Similarities Between Han Lee's In Living Color: Race And American Culture

Film and television establish how racial minorities look, behave and in essence, ‘who they are,’ engraining this image into the minds of those viewing the shows. Michael Omi’s article, In Living Color: Race and American Culture, provides evidence of the racial stereotype of Asian males portrayed in television and film, which results in the perpetuation of white “superiority.” The television show, 2 Broke Girls, provides just one example of the racist portrayal of the Asian man on TV. The Asian character, Han Lee, is portrayed as romantically undesirable, with a small physical stature, peculiar English and little fashion sense. Michael Omi states in his essay, In Living Color: Race and American Culture that “All Asians look alike,” the saying goes… with respect to food, dress, language and culture”

In the television sitcom, 2 Broke Girls, Han Lee is portrayed as a small, romantically undesirable Asian man with peculiar English and little fashion sense. Even ‘Han Lee’s’ name immediately informs the viewer that ‘this is an Asian character.’ Han’s clothing changes throughout 2 Broke Girls could go unnoticed, reinforcing his lack of fashion sense. In every scene, he is wearing a wool sweater vest, a button down shirt and a pair of khaki pants that are too big. This image depicts him as a man with very little fashion sense. This is an example of inferential racism, because it isn’t verbally stated that the Asian male has no fashion sense, but the image portrays it. Han also has a strong accent when he speaks, and his small physical stature is stressed repeatedly throughout the program. Not only is Han smaller than any other character, he is also several inches shorter than his 2 female co-stars, and the dialogue between them reinforces his small stature. When Han states that he