Are Asian Characters Convenient Plot Devices in Science-Fiction?
Why does Asian-ness always lend itself to being the futuristic “other” for Western audiences in science-fiction visions of the future?
In science-fiction visions of the future, Asian characters are easily, and perhaps unintentionally, exploited due to xenophobic sentiment in Western culture — sentiment that birthed and perpetuated techno-Orientalism and Yellow Peril. Often, Asian characters act as gateways to the future, introducing advanced technology and hyper-technologized worlds. But what is it about Asian-ness — whether it be Asian countries, Asian characters, or Asian cultures — that intrinsically evokes futuristic visions?
To elaborate, techno-Orientalism refers to discourse that promotes an array of stereotypes and deformations about East Asian populations (Lozano-Mendez, 183). Similarly, Yellow Peril stems from medieval fears of Genghis Khan and Mongolian invasions of Europe but has since come denote the “flood of cheap labor threatening to diminish the earning power of white European immigrants” in the United States after the abolition of slavery (Marchetti, 2). These sentiments, combined with the limited knowledge of Asia, Asians, and Asian culture in the West, allow Asian characters to provide science-fiction authors with a canvas onto which they can project “Euroamerican desires and dreads onto…
