Portrayal of Asian Men in Hollywood

Asian men have been featured in the American entertainment industry the 19th century. Their roles were initially confined to characters that portrayed a stereotypical Asian male, often the object of oddity for white audiences. For decades, there were few opportunities in film and television afforded to Asian men, owing to the white-centrist nature of Hollywood at the time. Since then, increasing numbers of male Asian actors have made appearances in Hollywood. However, their portrayal has at times been the subject of criticism, stemming from the view that they are still portrayed as weaker, feminine characters in comparison to their counterparts of other ethnicities.

Asian-American actors (from left): Daniel Cho, Ken Jeong, Daniel Dae Kim.

History

Asian male participation in the entertainment industry of the United States can be traced back to the first half of the 19th century, when Thai-American conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker, were featured in "freak shows" across the country. Newspapers were keen to report on their story, but did not exempt them from the racial prejudice which was prevalent at the time. Roles in film and television were largely off-limits to Asian men for decades.

Among the earliest Asian men to find success in film and television is George Takei. His career in Hollywood began in the late 1950s. He started off with voice-overs in English dubs of Japanese films, before landing minor roles in television programs in the early 1960s. This was quicky followed by Bruce Lee, who is widely credited for introducing Asian martial arts to the West.

Notable Characters and Films/Television Series

Character	Actor	Movie/Program	Description
Rajesh Koothrappali	Kunal Nayyar	The Big Bang Theory	A heavily-accented Indian astrophysicist, who was unable to speak to women without consuming alcohol, and often portrayed to have a higher degree of femininity than the other main characters. He is the only non-white character among the main cast.
Leslie Chow	Ken Joeng	The Hangover	he main antagonist in the film, who in the second movie becomes the protagnist. An international criminal, he speaks with an exaggerated accent, and is sometimes seen fully nude, with his small penis size becoming a running joke throughout the trilogy T
Bryce Lee	Matthew Moy	2 Broke Girls	The Asian owner of a restaurant who is made fun of for his small physical appearance, lack of sexual appeal, and inability to understand American culture. Also speaks with a stereotypical Asian accent, sometimes mixing up 'l' and 'r' in his speech.

Portrayal and Masculinity

Masculinity is a social construct, which is viewed by Western society (and by extension, Hollywood) as having traits such as strength, power, courage and assertiveness. Some have attributed violence to be a masculine trait, which can be seen in Hollywood's portrayal of violent characters which are overwhelmingly male.

In Hollywood, films and television programs have a tendency to cast their Asian male actors for roles that are seen to be less masculine when compared to their counterparts of other ethnicities. Hollywood has already been accused of having a lack of racial diversity, as seen by the small number of films and programs that feature Asian men as its main characters. Movies that do feature Asian characters, however, often portray them in less masculine ways. One such example is The Hangover, along with its sequels. Ken Jeong, who played Leslie Chow in the trilogy, is portrayed as a more feminine, emasculated man who is less physically capable than the three main characters -- all of whom are white.

In television, the NBC sitcom The Big Bang Theory features an Indian male character, Rajesh ("Raj") Koothrappali, played by Kunal Nayyar. In the earlier seasons, Raj lacked the courage to talk to women, unless he was under the influence of alcohol. None of the other male characters in the show, who are notably white, share this peculiarity. The show's portrayal of Raj as an emasculated man can also be seen by his tendency to have lines that seemingly imply subversiveness and/or feminity, such as his joke of having a dream about both him and Howard having mansions, with a tunnel connecting "Howard's front yard to my back yard". Although the other characters share his interest of playing the online game World of Warcraft, Raj's avatar is a female. Further evidence of his emasculation can be seen in the beginning of Season 5, when he is revealed to have ended up in bed with Penny in the previous season finale, but was apparently not sexually pleasing. These traits consistently fall outside of what Western society deems to be "masculine", whereas the other characters in the show do not suffer such a fate.

Instances of Asian characters seen as masculine do exist in Hollywood, albeit in far fewer numbers than their non-Asian counterparts. An example of this can be found in the 2010 iteration of Hawaii Five-O, where Daniel Dae Kim played the decorated Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly. His character was a stark contrast to Raj Koothrappali and Leslie Chow, as his physical appearance and capabilities are on par with his non-Asian counterparts. Yet, Daniel Dae Kim was revealed to be paid 10 to 15 percent less than the white characters in the show. Disagreement over pay equality led him to leave the show at the end of its seventh season.

Analysis

Explaining the emasculating portrayal of Asian men in Hollywood draws on different approaches. The first, that Asian actors are victims of historical attitudes towards Asians in the West. In the United States, early Asian immigrants in the 19th century were mostly men who performed menial labour, more often than not subservient to the white population. Their different physical appearance were a subject of amusement, even becoming "human oddities" in the eyes of the white population. The long-braided hair, shorter and slimmer build that most Asian men had at the time led the whites to believe that Asians were more feminine. Many Asian characters are also portrayed with stereotypical accents, arising from the need to distinguish them from the "normal" characters, as can be seen by Leslie Chow and Raj Koothrappali in their respective roles.

Hollywood's idea of sexual appeal can be considered to be the other approach. Because Asian men are stereotyped to be less physically capable than other races, there are simply fewer opportunities for an Asian actor to play a role that is seen to be masculine, such as superheroes. Asian male actors therefore find themselves in the unflattering intersection between being seen as a "different" individual, and a man that is more feminine and therefore less sexually desirable.

Summary

Despite Hollywood's progressive image, Asian actors have struggled to find equal footing and respect in the industry compared to their counterparts of other ethnicities. Their roles today still have emasculating undertones, often playing roles that are seen to be lesser than the other characters, especially alongside white characters. This issue can be attributed to American society's perception of "sexiness", which is inexplicably tied to the Western standards of masculinity. Asian actors are therefore expected to conform to such standards. The persistence of such attitudes only serves to perpetuate the emasculation of Asian men in Hollywood.