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Pushing for Yellow Entertainment

Shaun Baker as weapons specialist Quick Williams and Dustin Nguyen as VIP “friend” Johnny Loh. Photo courtesy of Columbia Tristar Interactive.

By Ethen Lieser

In many U.S. cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco, the face of Asian America is ubiquitous. But when it comes to television and film representation, the Asian American face seems perpetually foreign. It is either typecast in stereotypical roles or just not seen at all.

“We are here 20 years later and it is still not routine to have Asian Americans depicted as doctors in shows set in Los Angeles or San Francisco hospitals,” said Karen Narasaki, a spokeswoman for the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition. “To me, that is a discouraging indication that we as Asian Americans are generally seen as foreigners and not as a part of everyday American families.”

But Media Action Network for Asian Americans’ (MANAA) 8th Annual Media Achievement Awards held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, is trying to break down the negative representation of Asian Americans. And to give credit to those who are making change, the Media Achievement Awards were given out to producers who cast Asian Americans in starring roles.

Russ Krassnoff, the president of programming and productions at Columbia Tristar Distribution, was a recipient of an award for helping to create a regular Asian American role in V.I.P., played by Dustin Nguyen. With two Asian Americans taking part in the CBS reality series Big Brother, Evolution Film and Tape and Paul Romer of Endemol Entertainment were also recognized. And writers Al Gough, Miles Miller and actor Owen Wilson were commended for contributing to the sensitive story elements of the action/comedy film Shanghai Noon.

Since MANAA’s inception in 1992, the organization has monitored the media, television, motion pictures, print, advertising and radio. Throughout the years, MANAA has worked vigorously to tailgate any insensitive depictions of Asian Americans in the entertainment industry. While slight improvements have been made in the last 20 years to include more Asian Americans in film and television, the overall picture of diversity in these media still lags behind the nation’s demographics.

“The challenge in Asian Americans is to be first given an opportunity to showcase their talent,” Narasaki said. “They aren’t even allowed into the door. This industry is so entrenched in the old boys network attitude. It really is about who your neighbor is or who you went to school with. You need to know people to get into this industry. It’s about breaking the boundaries.”

Narasaki’s brother, Ken Narasaki, 43, has been trying to be a full-time actor ever since high school. But to get substantial acting roles, Narasaki must first get auditions, something that has been tough to crack lately.

“The biggest hardship is simply getting the auditions,” said Narasaki, a manager for East West Players since 1995. “Most white actors my age and experience will audition several times a month for film and television projects. I’m lucky if I get out five or six times in a year. The main reason why you don’t see more Asian American actors out there is that we don’t get to audition.”

Narasaki pointed to the fact that there has been some progress made for younger actors who can pass as teenagers or college-age kids. Saturday morning television shows for young kids usually have more diversity, but for the 30-plus actors, the diversity door is still relatively closed. “Primetime usually depicts Asian Americans in stereotypical roles,” Karen Narasaki said.

Asian American actor Jack Ong recalled many years ago when he was auditioning for a western show. “When one needs to be an actor, one needs to plunge right in,” said Ong, who is also a minister. Ong did plunge in, but the treatment he received on the set made him think twice about his career.

“It is very sobering because I had to put on a Chinese costume, but to me, it seemed very stereotypical,” Ong said. “It was very embarrassing.”

Ong, however, doesn’t blame Hollywood. He just feels there should be more Asian American education geared toward writers and producers. Without this education, Ong questioned how can writers write with the Asian American experience in mind. “They just have to write roles for regular human beings,” Ong said. “It is as basic as ignorance. They just aren’t brave enough to be different from the norm.”

Hollywood’s ignorance has led to many stereotypical Asian American roles: Foreigners who cannot be assimilated or characters restricted to cliched occupations, marginalized with comical accents and mannerisms. Then there is the absence of sexuality in Asian American males while Asian American women are portrayed as “China dolls.” But the problem also branches to Hollywood’s assumption that their audience won’t be intrigued by multi-cultural programs.

“People in the industry think white Americans are too racist to be interested in multi-cultural television shows,” Karen Narasaki said. “But if they are understanding Americans, and if it’s a good story, they will watch it. It is just lazy bigotry.”

Reach EthenLieser at elieser@asianweek.com.