Asians in Hollywood: better to be broke or a minstrel?

[mr. x]

Alright, this is related to the whole Cat in the Hat thing. when a struggling actor has to make a living in Hollywood, is it acceptable for them to take whatever bones they can get? even if the bone happens to be a dog. more specifically i mean a role that is degrading to asians. take amy hill as Mrs. kwan in the cat in the hat who i believe at one point is a human trampoline.

or Michelle Krusiec as "ching chong" in Dumb and Dumberer

etcetera etcetera

anyway i know beggars cant be choosers but to me the whole thing just smells like Blackface and Minstrelism. i duno how blacks managed to move themselves up to better roles but i know part of the reason is they stopped putting up with it, whereas we see the same ol asian stereotypes cuz people are perfectly willing to play them, and at this rate most of the asian roles will always be minstrelish for some time to come

[younggiftedandblack]

It depends. I know alot of blacks who feel black Hollywood hasn't progress that far from the mammies and coons.

I made this point before using the movie Hollywood Shuffle as an example. The morale of that story was that you don't have to sell out for a pay check. You can always find a "regular" job if you need to pay the bills.

Of course the lady who play Ms. Kwan or the chick in Dumb and Dumber movie may not have seen it as selling out or stereotyping themselves. Then again they may realize it and just don't care.

[mr. x]

thing about blacks is, i liked what Spike Lee was trying to say in Bamboozled, that blacks still have a way to go and that some people (namely those in bling bling hip hop) are simply perpetuating new stereotypes. but blacks still get way more "normal" roles then asians thats for sure. most of the time an asian has to play a hollywood hack's vision of an asian

[younggiftedandblack]

True. Most Asians in movies or TV are playing "The Asian" role. They're hardly ever just Mr. Ms. whatever next door, they either work in a resturant or a kung fu master.

Good point about the hip hop stars. I think alot of people tend to re-enforce stereotypes without knowing. Someone posted that out call for asian women to attend the premiere of tha Last Samurai dressed as village women, and I'm willing to bet alot of young women showed up not giving it a second thought.

[mr. x]

and i remember watching a music special about hip hop and talking about a rap video in the 80's forget who (the one with the "me so horny line" ) anyway they were talking about how it was so pioneering like black women have MADE it now as if being objectified were a good thing

[kitty]

i think if asian actors want to take on 'minstrel' or offensive roles to pay bills -- that's their prerogative. but, do it with the understanding that you're going to be trading in your community's support for a big fat cheque.

i think it's bad that amy hill is doing ms. kwan, but i think it's worse that lucy liu is going to be the next charlie chan and is complaining about how asian activists are putting her down so often.

[>:^|]

Originally Posted by mr. x

most of the time an asian has to play a hollywood hack's vision of an asian

Yeah, look at many asian actors' resumes, and you will see their credits read things like "Japanese tourist" or "Asian man." They don't even get a name. I think that alone is indicative of how Hollywood views us--as interchangeable funny oriental widgets.

Sometimes I think that the wider roles of African Americans have to do both with Whites wanting to seem really liberal but also the growing power of African Americans within the industry.

[mr. x]

what really bugs me is the women especially, who play these damn geishas and sex dragonladies. i mean this DOES have an effect, where do those drunkass non-asians doing that "me so horny" shit get their notions from?

[nonamerasian]

Blacks still have a way to go, but progress has been made, and I think that is due to the activism of several Black-oriented groups, Black actors and actresses actually being vocal about their experiences in the industry, and Blacks vocalizing their support for those who air those grievances.

There is a perception that if people don't hear about a problem, that there is no problem. They like to support that "fact" with success stories.

I think it is important for those "successes" to tell the true story.

However, I can't say I get up in arms. . .okay, okay. . .sometimes I do. . .well, I can't say that I ALWAYS get angry when entertainers take weak roles.

To some degree, I do take the "Whatever--It puts money in their pockets" excuse.

I get more angry with their support, actually. That support could go to better things.

I think that in conjunction to pushing things in Hollywood, why not support those non-Hollywood films featuring mostly Asian casts?

Even whe minstrels (the originial ones with Black casts) were in their hayday, African-Americans had a few African-American-made films patronized by African-Americans with African-American casts and with stories relatable to the African-American experiences.

Spike Lee wasn't the first to do this.

[Ogumo]

Originally Posted by mr. x

Alright, this is related to the whole Cat in the Hat thing. when a struggling actor has to make a living in Hollywood, is it acceptable for them to take whatever bones they can get? even if the bone happens to be a dog. more specifically i mean a role that is degrading to asians. take amy hill as Mrs. kwan in the cat in the hat who i believe at one point is a human trampoline.

or Michelle Krusiec as "ching chong" in Dumb and Dumberer

etcetera etcetera

anyway i know beggars cant be choosers but to me the whole thing just smells like Blackface and Minstrelism. i duno how blacks managed to move themselves up to better roles but i know part of the reason is they stopped putting up with it, whereas we see the same ol asian stereotypes cuz people are perfectly willing to play them, and at this rate most of the asian roles will always be minstrelish for some time to come

Acting roles like those are degrading to everybody asian...but the person that is playing the character should be ashamed of themself. I don't understand how a person can just humiliate themself by playing a character like ching chong. I feel more bad for people that accept roles of this type more than I feel disgust. Now should someone remain broke or accept a ridiculous role like one of the above? That is a individual choice. But personally I find these to be unacceptable. Especially in america.