#asians in hollywood
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The US and its propaganda arm, Hollywood, have always been anti-Asian. Although opportunities are opening up for Asian actors, the underlying messaging—that divides and hurts Asians—hasn't changed.
Not too long ago, AsAms seemed united in outrage against racism and white-washed casting such as Scarlet Johannsen in Ghost in the Shell, Tilda Swinton in Dr. Strange, or Netflix’s Deathnote. Yet as more projects with AAPI leads and casts were produced, this so-called unity proved to be a lie.
The illusion of AsAm unity fell apart with To All the Boys I Loved Before—which was widely celebrated despite its blatant white-worship. The most recent blow comes from Hulu's The Company You Keep, a U.S. remake of a k-drama that replaced the male love interest with a white man.
Once it seemed like AAPI women were getting roles and being “humanized” (i.e. garnering attention and approval from white men on-screen and off) AAPI with media power were satisfied. It didn't matter that AAPI men were still erased and dehumanized—even in supposedly pro-AAPI projects.
Not only do AAPI with media power not care about the continuing harm against AAPI men, they exacerbate it. When AsAms critique anti-Asian narratives—especially ones erasing or targeting AsAm men like TATBILB—they're gaslit, harassed, censored and even permanently blacklisted.
This is because AsAm media is held hostage by the racist framework of the U.S. government's 1942-43 Mixed Marriage Policy. White men's hierarchy—based on perceived threat levels and receptiveness to white assimilation—still dictates Hollywood narratives.
Research confirms that the MMP persists today. A 2015 study shows how gendered racism leads to severe under-representation of Asian men (and Black women). Whereas monoracial Asian men face significant barriers in dating, a 2014 study shows mixed-white Asians get a "bonus effect."
This is why Hollywood execs know there will be less uproar if monoracial Asian men aren't represented—it's been the status quo for decades. In the few roles made for Asian men, they still fall into two categories: pathetic loser or toxic man/villain. In some cases, both.
The hatred and erasure of Asian men is so deeply embedded that it's led to the widespread erasure of AAPI men as victims of anti-Asian hate crimes in recorded stats and media narratives. AAPI journalists know this, yet continue to do nothing to correct it.
So what's next for AsAm representation? In 2022, Janet Yang became president of the Oscars. She's co-founder of Gold House—an AsAm Hollywood collective—and executive producer of Joy Luck Club, a seminal work bashing Asian men as irredeemable misogynists compared to "good" white men.
Many AsAms like Yang want more of Joy Luck Club and similar stories. Amy Tan, author of JLC, has been pushing for years for a sequel with the original cast. A TV series was optioned in 2017, and as of 2022 a movie sequel is to be written by white male screenwriter, Ron Bass.
Stories like Joy Luck Club aren't just bad media—they're dangerous. Arthur Martunovich randomly hammered three AsAm men to death because he saw a movie depicting Chinese men as abusers and he wanted to "protect Chinese women". There's a high chance that movie was JLC.
Hollywood has figured out it’s easy to make anti-Asian films and stifle criticism by hiring Asian tokens to give stamps of approval. An article from 1986 (40 years ago) about AsAm criticism of racism in Big Trouble in Little China shows there's a history of sowing division among AAPI and using government resources to do it. I understand the allure of the Hollywood dream because I used to believe in it myself. From an early age, all marginalized groups—POC, women, LGBTQ+—are taught to fantasize about how we'll finally be accepted and heal the hurt once we get on a big stage and give an award speech. Having experience in Hollywood as a comic creator, I know how people in power (esp. white men) behave. Their goal is to wear you down until you internalize their bigoted messaging, regurgitate it yourself, and then thank them for it. They hate the word "no." Awards don't matter if the content that gets you there ultimately serves bigoted and harmful purposes. In 2020, I made a test for AAPI media. None of the projects so far have passed. That's by design. We think we’re holding the statue, but really, it’s holding us.
Correction: I just noticed a typo in the comic. Inside the Hollywood sign's letter "Y" I meant to say "non-Asians" not "non-whites." Sorry, it was a lot of drawing and writing, and I got tired 🥴 (Please don’t repost or edit my art. Reblogs are always appreciated.)
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#asians in hollywood#aapi in hollywood#asian representation#aapi representation#oscars#academy awards#racism#anti-asian racism#gendered racism#hate crimes#anti-asian hate crimes#media analysis#asian americans#fil am artist#my art#artists on tumblr#joshua luna#josh luna
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STANDING ON BUSINESS!
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not saying anything new but it bugs the shit out of me as a researcher when an article talks about "asian filmmakers in hollywood" and then the filmmakers in question are (almost always) exclusively east asian. like......asia is more than east asia. do americans know that? like it's a 3rd of the world's regions, including the "middle east." i really think the term "asian" is just unhelpful on every level other than as a label for a continent, and should be retired as a term denoting ethnicity or culture, etc
#just saw a report like 'asian rep in Hollywood at an all time high' but its JUST talking about east asians#west asian rep is at an all time low and south east asian rep and south asian rep is frustratingly left out of these convos#so there's no accurate info
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maws 🤝 caped crusader
squeamishly avoids discussion of racism in the themes they present (insisting on escapism as their reasoning to not talk about it) resulting in white characters accidentally becoming the only marginalized characters.
#ramblings#i can only speak for maws s1. but i highly doubt the creative team is suddenly race conscious in s2#“look at superman going through xenophobia! so sad!” asian lois is right there#“aaw Basil karlo is marginalized by hollywood beauty standards! so sad!” miss Francis- a WOC- is right there
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Manny Jacinto just posted Oshamir fanart on his insta...
#there aren't many works#but there are some beautifully written fics in the tag#oshamir#manny jacinto#the acolyte#osha#qimir#it means so much that the current internet boyfriend is south asian#southeast asian specifically#sessue hayakawa is resting a bit more peacefully#one of the first hollywood sex symbols was an asian man#white men running it felt a way#and they've been mostly neutered ever since.
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Anna May Wong
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So i found out, thanks to this tweet, that Jacob is in the same actor PR agency as Sam and it seems he changed his agency recently, like this year/2024 (dont quote me on this. Maybe he didnt had one before even tho i doubt)
Original tweet from the screenshoot here
Edit: So apparently was not his "actor" agency but his PR agency. I thought the actors agencies was a bit like kpop companies/labels and did everything for them including PR. Didn't even knew that they needed to be signed to a PR agency so they could get publicity
Thanks to the OP ⬇ for clarifying
#jam reiderson#jacob anderson#sam reid#interview with the vampire#iwtv#which could mean nothing#I am kpop girl so what can i say#i don't know much about hollywood stuff#most of my fandoms was related to asian stuff including kpop; jpop and animes 😅
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💪🏻
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รับชมความฟินเพิ่มเติมได้เลยใน IG : @k_modelx
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Sandra Oh - #BiggestFan Series
Parasite - Oscars 2018
4town Live Performance - Unforgettable Gala
Everything Everywhere All At Once - Oscars 2023
#sandra oh#love me the way sandra oh loves to see asians succeeding in hollywood#lmfaoooo#she's so real#i love her#she emboddies all of us#oscars#parasite#everything everywhere all once#4town
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Now would be a good time to remind the world that there are literally other countries in the world producing movies and shows outside of the US of A.
#might be a good time to expand your pallet and try out european / asian / literally any other countries productions#Hollywood is literally replaceable.
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GRÂCE PARK
#actress#sexy#glamour#beauty#art#hollywood#actrice#grace park#hawaii#Hawaï Five 0#asie#asian girls#asian#beautiful women#celebrity#model#movie#love#festival#film#fiction#cinema#battlestar galactica
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something weird about how they handled jordan li’s character is, despite the fact that the show hired two wasian actors, it’s never brought up that they’re half white. like it’d be one thing if they hired one asian actor and one wasian actor that still slightly resembled each other, if that’s who played the part best. but they got two wasian actors (of different races, but that’s expected in hollywood atp) for this role.
they explicitly call jordan “asian” on at least two occasions — which obviously you can, but when they look as mixed as they do, it also makes sense to acknowledge their whiteness as well — and then they cast two clearly fully asian parents for them too
my (asian) dad and i watched ep 3 together and we both paused when the parents showed up, like “????” are we pretending jordan is fully asian when they look the way they do?
#gen v#jordan li#he pointed out that derek luh looks even more white than london thor#but they both are very clearly wasian#(my mom thinks i resemble london thor lol)#it’s like crazy rich asians again where the (attractive; sought after) main character is wasian but they everyone else is fully asian :/#hollywood quit it#mine
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EMMY AWARDS HISTORY ✨✨✨💕
#anna sawai#shogun fx#Asian Hollywood#Hulu#Japanese actors#emmys 2024#drama series#Emmy awards#Vera want#cartier#asian actors
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#Sometimes it feels like 'Asian Parent apologizes to Child'#is just a fantastical trope that can exist only in (mostly animated) Hollywood movies#and in cozy games with magic and mermaids.#siiiiiigh#coral island#coral island wakuu#and yet that was still a sick burn; go lil feather
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Anna Sawai in a red mermaid Vera Wang style gown at Emmy Awards in LA 24'
#anna sawai#asian#actress#emmy awards#red carpet#gown#strapless#pretty woman#females#hollywood#actresses#celebrity#los angeles#japanese#shogun#minseries#singer#designer#vera wang#primetime#fashion blog#style blog post#look of the day
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some of Christina's interviews that I liked listening
#christina chong#star trek strange new worlds#audio interviews#Hollywood at home#awerenow#Open pike night#All the Asians on Star Trek#Sci-Fi Talk#Spotify#what are you working on?
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