Is It Time for Asian-American Representation in Hollywood?

Okay, so what I want you to do is name five Asian-American actors off the top of your head. Did you do it? Could you actually name five Asian-American actors off the top of your head? I'm betting you couldn't.

I mean, I can't do it. I asked Google for some Asian-American actors and there were so few of them that they gave me this.

Jeremy Lin? Seriously? The injury-prone NBA player who just got sent to the Atlanta Hawks after playing a total of 37 games in two seasons? THAT'S the Asian-American representation we're getting in the acting world?

The only thing Lin ever acted in was this:

And by the way, this short film is about to make me cry again.

I'm sorry. I haven't had the chance to introduce myself. I'm Jonathan, I'm an Asian-American writer, and when I get older, I want to pursue acting. I want to appear in some movies and TV shows, but the problem is — Asians just don't get represented enough in Hollywood.

I mean, usually, when you see an Asian in a movie or a show, they either have a Chinese accent, they're doing martial arts, or they're either weird, a nerd, or they're a weird nerd.

But from the looks of it, this could change in the future, as the book, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, has been adapted into a feature film, set to be released this August.

And this movie looks really good. So, hopefully, it's the start of some more films with Asian leads. Because it's like I said; when you see an Asian in a movie, the character is either conforming to a stereotype or they're a very minor character.

Think about your favorite movies. I'll bet in most of those films, the main character is played by a White actor. That's why the Oscar nominees every year are mostly White.

Now, usually in Hollywood, a fictional character that was based off an Asian person ends up getting portrayed by a White actor anyway. This is a practice known as whitewashing, and it not only applies to Asians, but also to African-American and Hispanic characters.

For example, the 2015 romantic comedy, Aloha, takes place in Hawaii, a state where White people are a minority. Yet, the whole main cast is White, and the character of Allison Ng, who is supposed to be part Chinese, part Swedish, and part Native Hawaiian, was portrayed by White actress Emma Stone.

Also, the film, 21 was based on a true story involving Asian-Americans and card counting. But the main cast ended up being mostly White actors and actresses.

Now, while there WERE Asian-Americans in the film, it remains pretty clear that Hollywood is pretty apprehensive about hiring an Asian to play the main lead.

And that honestly shouldn't be the case. Have you ever read casting calls? Some of them don't ask for a specific race when casting their roles, but a lot of them specifically require you to be Caucasian in order to play the role.

Why should the casting be limited that much? Why are you deciding the way your movie or your show should look by casting actors based on race, not talent?

Obviously, other minorities have similar problems when it comes to not being able to grab a lead role due to racial bias, but Asians have it pretty bad due to the stereotyping of our race and culture.

Like I said, a lot of the times you see Asians in a movie or a show, they either speak with a foreign accent or they don't speak at all. And I think it's important for Asians to not just get represented, but to get respectful representation in films.

I think it's time for the world to know that Asian-Americans can pull off any kind of role that current movie stars can. That means an Asian action hero that doesn't do martial arts, because Asians like me don't know kung fu s**t.

Also pretty tired of how Asians usually only get portrayed as "weird" or "kung fu masters". If Asians are gonna be sharing the spotlight with White and Black actors, then we should also be represented respectfully without conforming to any Asian stereotypes.

And that is the end of my rant.

Now, when I'm in my 20s and in peak physical condition, I'll pursue my dreams as an actor. But for now, I'm a magician and a writer. And I'm having the time of my life.