It’s interesting to watch some of my favorite TV shows from times past and realize that someone who looks like me has no place in those worlds except as a background character or as someone “exotic.”
And then realize how much that generally hasn’t changed.
And then realize how much that generally hasn’t changed.
We rarely see Asian-American characters in pop culture whose roles aren’t as “the other” or whose stories aren’t about overcoming that other-ness.
It’s like we can’t exist as normal in any way.
There’s no Black Panther for us.
It’s like we can’t exist as normal in any way.
There’s no Black Panther for us.
That extends into other areas of life too - Asian Americans are rarely discussed in politics or social conversations.
None of these are new observations, but very much present after binging TV and comics over the last day.
None of these are new observations, but very much present after binging TV and comics over the last day.
It’s not that the journey against otherness isn’t a wonderful story, but gimme the James Bond kinda story where the hero happens to be brown along with the big budget and the promotion of it as something for everyone.
I can’t overstate the importance of @kalpenn’s career to folks like me. He’s played a variety of characters, but his role in HOUSE felt truly special. Otherwise brown characters usually feel like a punchline supporting character.
We need more characters like Penny in #TheMagicians, wonderfully realized by @ArjunGuptaBK - we got a GREAT curry joke and the character clearly has lived life as an “other” but he’s simply a badass character with a universal journey. He’s not defined by skin color.
All this begins with more Asian Americans in roles of power to make these decisions in the creative industry. Not because any one groups of people in consciously biased, but because some things just won’t occur to you without the experience.
That’s true for me too - I’m limited by my experiences as me. As a Canadian. As an American. As both with brown skin. As a man. I do my best to be open to being shown those limitations and disabused of uninformed notions.
And as a friend pointed out, this is worth a read - though I’m highly dubious about what “take over” is happening. vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018…
