roles.

Retrieved June 21, 2017, from http://www.teenvogue.com/story/asian-representation-in-

hollywood

Child, B. (2016, October 05). Why is Hollywood still using 'yellowface' in 2016? Retrieved June

22, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/05/yellowface-hollywood-

asian-stereotypes-birth-of-a-dragon

DAV, S. (2017). Racial Accents, Hollywood Casting, and Asian American Studies.

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Asian Americans Representation in Film: Shattering The Glass Ceiling 10

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