Representation

       Within my project, one of the groups I am interested in representing is that of Asian Americans. Whether in tv shows and films or in commercials, Asians are typically portrayed as geeks and technical geniuses. They may also be portrayed as foreigners who are recent immigrants to the US, often having broken English and thick accents. Asians in the media are typically submissive and shy. They tend to be portrayed as bully victims or those that are romantically inept. In particular, Asian American woman have been routinely featured as prostitutes and sex workers.

       They are shown many times as being highly sexualized and submissive. This is shown in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, where a Vietnamese sex worker sexually devalues herself for white American soldiers, telling them "me love you long time." Asian representation in media is often times whitewashed; white actors are used to play the roles of Asian characters. This can be seen in numerous films, such as Ghost in the Shell, when Scarlett Johansson played Motoko Kusanagi, or in The Martian when Mackenzie Davis played the role of a Korean scientist, Mindy Park.

       Fortunately, there have been attempts to change this existing representation in a more diverse and accurate manner, and increase the representation of Asians altogether. This can be seen in the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians. This movie's cast was predominantly Asian, with an all Asian group of leading characters. The movie also showed numerous Asian traditions, such as the game mahjong.

       These representations upset me, as they are not fair or correct. In the media, Asian culture may be seen as some mythical and strange thing, but in reality Asian Americans are just modern people with modern occupations and lives. In my project, I would challenge all of the stereotypes of Asian Americans, as they are not accurate to the group. In my project, I would show a group of Asian characters, all with different backgrounds and contrasting personalities. I would depict them as the protagonists and would show their everyday lives and experiences.