CROSS-POSTED AT BLIND MOUSE ENTERTAINMENT.
By the time you are reading this, I will be making my way around Seoul, South Korea. While this may be my first trip to Asia, I have held an interest in Asian pop culture for quite some time. I have always wondered why Asian-American pop icons don’t always receive the acclaim that I feel they deserve.
First and foremost, many Americans are not aware of how Asians permeate U.S. pop culture. Lucy Liu, Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan are all Chinese. There’s MySpace queen Tila Tequila, who is Vietnamese. Remember that song “Where’d You Go?” by Fort Minor? Mike Shinoda, the man behind the project, is half-Japanese. Mike’s also in Linkin Park, whose DJ, Joseph Hahn, is Korean. BD Wong from Jurassic Park is Chinese. Bruno Mars, Cassie, Enrique Iglesias, and apl.de.ap from The Black Eyed Peas are all half-Filipino. George Takei of Star Trek fame is Japanese. The four members of the Far East Movement are Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino.
This is an incomplete list, but it does feature some extremely big names. However, many Americans are either unaware of their ethnic background (I’ll admit I had no clue about Bruno Mars) or simply write them off as “that Asian actor/singer.” It’s really sad.
Sadly, many people within the United States hold negative stereotypes about Asians. If you’re an Asian male then you’re likely a computer nerd with a small penis. If you’re female, then you’re either hypersexual or you’re totally innocent. (Or, somehow, both.) Then, of course, there’s the stereotypes about not speaking English well, being straight A students, or excelling at martial arts.
An artist who breaks this mold might not bode well with people who hold these views. Notice that the multiracial pop icons I noticed tend not to publicly identify with their Asian heritage. For example, most folks know about Enrique Iglesias’ Latino identity, but few know of his Filipino roots. Picking an identity is hard and I don’t want to condemn these artists for their decisions – but it is interesting to note.
To complicate matters, there are a clash of values between Eastern and Western cultures. In an article focusing specifically on the Korean pop phenomenon, I noted:
From rock and roll to spaghetti western films, pop culture thrives with diversity. Over the next few years, I hope to see more shows with Asian-American protagonists – and not simply as token stereotypes.
By the time you are reading this, I will be making my way around Seoul, South Korea. While this may be my first trip to Asia, I have held an interest in Asian pop culture for quite some time. I have always wondered why Asian-American pop icons don’t always receive the acclaim that I feel they deserve.
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This is an incomplete list, but it does feature some extremely big names. However, many Americans are either unaware of their ethnic background (I’ll admit I had no clue about Bruno Mars) or simply write them off as “that Asian actor/singer.” It’s really sad.
Sadly, many people within the United States hold negative stereotypes about Asians. If you’re an Asian male then you’re likely a computer nerd with a small penis. If you’re female, then you’re either hypersexual or you’re totally innocent. (Or, somehow, both.) Then, of course, there’s the stereotypes about not speaking English well, being straight A students, or excelling at martial arts.
An artist who breaks this mold might not bode well with people who hold these views. Notice that the multiracial pop icons I noticed tend not to publicly identify with their Asian heritage. For example, most folks know about Enrique Iglesias’ Latino identity, but few know of his Filipino roots. Picking an identity is hard and I don’t want to condemn these artists for their decisions – but it is interesting to note.
To complicate matters, there are a clash of values between Eastern and Western cultures. In an article focusing specifically on the Korean pop phenomenon, I noted:
Aside from the obvious language barrier, the United States has more than a few cultural differences [from South Korea]. When it was discovered Korean rapper G-Dragon had taken one hit from one joint of marijuana by accident, a huge controversy ensued in which his entire career was suspended and the media publicly shamed him. Contrast that with the United States, in which performers make careers on bragging about taking harder drugs.
South Korea is still extremely conservative on a lot of issues; drugs, profanity, violence and sexuality are hardly discussed with the same level of openness as in American music.
The two cultures also see gender roles in a much different light. In South Korea, male celebrities are praised for being fashion forward, wearing makeup and experimenting with eccentric hairstyles. Last year, for an extreme example, male group BIGBANG all wore skirts in their promotions. This kind of behavior would be denigrated as “gay” in the United States, although I must note that South Korean artists only maintain their heterosexual reputations because Korean society largely ignores homosexuality in general, not due to open-mindedness.However, these perceptions may begin to change. According to recent census data, Asian-Americans are the fastest growing racial minority in the United States. (Many folks incorrectly believe that Latinos are.) While population growth might not directly lead to the breakdown of stereotypes, it does mean that the market for Asian-friendly media is growing.
From rock and roll to spaghetti western films, pop culture thrives with diversity. Over the next few years, I hope to see more shows with Asian-American protagonists – and not simply as token stereotypes.
