The image of Asians in Hollywood has changed hard, and the presence of Asian film and television dramas has gradually strengthened

Source: Global Times

The Atlanta shooting incident last week once again aroused concern in American society about the discrimination of Asians. From the 20th to the 22nd, protests broke out in many parts of the United States, and many Asian protesters took to the streets to call for an end to "hatred of Asians", including many Asian celebrities in Hollywood. Wu Sandra, who is a household name for the popular American drama "Grey's Anatomy" and became the first Asian film queen of the Golden Globe Awards with "Kill Eve", also raised her horn at the event site and shouted loudly , "I am Asian and I am proud!" "Compared to African-Americans, the discrimination — even indifference — that Asians suffer in the United States is often implicit. The image of Asians on the screen has been stigmatized more obviously, and Asian actors are showing the real life of Asians in their own way, changing the discrimination against Asians in American society.

The presence of Asian film and television dramas is gradually strengthening

In recent years, a series of Films and TELEVISION dramas featuring Asian actors or settings on Asian-American people, communities and cultures have become increasingly popular in Hollywood. For example, "Picking Gold", which shows the lives of Asian ethnic groups and young Asians, has achieved great commercial success, and the global box office of $238 million has also promoted more Asian-themed projects; the family tragicomedy "Don't Tell Her", directed by Chinese female director Wang Ziyi and led by Asian actress Okafina, has also been affirmed by mainstream American critics, not only nominated for the 2020 Golden Globe Award for "Best Foreign Language Film", but also let the young Okafina win the Best Actress Award in the Comedy Category; in this year's awards season, the film "Show Korean Life" "Show Korean Life" "Minari" won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and six Oscar nominations, in which the delicate emotions and cultural tolerance between immigrant families are deeply moving.

In addition, there are popular American dramas "Newcomers", high-scoring independent literary and art films "True Heart Half Solution", Disney's two consecutive Asian-themed movies "Mulan" and "The Legend of the Dragon Hunt", and PBS's special documentary "Asian Americans", etc. In recent years, more and more film and television dramas with different styles have been born, which not only shows the brave, simple and industrious side of the Asian community, but also subtly changes the impression of Western white society on Asians, which is generally gratifying.

The first generation of Asian actresses was plagued by discrimination

There are more than 20 million Asians living in the United States today, accounting for 6% of the total population, but in the early years, Asians were mentioned in Hollywood, either "gangsters and prostitutes in Chinatown", or "charming exotic women" or "wizards who are good at oriental magic". This stereotype has been deeply branded since the silent film era, and the first generation of Asian actress Huang Liushuang has been plagued by various discrimination and prejudice. In the American drama "Hollywood", it was recreated how Huang Liushuang lost the opportunity to play the role of "Chinese Woman Alan" when Pearl Buck's masterpiece "The Land" was to be adapted into a movie, "In my entire acting career, I played either an overinhibited prostitute or a dangerous Far Eastern demon, and people wanted someone like me to play such a role!" ”

In the play, Huang Liushuang, played by Yang Yahui, painfully exposes the unspoken rules of Hollywood, when the Asian actors in the movie are either running dragon sets or thin vases or tool people. After the 1970s, as kung fu superstars such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan entered the Hollywood market, Asians were often associated with kung fu, and Hollywood needed Asian male actors to expand the popular action movie genre. This craze lasted until Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won 4 Oscars, and the protagonists Zhou Runfa, Yang Ziqiong and Zhang Ziyi all took the opportunity to go to Hollywood to develop, making films such as "Bulletproof Warrior Monk", "007 Tomorrow's Empire" and "Memoirs of a Geisha".

In the past two years, many outstanding Asian filmmakers have also been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: "Don't Tell Her" creators Wang Ziyi and Okafina, the heroine of "Picking Gold" Wu Tianmin, and the gold medal supporting role of Ma Tai, who played the father of the flower in "Mulan", all have the qualification to vote for the Oscar, which can guide and correct the perspective of mainstream public opinion in the United States on Asians from the perspective of professional awards.

"We are not a 'model minority'"

"Although we have made progress in Hollywood, there is still a lot of work to be done," said Shery Cora, an Asian actress in the American drama "The Troublesome Family", who soberly sees, "We are not a 'model minority' to let Hollywood and the whole country understand this." It's not a trend, and change doesn't happen overnight." While consuming traditional Asian culture and affirming excellent filmmakers, Hollywood is still generally unfamiliar and neglected for Asians living in contemporary communities.

In "True Heart Half Solution" directed by Wu Siwei and starring Zou Zhaolong, the asian father and daughter have always been incompatible in the small town, and the intelligent girl is a lonely "school bully" in the eyes of her classmates, and few people will get close to her rich and delicate inner world. Not only white Americans, but in the eyes of other minorities, Asians are equated with "nerds", "geeks", and "kung fu". At the 2016 Oscars, black host Chris Locke took 3 Asian children to shabu, emphasizing that Asians are "good at numbers" and "specialize in mobile phones", which was opposed by Asian celebrities such as Ang Lee and Jeremy Lin.

In contrast, the influence and voice of African Americans in both the political arena and the sports world are much greater than those of Asians, which has led to Hollywood's emphasis on African-American filmmakers and themes far more than Asians. For example, the first African-American superhero film "Black Panther" earned more than $700 million at the North American box office, and the number of African-American stars with box office appeal and Oscar awards was also the largest - Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Harry Berry... This year's Golden Globe winners and Oscar nominations are also quite numerous, while Asian stars dwarf each other. The reason is that although the Asian American group in the United States generally has high education and stable income, but the elite engaged in politics and engaged in entertainment and sports industry is still relatively small, the lack of celebrities who represent the ethnic group and amplify the volume of voice, and the lack of long-term struggle experience such as the black civil rights movement, now only to catch up to protect their own rights and interests, like "Don't Tell Her", "Minari" and other films to get greater attention and recognition by nominating mainstream awards, is a good opportunity.