Asian Americans In The Media Essay

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A social issue that I have personally faced in my lifetime before is the portrayal of Asian individuals in media. When I talk about media I mean in movies or in television shows. There are not many Asian American actors in many Hollywood movies or shows. There are some out there, but usually they are casted for the stereotypical roles like the “nerd” role or anything that has to do with martial arts. Even when the story is from a country in Asia, Asian Americans are not casted for it.
When I was younger, I really enjoyed a show called Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show is not explicitly Asian and it’s not even from Asia. However, one can clearly see that there are many Asian elements that influenced the show such as Chinese martial …show more content…

It makes society view Asian Americans in a negative way. There are many stereotypes of Asian Americans that Hollywood likes to portray which is a bad thing. It generalizes all Asian Americans. It puts us in a “box” and that is how society would view Asian Americans when in reality we are not just the stereotypes. Just like any other ethnicity, everyone can act how they want to act. A lot of the roles that I usually see Asian Americans play are the kung fu master or the scientist or the nerdy friend. Only rarely are Asian Americans the main protagonist and even if they are it is in an Asian story. Even then Asian Americans actors do not play the protagonist in the Asian story. Many caucasian actors are there to fill the spot. This again highlights the fact that Hollywood think that Asian Americans can not fill a main role and they would rather cast a more well known face. This can make is hard for many aspiring Asian American actors and actresses to make it in the acting business. Hollywood currently is making progress in casting more Asian American actors and also other actors of color but there is still a long ways to

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