#1: In GENERAL (because we are living in a 'western' society), 'asians' are not deemed as attractive as caucasians/blacks due to stereotypical features such as i) short stature, ii) characteristic small eyes iii) other. However, there ARE some asians that are seen on television (Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh...).
VERSUS
#2: The majority of Hollywood/English movies, are usually based on highly unrealistic situations (Hostel part gazillion), important moments in history for Americans (and possibly Canadians - but even this is iffy), romantic comedies, etc. Asians are still 'relatively' new to North America... and I'm pretty sure people would NOT produce a popular Hollywood film about Chinese people building the Canadian Pacific Railway and how they had to pay a head tax...
Unless the movie is about asians(in some way) or takes place somewhere in Asia, you're probalby not going to get a cast with any asians.
#3: In relation to #2, 'asians' (which include south asians) get very limited roles. This is very true. Example, in the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness", a chinese couple ran a laundromat as well as a day care. In movies, taxi drivers are typically South Asian. AND, when 'asians' are portrayed in a movie, why do they always speak with an chinese/indian accent? All of my chinese friends have NO chinese accent, nor do my brown friends speak with an indian accent (unless they pretend to have one).
This boggles my mind, although we're called 'visible minorities'... we are the most numerous in the world! And although there has been SOME breakthrough in Hollywood (eg. Aishwarya Rai, Zhang Ziyi, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat etc), it's not a lot and it's not progressing fast enough.
#4: So you find a really HOT asian girl (a la Zhang Ziyi), that will probably draw a lot of people to come see your movie. The problem? She can't speak english properly! (Think back to Memoirs of a Geisha - wasn't it painful to listen to? LOL) What about asian guys? Brad Pitt... or F4.. you tell me what's more desirable in North America. (BTW, I think F4 is just fine... after they cut their hair, :P)
#5: For some weird reason, if you have a movie (eg. Pirates of the Caribbean - mainly 'caucasian' cast), you will draw all types of people. If you have a movie like Stomp the Yard or Pride (mainly a cast of African Americans), you will draw that crowd... probably some teenagers that like to dance, etc.
You make a movie like Memoirs of a Geisha. Who's going to see it? 1) People who love the book and are hoping that the movie will do it justice. 2) Guys who are dragged by their girlfriends 3) Pervy guys with an asian fetish 4) Asians who come to 'root' for their fellow asians.
If you make a movie about the Canadian Pacific Railway and Head Tax... what audience will you attract? In honesty, probably only those people who want to learn about that specific part of Chinese/Canadian History, the people who suffered the injustice, and maybe some more chinese people to root for the chinese actors in the film.
Will we ever see an asian (who can speak english) properly star in a leading role in a Hollywood film in a role that's not based on his/her ethnicity? Possibly... but not in the near future. What does this mean? I have no idea.. but somehow I feel as though if this happens, it's like Hollywood/society will have to acknowledge that us 'asians' make up society as well, and that we also have the power to influence things. But I digress and head to my bed..
Please don't think I'm racist! I <3 my Hollywood movies, and I'm totally rooting for asian stars. This is just better than blogging about boring life :P It's just one of these topics that people may think about, but might not want to actually discuss. Well, I choose to be different!
7 comments:
I think right NOW, we're accepting Asians and how they can be amazing actors and we recognize their talent. Just look at Infernal Affairs... somebody actually bought the script and did a remake of it. I'm sure that Asians will be more accepted, but it will be a slow process... look at African Americans. It took them a while for Denzel Washington to win an Oscar. Sooo maybe in 10 years or something, Asians can too =)
I agree that the reasons why it's harder for asians to make it big in Hollywood extend far beyond my simplistic 'theories', but asians ARE starting to have more power... recall my blog a few weeks ago about A&F and how they made an apology to Asian-americans because of their 'wong' shirts.
If you're smart, you'll realize that you don't want to lose 'asian' business, because although we might not be the ones in 'power', we can have huge spending power. Even though Hong Kong has a large movie industry on its own, Hollywood movies still generate a lot of revenue in those places as well. It wouldn't kill Hollywood to star a talented asian in a leading role...
If you had to narrow it down to one reason WHY it's harder for Asians to make it big, it's STEREOTYPES (and perhaps culture/language barrier). Although I believe that there is still 'white power', people are naive to think that this is still as prevalent as perhaps 100 years ago.
You might be right about colonialism, white power, etc etc, but the issues are far more complex than that. Heck, there could probably be a university course about topics as such.
Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it :)
The guys in F4 are ugly!!! I know your blogs are for jokes, Janet. ;-) And what's up with anonymous' message about false theories?
i know! why do ppl take things so seriously! relax!
i for one, am not a fan of lucy L. She doesn't really look asian to me! and even if there was a movie about head tax and the railway, i'd rather pass and watch something less serious.
In response to anonymous, I think it's easy to explain why Asian don't take a more dominant or superhero roles in Hollywood. All the stories/mythology in the western world/europe have white male/female characters. It would just be weird for me to find that Lucy Liu is playing Erin Brockovich instead of Julia Roberts and etc. Spiderman played by Jackie Chan? Would anyone, including Asians, accept that? LOL
Janet, I always trust you to dig up the most interesting topics to rant about! ^_^ Like you, I don't think that Asians will ever hit it big in Hollywood. For one thing, I don't know of many aspiring Asian actors. Most Asians I know go into Medicine or Admin related fields, or become business owners. Asian parents also don't brainwash their kids into packing their bags to fly to Hollywood; it's more like, "We raised you so be a filial child and become a doctor, lawyer or pharmacist" kind of deal. And that's because our parents realize that not ONLY is breaking into the entertainment industry a seemingly impossible thing to do (unless, well, you're willing to sleep with the director and the entire crew), but being ASIAN isn't exactly a green light pass for making it big. I admit that when it comes to making it big in Hollywood, it helps a lot if you're young, Caucasian and blessed with god/goddess-like looks. That's just the way the cookie crumbles.
I laugh when my friends all swoon over Lucy Liu or Sandra Oh, thinking that they are gorgeous Asian women. Not they are ugly women but comparing them to the grace of Gong Li, Alyssa Chia, or Song Hye Kyo is like comparing apple and oranges. Hollywood also stereotypes Asians when there are the rare ocassions that Asians are casted in movies. Asians are either doctors, geishas, kung-fu kick ass fighting machines, or nerds. Hmmm, nothing surprising there.
I don't know if you've seen the movie "Harold and Khumar Goes to White Castle," but it's by far the most hilarious movie ever. It's quite crude (think Adam Sandler films with huge Rated R ratings) but it pokes fun at Asian stereotypes and the entire flick is just a load of fun. Also the two main actors are Chinese (I think he's Chinese) and Indian. And what do you know? This movie bombed at the box office, but ironically, it gained a huge cult following online. I hear through the grapevine that there will be a sequel being made soon.
Anyone can find any reason or say whatever their opinion, but truth is if you have a script that has the the potential to make someone money, it will be produced... so maybe a little nudge to "writers" as a whole is needed.
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