Source: Google

Hollywood Movie Industry in 2018: Asians on Screen to Deconstruct the Mistaken Portrayals

Imelda Meg
Sep 3, 2018 · 4 min read

Jackie Chan and Jet Li clearly impress the global industry with their incredible fame. They are some of the least Asians that lead the stage with their unbearable action moves. However, other than them, scarcely had we seen Asians to have their whereabouts under the spotlight. In fact, Asian-American in Hollywood would only be hired due to race-specific roles. Should the casts have had seen to be ‘demanding’ or significance, it would have gone to a non-Asian.

Racebending, a term that refers to the creator changing the ethnicity of the character, is also one of the unfairness behind the screen. An Asian-American fictional character Charlie Chan, who happened to appear in TV series first during the 1940s, was always played by white men who wore eye prosthetics to make them look Asian. In the last decade, live-action called The Last Air Bender (2010), were all White while in the original story all the fictional characters such as Avatar Aang, Katara, Sokka are Asian. Lastly, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), the role of Shredder (Japanese descent), the infamous villain Shredder is given to a white actor instead of an Asian American actor.

Asians particularly in Hollywood, also have often been portrayed as less valuable than the actual majority of people in the States. Asians are often projected on screen as someone who are nerds or geeks with great academic, prowess, but have no sense of social skill and no good English like Mr. Yunioshi being depicted in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Dr. Fu Machu (1913) is an implementation of Asian man Stereotype who are patriarchal, diabolical villain trying to torture all women, and women can only/need to be saved by the white male heroes.

This set Asian ideal model of minority projection into a joke and, of course, shapes the world perspective towards Asian. Consequently, half of Asian-American students have faced bullying in school. One case, there was a character named Long Duk Dong who in the movie was portrayed as an Asian guy who has bad luck in romance. Because of the character portrayal, not little Asian students that ever went to an American school nicknamed as Long Duk Dong taken as “you’re not going to get any girls.”

It has been a huge subject of controversy. These portrayals have frequently reflected an ethnocentric perception of Asians rather than the realistic and authentic depictions of behavior and customs of East Asian cultures.

Surprisingly, even after the debate about immigrant politics that recently are happening in the United States that somehow affects the way some part of these pro-immigrant politics to gain the unauthentic thoughts about Asians in America, the movie industry has its own way to save the day.

Source: Google

In 2018, it appears that the face of asian currently is taken account of becoming the megatrend in Hollywood movie industry, notably as the main casts. Let’s call Crazy Rich Asians, To The Boys I Loved Before, and Searching.

Source: Google

As commentaries claim the movie as having “whiteness performing in Film”, To The Boys I loved (2018), in which a main cast is Asian woman, has proven to omit the Asian-American women stereotype who are always seen raped and abused by the Asian men and saved only by the White man in “shining armor” to provide her with redemption and opportunity such seen in Year of The Dragon (1985), Come See Paradise (1990), and Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991) Lara Jean, the main cast, instead, is the hero who clearly has significant positive impact to other characters in the movie.

The absence of nerdy and introvert personality as well as unlucky financial condition as usually depicted in Asian character on and off the screen, has built pride and satisfaction for Asians. Crazy Rich Asians is obviously changing the way the world sees Asians as the lower middle class trader.

Source: Google

From Indonesia, we also have the first Indonesian to have the pride role in Hollywood Movie. Iko Uwais has performed as an outstanding brute power star in Mile 22 (2018.) The succeed of his performance, which was first brought by his debut in The Raid, made the producer of Mile 22 personally contacted him specifically to run the role. Global Audience were also seen to queue up to let Iko knows that he got their heart.

It is said that started from the screen, equality in race was truly accomplished to make the world becomes a save and better place from everyone as well as to give everyone the same opportunity. And lastly, change the world’s unhealthy bias toward Asians.

The crowd now leave some optimism to see the superhero-series to have Asian lead actors and to finally have pride as Wakandan in Asian Version.

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