APIs Call for Greater Representation
By Tom Lee

Before the announcement of the fall 2000 television lineup by the four major networks, there was hope that the new television programs would show more diversity to reflect the country’s changing demographics. But last week when ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX announced their schedule, it was apparent that few Asian American faces will be present on the new TV landscape. Out of the four networks’ 30 new shows, only seven actors of Asian Pacific descent were cast, all of whom play minor or supporting roles.

“There’s some improvement from last year but when you’re talking about zero, there’s only one way to go,” said Daniel Mayeda, vice president of East West Players, the nation’s largest Asian American theater company. “The addition of some supporting players is nice to have but we’re still not satisfied.”

While seven supporting roles may not seem extensive, they are a vast improvement compared with the television arena of two years ago. In 1998, less than 2 percent (843 out of 43,676 roles) of all television roles went to Asian Americans, according to a casting report by the Screen Actors Guild. In fact, Asian American representation on television has been steadily dropping ever since it reached a peak of 2.3 percent in 1994.

Since August 1999, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC) has directed the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, a group of 19 organizations including East West Players, to address the issue of diversity on television. After negotiations with the coalition, CBS, NBC, and FOX agreed to hire “Vice Presidents of Diversity.” The diversity initiatives require that networks hire minority writers and directors, which in turn would lead to the hiring of minority actors.

“We’re disappointed at the progress we hoped to have made but we made some,” said Karen Narasaki, executive director of NAPALC.

NAPALC’s communications coordinator Albert Chung said the inclusion of these supporting characters is a sign of the impact of the coalition’s negotiation efforts, though the full effect may not be seen for another year.

For the fall 2000 television season, NBC cast Lauren Tom (Joy Luck Club, Friends) in the comedy DAG and Christina Chang in the drama Deadline. ABC went from having no Asian American actors on its network this past year to casting Cindy Lu on the comedy Geena and Ravi Kapoor on its medical drama Gideon’s Crossing. Welcome to New York on CBS, includes Kimiko Gelman in its cast. And while FOX did not release comprehensive information about its fall schedule, preliminary reports reveal that two new shows, Don’t Ask and Dark Angel, feature Asian American actors.

Even with an Asian American West Coast president, Scott Sassa, NBC fared no better than the other networks. “Scott understands the issues but feels constrained by the enormity of the business pressure,” said Mayeda. “But he’s hopeful that he’ll make a difference for minorities.”

Meanwhile, CBS revealed that Martial Law, the only network show featuring an Asian lead, was not being renewed. The news came as a shock to many, considering the Sammo Hung vehicle regularly beat out its competition in the ratings. “I think the loss of Martial Law definitely is a loss to the community,” Narasaki said. “It had a sense of humor, well defined, three-dimensional characters—the [lead Asian male character] had a girlfriend, and a multi-cultural cast. God forbid we should see reality.”

Though Asian Americans are making some strides in the entertainment industry, it has always been difficult for minorities to break into Hollywood. Still, Narasaki pointed out, “It’s hard to get in but they’re an employer. They have to work with civil rights groups and people in the media to be inclusive.” Moreover, television and film executives haven’t dealt with the Asian American representation issue because for years it wasn’t brought to their attention, said Narasaki.

The recent Barbie doll controversy further illustrates mainstream media’s prejudices regarding race, pointed out Narasaki. Mattel plans to market a Presidential 2000 Barbie with white, African American and Latino versions. Plans for the Asian American Presidential 2000 Barbie were scrapped, however.

“Their reasoning was that Asian American girls would be just as happy playing with the white Barbie. They’re assuming Asian American girls prefer white dolls just like [the networks] are assuming Asian Americans prefer watching [white actors on television],” she said. “It’s about images and assumptions based on no research at all.”

Networks, advocates believe, don’t invest in Asian American actors because they don’t see that as a profitable move. Furthermore, Hollywood executives believe television audiences would not accept Asian American lead characters. The failure of Margaret Cho’s 1995 series, All-American Girl, is often cited as an example. Narasaki, however, charges that the bigger problem is the lack of Asian American writers. “All-American Girl didn’t have any Asian American writers so it didn’t ring true,” she said. “It was stereotypes of what other people thought how Asian Americans acted.”

“The assumption that a white audience would not watch minorities is totally false,” agreed Mayeda. “If a white show had failed, are they going to say they can’t do a white show again because they’ve already tried it? That’s ludicrous.”

While the major networks are sweating over casting Asian Americans, children’s programming is far ahead of the game, said Narasaki. Shows such as Sesame Street and Barney and Friends feature a multi-ethnic cast of children including many Asian Americans. The Power Rangers program has an Asian American teen male as the leader of the superhero group.

“It bodes well for the future,” Mayeda said. “The children of today will grow up and not be satisfied when they don’t see diversity in television. It’s not reality to them. They will demand it.”