(yay first!)

you definitely mean "we."

I imagine it's worse to be British. Then, Gwyneth Paltrow would always play you!

asianromance is especially right on #3. All the same, if Jang Dong Gun gets to play a subservient geisha from Vietnam, I'm SO there!

belleza, JDG's geisha could have a chance, if john lone's romance with jeremy irons in M BUTTERFLY didn't flop!

man, when you line up these stars' hollywood stint, it makes kim yujin & maggie cheung's refusal to play geishas even more shrewd. or tony leung staying from hollywood...even koji yakusho's wise enough to stick to more and more heavyweight domestic projects, while hiroyuki sanada got to be rain's dad :P

Jang Dong Gun: I can't quit you Lee Junki! Your single eyelids entrance me!

Yup, yup. I approve.

Really, it's the same everywhere. KBS's international ladies show. Japan's uhhh interesting interpretation of Americans (hello HanaDan!!) in dramas. My distant Taiwanese cousin who, upon our first meeting, wanted to ask me about West/East Coast beef (This was in 2004!) And uhhh God help you if you're a Middle Eastern actor in the States looking for work in the States . . .

But, then again, I guess Asian Americans (and gotta love the recent gyopo cheese and whine at Popseoul!) have more to whine about. After all, people think we like Lucy Liu . . .

did i introduce myself? can't remember. if not, hey there. LUV your blog. this is sort of off topic (but not really). what's your take on people mag running the wrong pic of Rain? i'm not a fan of Rain or anything but just curious how you saw it. re: this post. yah, well...yah...sigh...nothings changed much.

I was not going to comment, but belleza...Lucy Liu. When Americans thinks Lucy Liu is beautiful, I about gag. I have to set my foot down and let them know that as an Asian American, LL is not representative of us. Most of us are completely turned off by her.

Lol...my sister is worse. She gets really teed off when her American friends tells her she looks like LL because she's got the eyes.

JDG and LJK together in a movie? I'm game.

I think people are just overreacting to the whole People issue. They have made similar mistakes before to white and non-white celebs. It is a stupid mistake but it's they're not racist.

i feel like setting fire to all of their production houses... grrr... as the 21st century progresses, i'll be waiting for hollywood to grow an IQ.. & my sexy parts are perfectly well-endowed thank you..

i just about keeled over when i saw the photo of "Rain".. i would say People mag has some serious 'splainin to do..

I'm looking forward to Jeon Ji Hyun's movie. But her English name turns me off for some reason. Anyhow, Jang Hyuk had his "Hollywood" debut too. The reviews in the local papers weren't too enthusiastic though. I didn't bother watching it so I can't really say anything...

Truth is, I make the same mistake with people. Like me confusing Amy Winehouse with the Wicked Witch, it just happens, you know?

@whaleatape,

I took a peak at your blog and liked your Tunnel Girl poem! :)

I'm kinda "eh" about Blood and think it could a "straight to DVD" (with proper theatre release in Asia) type project. Even then, it should still be better than Moon Child . . .

javabeans, i agree with you on the whole People thing. i get that it's a mistake and not a conspiracy (haha) but still..i kinda wanna see blood...just a tiny bit.

I've read everyone's comments so far and I agree with most of you. No, Asians don't all look alike. Yes, it's hard for actors/actresses who are minorities to find quality roles that go beyond the stereotype. And yes, I cannot believe that someone at People magazine didn't double check that piece on Rain to make sure the photo was correct.

But I think there's a larger issue here that people haven't commented on which is the lack of minorities in positions of power in the Hollywood industry. As long as there is a lack of diversity in the power structure of the studios then we'll continue to get roles assigned to minority actors based solely on their ethnicity and nothing else. Black guy, you play the crack selling gangbanger. Latina, you play the maid. Chinese guy, you play the Korean owner of a dry clean store. Yes, we know you're Chinese but you have slanted eyes and that's just good enough for us. Gay guy, we want you to really fag it up for this role as the hairdresser. See what I mean?

I think that the cost of producing films has reached an economic threshold that should make it easier for Asians, and minorities in general, to produce and create films that depict the Asian community in all its diversity. And the Asian community as a whole needs to nurture and support those films. Say what you will about Tyler Perry, but his films do very well at the box office because they're supported by the African-American community. They know what it's like when you depend on others to tell your story. Especially when those others are more concerned about how much cash a film will churn out rather than truthfully telling one community's story in a true nonstereotypical manner.

I really don't mind the "warrior" stereotype just because I rather watch that kind of movie than a romantic comedy where they just... talk. If I want to watch that, there's always kdrama.

@GordonA,

I think one thing that separate African Americans from other minorities is that other minorities preferably seek out the pop culture from "homeland" before their own. This phenomena has been observed frequently among heavily Hispanic areas. Although there's more programming like Ugly Betty and George Lopez Show out there, in those same time slots, still a huge portion of that audience switches over to Telemundo to watch the latest telanovela.

That said, the Tyler Perry comparison is really apt because one unifying force within the Asian American community -- not just Korean, but pretty much across the board -- is Christian faith. So, for example, there is a demographic and market where if you're a young Asian American filmmaker, you can find resources to get your movie made and seen if the film is compatible within that market.

There's a good Soulmate-ish comedy to be made about social networking within your local church! ;)

Don't you know that in hollywood, yellow is the new black? Used to be you'd see a single black person in a show/movie so that they could say they were progressive, racially sensitive, well rounded etc. Now you have asians. Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, ER, House (if you count Indian as asian), and token appearances in many other shows. It's the "in" thing in hollywood to cast asians now to give shows more credibility in reality. Also you'll notice this applies more toward asian women than men. Asian women are sexy and men aren't stereotypes abound.

Oh I agree! Even though I'm Asian American myself and a Californian resident, I'm not religious and don't have a lot of AA friends, so I don't feel any particularly strong affinity. But it seems to be something that brings the community together, even if it alienates others who disagree with the message or the politics.

I mentioned it because I do see a lot of Asian Christian-affiliated promotion for local artists and filmmakers around here, and church was a big social aspect for a lot of Asian Americans (mostly Korean, Taiwanese, and Fillipino) that I knew. That channel has proven to be an effective grassroots network for African Americans and Hispanics artists, and it may be less alienating than an alpha "Got Rice?" cartoon identity.

@jeon,

I think to Hollywood producers, Asians are the "other white meat" (Not a bad thing BTW. We need more stoner comedies centered around Ivy League wannabes!) Even when African Americans are cast into racial neutral roles, they're still often directed to assert their "difference" in subtle ways. Not so much when an Asian American is cast.

That said, uhhhh I think Lost set back the image of Korean men . . .

I don't mind certain stereotypes like, Asians are smart (eheh boosts the ego), but it's like...eh...American ninjas sound even more lame (and weird). If it conveys the message that Asans are kick ass...I don't really mind. Can't really help the stereotype. Strangely, a lot of the Koreans in my school kinda keep to each other, and I'm one of the few who are in high classes. The image of a smart Asian is disappating (especially with a wave of annoying Korean freshmen girls hitting the halls.). I think I've been confused for a Japanese visiting student. These Japanese students were visiting our school and a random lady (dunno if she was a teacher) smiled at me and said hi (only at me). But, I WAS wearing a Washington DC sweater. I must've looked like a tourist instead of a student.

Maybe the GI Joe movie will be so lame that it'll be good. Like watching your old cartoons/kid's movies that are bad, but sooo good at the same time.

I just have to say that I think Lucy Liu is very pretty. I also wouldn't place her among the Asian Americans that are typecast. Heck, most Americans forget to remember she is Asian. I certainly don't worry about it when I'm watching anything she's in. She's talented and doing her thing. Nuff said. As for Hollywood stereotyping, yeh, but thats nothing new. Besides, I've seen it a ton of times with African Americans in asian dramas. Better the ninja or nerd than the thug thats always in prison. I'm not saying it's right, just that it goes both ways.

Hollywood sucks nuff said

I find the lucy liu comments interesting b/c i know of similar circumstances. Like my friend being compared to Brandy just because her hair was braided...and she was black. really, Black + Braids = Brandy

Never mind the actual presence (lack thereof) of resemblance. This isn't to say people (the media? America culture? its hard to pinpoint one entity of blame) aren't responsible but the comparison it partially due to the *lack* of people to make comparisons to in the first place!

And one thing that caught my eye was the comment before me by Steph:

>> "Americans forget to remember she is Asian."<<

Doesn't that say something? She's acceptable because whatever is considered ethnic about her, "Asian" is forgotten! Even if I'm accused of looking into this comment too much (especially from a racial perspective), its almost as if ethnicity is a dominant part of identity and for it to be overlooked is the best thing possible. It's a colorblind mentality. It's like she's race neutral, the norm, just plain "American"...but is "American"* really race neutral or does it imply the majority of America's racial population (White/Caucasian) is the norm? please tell me why people are identified as "African-American", "Asian-America" etc yet I rarely (except maybe for academic papers) have heard the phrase "Caucasian/ White-American"? Even if its an insignificant observation it does make one wonder. The term used to talk about this idea- of the seemingly race neutrally of Whites- is called the "invisibility of whiteness" and I think that's part of what's going on.

PS. I also agree with the comment about minority people having higher positions in the media, etc. Because that really seems to the only way to permanently change these things.
PPS. @ Belleza: totally agree. Especially w/ HanaDang (to be honest it sent me through the roof, especially the derogatory portrayal of Blacks)