The Misrepresentation Of Minorities For The Mainstream Film Industry

Racists often believe that alternative races are inferior. Stuart Hall, an expert in the field of cultural studies who is also interested in media studies, believes that it is difficult to completely eliminate race as a "floating signifier" because it is impossible to remove the obvious physical differences of distinct races. These distinctions are made increasingly aware by filmmakers to their audiences in such films as West Side Story, Birth of a Nation, Gringo in Mananaland, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Even when films were silent movies, "The technology of film entertainment was so powerful…" in altering the mindsets and viewpoints of minority racial

Asian American actors in modern media deal with whitewashed film and television, underrepresentation in major works, and casting in stereotypical roles. These three problems are rooted in the history of Asian American actors in film and television, and have been perpetrated by stereotypes that continue to this day. The purpose of this memo is to examine the modern industry of film and television through the eyes of Asian American actors, viewing the stereotypes and stigmas these actors face, and looking forward to see what can be done by casting directors to reduce harmful stereotyping and increase diversity in film and television.

The representation of minorities in Hollywood has always been sparse and controlled in a way to fit the stereotype of the minority group.Many a time minorities are added to movies (depending on the subject matter of the film) to add color so that the film itself will not be criticized hugely for that aspect.When it comes to black Hollywood actresses it is more likely for the light skinned blacks to be casted rather than their darker counterparts. An example of this is the 2016 film Nina the film is a biopic of Nina Simone's life who was a dark skinned singer and activist in the civil rights movement. For the film they casted Zoe Sladana as Nina which itself can be seen as an issue because of Sladana noticeable lighter skin tone however

“Oscars So White” a phrase that began trending on social media sites after the 2016 Academy Awards announce their nominees for Best Actor and Best Actress, it was predominately white for a second year in a row. The movie industry is no stranger to controversy and since its inception it’s constantly been guilty of underrepresenting ethnic people. It’s evident that film is a type of mass media that has a certifiable amount of power to influence audience’s views, yet this platform constantly disregards the need for diversity in favor of stereotypes. Movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Scarface (1983), and Pan (2015) are all guilty of this. The depiction of non-American characters in Hollywood movies are constructed around racial

Despite the fact that Asian Americans have been in Hollywood for decades, there are very few positive representations of them in film. More often than not, they’ve been depicted as stereotypical caricatures, and more specifically, as foreigners who can’t speak grammatically correct English. Moreover, the negative representations of Asian Americans in film has perpetuated certain misconceptions about their culture. Chan is Missing (1982) calls for more genuine representations of Asian American identities through its cast of complex characters and defiance of Asian stereotypes. The film also urges its viewers to critically think about their own notions of identity through the use of several recurring themes and filmmaking techniques.

As an Asian-American woman, I want to see better representation for the Asian community; if media is supposed to reflect the real world, then there is no excuse for leaving Asians out in American films. I want to dissect why Asians are still marginalized and stereotyped today when there is a demand for more diversity in media. In addition, I want to cover the history behind the stereotyping and whitewashing of Asians in Hollywood and how that still has a negative impact today. In fact, recent movies have white-washed Asian roles in favor of white actors. In May 2015, Sony released “Aloha,” where Emma Stone portrayed Allison Ng, a part Chinese-Hawaiian fighter pilot. This blatant erasure is also evident in Dreamworks’ casting of Scarlett Johansson

The Effects of Minority Representation in Hollywood and the Media on Racial Perspectives in The U.S.

C. Thesis: Studios are reticent to cast black and biracial actors in major roles in the fear that these films will not be successful with the viewing audience, but the decision to cast mostly white actors only serves to reinforce this assumption by preventing even the possibility of successful films with black and biracial leads; although recent evidence shows that this assumption is largely inaccurate, the practice persists, and only by critically examining this troubled history can one hope to precipitate a change.

The race for obtaining roles in American film and television is often uneven with different endpoints for different racial and ethnic groups; it seems that every time Asian American actors get close to winning, the finish line moves. Asians make up 60% of the world’s population — 4.436 billion people — and yet, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) recently reported that they only make up 3%-4% of roles in American film and television. In another UCLA study of the top 100 American films of 2015, half did not have a single Asian character and if they did, they were not leading roles. When half of the world is largely ignored by America — one of the most diverse and influential countries in the world — the people of America must question why there is a lack of representation for Asian Americans and why it is detrimental to society.

Over the years television has been known to be one of the major educating and socializing institution in America. Television in today’s society is able to play a powerful key through which individuals can be informed, hold forums, and voice their opinion‘s. Television is also important because it offers us glimpses into minority life and minority figures. When sociologists examine minorities in television they document how minorities are portrayed and how those portrayals have changed over the years. Through time, minorities in television have been able to make moderate gains whether they are in front of or behind cameras. However, they continue to remain significantly underrepresented as leading actors in films, as writers, and as TV show creators. Even though minorities are significantly underrepresented in today’s society the TV industry has been pushing to give an opportunity to many minority groups in succeeding in the media. Several TV shows and commercials have succeeded in the TV industry to try and change how minorities are underrepresented, however, there are also shows that reinforce stereotypes and are prejudice towards minorities.

Diversity and representation has been in an increased demand over the past few years. Even children's TV producers and creators are taking notice by including LGBT and all sorts of ethnic characters in their shows. However, it seems that Hollywood has yet to take note.

Whether it is on TV or movie screens, the faces of white actors and actresses have always been prevalent in the media. For generations, many teenagers have been exposed to countless movies with white people in major roles. Moreover, the few roles that are cast to minorities feature the characters in their stereotypical personas (Bonilla-Silva 179). Even in advertising, Asians are placed in business settings, upholding the hard-working Asian stereotype (Taylor and Stern 50). As Taylor and Stern mention in their paper, the “model minority” has made the issue of stereotyping seem less important for Asians. The majority of these actors that are examined, regardless of race, are typically middle-age and well established in their acting careers. However, there is a lack of research behind Asian youth acting and their perceived roles. To account for this knowledge deficit, I examine how whiteness influences the media to portray youth actors as individuals that stray from their stereotypes in an attempt to achieve whiteness. My research site centres around Fresh Off the Boat (FOB), a comedic television series featuring a Taiwanese family. The title of the show Fresh Off the Boat or “FOB” is also a term used to describe a person that is considered too ethnic and as a term of denigration. I utilize Pyke and Dang’s categorization of “FOB” and “whitewashed” to analyze the narrator, Eddie Huang. I chose to limit my research primarily to the first “pilot” episode where the audience is

The diversity in Hollywood top films is low compared to the U.S. population. A study from Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism shows that in the top 100 grossing films of 2013 fewer than 5% of the actors were Hispanic even though they take up 15% of the nation. Hispanics is one the fastest growing ethic groups in United States but yet they are barely seen in movies or televison.

Many Asian roles are extreme depictions of stereotypes: either of bumbling buffoons, heavily accented foreigners, or some comical, clueless figure. These disgusting clown-like portrayals of Asians in the media are reminiscent of the “Happy Sambo” in 19th century America, which dehumanized African Americans as smiling, brainless minstrels for consumption. Perhaps the most successful Asian-American actor in history, few have matched the legendary Anna May Wong’s star power or film appearances in the 20’s and 30’s (Chang, “Open Doors for Asian Performers”). But ultimately, Wong was defeated by the system and became a victim of typecasting, or only getting roles that reinforce a certain character, and died a shadow of her former self. Misrepresentation is no better than underrepresentation, and it should not be mistaken for

Asian American actors and actresses are portrayed in Hollywood movies as always being the silent and yielding foreign victims to social injustice and prejudice. Whether or not these depictions are true, they are nonetheless stereotypes that Hollywood producers have come up with. According to the US Census in the year 2000, Asian Americans make up 4.2% of the entire American population, and knowing that most Asian Americans live on the west and east coast of the United States, many Americans living in central parts of this country have not really been exposed to any Asian Americans. Because of this fact, it is highly probable that most Americans get their exposure to the Asian American lifestyle only through television and movies. Even if