A cycle of discrimination
Asian Americans have long suffered from distorted visual media representation that originates from a Euro-American imagination. Such distortions are dangerous because of their ability to justify fear and violence against the target group. Social, cultural, and political shifts throughout history have created various changes in representation, to which Hollywood has responded by portraying Asians in the roles deemed fit by the narrative of the time. Films are society’s most influential teachers; when they contain harmful stereotypes of minorities, a vicious cycle is created that perpetually shapes attitudes and treatment of Asian Americans.
“Hollywood has the power to define difference, to reinforce boundaries, to reproduce an ideology which maintains a certain status quo”
-Gina Marchetti
Revealing Statistics
Statistics relating to Asian presence in Hollywood are important for conceptualizing the relative lack of opportunity and plays a key role in understanding the ways in which representation needs to be increased. It also highlights how the overall structure of this project aims at pushing society one step further towards dismantling an Anti-Asian environment.
Directors
In 2016, a total of 5 Asian directors (4.2%) worked on the 100 most popular domestic movies. 4 of these directors were male and 1 was female. Across 900 movies, only 3% of directors were Asian.3
Casting
A 2007 study revealed that casting notices on IMBd specified only 4.3% of roles for Asian-Americans. From 2010-2015, Asians were cast in 2% of lead roles and 3% of supporting roles in Hollywood movies. 4 From a total of 51,159 speaking characters from a 13-year period (’07-’19), only 3,034, or 5.9 percent, were API characters.5
Gender
Of the top 100 films of 2016, 66 were missing Asian women. Only 2 of these films had an Asian male actor leading or co-leading. The ratio of males to females within the films that Asians are present is 1.65 to 1.6 No Asian performer has won an Oscar for Best Actress and no actor of Asian descent has won for Best Actor since Ben Kingsley in 1983. 7
Footnotes
- Chong, C. S. (2016). Where Are the Asians in Hollywood? Can 1981, Title VII, Colorblind Pitches, and Understanding Biases Break the Bamboo Ceiling? Asian Pacific American Law Journal, 21. http://dx.doi.org/10.5070/P3211031952 Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2cm1r6db
- Moon, Kat. “Yuh-Jung Youn and Oscars’ Long Erasure of Asian Actors.” Time. Time, April 26, 2021. https://time.com/5958108/yuh-jung-youn-asian-actors-oscars-history/.
- Smith, Dr. Stacy L, Marc Choueiti, and Dr. Katherine Pieper . “Inequality in 900 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBT, and Disability from 2007-2018.” Media, Diversity, and Social Change Initiative , July 2017.
- Chong, C. S. (2016). Where Are the Asians in Hollywood? Can 1981, Title VII, Colorblind Pitches, and Understanding Biases Break the Bamboo Ceiling? Asian Pacific American Law Journal, 21. http://dx.doi.org/10.5070/P3211031952 Retrieved fromhttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/2cm1r6db
- Rahman, Abid. “Asians and Pacific Islanders Account for Less than 6 Percent of Speaking Roles in Hollywood Films, Study Finds.” The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter, May 18, 2021. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/asians-and-pacific-islanders-in-hollywood-films-1234954926/.
- Smith, Dr. Stacy L, Marc Choueiti, and Dr. Katherine Pieper . “Inequality in 900 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBT, and Disability from 2007-2018.” Media, Diversity, and Social Change Initiative , July 2017.
- Moon, Kat. “Yuh-Jung Youn and Oscars’ Long Erasure of Asian Actors.” Time. Time, April 26, 2021. https://time.com/5958108/yuh-jung-youn-asian-actors-oscars-history/.
- UCLA Diversity Report