Asian-Americans (not) in the Media

By on June 1, 2010 • Topics: Arts & Culture,Current Affairs,Entertainment,Trends and Fashion

Recently, OneVietnam wrote about Mr. Hyunh, a Vietnamese cartoon character on television.  Today, I will expand a little more on Asian in the media.

The year is 2010, and despite being in this country for centuries, Asian-Americans have only recently been consistent in the media, like Harry Shum Jr. (Mike Chang) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang) from hit show “Glee.” In other shows, I’ve seen tokenism and casting go hand-in-hand in determining who and how many Asian-Americans get a part.

Jenna Ushkowitz via Flickr @Tomdog

Although it seems like Hollywood plays a hand in halting the entrance of Asian-Americans in the media, I think it is safe to say that there are so many reasons for the slower progression of Asian-Americans in the media. First, Asians make up only 4.2% per of the population in the 2000 Census, and even though the ratio of Asian actors in the media should be 1 to 25 and is not, our population is ultimately small in numbers.

In addition, Asian-Americans play a very interesting role in Hollywood in terms of casting. There is a double-edged sword to an Asian character: how can to make the character not stereotypically Asian while making sure they have an Asian identity? Many producers struggle with creating a character that has an Asian identity but is not bland in culture. There is a fine line between a cultureless character and an overly and stereotypically Asian character.

Moreover, Asian-Americans still have the pressure of becoming doctors, lawyers, or engineers. Becoming an actor takes a huge leap of faith and is thus not a “respectable” job to many parents. The path to being the “model minority” has been set out already, so jumping off this path is scary idea.

I know from personal experience that being an Asian-American and choosing to be an actor is a rough choice. The roles seem slim and competitive, and I cannot help but think that I might make a fool of myself while shaming the family name by not have Dr. and M.D. attached it.

Maggie Q via Flickr @ Caroline Bonarde Ucci

However, there is a lot of hope and promise of Vietnamese-Americans progressing in the media. When I’m feeling down and unsure about my future, I think about the artists and entertainers who have already set foot securely in Hollywood. Maggie Q is starring as the lead in Nikita this fall. Thao Nguyen and her band Thao with the Get Down Stay Down recently performed at my school with a large mass of fans. I can turn on CBS and see Betty Nguyen as an anchor with top news. If I look for the second season of Project Runway, I can see Chloe Dao make her way to the top. Ham Tran continues to make movies after his hit Journey from the Fall.

Thao Nguyen via Flicker @ musicisentropy

Slowly and steadily, our community of Vietnamese-Americans is making our way through the art and entertainment industry.

Get a taste of: Thao with the Get Down Stay Down

The Author: Jennie Le

Jennie Le is an alumna of UC Berkeley with degrees in Environmental Economics & Policy and Theater & Performance Studies. She is passionate about economic development and the arts in education.

  • Anh

    Ooh, I love Thao Nguyen. And I think Chloe Dao was actually in the second season of Project Runway because Jay McCarrol was the winner of season 1, but details details. And Guadalupe Vidal, also on season 2 of PR with Chloe, was of Vietnamese descent too…she mentions her family being boat people. And then there was that guy Malvin Vien on a later season…I think he might’ve been part Vietnamese or born there or something. Yeah I watch too much TV.

    Totally agree with this statement: “There is a double-edged sword to an Asian character: how can to make the character not stereotypically Asian while making sure they have an Asian identity? Many producers struggle with creating a character that has an Asian identity but is not bland in culture. There is a fine line between a cultureless character and an overly and stereotypically Asian character.”
    It’s tricky and no matter how culturally sensitive a character might appear to be, there’s always going to be people who take issue with any depiction of Asians. But I’m hoping this won’t be too much of an issue as mainstream media gets more accustomed to including Asian characters at all.

    Fun article :)

  • Brian Luong

    Very good points raised Jennie!

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=6703202 Ha Huynh

    Common last name?? I guess so. Ppl do mispell my last name pretty often. At least they didn't make him Mr Nguyen..lol..

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  • lena

    it frustrates me to no end that Jenna is the least exposed main character of the cast. She has had 1, 2 solos tops. Even the girl who plays Santana got more solos and she was supposed to be minor character. She didn’t even sing solo in the episode that was supposed to be just about her. It’s hard to believe that it’s because of her voice, she has a perfectly tolerable–if not actually GOOD singing voice. No, I think it’s some subconscious (or conscious) racism going on here. I know I’m know the only one who wishes to see more of her.

  • Lucy

    I LOVE Thao Nguyen! Such a talent! And she has humble roots…her mother still operates a laundromat.

    And if you ask me, it seems like there are Asian Americans in the media, but most of them have Anglo features. Defined cheekbones and a nice straight nose bridge make a person “beautiful”, according to Western society. Just look at Maggie Q. And even if you flip through Asian American magazines, you’ll find tons of celebrities of mixed backgrounds (usually Asian and Portuguese/Spanish/European). I’m not saying that they’re not great, I’m sure many of them are! But the media is seriously lacking diversity, even though we see more people of color now than before.

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