Contemporary Immigrant representation in Hollywood and Social Media

Introduction

Hollywood has long been criticized for their elitism and lack of diversity in casting and representation for their characters, story lines and inaccurate perpetuation of tropes. Most recently, issues of whitewashing have been addressed and brought to the forefront of media outlets, garnering a wealth of support and activism in order to achieve broader representation and diversity for both creators, actors and audiences. Thus, in order to share their stories and experiences, immigrant creators have found other outlets, such as writing their own series' and creating their own channels in order to communicate directly with their audiences.

Representation in Hollywood

Scarlett Johansson as Major Mira Killian / Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell

There have always been limited roles for actors of colour in Hollywood. In most cases, characters of colour are relegated to the same damaging tropes and stereotypes that feed into the perpetuation of whitewashing and the erasure of actual authentic experiences. Fundamental issues such as identities and intersectionalities continue to be ignored in favor of easily palatable plots and highly marketable star power. Identifying characteristics such as racial accents and visual cues that match existing stereotypes serve to emphasize foreignness and therefore illustrate differences, as opposed to closing gaps by drawing on similarities. Hollywood remains the largest stage for any story to be told and shared among the masses. As such, the continued whitewashing of leading Asian roles by famous White actors has only served to relegate equally capable Asian actors into the background. This follows the same harmful narrative that many people of colour face on an almost daily basis, the challenge of being exposed to the downsides of your culture and colour, without any of the perks that come along with it. Despite efforts of inclusion and repeated attempts to deconstruct the borders and barriers in the way of coloured actors, it seems as though diversity in characters, both in terms of ethnicity and sexuality are sorely lacking in Hollywood. Luckily, more and more Asian actors are speaking out against these harmful practices and choose to engage with audiences and their supporters via social media in order to seek and incite positive changes. However, this is not to say that there are not other opinions to be had about representation and issues such as "Racebending" characters. The 2017 movie "Ghost in the Shell" starring Scarlett Johansson was widely condemned by Asian American actors, however there seemed to be a varied reaction back in Japan, where the origins of this story began. Some critics seemed to think of the casting in terms of the character itself and which traits they embodied, more so than the physical appearances associated with a name and culture. Additionally, those in Japan were expecting a white actress to take the helm, pointing to the fact that had they wanted an authentic Japanese movie, they would have chosen to shoot and cast solely from Japan.

Representation on TV

Fresh Off the Boat promo poster

Cable television has recently introduced a host of new shows that have brought immigrant story lines and people of color onto the contemporary media radar. Recently, there has been a rise in both small screen series' and exclusive platform programming that has highlighted the immigrant and cross cultural experience. A prime example would be the ABC comedy Fresh Off the Boat, which follows a Chinese-American family adjusting and navigating the challenges and issues involved in raising children while balancing culture, legibility and experiences. Behind the lens, we have actors turned writers like Aziz Ansari creating and producing his own shows for the first generation immigrant demographic. Although first generation immigrants in North America might not see themselves directly cast in Hollywood blockbusters, it seems that more and more opportunities can be found on the small screen. Audiences seem to be responding well to shows written by people of colour, with cultural humor that can sometimes be almost painfully accurate.

Creators on YouTube and Social Media

Caption: Example posters for #StarringJohnCho

In response to the lack of diversity and statistics highlighting the lack of representation in new media, many have taken to social media in order to foster social awareness. One such circumstance was the Twitter and social awareness movement of #StarringJohnCho. This hashtag features Korean-American actor John Cho, famous for his role in the comedy movie franchise "Harold and Kumar" and most recently recognized for playing Hikaru Sulu in the new reboot Star Trek franchise, wherein it was also recently revealed that Sulu was both a father and in a same-sex relationship. Using John Cho as a rallying symbol, followers on both Twitter and social media have made efforts to highlight the lack of diversity in Hollywood leading men. In most cases, this involves using Photoshop to replace white leading men with John Cho in posters, scenes and explaining how he could add a depth of character to otherwise static tropes.

Sharing Stories

YouTube has been a phenomenal platform for engaging and inciting Asian creators to share their work. Regardless if they are immigrants, first generation or born and bred Americans, YouTube has been an outlet that reached beyond the borders of territories, countries and experiences in order to give all voices and stories an opportunity to be heard. There has been an enormous amount of influence and a truly revolutionary approach to sharing content, opinions and the Asian-American lifestyle through various Asian YouTubers, significantly surpassing existing barriers for communication and effectively pioneering a direct link to their audiences. Creators such as Ryan Higa , Kevin Wu and Lilly Singh has brought diversity to the forefront of social media with their personal channels, speaking about all sorts of topics and themes in an open and honest manner. By blending humour and cutting wit, these creators have been able to garner a loyal following of subscribers and supporters. As such, they've been able to make a name for themselves not only within the YouTube community, but beyond, as well, incorporating different creative endeavors and making diversity visible and acceptable within contemporary media. Likewise, creative group account such as WongFu Productions has consistently created moving and relevant short skits, short films and most recently, a feature length series called "Single by 30" on YouTube's new platform, YouTube Red. If Asian men are unable to find directors that would like to cast them in leading roles in Hollywood then they might as well create their own leading roles to fulfill. New creators such as Anna Akana have found fantastic success in sharing their personal lives in regards to sensitive topics, such as mental health, suicide and depression, as well as their professional lives, which reflect issues such as self-confidence, body image and the often negative societal expectations.