From the time I was growing up, most of the Asian males I saw in the movies or Hollywood were Kung Fu masters (remember Kung Fu theater?) or nerds with accents. The kung fu masters I didn’t mind too much especially since the Kung Fu theater movies were actually typically Hong Kong flicks. Although the fact they had broken English accents was kind of bad, but they translated just about as much Cantonese I understood…
Portrayal of being smart doesn’t bother me too much either but always geeky? Come on. So, as a young and impressionable kid, it’s quite easy to not have Asian American heroes. I cringe to think of how many youths became ashamed of their heritage or how many kids have a skewed view of Asians.
These days, there seems to be a turning tide. Let’s hope this lasts!
No more from me as a good article in AsianWeek was written by Philip W. Chung. Check it out here: http://www.asianweek.com/2007/10/22/is-hollywood-giving-asian-men-more-love/
