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Impact of stereotypes on individuals and society
Stereotypes in our society
Impact of stereotypes on individuals and society
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The number of Asian American communities is growing in the U.S. population, however, these groups of people are often marginalized and misrepresented in mainstream media. In today’s mainstream media, there is a visible lack of Asian American representation on film. Asian actors, when given roles in film and television, are rarely cast for central roles and form about only 3% of prime-time characters (Ramasubramanian, 2011). Not only is the number for casting Asian and Asian Americans low, the roles of these characters are often portrayed in the stereotypical ideology which has been present for decades. But why are Asians portrayed the way they are? Why has Hollywood maintained its representational practices when it comes to the portraying Asians? Why do these portrayals persist in the presence of a growing Asian population and racial diversity? What is the significance of the Asian American segment for Hollywood? To what extent does the consideration of the Asian American market influence the way Hollywood portray Asians? These are the questions that surface when watching films, and in the lens of an Asian American, many Asians and Asian American do not fit the mold created by Hollywood. First, I will introduce the range of common film representation of Asians. This literature review will focus on the negative and positive light of Asian representation , the structure of Hollywood film industry and its effect on representing Asian race, the social acceptance of Asian stereotypes, and Asian American’s social identity theories.
Positive and Negative Asian Stereotypes
Media often exaggerate the characteristics of Asian and Asian Americans. Stereotypes in film maintain common ones like Asians who are masters of martial arts a...
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...enshoff et al. (2009), it is important to mention that films that are produced by Hollywood are first and foremost strictly business. To Asian viewers, it may be easier to detect these faulty portrayals, but whether Hollywood casts a Korean to play a Japanese role, or a Chinese to play a Korean, it is all the same because Hollywood uses what works to sell its product well.
In addition, due to negative feelings about Asian Americans prevalent in American culture, Hollywood’s attempt to expand its target audiences is constrained, and despite the increasing market values of Asian Americans, Hollywood is possibly unwilling to portray successful Asian characters for fear of provoking its mainstream audiences who hold prejudice against Asians. There is a dominant white preference over the effects certain stereotypes may have on Asians and Asian Americans (Park, 2005).
The Asian women interviewed in this film spoke candidly about their experiences in the entertainment industry. This film shows a comprehensive look at media stereotypes of Asia and Asian American women since the silent era. One point that the film brought up was that many white women played Asian women in early Hollywood films. One actress who frequently played an Asian woman was Katherine Hepburn. I can’t imagine how insulted I would be if I was an Asian actress who was losing roles to an American woman.
The requirement for a particular look and sound that is in conjunction with the white, upwardly mobile consumer base of corporate America, is pitted as a significant attempt at creating ‘new normals’ by mainstream mass media. In the process of casting diversity, aspects of constructing minorities and ethnicities as normal are brought to the foreground, with several instances pinpointing towards issues of ethnic stereotyping, miscegenation and racial naturalization. Even with increasing visibility of Asian Americans as consumers, talent and corporate professionals, their scope and representation, both linguistic and visual, are deeply coded by what would be understood as natural by economically mobile, middle class, white American standards. The concluding section of the book reflects upon the significance of sites of advertisement placements from broadcast media to digital and social media platforms, factoring in issues of audience testing and reactions, to indicate the shifting dynamics of creative power and knowledge production between Asian American and general market
The “lotus blossom” stereotype is an Asian American female stereotype that portrays them as feminine, submissive, and desirable romantic interests for the white male protagonist (Tajima 309). Although the stereotype is the production of films fetishizing the “traditional Orient” culture, the stere...
...en in this film have any strong masculine qualities. They cannot take charge, they are easily intimidated, and they are never assertive with their beliefs and restrictions giving the impression to the movie viewers that Asian Americans are docile beings and Asian Americans are obstacles easily overcame.
Andre, Judith. “Stereotypes: Conceptual and Normative Considerations.” Multicultural Film: An Anthology. Spring/Summer 2014. Eds. Kathryn Karrh Cashin and Lauren Martilli. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2013.
In Shohat and Stam’s article, Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the media (2013), they discuss the issue of racism within the media and entertainment industry, such as Hollywood films. More importantly, Shohat and Stam’s discuss the assertion of racial politics in casting within the Hollywood films industry. The interesting idea to their argument is that they suggest that for a film to become financially successful, the casting of the protagonist must consist of a white star as they are seen to be ethnically universal (Shohat & Stam, 190). They further suggest that the ethnic minority have been limited to designated roles which ultimately perpetuate their ethnic stereotype (Shohat & Stam, 190). They concern this issue by critically analysing and contrasting western Hollywood films against other ethnic films.
Woll, Allen L and Randall M Miller. Ethnic and Racial Images in American Film and Television: Historical Essays and Bibliography. n.d. Print.
Who is really responsible for stereotyping among the ethnic characters in films? According to Jessica Hagedorn in her article “Asian Women in Film: No Joy, No Luck” she explains the stereotypes that are happening in the movie industry since then. In fact, this issue was very popular in Hollywood films. There always have been this racial issue about the roles that they give to Asian actors and actresses that were always limited. Another problem is about the racial options of the casting of the films even though the original roles was made to be Asian (“Yellow Faces”). Hollywood writers and directors have a social responsibility to avoid stereotyping ethnic characters because they have the power to choose the characters, to interpret the movies, and to influence people.
Abstract My research focused on the coverage of Asian Americans in contemporary mass media. The following types of media were researched. Music Television Films Magazines I gave several examples where Asian Americans used to play very simple characters. These roles were defined by stereotypes that exist in America.
There are fundamental differences between Eastern and Western cultures and the meeting of these cultures has had several effects, both in Asia and here in the US. Overseas, you can see the juxtaposition of American pop culture on the older modes of Asian thought and society. Here, New Age religions find new excuses in Asian religions and philosophies and Anime is appears regularly on Saturday morning cartoons. Often, this juxtaposition becomes turbulent as the younger generations are caught between two seemingly opposing cultures. As a result, crime rates rise with the integration of Western ideals and culture into Asian society. This is true here in America too as the first generation of Asian-Americans are born and brought up by Asian parents, with Asian thinking, in American society and culture. This conflict manifests itself in our history as a nation as well as in modern universities and businesses.
For 20 years, Asian Americans have been portrayed by the press and the media as a successful minority. Asian Americans are believed to benefit from astounding achievements in education, rising occupational statuses, increasing income, and are problem-fee in mental health and crime. The idea of Asian Americans as a model minority has become the central theme in media portrayal of Asian Americans since the middle 1960s. The term model minority is given to a minority group that exhibits middle class characteristics, and attains some measure of success on its own without special programs or welfare. Asian Americans are seen as a model minority because even though they have faced prejudice and discrimination by other racial groups, they have succeeded socially, economically, and educationally without resorting to political or violent disagreements with the majority race. The “success” of the minority is offered as proof that the American dream of equal opportunity is capable to those who conform and who are willing to work hard. Therefore, the term ...
Although Hollywood has evolved over the years, South Asians continue to feel outnumbered and discriminated against on the big screen. Naturally, Apu is one of the only South Asian characters in Hollywood; therefore, he holds a large influence of society. In an interview with Kondabolu conducted by Vanity Fair, Hari talks about how Hollywood has represented South Asians, “Everything is through the lens of a white person’s perception of an Indian immigrant” (qtd. in Wojciechowski). Later, he added, “I still haven’t seen an Indian-immigrant convenience store, taxi driver, or gas-station attendant character with depth, with a story, talking about a working-class life—on film, anyway” (qtd. in Wojciechowski). Actor Kal Penn spoke out about how the majority of roles he has written for him or offered to him involve a Gandhi-like-figure, a snake charmer, or a computer nerd (Mahdawi). During1990-1995, The Simpsons received the most views, averaging at about 12 million household views per seasons (List). During the entire 20th century, South Asian characters were rare in the media, and Apu was the first. Therefore, Apu set the paths and the platform for South Asian performs. Resulting in the lack of complexity and depth to Apu’s character, South Asian performers believe that Apu has affected their careers and success in Hollywood because of the poor introduction on South Asians to
Public out cry about actors who portray other races has brought attention to the subject and has produced numerous arguments. These actors who portray themselves a different race is something that shouldn’t be viewed as a positive thing that we should continue to do. First of having an actor portray another race usually results in a more stereotypical role. This gives the public a bad image of different ethnicities, which may think that this is that ethnicities normal behavior. Similarly, having an actor portray another ethnicity takes a job away from someone from that race. Actors of other races are under represented in films. By not giving minorities opportunities they can’t prove that they are in fact good actors, limiting them in future roles. By allowing actors to portray a different race we are not respecting minorities as equals.
For those Asian Americans who make known their discontent with the injustice and discrimination that they feel, in the white culture, this translates to attacking American superiority and initiating insecurities. For Mura, a writer who dared to question why an Asian American was not allowed to audition for an Asian American role, his punishment was “the ostracism and demonization that ensued. In essence, he was shunned” (Hongo 4) by the white people who could not believe that he would attack their superior American ways. According to writers such as Frank Chin and the rest of the “Aiiieeeee!” group, the Americans have dictated Asian culture and created a perception as “nice and quiet” (Chin 1972, 18), “mama’s boys and crybabies” without “a man in all [the] males.” (Chin 1972, 24). This has become the belief of the proceeding generations of Asian Americans and therefore manifested these stereotypes.
While watching movies, have you ever noticed that the villains in almost every single Hollywood film are of Middle Eastern or European descent? In a reoccurring theme of Hollywood, the villains in these films are almost always foreigners or people of color. This is a stereotype. On the other side of the spectrum, we often see that the heroes of these films are most often than not white males. This is another stereotype. Within the last few years, we’ve seen actors such as Will Smith, Morgan Freeman, and Zoe Saldana take the lead roles, so it can’t be said that there are no non-white heroes, but there certainly isn’t many. Hollywood action movies, moreover than other genres, are typically loaded with an abundance of stereotypes. The way these movies are composed and structured can tell us a great deal about the views held within the American psyche and who holds the social power. The harsh reality is that the media ultimately sets the tone for societal standards, moralities, and images of our culture. Many consumers of media have never encountered some of the minorities or people of color shown on screen, so they subsequently depend on the media and wholeheartedly believe that the degrading stereotypes represented on the big screen are based on fact and not fiction. Mary Beltran said it best when she stated in her “Fast and Bilingual: Fast & Furious and the Latinization of Racelessness” article, “ultimately, Fast & Furious mobilizes notions of race in contradictory ways. It reinforces Hollywood traditions of white centrism, reinforcing notions of white male master while also dramatizing the figurative borders crossed daily by culturally competent global youth – both Latino and non-Latino” (77). This paper will specifically look...