The History Of Asian-American Representation in Film

Gigi Kim

While Hollywood has taken steps to increase the inclusion of Asian Americans in recent years, Asian American actors are still heavily underrepresented. The history of Asian American representation in Hollywood is deeply rooted in harmful stereotypes and racial discrimination. 

The diverse and rich cultural history maintained by the Asian American community is often reduced to meek and flat portrayals that generalize Asian cultures. The wrongful depictions of Asian Americans on screen can be dangerously influential on young Asian American viewers, perpetuating the notion that the stereotypical representations and limited roles they see are the only ones available to them. 

Today, Asian American characters are most commonly subjected to the model minority myth, a detrimental stereotype that Asian Americans are more intelligent, hard working and financially high-achieving than other minority groups. Reducing Asian Americans into a homogeneous group strips them of their identities and reinforces the image of Asian Americans being “better” than other minorities. The stereotypes aren’t limited to the model minority myth; Asian men are often depicted as weak, subservient, and emasculated, while Asian women are seen with either the helpless “Lotus Blossom” or seductive “Dragon Lady” trope. 

Historically, Asian roles have been performed by non-Asian actors in “yellowface,” which refers to the practice of white actors wearing facial makeup to portray an East Asian character. Movies and shows like “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961), “The Good Earth” (1937)  and “Kung Fu” (1972) used white actors for character roles scripted as Asian. In “The Good Earth,” Chinese American actress Anna May Wong was replaced by Austrian American actress Luise Rainer for the leading role of Chinese character O-Lan. The role of Wang Lung, a Chinese farmer in the film, was, too, portrayed by a white actor (Paul Muni). Anti-miscegenation laws during the time period that criminalized interracial intimacy prevented O-Lan from being played by an Asian actress. White actor Mickey Rooney played the role of “Mr. Yunioshi” in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” where he was portrayed as a Japanese man with an exaggerated thick accent, taped-back squinted eyes and prosthetic buck teeth. Offering Asian roles to non-Asian performers among the already limited opportunities for Asian actors to star in Hollywood deepened the underrepresentation of Asian individuals. 

Today, a gradual shift towards more enlightened narratives has emerged, with movies such as “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), “Minari” (2020) and “Parasite” (2019), achieving new frontiers. Despite the blooming success of new-age films with full Asian castings, though, there are still horrific barriers for Asian American actors and filmmakers. There is still a wide deficit of the stories being told, with the main focus of many films being on cultural identity or the model minority myth. This suffocates the Asian American experience, as well as the opportunities available for Asian American portrayals in cinema. 

While efforts for progress are continuously being made both in front and behind the camera, the hiring of more Asian American writers, producers and directors could help bring the authentic voices and complex stories of Asian Americans to light. The conversation about diversity and inclusion must be kept alive in the film industry, as the fight for dismantling Asian American stereotypes has long ways to go.