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My Turnby Maileen Hamto |
 |
From The Asian Reporter, V17, #8 (February 20, 2007), page 6 & 7.
Popular images
What gives me the right to think I have the creds to write about Asian-American portrayals in film and television?
One of the most wonderful inventions of the dotcom era: Netflix.
I’m not an expert at everything regarding Asian film, but I’ve seen enough images of Asian people on all screens (small, silver, and computer) to formulate an opinion about my top pet peeves.
(1) In mainstream films and television programs produced in the U.S., why do Asian-American actors primarily do stereotypically Asian roles? Every other Asian-themed film released in the United States has to do with martial arts; thus it’s no wonder that it’s a widely held belief that all Asian men know karate and/or kung-fu (except the ones that know eskrima, kenpo, taekwondo, or Muay Thai). We don’t all live in Chinatown or belong to some international Asian mob.
Actor Tzi Ma (Rush Hour, The Quiet American) spoke about how the U.S. film industry tends to pigeonhole Asian-American talents in stererotypically Asian roles.
"See us as actors first and not only as ethnic actors," he implored. Ninety-five percent of the Writers Guild membership is "middle-aged, white American male. Don’t get me wrong, these are very gifted and talented writers, but when given the task of writing an Asian/Asian-American character, unless they have access and friends who are Asian/Asian Americans, they often resort to renting movies for research that offers up a ‘Shake n’ Bake’ of all Asian ethnics into one big Asian stereotype. Then unfortunately, other writers will follow and perpetuate that Asian stereotype into an even bigger one. Then we look at the script and think, ‘What the hell is this?’"
(2) Ever notice how Asian-American women make great "best friends" and sidekicks, but never seem to be good enough to be the star of the show? Sure, it was refreshing to see Sandra Oh play Diane Lane’s lesbian best friend in Under the Tuscan Sun, but her story would have been equally great as the focal point of the film.
Actress Di Quon, Jennifer Lopez’s sidekick in Maid in Manhattan, spoke out about the sidekick thing: "I think I should be the main person for once, and I should have a Caucasian friend. Wouldn’t that be interesting?" Working with filmmaker Eric Byler (Better Luck Tomorrow, read further), she was cast as a lead in the 30-minute short My Life … Disoriented. The film aired in late December on PBS stations across the country.
(3) Young Asian-American men and women never get into any kind of trouble, even if they’re attending school in the States. Somehow, they’re immune to delinquent behavior. Scan any high-school-themed film made in the last 20 years, and you’ll see that the token Asian kid is either the new immigrant who speaks broken English or the unattractive geek in the chess and/or math club.
This is why it was so refreshing to see seemingly prim and proper Asian boys gone bad in Asian-friendly movies made in recent years. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and Better Luck Tomorrow top my list of films for empowering Asian-American boy-men. These films show us that Asian boys aren’t only good at number-crunching, they also know how to use certain paraphernalia. And boy, can they party, even whilst studying for the academic decathlon. Lest we forget: The time Harold and Kumar spent driving that night should be enough to dismantle the myth that Asian people can’t drive.
For all their success at chipping away at the stubborn model-minority stereotype, these films do little to help revamp the image of Asian-American women in mainstream media. It’s not fair that young Asian men get to have all the fun.
(4) Ninety-eight percent of the time, Asian women are portrayed as reserved, subservient, and deferential to men. Some of my very best friends are Asian women, and none of them fit that mold. Contrary to popular belief, we are not all defined by our relationship to men. We don’t all need rescuing by a heroic, do-gooder white man, even if he is Ethan Hawke in Snow Falling on Cedars. We can fight our own battles very well, thank you very much.
Maybe this is heresy in some circles, but seriously — we really don’t need another film about Japanese geisha, Chinese concubines, and Vietnamese women in Saigon brothels. Sexual objectification is not unique to Asian women histories. Sadly, in many societies — including the United States — work in adult-oriented industries is a viable career option for women.
I’m not denying that sexual objectification has been part of our history. What irritates me is that, in mainstream media, a very common portrayal of an Asian woman’s struggle through life leans heavily on Western media’s fixation on "Oriental eroticism."
Come on, people, enough already. Asian women have been doing a great deal of important work in countless other industries and realms for centuries. India, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Pakistan were among the first countries in the entire world to be led by women presidents and prime ministers, whereas here in the U.S. the mere possibility that Hillary Clinton might be the frontrunner for the presidential nomination still raises eyebrows.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to have a mainstream U.S. film (distributed beyond art houses and university libraries) about Asian or Asian-American women as world leaders, movers and shakers, and power players in their domains? Women who have shaped the course of history, not merely a pretty face in some emperor’s court? It’s about time.
My immediate Netflix-related goal: Add more Asian, non-martial-arts-related films to my queue. Any suggestions? Write to The Asian Reporter, Attn: Maileen Hamto, 922 N. Killingworth Street, Suite 1A, Portland, OR 97217.