Asian Males an Hollywood media

[The_Adventurer]

I found this interesting quote on imdb in the board for the movie Shanghai Kiss:

"How the hell do you think I feel as an asian male when I watch Hollywood movies? (I'm actually half-white, half-asian). I live in a part of the world where asian males are looked down upon and the asian girls have fun with the white guys. Think about Hollywood, where they always make the Asian guys look pathetic or bad and they portray the asian girls positively. Here are some examples:
- "Mean Girls" where there's a geeky asian nerd, but there's a asian girl who's all over this cute white guy.
- "Die Another Day"/"Tomorrow Never Dies" where James Bond deals with asian guys are are bad, yet he sleeps with the asian women.
- "American Yakuza", an undercover white guy sleeps with a Japanese mobster's daughter. Not to mention in the sequel, an white guy and asian girl are in a good relationship and an asian guy takes her hostage.
-"The Departed", Jack Nicolson makes a lot of racist remarks to asian gangsters "guns don't add inches to your dick", "these chinks", "no laundry for you"
- There was this one other movie where an asian girl flees to America because her father is a huge criminal, and is happy when she meets a white guy.

yeah, that's what I pretty much see on Hollywood "Our men are pathetic, asian girls have it better with white guys" or "kill our men, sleep with our women"

So don't get to worked up about yourself just because of a few quotes. This is the first and probably only movie I'll ever see with a white girl and asian guy relationship.

Also, there was a time I liked this asian girl and we were really close. I really thought I was going to get with her, then I get mad because it turns out "she's now dating a WHITE guy" (I said that to my white father, who took it just fine)"

--MistahCool

[patex_]

I laugh at these Asian Americans who blame "white racism" for the way they're portrayed in movies.

If these Asians had a clue, or maybe even a working brain, they would ask themselves this simple question: "who controls Hollywood today?" (Hint: it's NOT white people)

There's their answer right there as to why they are portrayed the way they are: those who control the images the masses watch do not care to see you Asians (especially males) in a positive light.

Yes, my dear clueless Asians, that's right: the "Chosen Ones" are not your friend.

[ladislav]

I have read interesting literature about how movies are created and basically, it does not seem to be a conspiracy by Jews to destroy cultures, rather, it is there so that the studios would get more people to see the movie. And for this, they need to appeal to the Great American Midwest and what those people want to see. Because that is where the money is. Those are the people who buy the tickets!

Hollywood usually reinforces ( or illustrates) stereotypes that are present in the US culture otherwise the audience will not be pleased. Movies will get lower ratings. As US culture changes; however, movies reinforce new trends. Look at the way blacks used to be portrayed. Slaves, then criminals, then baffoons, and lately, heroes and gentlemen. That reflects the forever changing attitudes people in the US assume towards groups. Blacks used to be despised, then pitied ( guilt), then, as they moved to cities and there were many poor people that committed crimes among them and created fear, movies again reflected that. Then with constant protests and civil rights, blacks were allowed to be clown-like and with more guilt and more protests, they became heroes and kind and courageous characters in the movies today.

Asian immigrants to the US used to be poor and different in culture and color. They were colonial slaves of the Anglos. They were discriminated against and had to know their place in the Anglo caste-race system. So, the audiences would have a cognitive dissonance if they saw an Oriental looking man as a courageous hero. That was not his societal role. People would not want to see him in a serious sexy and masculine/positive role. See? But even that has changed a bit. You no longer see white people with Asian servants in the movies. They no longer use the word Oriental. They have now moved to the villain stage. When Japan was at its apogee there was even a movie-Samurai Cowboy- about a young Japanese man who falls in love with a white girl and his adventures in Montana. He was shown in a positive role,. Jackie Chan was not accepted first, then he was given the roles of a bafoon, now he is becoming more and more masculine as China is becoming wealthier and wealthier.

Two more things need to be noted:

1) It is not necessarily the "white guy" vs the Asian guy. Look at how the Russians are being portrayed or the Germans? Russians are now criminals and James Bond is shooting them and gets the Russian girl. WW2 movies did the same. The American killing the Krauts and taking the War Bride back to mom.



2) And surprise, surprise!!! How do you think movie industries in Asia stereotype white people? Or God forbid black people? Several times worse. There, the audience does not even want to see them!!! Except in some outlandish roles.

Yup! Asian countries do the same in their movies based on the stereotypes they have. Without any Jews running the show!!!!!!!!!!!! In HK movies they rarely if ever show a white guy in any good way or even show him at all except as some traveling freak and then some HK guy fights the 'white devil'. Or a HK guy getting a white girl in the West. Never a white guy getting a girl in Asia in any good way. In Japan, any white guy is again either a loser freak English teacher who wow, can actually say something in Japanese or some guest from abroad or just a freaky decoration somewhere in the background at some company someone visits. A lover? a friend? are you kidding? Never in a million years!

Watch Thai and Filipino movies. In Thai movies.commercials/soap operas a white guy kills and disrespects Thai women. And is despised. Or is shown as a foreign freak, again.

In Filipino movies, OTOH, a handsome American ( always an Anglo Saxon) is seen as a hero ( history), a Spaniard and a Japanese is not ( both are evil). The Filipinos would again have a cognitive dissonance if they saw things differently and would not like the movie.

Any Jews there? No, they are just marketing people thinking of what the majority audience would like to see and what they would not feel good seeing. They need to exaggerate the stereotypes as they exaggerate everything. For emphasis. Art imitates ( and exaggerates) life and then, life is reinforced by these imitations and exaggerations. Until societal tendencies change. Then the movies slowly start reflecting them. Gradually.

So, what some people may see as an evil conspiracy by Jews is simply trying to please the customer, the viewer.

None of the above is a justification of any kind, or meant to show that Asian men are seen in the positive light in the US (yet).

By watching the movies, one can figure out where the best and the worst places for dating are.

[MrPeabody]

I have read interesting literature about how movies are created and basically, it does not seem to be a conspiracy by Jews to destroy cultures, rather, it is there so that the studios would get more people to see the movie. And for this, they need to appeal to the Great American Midwest and what those people want to see. Because that is where the money is. Those are the people who buy the tickets!

Hollywood usually reinforces ( or illustrates) stereotypes that are present in the US culture otherwise the audience will not be pleased. Movies will get lower ratings. As US culture changes; however, movies reinforce new trends. Look at the way blacks used to be portrayed. Slaves, then criminals, then baffoons, and lately, heroes and gentlemen. That reflects the forever changing attitudes people in the US assume towards groups. Blacks used to be despised, then pitied ( guilt), then, as they moved to cities and there were many poor people that committed crimes among them and created fear, movies again reflected that. Then with constant protests and civil rights, blacks were allowed to be clown-like and with more guilt and more protests, they became heroes and kind and courageous characters in the movies today.

Asian immigrants to the US used to be poor and different in culture and color. They were colonial slaves of the Anglos. They were discriminated against and had to know their place in the Anglo caste-race system. So, the audiences would have a cognitive dissonance if they saw an Oriental looking man as a courageous hero. That was not his societal role. People would not want to see him in a serious sexy and masculine/positive role. See? But even that has changed a bit. You no longer see white people with Asian servants in the movies. They no longer use the word Oriental. They have now moved to the villain stage. When Japan was at its apogee there was even a movie-Samurai Cowboy- about a young Japanese man who falls in love with a white girl and his adventures in Montana. He was shown in a positive role,. Jackie Chan was not accepted first, then he was given the roles of a bafoon, now he is becoming more and more masculine as China is becoming wealthier and wealthier.

Two more things need to be noted:

1) It is not necessarily the "white guy" vs the Asian guy. Look at how the Russians are being portrayed or the Germans? Russians are now criminals and James Bond is shooting them and gets the Russian girl. WW2 movies did the same. The American killing the Krauts and taking the War Bride back to mom.
2) Other countries do the same in their movies based on the stereotypes they have. In HK movies they rarely if ever show a white guy in any good way or even show him at all except as some traveling freak and then some HK guy fights the 'white devil'. In Japan, any white guy is again either a loser freak English teacher who wow, can actually say something in Japanese or some guest from abroad or just a freaky decoration somewhere in the background at some company someone visits. A lover? a friend? are you kidding? Never in a million years!

Watch Thai and Filipino movies. In Thai movies a white guy kills Thai women. And is despised. Or is shown as a freak, again. In Filipino movies, a handsome American ( always an Anglo Saxon) is seen as a hero ( history), a Spaniard and a Japanese is not ( both are evil). The Filipinos would again have a cognitive dissonance if they saw things differently and would not like the movie.

So, what some people may see as an evil conspiracy by Jews is simply trying to please the customer, the viewer.

None of the above is a justification of any kind, or meant to show that Asian men are seen in the positive light in the US (yet).

Although you don’t see negative stereotypes of Jews in the movies, even though that would also be marketable to an audience. You regularly see media ridiculing Jesus, but nothing about Moses or Abraham. The Italians were portrayed as mobsters, even though there were historically as many Jewish mobsters as Italian. Every ethnic category is fair game for negative treatment except Jews – which is no surprise if they are the ones making the movies. In fact, a negative stereotype is then classified as “defamation� and there is an anti-defamation league.

[ladislav]

Agreed! 100%. But in Russian movies, Jews are stereotyped negatively, but not the Russians themselves. In Arab movies, Jews are totally evil, but not Muslims. Whoever runs the show, makes the stereotypes. So, yes, what you have mentioned is an added factor in the equasion.

[momopi]

Back in 1970s, there was only 3 TV channels in Taiwan, all of them are government controlled and when someone tried to start a private cable TV series, his operation was quickly shut down.

Moving forward to the 21st century, we now have access to hundreds of stations via cable and satellite, many of which are now avail on the web as well. i.e. I get CCTV-9 from China with my digital cable TV package, it's 24HR English language programming from China's Central Television. There's also Chinese language channels from China, HK, and Taiwan.

From 1996-2008, we also had AZN TV on cable, sponsored by Comcast and dedicated to the Asian American community. Unfortunately, when the market dose-dived in 2008, the station became a casualty of cost-cutting.

When I was in Malaysia, they watch Al Jazeera on cable. Al Jazeera now has English language channel that you can get via satellite in the US as well. Very different programming than CNN, hehehehe.

Male Asian Americans are under-represented on American TV, this is a fact. I read that female Asian American reporters out-number their male Asian American colleagues by ratio of 80:20. But at the same time, the ratio between Asian American women to Asian American men in journalism schools was 3:1. If you ask a group of Asian American men, you'd find very few who'd be interested in the TV news profession.

[The_Adventurer]

Isn't 80:20 the same as 4:1?

As for other media empires, Chinese movies are notorious for depicting whites as evil invaders and such. I recently watched True Legend of Beggar Su and also the Donnie Yen flick Ip Man 2. True Legend featured David Carradine and his slough of white foreign bad guys come to beat up on the Chinese, and of course cheating in their fights. Ip Man 2 also featured an evil, white, foreign bad guy as the main villain for Man to take down.

Japanese movies will sometimes put a white guy in a non-evil role, but they may still depict him as a large, hairy, brutish and obnoxious fellow. I've never seen a black guy in a Japanese movie, but I see them a lot in their TV shows and variety shows, usually looking like 1970's gangsters and fools.

Money runs Hollywood more than Jews or any other group I think. How many major movie studios have been bought by Sony? Yet they aren't throwing more Japanese characters on screen. How is Batman helping the Jewish cause?

In Asian cinema, I am noticing a lot more cross over now. I see famous Japanese actors in Korean and Chinese movies, Chinese actors in or working on Japanese films, Taiwanese actors in Korean and Japanese films and even Korean and Asian American actors in Singaporean films! You almost never see that in the U.S. You get some British and Australian actors, but how many of them go back home to Britain or Australia and make films?

[momopi]

In Asian cinema, I am noticing a lot more cross over now. I see famous Japanese actors in Korean and Chinese movies, Chinese actors in or working on Japanese films, Taiwanese actors in Korean and Japanese films and even Korean and Asian American actors in Singaporean films! You almost never see that in the U.S. You get some British and Australian actors, but how many of them go back home to Britain or Australia and make films?

There's quite a few actors and actress who cross over to the "pan-Asian" scene. However not everyone is as they seem. For example, in the recent Chinese movie "Battle for Red Cliff", the actor who played Zhuge Liang was Takeshi Kaneshiro, a Japanese national. But he is not ethnic Japanese, his father is Okinawan (Ryukyuan) and his mother is Taiwanese. He grew up in Taipei and attended Taipei American School. He can speak Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, English, and some Cantonese.




Looking at my own family, my cousin's immigrated from Taiwan to the US and are married to a Japanese, a Korean, a Vietnamese, and a Japanese/Brazilian hapa girl.