AAPI Hate is a Virus: How We As a Nation Can Find the Cure
How Asian Stereotypes In Media Led to a Shocking Rise in AAPI Hate Crimes in 2020-2021 — and What You Can Do About It.
Editor’s Note:
The importance of Asian representation in media could not be more clear in light of the recent Atlanta spa shootings and COVID-19 pandemic. The killer was motivated, in part, by films' and TV's frequent depiction of Asian women as sex objects and proper targets for abuse. Conservative media's constant references to the "Chinese Virus" and the "China Virus" have fueled a rising number of hate crimes against all Asian-Americans. Read below how you can support the AAPI community by creating more three-dimensional and positive Asian characters in movies and TV shows, patronizing Asian restaurants and businesses, donating to AAPI causes, and more.
By now, you have probably heard of the senseless shootings in Atlanta that targeted Asian people at massage parlors. Eight people were killed, six of whom were Asian and seven who were women. While mainstream news outlets like the New York Times used a trite headline “8 People Killed in Atlanta Area Massage Parlor Shootings,” the fact of the matter is that this wasn’t a random act of shooting fueled by passion or impulse. It was a hate crime. Unfortunately, this watered-down reporting is not an isolated incident. Reputable news outlets have a history of dismissing racist attacks toward Asians, and this lack of widespread media coverage invalidates the increasing prejudice and physical attacks Asians are facing on a daily basis, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A History of Hatred
According to a national report by Stop AAPI Hate, there have been 3,795 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents from March 2020 to February 2021. And that does not account for the more subtle microaggressions that go unreported, such as a resentful glare at the grocery store or hearing someone call Covid-19 the “Chinese Virus” or the “Kung Flu.” While the national conversation is slowly beginning to put this issue to the forefront, Anti-Asian American hate is not new. The Chinese Massacre of 1871 murdered 17 Chinese men. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers. The Rock Springs Massacre of 1885 led to 28 Chinese miners being slaughtered and 78 homes burned. The Watsonville Riots of 1930 beat Filipino field workers and left them to rot. Executive Order 9066 forced 127,000 Japanese Americans to move out of their homes and be imprisoned in internment camps. To say that this is a recent issue is not only deeply misguided but historically inaccurate. As deep as our roots may be in American soil, people of Asian descent are viewed as foreign. White supremacy and xenophobic tendencies are baked into the heart of our nation.
Creating better Asian characters in films and TV must move beyond tokenism. Casting people from different ethnic groups, without giving them much dialogue or opportunity to advance the plot, is not enough. Read more about writing more than token characters in movies and TV shows.
Even Hollywood, which is considered liberal-leaning and is slowly beginning to incorporate diversity and inclusion into its industry, has a history of racism that is still on display today. Asian women are often hypersexualized, objectified, and abused in films. It’s no coincidence that the Atlanta murderer, who blamed his actions on his sex addiction, specifically targeted spas comprised of Asian women. His remarks are rooted in a history of misogyny and stereotypes that are all too familiar for Asian and Asian American women. There is an unspoken belief in this country that Asian women are supposed to submit to the white savior, and this isn’t just limited to the public or the workplace. A 2016 report by the National Network to End Domestic Violence found that “41 to 61 percent of Asian women reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, a higher rate than any other ethnic group.” Seeing these harmful stereotypes reinforced, even in films that are supposed to advocate for our community, is dangerous due to its reinforcement of the model minority myth. So what can we do about it?
Call to Action
The police are not the answer to stopping Asian American hate; not when their origins are deeply problematic; not when they sympathize with the murderer instead of showing compassion for the victims. Rather, we must rely on the collective strength of our communities of color and meaningful allies to fight for systemic change, going beyond performative action. As Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, “Dismantling racist, anti-Asian violence means standing up to white supremacy - the same ideology that asks us to empathize with those who commit racist violence rather than the families destroyed and communities targeted by it. Standing up for Asian communities means standing up to racist policy, anti-Asian tropes, & understanding the long history of anti-Asian racism fueling this violence.”
Share and amplify the stories of the AAPI community. Check-in on AAPI friends and family. Support your local Asian restaurants and businesses. Call your legislators and ask what they are doing for the Asian community. Volunteer to help escort seniors in areas that have seen hate crimes. Report if you see any instance of a hate crime. Donate to organizations that support the cause against Asian violence. Petition to hold the media accountable for covering these stories. Follow platforms that discuss AAPI issues. Provide mental health resources to those who are struggling. But most of all, do not be silent. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Reducing racial violence against Asian Americans begins at home, especially with kids' TV and movies. Find images of positive Asian characters for your children's entertainment. Help them develop cross-group friendships. Talk explicitly about racism and its influence in society. Read more about how to reduce racial bias in kids.
Hatred and violence against the AAPI community cannot and should not be tolerated. We must do whatever it takes to combat this issue while it is still part of the national conversation, not only for ourselves but for the subjugated and oppressed of the past. Then, and only then, we have a chance at curing this virus.
Actionable Insights
Support local Asian restaurants, businesses, and creatives.
Share and amplify the stories of the AAPI community who have experienced hate
Hold your elected officials accountable for what they are doing (or not doing) to help stop AAPI hate
Donate to organizations that support the AAPI community
Provide mental health resources to those in the community who need it
Create characters and content that authentically represent Asian Americans in Hollywood
Watch films that authentically represent the AAPI community
Denounce harmful stereotypical portrayals of Asians in TV and film when you encounter them
Call out yourself, friends, and family members for anti-Asian jokes and stereotypical comments
Rewrite history books in a way that accurately represents the struggles of the BIPOC community
Follow organizations that support the AAPI community and teach about their plight
CSS Intern
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog belong solely to the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers.
The Importance of Authentic Asian American Representation in Hollywood
The Importance of Authentic Asian American Representation in Hollywood
Ages 5-10 were my Full-House-obsessed years. I considered myself an honorary Tanner. Then it was what my parents referred to as “The Inappropriate Show,” also known as Saturday Night Live. They thought it was too mature for my little sister and me, but we loved it. The Office got me through stressful high school times and now I quote it without thinking. However, amidst the joy these shows brought me, as a Korean-American I have been continually let down by the lack of representation of Asians in Hollywood. It makes me angry -- shattering the meek, silent-in- the-midst-of-unfairness, and the rarely impassioned portrait that the media has painted of people like me. Despite attempts at diversity in Hollywood movies and TV, Asian characters have often been portrayed as weak, nerdy, exotic, incompetent, powerless, and are seldom in the spotlight as leads, just like black television and film characters.
Notable progress has been made, however, in the past few years with the successes of Crazy Rich Asians, ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, and Netflix’s Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. Asians in Hollywood are portraying the Asian American community in a more authentic light than before; but while progress is exciting, there is still more to do when it comes to true representation of Asian TV characters and Asian movie characters on-screen and behind the scenes. What we view on-screen reaches far beyond entertainment; diversity in film and TV also impacts mental health, identity, and race relations as they pertain to Asian Americans. Content creators and industry decision-makers must change how Asians are portrayed in the media, as they have an opportunity and a duty to yield this powerfully influential medium in a more responsible manner. Avoiding racism, gender stereotypes of girl and boy characters, and other negative images are key.
Effect on Children
Personal identity is heavily influenced by the media, starting from a young age. Film and television have become avenues for imprinting stories in history. When it comes to authentic Asian movie and TV characters, the absence is noteworthy. The pride I felt watching Crazy Rich Asians’ all-Asian cast surprised me as if the sudden surge in representation alerted me to its prior absence in Hollywood. Asian children will subconsciously internalize an omission of Asian faces in the content they watch as an indication of their perceived invisibility or the box they are subjected to in the workplace and the world. Research shows that people exhibit feelings like shame and anxiety when viewing stereotypical representations of their racial group, even those framed as exaggeration or parody, and Asian stereotypes in movies and TV have been far too visible for far too long. While Hollywood has since moved away from the glaring racism of characters such as Long Duk Dong, the foreign exchange student in 16 Candles, Asian actors continue to be typecast and are still underrepresented in major film roles.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Personal identity is heavily influenced by the media, starting from a young age
• Content creators and industry decision-makers must change how Asians are portrayed in the media
Model Minority Myth
In today’s society, Asian characters in movies and TV are often stereotyped as over-achievers who obtain financial and educational stability: the 4.0 students, doctors, and Tiger-parents. Asian-Americans have been framed as the “model minority” within American culture -- the minority group that worked its way to success. This myth implies that other minority groups are lesser-than or do not work as hard, and also negates the ever-present discrimination that Asians and other minority groups experience. Such Asian stereotypes in film and TV shows also suggest that Asians belong to one homogenous group that shares the same attributes, when in fact, there are many subsections of the Asian community - composed of individuals each with their own stories and struggles. The effects of this perpetuated stereotype in the media, depicted by Asian actors but often driven by white writers and directors, jump from the screen into reality. Racial bias, even nonverbal, can be imprinted on people through the screen. It is perplexing how Asians are viewed as diligent and hardworking, yet rarely with strong leadership qualities or charisma. The scarcity of positions of power among Asian film and TV characters is reflected in many aspects of life. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, Asians are the least likely group to be promoted to management in the United States. While this can also be attributed to different cultural values and other factors, a lack of diverse representation in media is influential in reinforcing these attitudes and perceptions.
Tokenism Behind the Scenes
What we see on-screen should not be the only aspect of representation examined. The majority of successful endeavors featuring Asian actors and stories were backed by Asians in Hollywood behind the scenes. More Asian studio heads, casting directors, producers, writers, showrunners, and filmmakers means more advocacy and support for Asian stories and Asian TV and film characters. Great strides have been made and writers’ room representation has significantly improved; however, discrimination still exists here. To promote more diverse representation in media, large networks host diversity training programs in which writers of color have the opportunity to be staffed on television shows. The networks and studios subsidize writers’ salaries, incentivizing shows to employ these essentially free “diversity hires.” It is common for showrunners to let these writers go after their wages are no longer paid for, communicating that Asian writers are only hirable when free. Diversity in numbers is insufficient as long as Asians in Hollywood are not receiving the same opportunities to succeed in this industry.
On YouTube, people produce their own content with virtually zero gatekeeping. It is no coincidence that Asian content creators have become some of the most popular and prevalent faces on the platform, with millions of subscribers and views. From beauty guru Michelle Phan to comedy YouTuber NigaHiga, there is tangible proof that when given a fair opportunity, the Asian community thrives and reaches incredibly far.
Financial Benefits
If the moral facet of equal Asian representation in Hollywood is not enough to motivate content creators and gatekeepers, there is data that supports financial incentives for more Asian TV characters and Asian movie characters. Asians are the fastest-growing racial group in the country with a buying power of $1 trillion in 2018. They lead the nation in internet connectivity, enabling them to consume Asian stories on TV (and Asian movies via home video) via broadband and subscription video on demand faster than any other group nationwide. An average Asian household will watch about 23 hours of television per week, and the percentage with subscriptions to services such as Netflix and Hulu surpasses that of the remaining population. It is clear that Asians possess considerable buying power in the US and make up a large, expanding segment of media audiences.
Hearing Bowen Yang, SNL’s first Asian cast member after 45 seasons, refer to himself as the “Lizzo of China” while playing a government official on Weekend Update, filled me with pride. It was not until I saw myself on-screen that I realized I had been missing this feeling my whole life, and I needed to see, hear and read about more Asians in Hollywood. There is more work to do, more stories to tell, always. There’s great power in representation. My Asian-Americanness is of value, and I expect the country in which I live to reflect the same.
Actionable Insights
Write Asian movie and TV characters that defy stereotypes, even if stereotypes are seemingly “positive.”
Portray more Asian diversity — all groups that are part of the Asian community are unique with distinct stories, cultures, and struggles. This includes groups like the Bhutanese and Burmese that suffer from a poverty rate that is twice as high as the national average, yet experience the repercussions of the model minority myth.
Feature more Asian TV and movie characters in positions of power and leadership on-screen.
Hire more Asians in behind-the-scenes positions: writers, directors, studio executives, casting directors, producers, showrunners, filmmakers. Rich and authentic stories come from those who can speak from experience and incorporate essential nuances to the characters and their interactions with the world around them.
Avoid framing content created by and featuring Asians solely as “Asian films.” While still taking their cultures into account, remember that Asians are normal people who have more to offer than just the fact that they are Asian.
Nicole Park
CSS Intern