Representation of Asians in Western Mass Media and Film Industry: A Review of the Impacts of Negative Stereotypical Representation

Research Design

Introduction

Asians in Hollywood films and the entertainment business have been subjected to discriminatory stereotyping and underrepresentation from the early nineteenth century and continue to do so now. This thesis investigates and deconstructs the exclusion and misrepresentation of Asians in American cinema, drawing on textual and audiovisual analysis, and also theories and other sources. Television and film hits, The Simpson (1989), How I Met Your Mother (2005), Pitch Perfect (2012), and Doctor Strange (2016), Kim’s Convenience (2016), and the resent Hollywood hit, Crazy Rich Asians (2018), will be used extensively to bring about this point.  Instead of being depicted in a stereotypical manner, Asians are frequently given no part at all, rendering them obscure to the Hollywood industry and the wider public. It has a detrimental influence around the way Asians are perceived in society as a result of their absence from the film industry (Barton, Lowien, & Hu, 2021). This investigation will examine the manner through which stereotypes have endured through history, underlying origins and explanations, as well as how these are depicted in contemporary cinema. As a byproduct of their ethnicity, Asian preconceptions in particular, along with gender biases given to Asian males and females, will be examined in this study. Also discussed will be the social effects of inaccurate portrayals of Asians in Hollywood, including the detrimental consequences of a “model minority” label usually attributed to Asian-Americans as well as the consequences for Asians working in the entertainment industry. By tying fictitious images of Asian preconceptions in film to societal implications, this study demonstrates how fictitious representations of Asian prejudices in film may have negative consequences if they are taken beyond the realm of film.

Literature review:

The film industry is one that is plagued by racism and stereotypical thinking. Due to years of racist screenwriting and a scarcity of sophisticated Asian characters in leading roles, cinema and television have consolidated their high share of East Asian stereotypes in the general public (Rajgopal, 2010). Historically, Asian stereotypes created and performed by Caucasians have persisted from the beginning of cinematic history. Nonetheless, in recent years, audiences have been treated to depictions such as the awful 2014 episode of How I Met Your Mother (2005), in which three white actors adopt silk robes and phony Chinese accents in order to deliver intelligent kung fu instruction.

While remaining true to the historical paradigm of the traditional-minded Asian parent, Paul Lee’s accurate expression of a Korean father in “Kim’s Convenience” avoided stereotyping and brought the ancient archetype of the traditional-minded Asian parent to reality while avoiding preconceptions. The television drama, which depicts the trials and tribulations of a Toronto corner shop family, was the first in Canada to have an all-Asian cast of principal characters. According to research studies on that particular show by Besana, Katsiaficas, and Loyd (2019, Lee argues that he used an exaggerated Korean accent in order to create a complicated, multi-figure composition that is more like a template rather than a stereotype. Since the very first episode of the pilot season, Appa’s attitude and actions have defied stereotypes about the way a Korean migrant of his generation could act and interact with others. In this episode, the program examines preconceptions associated with the LGBTQ community and its allies. As consumers of various colors rush into the store, his calming effect in the institution also sets the tone for a global picture of Toronto that is easily grasped. The show is a direct expression of the way the film industry can use its influence to fight of lazy stereotyped shows and create a better depiction of Asians.

Hollywood and the larger Western mass media has a practice of casting anyone of an Asian descent as an actor in any Asian part; for instance, a Chinese performer may represent a Korean protagonist, and opposite (Umeda, 2018). This, despite the reality that Asia is split into dozens of nations, each of which has individual and unique culture and set of traditions, fosters the impression that Asia is indeed a single region with a common history and civilization. Moreover, these incidents not only contribute to Asians’ lack of exposure in the mainstream media, but they will also deny Asian entertainers the opportunity to create a name for themselves and to represent their countries with pride. From the films The Simpson (1989), How I Met Your Mother (2005), Pitch Perfect (2012), and Doctor Strange (2016), it is clear that Asian characters still play second fiddle to powerful White protagonists. Individuals who should be playing these stereotyped parts are denied of work opportunities (Tran & Chang, 2019). As part of its investigation of Asian-American exclusion and profiling in the Western movie industry, this thesis also looks at how history has formed the perception of Asian-Americans as alien in the mass media despite decades of coexistence and presence of first to third generation Asian Europeans or Asian Americans.

In part due to the fact that the West had limited touch with the East, inventing exaggerated fictitious characters from the East was the easiest method to make broad generalizations about Eastern people. Even when Asians were addressed, it was typically in the context of biases and persecution, which was unusual. The portrayal of Asian-Americans in the Western film and mass media conformed to general attitudes about Asians at the time, with unfavorable stereotypes matching to the era in which the films were released. By tracing the history of Asian-Americans, Fresno-Calleja (2011) shows how history shapes the course of these movies and the treatment of Asians in the mainstream media. As a result of events immediately after the Second World War, Asian women were incorrectly portrayed as war treasures, prostitutes, and peasants in need of rescue by the white man. With this representation, Asian women were further cemented into the stereotype of weak, obedient dolls who were prepared to dote on white men. A further issue is that Asian women, particularly those from South Asia (Mok, 1998), are subjugated to Western standards of beauty. When it comes to skin tone, media depictions emphasize that lighter skin is more attractive than darker skin, which may be detrimental to one’s self-esteem.

In a world where Asians are regarded as meek and deferential, the Asian American woman is perceived as superbly feminine, while the Asian American males are supposed to have lost their masculinity. Given the widespread perception that Asian American guys are unattractive, geeky, and unattractive, the Asian American woman appears to be more easily accessible as sexual objects (Kawai, 2005). This portrayal is much harder to pin down, yet it is just as lethal as the last one. White people and immigrants of all categories of gender are represented in the very same space. Because one group is considered more macho, another is considered more feminine. For years, The Western entertainment industry and the mass media have shaped the world’s perception of Asia.

This paper intends to research more on the perception of Asians as depicted by the mass western media and the film industry. More often than not, that perception has been constructed by people who have little knowledge of the Asian people and very little forethought into how these representations would affect the Asian communities in the West (Nadal, 2019). Despite the best efforts of independent producers and other filmmakers, Asians have typically been portrayed in a restricted and uneven manner in the entertainment business. An Asian appearance or dialect is frequently used as a shortcut representation for whatever is incompatible with the mainstream Western media and society (Lee, 2018). Too frequently, there is no difference made among Asians in the West, who are culturally assimilated citizens of their individual nations like in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and Asian people with zero ties to the West. The media frequently implies that Asian in the West do not belong inside their own nations.

Research questions: 

What are the main misconceptions often inked to Asians in the western media and what ways does these preconceptions affect the perception of Asians in the western societies?

How can the Western film industry reconstruct the Asian narrative though film and media messages?

Why do Asians have limited roles with a majority of the current ones being typecast?

Theory: 

The stereotype threat theory best explains the effect of Western media and film industry portrayal of Asians. Essentially, the concept proposes that the current patterns of behavior and attitudes against minority groups by the dominant segment of the population are bolstered by the mass media, which continues to portray minorities in an inflexible and often negative light, that can disenfranchise minorities in subjugated roles (Roman, 2000). Members of negatively stereotyped groups (such as Asian women in cinema) suffer harm as a result of negative stereotypes and devaluing media material, according to the stereotype threat theory, while the nonstereotyped viewers are unharmed or even have the reverse impact (stereotype lift) (Liu et al., 2021). Stereotype hazard refers to a situation in which people are at risk of reinforcing unfavorable stereotypes about themselves or their group as a result of their actions. Thus, one acquires the idea that one can only be judged on the basis of unfavorable stereotypes about one’s own group, rather than on the basis of one’s own individual merit. An individual is at danger of being subjected to stereotyping that is damaging to her when she has the opportunity or perception of having the potential to meet or confirm a negative stereotype about a group to which she is a member. When a person feels threatened by the possibility of fulfilling or confirming a stereotype, their performance in a variety of activities, including but not limited to academic achievement, may suffer.

Michel Foucault’s power-discourse theory will also be used to show the understanding of power in film. The theory, according to Hall (2001), stems from the use of power for coercion. Foucault sees power as omnipresent and makes people who they are. Michel Foucault challenges the concept that power is held by individuals or organizations via ‘episodic’ and ‘sovereign’ actions of dominance or coercion, arguing that power is dispersed and ubiquitous. The fact that ‘power may be found everywhere’ and that “it originates from anyone” makes it neither an agent nor a framework in the traditional way (Olsson, 2010). Instead, it is a type of ‘metapower’ or a ‘truth regime’ that permeates society and is constantly in flux and undergoing negotiation and change. For Foucault, power/knowledge is a statement that refers to the fact that authority derives from established kinds of knowledge such as scientific understanding and ‘truth.’ Here, the power of mass media and the western film industry will be weighed against its influence on others and from a lens of the Asian population stereotyped in the film industry.

The paper will also use the media dependency theory to provide an explanation on the behavior of the Western media and film industry towards Asians, both in the Western societies and abroad in the Asian continent. When it comes to mass media, there is a link between what is said and how it is said. The nature of society and the communication behavior of the target audience are all factors in the media dependence hypothesis. Individuals who live in urban industrial cultures are dependent on mass media information dissemination to obtain the knowledge they need to create a variety of decisions, as presented by the media dependence paradigm (Zhang & Zhong, 2020). It is said that people in all civilizations require knowledge to make decisions regarding food and housing, work and transportation as well as political concerns, entertainment and other areas of family life, among other things, and to progress in other parts of their personal growth. Furthermore, individuals in traditional cultures are more likely to share similar lifestyles and to be linked together through word-of-mouth networks of extended families, strongly established relationships with people, long-term community members, and other social connections, through which they can obtain the information they seek and to share their experiences with others, compared to individuals in contemporary societies. Throughout history, people from all walks of life have come together in urban-industrial civilizations as a consequence of internal migration and exterior influx, which has brought them all together in one area. All of these characteristics contribute to the divergence of these individuals. Racism, ethnicity, vocational specialty, and socioeconomic status are all significant contributors in their divergence. Because word-of-mouth streams based on well-established interactions and networks of social relationships are less efficient in urban-industrial civilizations than they are in rural-industrial civilizations, people in urban cultures are less likely to obtain the information they require in their daily lives than people living in rural-industrial civilizations. People who live in urban-industrial cultures rely on communication media to receive the knowledge they need in order to make a variety of decisions in their daily lives. It is via the media (news, entertainment, and advertising) that kids get information, guidance, and role models, and it is through this knowledge that they build their own ideas and make decisions for themselves.

Methodology and methods: 

The qualitative content analysis approach will be used as the primary research method for this study because it gives the analytical tools necessary to analyze the link between different Western television series and movies as text and the perceptions of the meaning provided by the films by the audience. Quantitative content analysis has been described by Mayring (2004) as a research approach in which the characteristics of textual, visual, or auditory information are methodically classified and documented in order to be studied afterwards. The coding process is essential to content analysis since it entails observing a sequence of commands on what characteristics to examine in a given text and then writing the appropriate entry whenever that quality is found. Through the qualitative content analysis, large amounts of data collected from secondary texts and from sample films will be made possible.

The study approach acknowledges that media texts might have various implications for different audiences, and it tries to figure out what those meanings are. Individual interpretations, secondary texts, and media interpretations as text from scholarly sources are all significantly utilised in the data. Crazy Rich Asians, Kim’s Convenience, The Simpson, How I Met Your Mother, Pitch Perfect, and The Ancient One will be used as the basis of the argument. Other films with relevant themes vis-à-vis the current study will also be used.

Summary: 

This paper intends to research more on the perception of Asians as depicted by the mass western media and the film industry. More often than not, that perception has been constructed by people who have little knowledge of the Asian people and very little forethought into how these representations would affect the Asian communities in the West. Despite the best efforts of independent producers and other filmmakers, Asians have typically been portrayed in a restricted and uneven manner in the entertainment business. An Asian appearance or dialect is frequently used as a shortcut representation for whatever is incompatible with the mainstream Western media and society. The paper will investigate the main misconceptions often inked to Asians in the western media and the ways that these preconceptions affect the perception of Asians in the western societies. It will also look at how the Western film industry can reconstruct the Asian narrative though film and media messages and answer the question on why Asian actors have limited roles with a majority of the current ones being typecast. The last section will look at whether Asians in the film industry are comfortable with their portrayal in mass media.

Commentary

The current research approach came from the understanding of the complexity of Asians’ depiction in the media, particularly in cinema and popular culture. The techniques that are now available for examining the outcomes of such treatments. The planned study has as its purpose to learn more about how Asians are seen by the general public in the West and how they are portrayed in the film industry. Most of the time, that view has been formed by individuals who have little awareness of Asian cultures and have given little consideration to how their depictions of Asian people would effect Asian communities in the West. It is not new that people have expressed their worries, and the appearance of recommendations for alternatives was a logical consequence of current trends in the fields of filmmaking and stereotyped depiction.

To arrive at my qualitative research design, I explored ways to incorporate my own opinions and the perspectives of different scholarly writers, as well as Asian actors view on their misrepresentation in mass media and the film industry. In my quest, I found out that qualitative approaches are more flexible and will easily take in the ideas and reflections of participants. I also found that it is easier to mesh qualitative research approaches with secondary research. I decided to pursue this route.

A qualitative investigation is one that looks into and tries to understand the significance that individuals or groups place on a social or human problem. It is necessary to include emerging questions and processes as part of the research process, as is information gathered from participants’ environments, data analysis that progresses inductively from particular to broad themes, and conclusions drawn from the data by the researcher. The final written report’s structure can be customized to meet your needs. Those that engage in this form of research advocate for a research strategy that places a high importance on an inductive approach, a focus on individual meaning, and the requirement of communicating the complexity of a situation.

When conducting qualitative research, content analysis is used to determine whether or not a certain phrase, subject, or concept exists within a given quantitative data set (i.e. text). In a text or collection of texts, researchers can use content analysis to measure and analyze the presence of certain words, themes, and concepts, as well as their meanings and links to one another. It is possible to utilize content analysis to find a certain pattern of words and concepts that exist in either the text or the collection of documents while evaluating any one of them. In order to determine whether or not a news report contains prejudice or partiality, scholars might evaluate the language used within the narrative. Researchers can then make judgments about the substance of the writings, the author(s), the audience, and even the culture and historical time in which the texts were produced based on the information included within the writings. It is used to study multiple components of content in order to investigate mental models and the relevance of the information under discussion on a variety of levels such as the cognitive, linguistic, cultural, social, and historical levels of significance.

Before setting out with the current research, I first made a list of 20 key films that touch on Asians and portray them in a certain way, both negative and positive. I employed a narrative analysis when selecting the best films to use. Narrative analysis is the examination of several components of a story, such as the narrative structure, the characters, and the storyline, among other things. This type of analysis considers the entirety of the film as well as the story that is being attempted to be communicated via the film. Examples include how filmmakers introduce Asian actors in the beginning of a film with an aim of returning to them later on in order to drag out the resolution of the heroine’s character arc.

This form of content analysis is concerned with the interpretation and comprehension of a certain type of content. For example, when doing qualitative research on Asian stereotypes in cinema, I began by searching for the phrase “Asian stereotypes in film” as well as related phrases such as “inequality,” “racism,” and “misrepresentation” that were associated with it. Afterwards, in order to assess the intentions and semantic linkages of these terms and concepts in film and mass media, I looked into their relationships. I then used secondary research to perform related research to support my position and to inform the direction of future research.

References

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