A RESPONSE TO "HOLLYWOOD AND ASIANS: WHY PROTESTS ALONE WON'T CHANGE ANYTHING"
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Angry Asian Man reported on a post by Philip Chung as to why protesting against anti-Asian scenes or characters in Hollywood films won't make a difference without market clout. To quote, "until Asian Americans as a whole are willing to put down our money to support the work of our Asian American filmmakers—nothing will change. We can protest all we want, but real change will not happen until Hollywood knows we are an economic force that can make a difference in their bottom line."
He goes into some detail in his analysis, including comparisons between the African American, Latino American and Asian American filmgoing audiences. He also acknowledges that part of the problem with Asian Americans supporting Asian American film is because:
- "a lot of Asian American films suck. And I agree with that. It’s hard to muster enthusiasm and support when you keep getting bombarded with these emails about how you have to support such and such film to show Hollywood that we have box office clout and you go to the theater and wind up watching one crappy movie after another."[1]
The one point I was waiting to hear Philip make - what, in my opinion, is the fundamental point - never came, much to my surprise. That is: the main reason why "Asian Americans as a whole" don't support Asian American film is because "Asian Americans as a whole" do not exist.
What I'm saying here should not come as some big revelation; the basics of the idea have been around for decades and the logic is rather intuitive.[2]
Asian Americans are a diverse conglomeration of very different ethnic groups - each with their own linguistic, cultural, religious, and political histories/traditions. Especially since Asian America is still a majority foreign-born population and overwhelmingly a 1st and 2nd generation immigrant community, our differences are far more numerous than our similarities.
The term "Asian American" is useful as a political identity and as a symbol of solidarity (or desire for such). It's a convenient fiction but one that also comes with some inconvenient truths, not the least of which is that it is unreasonable to expect that such a diverse community is going to unite around common causes, least of all cultural products.
In this regard, you really can't compare Asian Americans to African Americans who have an entirely different history, culturally and politically, that has contributed to their consumer clout. You can't compare Asian Americans to Latino Americans - the latter may also be pan-ethnic but there's no equivalent of Spanish language and Catholicism in the greater Asian American community to act as points of commonality. We also lack the demographic clout of both other groups given their larger population numbers.
Most importantly: there are still rampant examples of anti-Black and anti-Latino imagery in Hollywood. However viable "Black Hollywood" may be that has not suddenly made mainstream Hollywood politically enlightened when it comes to how Black men and women are portrayed. What is different - at best - are the shades of racism. You probably would not have seen a comedic scene where a White man is beating up a Black man, yelling "Kunta Kinte." But that doesn't mean there aren't more subtle forms of anti-Black racism being played for laughs elsewhere; it's just less unbelievably blatant than what we saw with The Goods. (The Angry Black Woman blog makes this same basic point too).
That's certainly a reflection of the different kind of political power African Americans can wield in this respect relative to Asian Americans. It also reflects the consumer demographic clout being spoken about too. But my point is that even with that, it doesn't prevent/insulate. These images have currency that exceed the level of political or economic will that could be brought to bear to prevent/attack them. Let that sober you up for a moment.
On another point: the lack of Asian American support for Asian American cinema is problematic for reasons that don't need to be rehashed but I think it's misdirected to argue that "we're not doing enough to support" without first trying to tackle this question: what is "our" motivation to support?
Why would Korean Americans care if a new film, directed by a Vietnamese American filmmaker, comes out? Will anyone besides Taiwanese Americans (and Dawson's Creek fans) flock to go see Formosa Betrayed?[3] And what about South Asian American cinema - a far far bigger genre than most (who are not South Asian) are even aware about? I never see people urging me to go see the latest Indian American comedy but I do get those emails when it's an East Asian American director. What does that say about "us"?
This is not even about political allegiances, it's about asking a more basic question that's been kicked around for years (and no one can answer for good reason): what kind of Asian American stories are going to have mass appeal across the AA spectrum? I can't imagine what the equivalent to an Asian American Tyler Perry would be since his films, whether you like them or not, could be said to be tapping into a critical mass of desire for certain images and characters that is big enough to be commercial viable. I don't know what the Asian American equivalent would be since it'd have to be pan-ethnic and pan-generational.
That's why I respectfully disagree with Philip's assertion that, "Nothing will change, if our community won’t step up and show Hollywood the green." There is no "community" that is meaningful here, at least not in the way Philip is trying to speak to. Suggesting that we aren't doing enough to support "our own" films makes large assumptions regarding the nature of a collective AA identity and community.
In essence, I'm questioning the underlying logic as to "why AAs don't go see AA films." It's not because of the quality of those films (though poorly made AA films don't help the cause). It's not because producers aren't doing enough to market. It's not because audiences are cheap/lazy/ignorant bastards. It's because there's no such thing as an "Asian American film" that could possibly speak to more than a fraction of AAs.
The best you could ask for, at least for the time being, is a film that happens to include Asian American filmmakers and/or actors but whose themes are more - and I seriously hate this word, but it gets batted around enough - "universal." The problem here, for me, is that "universal" is shorthand for "White" or, at best, "a Will Smith film." So to make a "successful" Asian American film in terms of box office would likely mean making a film that isn't actually distinguishable as "Asian American" except by its casting or staffing. Once you get to that point, you're walking a fine line where Asian American involvement can go from "incidental" to "irrelevant" and thus, "disposable" which puts us back at square one.
This is all getting off-tpic though; I think if things are going to change in terms of our images in mass media and Hollywood in particular, it will have to happen through other means than pushing for AA to unite as a consumer bloc.
***
First of all, there is one group that is far smaller than Asian Americans yet wields tremendous influence in Hollywood - Jewish Americans. Is there still anti-Semitism in Hollywood? Absolutely. But in terms of shades of difference, the kind of anti-Semitism that does exist is far more coded, on average, than the blatant forms of anti-Asian racism you see. That's for at least two reasons: 1) Jewish American political organizing has given them a great deal of clout to make their protests heard faster and taken more seriously than those of other groups. 2) As some of you may have heard, there's, uh, a lot of Jews in Hollywood, at every level in the industry. There's many reasons for this, not the least of which is that the entertainment industry was an avenue open to Jewish immigrants and their children at a time where anti-Semitism kept them out of other, traditional routes to upward mobility. That aside, what you have is a vertical integration of Jewish Americans in Hollywood from writers up to directors up to studio heads. A really terrible, anti-Jewish joke is going to have to make it past, in most cases, a lot of Jewish American eyes - and signatures - to get green-lit into production.
Asian Americans have made great strides to become better represented in Hollywood but we're just not at the same level and I think the fact that we're also not as well politically organized (for all the same reasons I laid out above), also limits the influence of individual AAs placed in the Hollywood structure.
This speaks to my second point: I think many people in Hollywood understand, on some basic level, you don't try to play up anti-Semitism for laughs (unless you happen to also be Jewish...see Sasha Baron Cohen in Borat for example) unless you really feel like having your bosses, JDL and Jewish American politicians come after your ass. (Despite this, you can still find plenty of examples of anti-Semitism in Hollywood...which goes back to my earlier point that these images have currency no matter what kind of influence you can hope to wield elsewhere).
I don't think there is a similar culture of avoiding anti-Asian humor in Hollywood. I think Asians are still easy, fair game by writers who have not gotten it into their head that, "this will get me into trouble." THAT is the real change that would need to happen - a shift in the culture of those working in the industry to stop and contemplate possible repercussions. Would an Asian American consumer bloc help with that? Absolutely. But so would greater involvement by Asian Americans in the industry itself. And so would greater Asian American political clout as we have seen through grass roots movements to protest those images we find offensive.
Philip's post was trying to say, "protests aren't enough," and while I agree with him to a certain extent, I feel like his post is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If NOT for protests, then you have very little public awareness. And the less public awareness you have, the less likely it will be that you will affect change within the minds of writers, directors, studio heads, etc. who generate or green light bad characters and scenes to begin with.
Yes, we can speak with our green but that shouldn't minimize how effective, in many ways, public protests have been in changing the culture of Hollywood. It may be that folks are slow to listen but that alone isn't reason to stop hollerin'.
***
Notes:
[1] The irony is that in the comments section, someone was urging people to go out and support a new AA film which personally, I thought was terrible when I screened it for the SFIAAFF. Given that the film hasn't actually come out for release, I thought it was unfair to put it on blast but I just feel depressed that there's such a push to get people to see it. Then again, if it comes out and makes gobs of money, even if I think it's a bad film, it still could be said to be doing some good.
[2] It would be apropos to mention the two main texts dealing with these issues: Yen Le Espiritu's work on Asian American panethnicity or Lisa Lowe's seminal essay, "Heterogeneity, Hybridity and Multiplicity."
[3] Based on the previews of that film, I'm really tempted to call it Taipei-ssippi Burning but again, it's probably best to suspend judgement until it comes out.
In essence, I'm questioning the underlying logic as to "why AAs don't go see AA films." It's not because of the quality of those films (though poorly made AA films don't help the cause). It's not because producers aren't doing enough to market. It's not because audiences are cheap/lazy/ignorant bastards. It's because there's no such thing as an "Asian American film" that could possibly speak to more than a fraction of AAs.
The best you could ask for, at least for the time being, is a film that happens to include Asian American filmmakers and/or actors but whose themes are more - and I seriously hate this word, but it gets batted around enough - "universal." The problem here, for me, is that "universal" is shorthand for "White" or, at best, "a Will Smith film." So to make a "successful" Asian American film in terms of box office would likely mean making a film that isn't actually distinguishable as "Asian American" except by its casting or staffing. Once you get to that point, you're walking a fine line where Asian American involvement can go from "incidental" to "irrelevant" and thus, "disposable" which puts us back at square one.
This is all getting off-tpic though; I think if things are going to change in terms of our images in mass media and Hollywood in particular, it will have to happen through other means than pushing for AA to unite as a consumer bloc.
First of all, there is one group that is far smaller than Asian Americans yet wields tremendous influence in Hollywood - Jewish Americans. Is there still anti-Semitism in Hollywood? Absolutely. But in terms of shades of difference, the kind of anti-Semitism that does exist is far more coded, on average, than the blatant forms of anti-Asian racism you see. That's for at least two reasons: 1) Jewish American political organizing has given them a great deal of clout to make their protests heard faster and taken more seriously than those of other groups. 2) As some of you may have heard, there's, uh, a lot of Jews in Hollywood, at every level in the industry. There's many reasons for this, not the least of which is that the entertainment industry was an avenue open to Jewish immigrants and their children at a time where anti-Semitism kept them out of other, traditional routes to upward mobility. That aside, what you have is a vertical integration of Jewish Americans in Hollywood from writers up to directors up to studio heads. A really terrible, anti-Jewish joke is going to have to make it past, in most cases, a lot of Jewish American eyes - and signatures - to get green-lit into production.
Asian Americans have made great strides to become better represented in Hollywood but we're just not at the same level and I think the fact that we're also not as well politically organized (for all the same reasons I laid out above), also limits the influence of individual AAs placed in the Hollywood structure.
This speaks to my second point: I think many people in Hollywood understand, on some basic level, you don't try to play up anti-Semitism for laughs (unless you happen to also be Jewish...see Sasha Baron Cohen in Borat for example) unless you really feel like having your bosses, JDL and Jewish American politicians come after your ass. (Despite this, you can still find plenty of examples of anti-Semitism in Hollywood...which goes back to my earlier point that these images have currency no matter what kind of influence you can hope to wield elsewhere).
I don't think there is a similar culture of avoiding anti-Asian humor in Hollywood. I think Asians are still easy, fair game by writers who have not gotten it into their head that, "this will get me into trouble." THAT is the real change that would need to happen - a shift in the culture of those working in the industry to stop and contemplate possible repercussions. Would an Asian American consumer bloc help with that? Absolutely. But so would greater involvement by Asian Americans in the industry itself. And so would greater Asian American political clout as we have seen through grass roots movements to protest those images we find offensive.
Philip's post was trying to say, "protests aren't enough," and while I agree with him to a certain extent, I feel like his post is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If NOT for protests, then you have very little public awareness. And the less public awareness you have, the less likely it will be that you will affect change within the minds of writers, directors, studio heads, etc. who generate or green light bad characters and scenes to begin with.
Yes, we can speak with our green but that shouldn't minimize how effective, in many ways, public protests have been in changing the culture of Hollywood. It may be that folks are slow to listen but that alone isn't reason to stop hollerin'.
Notes:
[1] The irony is that in the comments section, someone was urging people to go out and support a new AA film which personally, I thought was terrible when I screened it for the SFIAAFF. Given that the film hasn't actually come out for release, I thought it was unfair to put it on blast but I just feel depressed that there's such a push to get people to see it. Then again, if it comes out and makes gobs of money, even if I think it's a bad film, it still could be said to be doing some good.
[2] It would be apropos to mention the two main texts dealing with these issues: Yen Le Espiritu's work on Asian American panethnicity or Lisa Lowe's seminal essay, "Heterogeneity, Hybridity and Multiplicity."
[3] Based on the previews of that film, I'm really tempted to call it Taipei-ssippi Burning but again, it's probably best to suspend judgement until it comes out.
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