"A Leading Man" Depicts The Asian Male Actors Struggle In Hollywood - Destroy to Rebuild, 28/12/2012
More Asians actors and actresses in Hollywood pls.
The above link goes to an old post but one that touches on an ongoing issue that doesn't seem to be getting much attention from the mainstream press. 'A Leading Man' is a movie about a good looking Asian American guy named GQ (yes, we all thought of the magazine) who is an actor trying to make it big in Hollywood but struggling to break through the 'bamboo ceiling', a barrier that is described by Lucy Liu as being rejected by Hollywood for not being Asian enough or not being American enough. And thus, with no strong independent leading roles given to Asians, they are typecast all the time. You're always playing the 'funny chink' or some martial arts expert. Those who don't make it into film get by in LA doing advertisements, as GQ seems to be doing in one shot as he takes a huge bite out from a six inch subway. But this constant struggle with Hollywood's 'quiet racism' takes a toll on GQ, who starts to get really pissed off at the lack of dignity he is given in his roles, as well as the lack of recognition he gets as a real actor.
So in conclusion, it's a movie about how Asian American actors are stuck in an awkward third space that nobody else recognises as a problem in the film industry.
So in conclusion, it's a movie about how Asian American actors are stuck in an awkward third space that nobody else recognises as a problem in the film industry.
Even now, most Asian American actors and actresses end up playing supporting roles or are eschewed completely for an all-white main cast. Actors end up playing the stereotypical Kung Fu/Karate guy (Jet Li, Lee Byung-hu), a villainous bastard (Will Yun Lee in Red Dawn) or a comical sidekick (Jay Chow in The Green Hornet, Aaron Yoo in Disturbia). Actresses get typecast as an exotic love interest (Katie Leung as Cho Chang in HP Jamie Chung in The Hangover II), a kickass karate/kung fu girl (Rinko Kikuchi in Pacific Rim, Lucy Liu in Charlie's Angels, Maggie Q in Nikita, Rila Fukushima in The Wolverine - NEED I SAY MORE?) or a prudish college room-mate who is conservative and likes to stick with her 'Asian sisters' (Pitch Perfect).
Even Justin Chon, who was supposed to be the central character of '21 and Over' became conspicuously sidelined by Skylar Astin and Miles Teller, whom the movie was really focused on. I was disappointed but hey - at least he got cast? Even if he were cast as that small funny Asian guy with the stereotypical 'YOU MUST BE A DOCTOR OR GET OUT OF MY HOUSE' sort of dad...
Even Justin Chon, who was supposed to be the central character of '21 and Over' became conspicuously sidelined by Skylar Astin and Miles Teller, whom the movie was really focused on. I was disappointed but hey - at least he got cast? Even if he were cast as that small funny Asian guy with the stereotypical 'YOU MUST BE A DOCTOR OR GET OUT OF MY HOUSE' sort of dad...
This is why I'm really looking forward to seeing Jamie Chung in her new movie Eden. It's based on a true story about a Korean-American girl who gets kidnapped and forced into becoming a sex slave, so yeah, there really was no choice but to cast an Asian actress. But I'm still really excited to see Jamie Chung get more screen time and being able to play a strong leading role in a Hollywood film. It's still quite a novelty and I really hope I can see more Asians being given non-typecast roles. Go Jamie.
Every Misogynistic Argument You've Ever Heard About Video Games - Jezebel, 12/7/13
Summary
An opinion piece posted by UBERTROUT on feminist website/forum Jezebel that seeks to own every elitist male gamer who has argued the following:
"Games aren't marketed to women because women don't play games.""Women aren't REAL gamers, they're just casuals.""Anyone who came to video games late isn't a REAL gamer.""Publishers don't make games with female protagonists because they wouldn't sell. Men don't want to play a female character because then they might kiss a dude and that'd be gay."The piece's conclusion:
So to anyone who has ever made one of these arguments: you too can be saved from being an asshat. Just, y'know, stop making these arguments. Have a tiny bit of empathy for people who aren't you, and ask yourself — REALLY ask yourself — if the problem isn't women playing games, but the men who are too scared to share their toys with the scary, unknowable ladypersons.
The actors cast to play Billy Sing and his father (part and full Chinese respectively) in the TV miniseries 'The Legend of Billy Sing' were both Caucasian. So it turns out, you don't even have to be Asian to play an Asian person. Though, I suppose the Dragon Ball movie had already proved that, as well as Avatar: The Last Airbender.
ReplyDeleteBut it doesn't really matter though, does it? Hollywood is, after all, white movies for white people. Why is Bollywood so successful in the subcontinent? Why are Chinese and Hong Kong movies so successful in Asia? Even the Japanese and Korean movie industries are nothing to sneeze at. Hollywood sucks when it comes to Asians, but there's plenty of other places which pick up the slack.
Hey, even Home & Away and Neighbours, two very Aussie shows that started off as a 'white show for white people' have copped huge flak for not being more diverse in its choice of actors to represent the community's current demographics. Neighbours has done a lot better in the last decade and even Home & Away, a notoriously 'white' show set in a small town near the beach brimming with tattooed surfers, cast a young Asian dude a while ago. Similarly, I think Hollywood faces the same problem that Home & Away faced a couple of years back when almost everyone was Caucasian - sometimes it just completely neglects to reflect the cultural diversity that currently exists in real life.
ReplyDeleteI think it matters when Asian American actors who are as every bit as talented and American as Jennifer Lawrence or Ryan Gosling are getting rejected because producers still think that white audiences will only accept white lead actors. Some people say that this is true - that yes, we should just accept that movies with white actors make it easier for American audiences to relate to and like.... but that's not true. A lot of people loved Kal Penn and John Cho in the Harold and Kumar movies, so people can obviously like Asian leads in films with traditional American settings.
I also think that Hollywood is very different to Bollywood or Asian cinema. Most films from the latter two industries are aimed at and based in a much more ethnically/culturally homogeneous society and that's also a reason why its films very rarely make it big internationally. But Hollywood is accessible to an international audience. It's a shame that Asian American actors who despite being born and raised in America, are being rejected by Hollywood just because they're Asian and can only further their careers by going back to China or whatever their ancestral country is.
So I guess you could say that other places will pick up the slack but that doesn't change the sad fact that Hollywood doesn't recognise Asian Americans as actual Americans.