Asian American Stereotypes

The scholarly research articles from Hobart, Huike, Byars, and Scharrer compare and constructed old Asian American media to that of the present and how some Asian stereotypes are still very much present. The articles stress the importance of how Asian Americans are still very much generally underrepresented in the media of the United States and this lack of representation is worrisome because it limits roles for Asian Americans to stereotypical ones. “By only propagating certain roles to Asian Americans this leads to false beliefs among the society and continues the cycle of misunderstanding and pigeonholing”(Hobart, 2015).
Hobart and Huike articles entail how modern shows like Fresh off the Boat does a great job in subverting Asian stereotypes …show more content…
Media tends to show Asian foreigners as people who are slow and cannot speak English. Therefore, whites are shown to communicate with them by talking in a very slow kind of cynical manner which they can understand. The article talks about how they even do these to their children who are Americans that can speak fluent English. It is portraying an image that all Asians are foreigners and have trouble understanding English. “These images cause a society to project these stereotypical ideas when confronted with an Asian person with an accent, even though they can speak fluent English” (Byars, 2012). Furthermore, articles address the all Asian are smart stereotype. “Asian youth has often been portrayed as being so completely focused on academics that they seem to have no other goals or substance in life”(Scharrer, 2015). This can create a feeling of self-isolation for an Asian American who struggles in school. All kids have trouble in school at one point or another but with this type of stereotypical norm it might make Asians more scared to ask for help academically. Also, the articles discuss how this social norm makes it seems that Asian goals in life are based entirely around school. “It fits them into one certain role instead of showing that all Asians have their own dreams and goals and are not these education machines”(Scharrer, 2015). Finally, …show more content…
There are many Asian actors and actress portraying characters with a stereotypical Asian accent. For example, the articles mentions how Constance Wu and Randall Park are both U.S. citizens yet they are portraying two individuals who speak English with a comical Asian accent in Fresh off the Boat. “Asian Americans are still exaggerating accents for comic relief” (Scharrer, 2015). This kind of portrayal is quite similar to that of Mickey Rooney’s in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It gives the sense that Asian Americans must have to play some form of a character with an Asian accent since it’s what the audience almost demands even though they are much capable of playing other roles. It is once again putting them into certain roles that are limiting. Another occurring theme the articles mentions about Asian Americans in the media is the need to assimilate with the white culture. This type of belief is exactly like the sidekick stereotype, where the minority needs the help of a white person or gravity’s to be like that white person. “One of the most compelling examples of such conformity in the representation of the Asian American in media is the side-kick” (Huike, 2015). In many shows, Asian is seen assimilating or assimilated into the white culture and it is that assimilation that has led them to achieve great economic success in America. However, this is ridiculous because we see that