Growing up, I found it extremely difficult to find a figure in media that I could look at and see myself in.
Having an Asian mother and Caucasian father led me to preconceived notions set by the media to embrace the white side of my heritage. All the shows I watched as a young girl rarely had any or accurate portrayal of Asian-Americans. Mulan from Disney became the ultimate hero in my eyes when I finally saw some representation of my culture my mother and grandmother so desperately tried to teach me to embrace.
Currently, Hollywood has received much backlash from Asian actors and actresses for white-washing historically Asian characters. The film, Aloha, casted Emma Stone as the quarter Chinese, quarter Native Hawaiian pilot. Although I believe Emma Stone is a great actress and a beautiful woman, she was mis-casted in role that she could obviously not do justice. The Asian-American community continuously feels the white-washing treatment in media. It hurts my heart to see women and men so rich in talent and beauty from Asia and the Pacific Islands be turned away from roles they deserve.
Another example of white-washing roles created for an Asian was the adaption of the Japanese manga series, Death Note. I remember reading this series in middle school and knowing exactly how the main character should look, obviously Asian as portrayed in the manga drawings. But of course, the film industry decided to cast a white male actor, Nat Wolff, for the role. Again, I enjoy Wolff’s work, but I believe actors and actresses should take a stand against the industry and decline roles meant for the minorities in Hollywood.
On a positive note, Asian-Americans actors and actresses are fighting for more diversity in their business. The talents of people such as Lucy Liu, Mindy Kaling, Daniel Dae Kim, Arden Cho, and Ki Hong Lee have broken barriers in Hollywood as screen stealing actors in roles in television and film. These brilliant talents are all activists for diversity in media.
Although the media has made some progress from the past decades, there is much to learn and evolve for the Asian-American community in film and television. Young me would be so thrilled to see the fight for representation of Asians in media. I am proud of my heritage and so are all of the Asian-American actors and actresses standing up against limited diversity in the media.
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