Opinion
 

Asians stereotyped by media

By Timmy Le

The other day, I was watching TV and saw a commercial for deodorant. There were two Asian guys who were kung-fu fighting during the commercial. By the end of the commercial, one of the guys was glad to use the deodorant because his sweat did not leak through his shirt underneath his armpit.

Why is it that every time you see an Asian person on television or in the movies, he or she is always doing something stereotypical? You see them in some Vietnam War movie, doing people's nails, showing off their karate skills or other Asian-related behaviors. I think the last time I actually saw a young Asian person in a big role, in something that was successful, was Tia Carrere in Wayne's World in 1992 and in the sequel.

Do Asians really portray other types of characters so poorly that they are kept in these redundant roles? If Asians are finally given a non-stereotypical role, they are given very small ones. Take Nicole Bilderback for example. Never heard of her? I'm not surprised. She played "The girl who wants to have sex" in Can't Hardly Wait and a cheerleader in Bring It On. If you look at her resume, she has been in more than 25 shows and movies. With such an exquisite resume, why has she not been offered anything bigger?

I have an Asian friend who moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career. She was complaining to me that she wasn't getting many callbacks. She felt like she was obligated to put martial arts down as one of her talents, so she did. Then the calls came in, more than usual, asking her to play these martial arts roles she knew she couldn't play. 

I don't deal with racism much, but when I do, it is the same thing over and over again. "Ching chong" and "dog eater" are among the things that people have called me. It doesn't faze me, because the names are ridiculous. However, I blame it on the entertainment industry and society. People who use these racial slurs say them only because the stereotypes are all they think they know about Asians.

If the media actually begins to portray Asians in better roles, then people might start to open up and not be so closed-minded. Some people are not given the option to be exposed to other ethnicities, and so they absorb whatever they see on TV and movies.

I know Asians have more talent than what the media gives them a chance to exhibit. So where are all of the talented Asians? I'm not the biggest "Asian pride" guy myself, but I would love to see Asians in more varied roles in the media. 

I know a lot of talented people are out there, waiting to show the world that they are more than some karate champion, nail cutting Vietnamese solider, but they never have the opportunity.

One day, someone amazing will make a breakthrough and give Asians a great name. But until then, I will just have to sit back and deal with whatever stereotype comes along.

Le, a columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at timbo301@yahoo.com.