Growing up, many Asian children including myself, didn’t feel like they fit into the Eurocentric ideal represented in Hollywood movies. Almost all heroes were white, whilst non-white characters (if any) were often side-lined, tokenised, and racially stereotyped with overexaggerated accents, clichés concerning profession and intellectual ability (just to name a few). Although we had figures such as Mulan and Jackie Chan (who I still hold dear in my heart), it simply wasn’t enough – and most of the time was perpetuating extremely harmful ideologies and stereotypes, doing more harm than good. Now, you might think those times are long gone, but this issue is still very prevalent today. In a recent 2021 study, it was uncovered that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are frequently stereotyped in large films and poorly represented in the film industry in general. Of films that feature Asian and Pacific Islander actors, 35% of characters embodied at least one stereotype such as ‘Martial Arts’ or ‘Model Minority’.
More recently however, the Hollywood landscape surrounding Asian representation is certainly changing. Although there have been a few (distasteful) setbacks concerning white-washing *cough-Ghost-in-a-Shell-cough*, all in all Asian representation has been making huge progress in the past few years. It’s not merely the case of casting Asian actors into white-washed or Americanised roles, but also the case of accurately portraying Asian culture and family dynamic. Perhaps the most prominent turning point in Asian cultural representation was through the 2018 all Asian cast Crazy Rich Asians (drink for every time I’ve said Asian…). Don’t get me wrong, it has its imperfections, but nevertheless it’s certainly paved the way for a landslide of films with Asian characters at the forefront. Marvel’s refreshing Shang-Chi is a notable mention, becoming the highest-grossing movie in the USA during the Covid pandemic as well as 2019 The Farewell, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Bridgeton.
You might have seen Ke Huy Quan’s winning Golden Globes speech and subsequent interviews from earlier this year for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once – and if you haven’t, go and have a watch (it’s sure to make you tear up!). Quan discusses how he struggled to find work in the US film industry after starring in Indiana Jones and The Goonies as a child actor. He believed that the reason he wasn’t finding any jobs was because he had nothing left to give – and this is what really inspired me to start thinking about the experience of the Asian actor. Rather than having nothing left to give, it was really that ‘Hollywood didn’t write roles like that for Asian actors’. As mentioned previously, Crazy Rich Asians was a huge win for Asian representation in Hollywood, and what Quan states was a large factor in reigniting his return to the film sphere after seeing fellow Asian actors and Asian culture being celebrated on the big screen – showing just how important representation is. This year particularly is a huge win, breaking the record for the most Asian acting nominees – most noticeably through Michelle Yeoh’s nomination for Best Actress in Everything Everywhere All at Once, becoming the first Asian woman to be nominated EVER. The 2023 film nominations didn’t stop there, nabbing another 10 nominations including Best Director and Cinematography. Other actors up for nomination are Stephanie Hsu for Best Supporting Actress (EEAAO), Hong Chau’s role in The Whale, animated film Turning Red for Best Animated Feature and Indian Telugu film RRR nominated for Best Song with ‘Naatu Naatu’.
Ultimately, it’s great to see so much representation, not only in rise of Asian characters but also through the narrative of Asian experience, culture, and appreciation within the film industry. However, there is still a long way to go, and the fight against racial stereotyping and erasure is still very prevalent.