Asians in Hollywood | Video Essay
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
- Accented Cinema - Episode 15
In case it isn't obvious enough, I'm ethnically Asian. So, this is somewhat of a personal topic to me. Not to make everything about race, but I think most of us can agree that Hollywood, despite the diverse demographic, has not been to most supportive of minority groups.
So, for this episode, let's talk about it. I'll share my personal experience with the industry, and walk you through some of the most offensive or disappointing films.
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Update: It has been a few years since this video came out, and my thoughts on the topic has shifted.
At the time, I hold a strong distaste for Kristine Kreuk's role as Chun-li, because I believe she was hired for her white-passing appearance.
However, that should not negate her identity as an Asian actress, who faces the same struggle other Asian actors face. The film still blows, but her as Chun-Li should not be the point of contention. I messed up, I'm sorry.
Hey, good update.
Meh, I think referring to her concretely as a 'white actress' is not very cool, but it's totally valid to bring her up as an example of Hollywood choosing Asian actors who appear more white. Most of the Eurasians in the comments seem to be saying the same thing. The thing is that it means that both of our stories aren't told - the cultural, social, material differences in experiences aren't explored when we're lumped together - and when one group is allowed to be a stand-in for the other.
Bruh don't apologize. Just because someone is Asian to whatever extent, doesn't mean that they are fully representative of Asian people. If Shaq was born to an Asian man and woman, but otherwise looked and acted exactly the same, nobody in their right mind would label him as great representation of our community, not to take away from his identity. It is not Kristine's fault at all, but Hollywood absolutely has an issue with diluting Asianess to a point to where it is palatable to a white audience.
character: asian
casting: *cauc*-asian
lol，so what does cauc mean?
@@user-qy8ew4vh5o it refers to the Caucasus (or Caucasia), a region between the Black sea and Caspian sea.
Caucasia is literally in the middle of Europe and Asia
@@user-qy8ew4vh5o lol, many miss your joke
Hollywood Logic: They're Asian, but with a little extra something.
"Half-white, half-caucasian!" Such sass! That made me chuckle
I'm actually very foul-mouthed in real-life. I had to put a lot of effort trying to sound professional.
@@AccentedCinema And it really shows through! I do appreciate professionalism like that. Still, that little quip made me laugh. Very funny!
@@AccentedCinema I am honestly surprised by that! Haha, great video. Very interesting topic.
@@AccentedCinema I said the same thing at the same time as I was watching your video. Justified.
any adaptation that try to make west take the role as asian. will face big failure...
and also using ABC/BBC compare with nature mainland/hker/taiwanese can feel the difference in their skill and sense. perhaps due to place they grow up
"We were inspired by the hall of mirror in Versailles."
It took a great deal of restraint to not put that clip at the end of this episode.
i can hear this comment lmao
it's just already become a meme, and I also hear this comment literally
where did the crazy rich asians video go
'murrur'
“Mickey Rooney as the f*cking Anti-Christ.”
Haha! Brilliant!
I hope that racist yellow faced old bitch is rotting in hell rn
He left out that f*cking Long Duck Dong character portrayed by a Japanese American actor in 16 Candles
''Half White, Half Caucasian''
God i laughed so hard
So whiter than white?
@@monky7628 No, of course he meant "half-white, half-'person from the Caucasus region'", duh!
i really did LOL on this one
i'm usually confused whenever people said "Asian Actor" in hollywood when they talked about diversity in movies because they only refers to actors from east asian countries like china and korea, and excluding other actors coming from other part of asia like south east asia
It's kind of like when people speak of America and forget the rest of the continent (and their peoples). As a South-America born Asian person I can say, it is exceedingly annoying.
well u have Hong Kong actors
When I hear the word "Asian" I instantly associate it with the three East-Asian countries - China, Japan and Korea. Probably because the term Asian is used for these three countries plus a few others like Taiwan or Vietnam almost exclusively on a lot of parts on the internet, while people from India or Russia or Philippines or Pakistan are just referred to by their nationality or other names. Not sure why.
they only talk about SEA people when it's about wars, the part when dr manhattan snaps Vietnamese soldiers in watchmen is pretty sad, they are still coping with the defeat in the Vietnam war lol.
Come to think of it, people said that Rose in the Last Jedi was only cast as an Asian to attract the Chinese marked, but if that was their aim, they would have cast a Chinese Celebrity.
"Where?! Where's the Mandarin?!" Lmao kudos
LOL this was so unexpected yet on point
Yuunarichu ????
"Where's the tangerine?!"
Donnie Yen was my favourite part of Rogue One.
His role is one of the reasons I have the courage to start this channel. I learnt to embrace my accent because he owns his.
I am one with the force and the force is with me.
He’s my favorite of all the Disney Star Wars characters
my favorite part of Rogue One was when the Rebel scum put a blind fold on him and he says, "...but i'm blind."
Rogue One was the only Disney era star wars movie I had any fun with. The rest of their run has been kind of a dumpster fire. Especially episode 8.
"whether or not she can be white is irrelevant, .... the fact that she doesnt Have to be Asian, means that she will not be Asian."
such good speech!
Uodate: I'd like to further address the argument against the casting of Chun-li. I apologize for what I said in the video. As I didn't make it clear enough. My problem wasn't that Half Asian isn't Asian. But rather Kristine Kreuk is a very white-passing actress. That made me question the exec's motivation behind the casting.
Chun-li is very rigidly definited by her nationality and ethnicity, like Mulan.
It wouldn't be a problem if Kreuk was chosen to play Ada Wong (Resident Evil) or Faith (Mirror's Edge). But Chun-li is just a bad casting, with or without her ethnicity in play.
I know this is a controversial topic to tackle, and I fully admit I'm not a sociology expert. That's why this episode merely tackle the subject on a surface level. If you disagree with my opinions, great! Keep it civil and let's have a talk. I'm open to have my mind changed :)
How about the opposite problem when Hollywood put in Chinese actors in a movie just for the movie to make more money in China. Like "The Great Wall", "Tomb Raider", "Meg" and so on. It seems every movie must have Chinese actors in the movie for it to succeed in China. Can a movie succeed in Asia without Asian cast?
@@webinatic216 Oh man, I hated that with Kong: Skull Island. Set during the Cold War but still shoves in a Chinese token character into the American team. Arggg.
@pastal I agree. The movie would have been much better if they had all Chinese cast. Matt Damon made no sense in that movie.
@@webinatic216 That type of token role is a insult to a lot of these actors abilities. I don't even remember that scientists name, role, or a single line she said. Tian Jing must've thought it was just an easy paycheck but still probably made an effort only to have it go to waste as false advertising to a Chinese audience. It's almost bait and switch.
Even you didn't list Natives in the film industry. At least we have Toronto's imagineNATIVE film festival.
Same here
As a Indian i am get suprised when i see a real indian in Hollywood movie i am like "hey thats awesome"
Too bad most indians in movies are really really boring.
Its kinda sad cuz indian cinema is so over the top
you must be talking about bollywood but that's not the only indian cinema. there are honestly loads of indian movies that are even better than most hollywood ones. but yeah, they're always stereotypes in american films.
watch British films where they constantly cast Indians in film all the time. They're either a supporting cast or they're the main cast.
When Princess Jasmine was played By Naomi Scott who Is Half White I was like. ????
All british movies where there are indian, the indians in those films hate thier own culture and view it as a negative. E.g. Bend it like Beckham, East is East
@@911beats There is no place for mixed race people in Hollywood, they offend minorities by being too White, and White people will never accept them for not looking White enough.
dragon ball Goku,
hollywood: there are no scientific proof that super saiyans are japanese, therefore caucasian confirmed.
that explaination actually makes, sense, japanese dont have yellow hair.
@@sokratesowly2256 goku was drawn to have black hair, toi said was too lazy to draw it in
@@sokratesowly2256 and if it was to be, he said he would have preferred it to be white silver hair like ultra instinct.
Another huge problem with the casting decision of Ghost in the Shell is how it fundamentally changes the themes of the film (when the writers are clearly still trying to maintain the same themes).
In the original, the major constantly expresses existential dread. The fact that she physically looks the same as multiple people in her world heightens that existential crisis. The live-action trying to justify the major being white by giving her an unique body is fundamentally at odds with this central theme of identity and definition of self.
I disagree with you. I thought the reveal at the end where "Killian" realizes that she is "Kusanagi" was totally in line with GitS philosophy.
A major theme in the original source is about the distinction between ghost and shell. The soul/mind and body duality that makes us who we are. The bodies in GitS are perfect, so it is the soul that needs to be improved.
While I do understand the real world context being that this is a Hollywood movie that does have a white actress in a role that most would expect to be Japanese, I don't think it takes away from the story that she is white. It's literally part of the plot. Those in power stole her old identity and replaced it with what they wanted. A shell and ghost they could control or manipulate.
I do think the writers of this film really dumbed it down for a wider audience. And I hate that.
(also I don't think complaining about everyone speaking english is relevant, most of the GitS material I watched was with dubs! That's a communication thing. I don't believe it necessarily takes away from the experience of watching something that's not originally in english)
@@pelicane136 i just think the writer made motoko kusanagi become jason bourne.
I've never seen the original, but i thought they added tragedy to the remake. Now Major has to face the death of her past identity. I thought it was apparent as "Major" looked at the grave of "Makoto"
@@pelicane136 still, that movie was a huge missed opportunity....
One example of some of this is the actress Chloe Bennet (who is half-Chinese) changed her last name from Wong just so she could get more call-backs.
Eh yea I dunno how to feel about that? Is she a popular actress? If she is then she fucking greedy as shit and shes taking away roles from other asian Americans
@@reechel4390 Seems more like she changed it so she would not get pigeonholed, and thus get a competitive advantage against white actresses. She's been one of the leads of the reasonably popular show Agents of Shield for the last few years.
@@RolfHartmann not exactly... you should read more about it. She really had no callbacks until she changed her name. www.npr.org/2017/09/03/548296823/actress-chloe-bennet-wants-to-change-the-narrative-for-asian-americans-in-hollyw
She tried out being a pop idol in China when she was a kid where she was the "white girl" of the group, so it works both ways.
You cannot hide that racism no matter what excuse Hollywood makes.
As a Brazilian who frequently get pissed of for the bad and very stereotypical representations that we get in Hollywood cinema, I can really relate to you.
For Hollywood, Brazil is what resumes in a superficial look in what Rio de Janeiro looks like, and our characters from my country are normally criminals or a sex-appealing stereotypical womans or a retarded humorous relief.
And the fact that our national films that are famous in the exterior, such as Cidade de Deus (City of God) and Tropa de Elite, are not good representations about what Brazil really doesn't help, either.
@Quodlibeta
Y ya se pero yo digo. En Brazulandia y en Argentina se hacen decenas de peli l año. Por lo general la ven los paises nacionales y hasta se exportan a los limítrofes. Todas reflejan las ideas nacionales y autoperceptivas de cada país. (con algunos estereotipos de los limitrofes). Pero la verdad es que si uno quiere que sean éxitos internacionales y que lo lleven y premien en los "paises serios" nos van a tener que retratar como animalitos. Otra realidad le es difícil. Y (con nuestra autoestima Latinoaméricana ) pensamos que ESA SERA nuestra identidad
The same with mexico and colombia
I’m not brazillian and i can feel you. That Fast N Furious shit have a weird fetish for south america thang
Also, whenever I see a capoeira guy, I just know he’s going to do a single flip and then get knocked out for a laugh.
verdade bro
In Godzilla KOTM (and Detective Pikachu), I was THRILLED to see the Asian characters not speaking English in typical US/UK movie accents. Not that I have a problem with non native speakers doing that, obviously. But I'm an English teacher, and SO many of my Asian students are stressed out about their accents; some go out of their way to avoid speaking English at all, even where it could benefit them and even though they're perfectly capable, because they're so ashamed of their pronunciation.
Thing is, I honestly DO NOT think it's that hard to understand anyone's accent. So I'd love to know - who are these feckers making jokes about my students' pronunciation, or whining that they can't understand them? Because I would dearly love to get my hands on those people. There's no accent you can't get used to with a bit of patience and time - ask people to write things down if you're really struggling! - so WHY are people so insistent that every syllable be delivered in exactly the way that they're used to? It's entitled, childish, and arrogant. Not to mention - even among native speakers, there's SO much accent variation. It really, honestly, should not be such an issue to communicate with people from all over the world.
ANYWAY. This is a great video, and thank you :) I'm always happy to see a diverse case, but with these movies I was delighted to see people speaking 'accented English' and being perfectly understood by the people around them, and by all the gods, I want to see more of the same. And I hope people watching Watanabe Ken and Zhang Ziyi in these movies will realise that you don't have to spend all that time and money on learning perfect RP English or trying to sound like your favourite Hollywood actor. Really, it's okay
Society makes fun of people for their accent angers me the more I think about it. We should never, ever, shame someone who is trying to learn.
Thank you for being a teacher!
I dated a girl from Taiwan for a little while. It was difficult for me to understand her at times. Not because of her accent, but because she's very soft spoken and it was hard for me to hear her over other noises at times.
I always felt really bad because I was worried she thought I just couldn't understand her accent. I didn't mind it at all, in fact I actively helped her with her english whenever she asked for it and I even learned a bit of Mandarin from her.
That's just my hot take, thought I'd offer that little story. I honestly liked her accent, I know she would get self-conscious whenever she was having trouboe pronouncing things (she was new to the country and still learning English) but I honestly thought it was adorable.
I'm half dutch and half indonesian. I stopped speaking dutch here (in Holland) 'cause they kept making fun of the "american" accent I had. So I forever speak English to everyone now.
What pisses me off is that Hollywood always wants Asians to only speaks stereotypical American accents. Even Asians from Asia are played by Non-Hispanic Asian-Americans over actual Asians.
@@-haclong2366 Asian Americans aren't asian?
Watching current movies and TV shows, Asian characters are usually:
1. Enemy agents.
2. The next "Red Shirt." (Eliminated by the horrendous monster ASAP.)
3. Clueless/inarticulate/social misfit "brainiac," who gets the #2 treatment ASAP.
4. Is a "martial arts expert" who gets the #2 treatment ASAP.
5. Disappears when the horrendous monster attacks the group.
6. Is a radio voice dispensing all the wrong advice.
7. Shows up to pin medal(s) on the Victorious Survivors.
Otokichi786 there’s a new one that’s been trending in some blockbuster movies. A weird jock/douche type who exists just to get hate from the audience while making the white main character look good.
@@ConfusedGeriatric
Hey, that's Cobra Kai, only instead of them propping up a white guy it's a mexican guy.
You missed the over sexualized female, who is also an enemy spy while also being a martial arts expert, but still needs the protection of the white male protagonist.
The Legend of Chun Li was not only a case of bad casting, even the script was bad.
Oh man and I even went to watch that movie in the Cinema with my dad. We both love good action movies but I was even more invested because I knew about the street fighter series. Honestly I'd have rather watched the 1994 version
@@ggMwaniki The Van Damme one was bad in a good way, Legend of Chun Li was just plain bad.
TBH most video game/ anime adaptations are bad mostly cuz they don't really have the budget to create a good movie in personnel(director or actors) or in special effects. Mortal Combat is just embracing the B-film cult status now.
Stereotype:
Asian Actor= Must be a Martial Artist
Me a Asian Ghetto: *MAN IM BOUT TO BUST A GLOCK ON HOLLYWOOD!!!*
Or some kind of geek with glasses
I don't understand why y'all Asian people are offended by the Martial arts stereotype. If black people had a martial arts stereotype,they would reclaim it and use it to empower themselves.
@@kenshix7902 not really offended but being annoyed.
@@kenshix7902 You’re a clown
*_This video was inspired by hall of mirror in Versailles_*
If the role is not forced to be any specific race...its going to be white :P
Depends on the country of origin. Wherever a movie is made, it's a given for local actors to be the majority.
@@isn0t42 The context of this video and comment is about Hollywood - i.e. US. Are local US actors majority white? Or is it because racial minority actors in the US are not given roles because: "if the role is not forced to be any specific race, it's going to be white"? After all, Hollywood is disproportionately white compared to the actual population of the US. So you're right that US-made movies are going to be majority white, but that's precisely the problem.
Nah they make exceptions for the token black guy. Look at Thor and Heimdall.
@@Drownedinblood if you looked at infinity war. The rest of the remaining asguardian people were multicultural. And hogan from the warriors three was asian
@Carnivorus By that logic, American movies need to have roughly 30% of all roles (including leads) be non-white, because roughly 30% of the population is not white - but we're not seeing that.
when an asian appears in a western movie
me: *dicaprio pointing*
Sometimes I go back to watch an Accented Cinema video
just to list down the movie clips and references he used in his video for me to watch in the future.
An interesting dive into a different perspective on something I probably underappreciated. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve always come to the understanding that asians need to be behind the camera and in front if asians are going to make any headway in Hollywood. May we keep making good shit and gain influence.
You're right man. I've also watched many movies where Asians are ridiculed. They show them as Noodle eating, Kung fu knowing, sword wielding and silent persons.
And also I like your Chapter 1 and chapter 2 format. It feels like I am seeing some research papers. Your voice also suits.
Hope you will get through that copyright case. Best of Luck.
Kungfu is brilliant.
But I prefer Silat from The Raid 2
At least the 90's Street Fighter film casted Ming-Na Wen as Chun-Li. People always say that "the ethinicty of the character isn't important", but yes, yes it is.
And Guile (american fighter) played by belgian actor...
@@RedKubisGaming well, all we know, Guile might very well be of Belgian descent, although I highly doubt that lol. My biggest gripe with movie Guile is the lack of crazy hairdo and the presence of eyebrows.
@@RedKubisGaming but only jean claude van-damme is the only person who can match guiles moveset
I appreciate this video essay, bro. Like you, I'm also aware of the trend in Hollywood to white wash Asian roles and the demasculinization of Asian men. We're not all Ken Jeongs, or like you have put it best, we're not the Antichrist lol. Keep up the good work as your voice is important. I'm a filmmaker based in Minneapolis. Hit me up if you ever want to collaborate on projects.
Truly appreciate your perspective! Thanks for another great video. Looking forward to seeing more videos on the intersection between Chinese & East-Asian culture and cinema!
thanks for talking about this im really glad you did, love your videos!
Don't forget Cloud Atlas. To portray an Asian man they taped the lead actors eyes back to be "Korean".
nahh Cloud Atlas doesn't count because that was the concept of the film.
Really well put together essay. Enjoyed this a lot.
deathnote can work in america, just ask what if it dropped in america, protagonist stays in japan, L hunts american killer.
no need for Light *Turner*
Wow. What a thoughtful and sharp video essay. Really impressive work. Thanks for your hard work!
Thank you for sharing. Beautifully edited and complied but most of all, I feel like it isn't just me. We are here and heard.
Your monologues are incredibly well thought out.
Just as exams let out you release a new video talking about an interesting topic. This is fucking awesome.
Hope you had a good semester.
@@AccentedCinema Thanks comrade
Can't believe how much you packed Into an 8 minute video, love it!
I'm really happy to have found your channel, great video :)
Hey Accented Cinema,
Would love to see you do videos analyzing either the "Young & Dangerous" or "Infernal Affairs" franchises. It seems creating continuity in movie franchises are a massive trend in North America right now; yet, this has been a trademark part of Hong Kong cinema since forever.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Holy shit my guy, you from Montreal too... continue the good work 👍🏻👍🏻
Great video! I hope you'll cover the same topic, but on the TV industry someday!
Another amazing video essay! Keep it up!
The thing I hated about ghost in the shell was that, they had an opportunity to do a new reinterpretation of the source material, instead they chose to copy the anime.
Great video! I do the same and freak out every time I see an asian in screen. Haha.
I just recently diving into your videos, and I really related to this discussion. I also can't help but be surprised and feel the need to say, "oh look, an Asian," whenever I see an Asian American actor/actress in a Hollywood film. It's such a rare thing, but really feels nice when it happens. Thank you so much for going into this topic!
I love all your videos dude! Keep it up!
How do you feel about the announcement of Shang Chi by Marvel. It's gonna have the real Mandarin
I think it's great you are making content specifically directed or is in reference to your own race or ethnic backgrounds. There's a surplus of media that IS NOT directed to minorities.
absolutely loved your content, keep going man!
I like the optimistic ending! Looking forward to what the future of film has in store for the Asian population.
Love your films bro, keep up the good work for us Asians!!
"Half white, half caucasian" had me ROLLING! It reminded me of when there was a debate with a racist polititian on TV in my country and her opponent asked her to try and step into the shoes of the people she wanted to deny a good life here. Her respons was that she herself was of a mixed ethnicity and that she could understand how they felt (she's white as snow and blond btw) My friend when hearing this went: "Mix of WHAT!? Swedish and fucking DANISH?!" it had the exact same energy, I love it!
Very informative video! Thank you so much!
Just discovered your channel a couple of days ago, you present some very interesting videos as I have become more into East Asian cinema myself especially the wuxia genre, now as to your topic one of my biggest recent gripes was JJ Abrams casting Iko Uwais one of the biggest action stars these days in the Force Awakens, yet he doesnt have one word of dialogue and doesnt get to punch anyone in the face, what a waste of talent!!!
i really enjoyed this video! you're really good at using clips from films for comedic effect
one of the most recent and noticeable white washing in Hollywood films was Emma Stone playing a woman of Hawaiian and Asian heritage... hopefully that kind of stuff stops completely soon
I almost choked on water when I saw that clip.
So, I'd like to offer a counter point to your Ghost in the Shell discussion. The themes of the remake are about loss of identity, she was an asian human rights activist, and was then stripped of everything that made her unique. She slowly begins to find out about her past, to find out about the atrocities that were done to her. It might have been a reshoot (I don't know that though), but I feel like the film portrayed that in an interesting way.
The actual casting is still something I think should be discussed, Scarlett Johannson has said some very... interesting things about who she should play.
The creator of Ghost in the Shell himself said he had no issue with the casting and even stated that the Major's physical appearance is an assumed one because she is a cyborg after all.
@@Jono153 not the creator, the director of the anime.
Great topic. Loved the video man.
Really like your stuff. Keep up the good work
Also I think television is on par with Hollywood is Asian representation. I think Netflix is doing its part in having a vast Asian collection of movies and series, including Always be my Maybe that was released. Also check out Warrior, a kung full Western series based on Bruce Lee's writings and airing on Cinemax.
if you want to see Asian representation watch Asian movies, East Asians are 2.5% of America. 1% of Hong Kong is white, Hong Kong movies don't cast any white roles.
@@meginna8354 Look up "whataboutism". That's what you're doing here.
@@westybestie No, just seeing if the person actually believes in what they say, i wasn' at all a subject matter and didn't divert any accusation with whataboutism type of strawman fallacy to dodge said accusation.
@@westybestie no it isn't genius, it's a form of red hearing and strawman fallacy, seeing if someone believes in what they say isn't.
Big fan of the show here, amazing representation of asian american men. Am I the only one who is okay with half white asian actor as long as they represent asian people in a positive light
Ha! 3:25 got me!! Well said. Well said. X_X
"Mickey Rooney as the F***ing anti- Christ" truly iconic lines from our favorite Cinema
I want to see a Chinese Christian movie specifically made for Mandarin speaking people.
Featuring kung-fu Jesus.
You wish had been half-granted. Google image "Korean Jesus"
Perhaps a movie about Michael Shen Fu-Tsung and his voyage to Europe?
As a Chinese Indonesian Catholic, I would watch that.
A movie i will fucking watch.
No more mrs nice guy
Jesus wasn't Chinese, he was Manchu. Just ask any Qing elites.
LMAOOO loved the reference to Get out!
Great video! A book on the topic for anyone interested in further reading is Reel Inequality by Dr. Nancy Wang Yuen.
Hey! You are from Montreal! I totally feel ya! I studied in social sciences for years and almost never met BIPOC in my university classes.
Another thoughtful and well put together video. I like your content! One thing you forgot to mention is that casting follows marketing and audience projections. As Asian audiences continue to grow as a force in box office (both in N. America and in worldwide markets especially China), casting will follow the money and we'll see more films like Crazy Rich Asians in wide theatrical release, along with intelligent casting such as the latest Godzilla film featuring Zhang Ziyi or the amazing Michelle Yeo in Star Trek Discovery.
I don't hear him complaining about the fact that Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, and Gong Li are not Japanese in Memoirs of a Geisha.
I'm surprised Aloha wasn't mentioned.
Hahahahahha... I'm glad someone else was etc when she was chun li... Apparently they wanted to get away with it with her 1/4 Asian heritage...
As for ghost in the shell, I think I was more upset about "almost true to source" than the title character being white. The end bit felt tacked on due to the controversy around the film, and even to some non Asians it was a slap in the face as well. They had beat takeshi which was awesome, and he only spoke Japanese, just to remind you of that, but in many ways it was just disappointing. More so than Dragon ball evolution.
Good video. Nice to see a fellow Concordia student
Another great video essay! All I'll say about this topic is, yeah, I get surprised too whenever I see an Asian actor in a Hollywood film. But things are definitely starting to change now as more Asian/Asian-American actors are getting lead roles.
that movie will only get a budget of $50 million to $100 million
Just waiting for Awkwafina to drop her next album.
If Japan started making humanoid robots, why wouldn't they make them look Japanese?
Very well articulated essay!
You are from Montreal! I'm too. How are you holding up during the coronavirus outbreak?
I remember there was a time (2000s, early 2010s I reckon) when whenever there was any film that require an Asian character and an Asian actor/actress was casted, then in the movie, whenever the scenes with said Asian come on, the acting was so bad that it just made people feel like maybe there were just no good Asian actors/actresses for Hollywood to pick. That might've really been the case back then, since Asians can't make it in the film industry, less Asians take that profession up, and the horrible cycle continued. But more often than not it just felt like maybe the producers just didn't bother to deal with NG takes when it involved the Asians, just to prove a point with the final version of the film.
And then when they'd finally casted Asians who are actually good in acting straight out of Asia, they'd make big hoohahs on how a superstar or diva in Asia was casted, and then more often than not they would only get cameo roles which did nothing to show their acting credentials. And then the narrative on "Asians are no good for Hollywood" continues.
But yeah, I guess it is getting better in recent years though...
You're Asian?
My God.
You can't just drop a bombshell like that without warning us.
Yep I remember watching the ghost in the shell adaptation and noticing all the changes. It just made me want to watch the original.
Where can we watch "Keep Calm and Make Art" !!!?
Thanks so much for this video on an important topic. I am curious about your thoughts (or anyone's thought) on a couple points:
1) You mention your disappointment with the treatment of the Mandarin character in Ironman 3. This makes me wonder: would your own personal preference be to have Asian actors appear more on screen even if the roles were villainous or otherwise stereotypical? I know (going to a different Marvel movie) this was part of the controversy over the Ancient One in 'Doctor Strange.' The director, Scott Derrickson, justified his decision to make the Ancient One a white woman rather than an Asian man (or woman) because casting an Asian would play too much into certain stereotypes about Wise Old Asian sages. Still, the result was that the movie had one less Asian actor than it could have.
2) What about Asian actors of one particular national/ethnic heritage being cast to play characters of a different heritage? John Cho, for example, is of Korean heritage but in the Star Trek movies he plays a character of Japanese heritage. Michelle Yeoh is frequently cast to play Chinese characters but technically she is Malaysian. Is that good/bad/neutral?
A. I'd prefer if the villain played by an Asian actor, yes.
If certain roles appears stereotypical, then the role is badly written. The solution is to adjust the character, not change the casting.
But I used the clip from Iron Man 3 mainly because Mandarin isn't even in the movie. It's a bait and switch.
B. It depends on how much a particular characters nationality plays into the character's background, as well as the actor's. Nationality matters more for Mulan than it is for Chun-li than it is for Ada Wong.
But most actors I talked about in this episode are born and raised in America. Their ancestry is not so rigidly defined.
@@AccentedCinema That all makes sense. Thanks again for your thoughts on this topic!
I think at this time in Hollywood it is a win to get an Asian actor to play an Asian character even if the actor isn’t the same heritage. It’s better than a white character playing an Asian character. But in some cases it is crucial to cast an actor that is the same heritage as the character of their heritage is a crucial part of the movie (ex. the live action Mulan movie).
Michelle yeoh is Chinese Malaysian.
@@frenchfrete True, and perhaps that makes a difference compared to a situation where an actor who is not of Chinese heritage at all plays a Chinese character.
I don't understand why they couldn't just set the Ghost in the Shell in the US if they wanted to make the Major white.
it really is odd honestly. A big hit that also originated from japan is Edge of Tomorrow and that film was great
I know, right? Set it in San Fransokyo or something.
Mokoto is a damn cyborg. It doesn't matter if she's japanese, she can put her brain in whatever body she wants. In her case, she put it in a caucasian body. I mean, c'mon, you expect the blue eyed white as fuck Major to be asian? Besides, the mangaka approved Scarlet as Mokoto.
Fuck you're so eloquent and well researched. Your vids always get me thinking
Loved this video!
I was happy when Always be my maybe came out. It was refreshing. However, the stereotyping of Asian men really pisses me off. Simu makes a good point about it. I'm surprised you didn't mention it in the video.
loloioi What did Simu say about the movie?
That half white half caucasian line is gold, that had me crying hahaha
Oh! Didn't know you studied in Montreal, that's pretty cool
Hey I happen to be in Montreal too and aiming at applying to Concordia! Are you in film studies?
I was in film production but I graduated a few years back.
Great video but honestly wish you did dive a little deeper into the topic, such as why representation is important, why there might not be as many minorities participating in fine arts, the difference between Asian and Asian-american perspectives, etc.
My personal thoughts on these topics:
Representation is important because it humanizes us to people who have not ever talked or interacted with an Asian person or any other minority. One of the innate powers of cinema is that it is much more accessible and far reaching than what any single person can accomplish. While one person can make an effort to reach out across ethnic boundaries, the amount of people they can reach is limited, while movies and television can reach millions of peoples eyes and resonate with people on a much deeper emotional level. People often talk about the importance of a first impression, and I would argue that cinema provides a far more important zero-th impression. The unfortunate truth is people will start forming an opinion about you based on race before you even open your mouth, and these opinions are based largely on what they have seen in media. This is why Asians are stereotyped as weak and nerdy, why blacks and latinos are stereotyped as thuggish and dangerous. Having more representation for all minorities is important to dispel these false stereotypes and have people view us for who we really are rather than what we appear to be in mainstream media.
Representation in media is also a powerful self fulfilling prophecy. To see someone that looks like yourself on screen and imagine yourself in their shoes is extremely powerful, and has shaped countless lives of people everywhere, especially so for starry eyed children. Diversity on the screen will inevitably lead to diversity of ideas inside ethnic circles in the real world.
Now as to why there may not be as many minorities participating in fine arts. I can't speak for other minority groups, but my opinion on why Asians may not tend to go into these fields is simple: we simply do not view it as a sustainable career. And of course there is much truth to this, breaking into Hollywood is extremely hard. But the reason why Asians may have a harder time accepting this fact over white people is due to an innate fear of regression. One of the biggest reasons for minorities to immigrate to America is for better opportunity and to escape poor conditions, and a large majority of these families have only done so and escaped poverty and war within one or two generations, well within living memory. As such, the pain of poverty is still fresh within the familial unit, and large risks diverging from what is considered sustainable careers, ie engineering, business, law, medicine, etc, is highly discouraged. But another such factor is that because Asians have so little representation in Hollywood, is it viewed as far too risky. And thus begins the cycle, where underrepresentation leads to a poor view of it as a career which leads to underrepresentation. Slowly this is getting better as the pain from the past becomes more distant from the present, and Asian-americans advance in society to the point where the current and next generation is encouraged to take more risks.
Lastly, the difference between the Asian and the Asian-American perspective is drastic and possibly the least understood by people, including Asians and Asian-Americans themselves. Of course Asia is an enormous place, so grouping it under one title is vastly generalizing, and Asian-Americans themselves are extremely diverse as well. However, the one thing that bonds Asian-Americans together is the experience of living in a country where you are a vast minority. The topic of representation is actually only really prevalent in Asian-American circles because representation of Asians in Asia is not a problem. In fact, most Japanese people had no problem with Scarlet Johanssen playing the major because they thought 'Oh its an American film, of course they will cast a white actor', while the outrage from Asian-Americans was palpable, frustrated that even such an obviously Asian character went once again to a white person. This also ties back to the zero-th impression I was referring to previously, except in a national scale. People outside the US view the US as a an entirely white country, which to be fair the large majority of the population is. But a large majority does not equate to entirety, and is not an accurate portrayal of the US. Again, there is hope for this as Asians are the fastest growing minority group in the country, and change is happening rapidly.
You nailed the issue of Asian vs Asian-American. Conflating the two hints that one views people who look "Asian" as foreign regardless of their nationality or background.
All that sustainable career money gets made and later funnelled into funding the culture and arts activities of the next generation.
Why are there only a few Asians in film?
Asian Dad says: Asian kids can be whatever they want, "Doctor or Lawyer."
*YOU DOCTAH YET? CALL ME WHEN YOU DOCTAH*
hey man, idk you like Wong Kar-Wai, but you should make a video on him! he’s one of my favorite directors from Hong Kong
I love your channel. it makes me really interested in china art cinema. I have always known about japan's media but china has so much of their own.
As a Colombian, I can relate too. The only two staples we have: Sofia Vergara and John Leguizamo. The first is the stereotypical Latina as view by the gay-white upper class (ahem, Modern Family), the cool thing is she owns it and, in a subtle way you won't realize, she plays and exploits the rigged system. Leguizamo, on the other hand, had a lot of potential but choose some projects that ostracized him much. It wasn't until John Wick he regained popularity.
And that is just the beggining: Bogotá in Mr and Ms Smith? It is a Jungle, while real life Bogotá is cold, really cold. Some thing similar happened in "Colombiana". Medellín, where I come from? For the film industry It is just drugs, and clay houses and stuff that it is not even akin to reality: we have a train, and a good one, for Christ sake! Medellín one of the most industrialized cities in the country.
And the Colombians, jeez. They are always drug related or sex related or some stuff like that.
Also, I have realized that to Hollywood every Latino looks like your stereotypical cholo/vato from Blood in, Blood out. Dude I am as white as it gets but it is imposible to see a white Latino because we are all brown...
So, sorry for the rant. Thanks for the video.
Impossible to see a white Latino? William Levy Raul Esparza Ana DeArmas Valerie Cruz J Lo Joanna Garcia Oscar Issac Josh Segarra Kate Del Castillo Paola Nunez can I go on?
@@mic187x2 Oscar Isaac is the only A list of that list. Raúl Esparza has been left out of SVU, JLO is not "white Latina" and is more closer to the Sofia Vergara Stereotipe, William Levy the same but for Male, Kate Del Castillo Started in latin tv and then was used as a token to get latino audiences. Now, tell me soemthing Wouldn't you think it's dumb if I showed New York as a place with sun and palm trees? Because that is what I felt when US portrays Bogotá as a Jungle...
@@davidagudelo2435 The topic was white Latinx people. You went away from that.
@@mic187x2 The topic was Latino representation. The first two paragraphs are clear...Take your X, I don't want it.
I be inspired by the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing.
Great vid and brings out great points! I'm an African American performer. I get a similar feeling as you when I see a light skinned Black actor on the screen.
I loved this video. However, as a half-white/half-Asian person I want to make it clear that we are Asian as well. It is also really special and important to see mixed people represented as well. We often get targeted for “not being Asian enough” but also “not being white enough” so it’s hard to find a place to fit in. We’re both, but neither at the same time and so it’s hard to find a place.
I do think it’s strange however, when they try to represent them as a person who’s biological parents are fully Asian (or cast their child version as fully Asian but then they somehow morph into a half-Asian like in your example). For a character like Chun Li, she should’ve been fully Asian. Making her half white was very strange and not the right place.
I understood why the example was put in the video but some of the phrasing was hurtful. I often feel like I’m not enough or that my identity isn’t valid because I’m seen as an “other” where I should fit in. I am Asian but not Asian enough, I am white but not white enough. Yes, Kristen shouldn’t have been casted and that was wrong, hurtful and frustrating. She should’ve been fully Asian and we all know that. However, I felt the need to clarify this because it’s something that’s often overlooked.
Thank you for this video. When I was a teen, I did have dreams of making it in Hollywood. I am glad I did not pursue that path. Would have been too much disappointment to only get so few chances for a role. I work with a lot of young people. I tell them, if this is the path you choose, be ready for a rough ride. I don't see this changing anytime soon.
I am a huge ghost in the shell fan... I am glad you covered that film. I have to say, I am not asian, I am not japanese, but I Wanted the major to be asian. I told someone why didn't they make the scarlett johannsen ghost in the shell about the american empire, copy of the major, that will be slick
Can you provide me guidance on writing a good story for Asian cast? I'm looking to do something meaningful for the community