Keating

Jesse Keating

November 22, 2016

John Carroll University

Critical Essay: Asian Americans

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Introduction

Visibility and accurate representation are two musts when portraying minority groups in

the media. Whether it be through advertising, films, and television; it is paramount that the

portrayal of minority groups be diverse, not stereotypical and honors their respective culture and

customs. With that in mind, one can see how the American media has failed these criteria when

it has come to presenting minority groups to the general public. To understand this further, one

must understand and respect human and cultural differences of Asian Americans and the general

public. Along with that, one must also examine the conditions that gave rise to injustice, and

discuss the consequences of the injustices. Therefore, an objective conclusion can be made about

the portrayal of Asian Americans.

Human and Cultural Differences | Injustices

The United States prides itself on being an epicenter of an amalgamation of differing

peoples, cultures, customs, religions and beliefs. The issue with accepting a view like this, is that

it neglects the troubled history of systematic racism that many minority groups faced since their

initial immigration or forced relocation into slavery. For instance, Asian Americans have faced a

multitude of different methodologies through legalities and violence that can disprove the

America is a land of equality assertions. The human and cultural differences between Asian

Americans and the general public is intertwined with immigration and intolerant laws.

Asian Americans started to immigrate to the United States in the 1850s because of the

demand for workers in the gold mines and railroads on the west coast (American Immigration

Center, n.d.). Many Chinese were lured by tales of the gold rush, to become rich and return home

wealthier than when they left. Along with the Gold Rush, many Chinese fled to America because

of the economic hardship they faced under British Control after the Opium War (Asian Nation,
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2016). Many of the jobs these Chinese immigrants took were extremely dangerous and

uncleanly. Between working in disparate climates when mining gold, and being in harm of

explosives when working on the railroad, many Chinese were also not paid the same as their

Caucasian counterparts. When Chinese workers went on strike because of the atrocious

conditions of their work, Officials of the Central Pacific, were able to end the strike and force

the Chinese workers back to work by cutting off their food supply and starving them into

submission. (Asian Nation, 2016, para. 8).

Another group that immigrated to the US in the 19th century were the Japanese. Many

Japanese left a rapidly growing urbanization society where agricultural decline took place

(Library of Congress, 2016). From 1886-1911, around 400,000 Japanese moved from the Eastern

Asian Island in the Pacific to Hawaii and the western states. Just like the Chinese, the Japanese

endured difficult working conditions when they first immigrated. Many that immigrated to the

small islands of Hawaii, were subjected to the harsh working conditions of the sugar plantations.

Additionally, the Japanese workers lives were controlled by the commercial interests of the

plantation owners. This mean that many could not be autonomous and were punished

accordingly to the European overseers (Library of Congress, 2016) Many Japanese that

immigrated to the mainland, also worked in the mining camps with the Chinese. These

conditions were better than there Japanese Hawaiian brethren, but were still not ideal.

As both groups, along with other Asian groups, started to immigrate to the western states

of the United States, many laws on a state and local level were passed to socially and

economically suppress Asian Americans. These laws came from the necessity of keeping races

from mixing, and establishing an asymmetrical economy in which European Americans could

exploit other minority groups like Asian Americans, of their labor for their benefit. For example,
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the 1870 Naturalization Act put control on U.S. immigration and limited naturalization to

African Americans and Whites (American Immigration Center, n.d.). This excluded all Asians

from gaining citizenship, leaving them defenseless against prejudicial laws. Even before that, in

1850, People v. Hall, this case set the precedence for Chinese to not be able to testify against

white citizens. This legitimized the enacting violence against Chinese and other Asians, with no

repercussions for the white man to face. Other legislation like the Chinese Exclusion Act and the

Gentlemans Agreement halted immigration and migration of Chinese and Japanese people. All

of these laws gave way for the massive injustice Asian Americans faced in the early 20th century.

Asian Americans faced a great deal of injustice due to xenophobia and patriotism during

World War II. Before World War II, the U.S. made every effort to limit the immigration of

people from Japan and China during the 19th century. As the 20th century came, the U.S. took to

more extreme measures of treating Asians in America. Starting in 1910, each person immigrating

from Asia to the United States would have to be processed through Angel Island, along with

other similar centers.

Also known as the Ellis Island of the West, Angel Island served as an immigration

detention center where immigrants, mostly Chinese, were detained and held for a long time until

their documents processed and their immigration status was accepted. Angel Island was the site

of a lot of deportations, ruthless interrogations, depression and suicide (San Francisco Travel,

2016). About 10% were deported off of Angel Island, some avoided the shame of being deported

by committing suicide. The dimensions of these dormitories were small, dingy and left little to

no personal space with others. Suicide and sadness were common amongst the detainees, leaving

the environment of Angel Island full of disenfranchisement and despair. Poetry was left by

Chinese immigrants detailing their less than desirable experiences on Angel Island.
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Similarly, the Japanese faced interrogation and interment as well. After Pearl Harbor was

bombed by the Japanese, President Roosevelt acted fast. He forcefully relocated and incarcerated

120,000 people of Japanese ancestry on the west coast to internment camps (Beadle, 2016, slide

6). Families were forced to leave their homes, which meant that they had to relinquish their

properties and farms to the state and suffered at the hands of the federal government. Many had

their constitutional rights superseded because of the fear that Japanese Americans were actually

working as spies for Japan and Germany. The camps were also set up to protect the Japanese

from patriotic fueled violence from vengeful and misguided citizens. These camps were set up

all along the western United States, and acted as the very camps in which were racially defined

and somewhat reflected Nazi Germany. The propaganda posters and news articles also served as

the very fire to legitimize the legal disenfranchisement of the Japanese Americans.

Consequences of Injustice

From the initial immigration into the United States, Asian Americans were seen as a

legitimate threat to the very fabric of western society. This only enhanced after Japan allied with

the United States and bombed Pearl Harbor. From there, the media legitimized a whole

minority group as an enemy to the state through advertisements, film, and other mediums. This

was done in due part to the ongoing process of framing. Framing, at its most basic sense, . . is a

process in which perceived reality is organized in such a way that certain aspects of the reality

are stressed, while others are de-emphasized, leading to a particular definition or understanding

of the world. (Luther, Lepre, & Clark, 2012, pg. 14) American media was able to develop key

archetypes from this method by enhancing the negative stereotypes that came from xenophobia

of the early 19th century and the hatred of World War II. Similar to the use of blackface, white
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actors used yellow face when portraying an Asian character. This included taping of the eyes and

using make up to make the Caucasian actors seem Asian-like.

In film, Asian women were portrayed as four different archetypes. In Daughter of the

Dragon (1931), the archetype of the Dragon Lady came to be. The Dragon Lady is a

characterization of a villainous, sexually enticing Asian woman bent on bringing total

destruction through torturous means (Beadle, 2016, slide 22). Actresses like Ana May Wong,

similar to Hattie McDaniels, were only afforded a certain number of roles because of how

Hollywood prescribed to these rigid racial roles for minorities. Other archetypes that were

commonly seen in cinema during this time were the China Doll and the super submissive

woman. These two archetypes are portrayed as subservient to Caucasian mans needs and

ultimately become their love interests.

As for men, cinema portrayed them as super villain as well. The Fu Man Chu character

was wildly popular and utilized just like the Dragon Lady. This character was villainous,

torturous, loved murder, misogynist, and was hell bent on world destruction. Once again, in

Daughter of the Dragon (1931), this archetype thrives and portrays Asian men in a brutal

fashion. Another archetype that was portrayed in film was the sexless and misogynistic man, to

enforce the notion that Asian men should not be in relationships with white women. In Broken

Blossoms (1919), the Asian male character exhibited all of those characteristics and became the

precedence for more sexless male characters in the future. (Beadle, 2016, slide 22)

In television, white actors commonly played the lead roles, while minorities played

supporting roles. This held true for Asian American actors, in which many had to play secondary

roles in films that were depicting their very own culture or heritage. For instance, 1972-75s

Kung Fu had David Carradine, a white actor, play the lead role by rationalizing his character as
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half Chinese. David Carradine was not in fact half Chinese, but it did reestablish that white

actors, not Asian actors, can play leading Asian men in culturally Asian films. Another example

is Green Hornet, in which Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee was to play the sidekick of a white actor.

He was the main draw but yet was not awarded the leading role in the television series. As time

progressed, television became a little better with developing roles that did not completely rely on

stereotypes. Shows like Greys Anatomy, The Office, and Parks and Recreation had Asian

characters that were multi-dimensional and had love interests. They all displayed the model

minority stereotype, in which Asian Americans excel at work and are the upmost professional

and intelligent. Television has retracted from the Dragon Lady, Fu Man Chu, and other

archetypes, but now commonly relies upon the model minority for character development.

Most recently, there is a show on ABC that has, for the most part, strayed away from the

stereotypes commonly used. Fresh off the Boat is a show that is centered around a Taiwanese

family that has just recently moved from D.C. to Orlando, FL. The parents show romance, the

kids show a wide range of interests and intelligences, and the family is portrayed as imperfect,

human. The father is a business man that is struggling to succeed, the mother is caring and

humorous, and the kids are merely just kids. There are not many shows like this that present the

Asian family unit as an imperfect but loving family.

Thanks to Asian activist organizations like Media Action Network for Asian Americans,

Asian American Justice Center, Japanese American Citizen League, and the Korean American

Coalition, film and television are being watched at all times in its depiction of Asian characters

(Beadle, 2016, slide 32). Overall, media has evolved and shown how the depictions of Asian

Americans have improved. Stereotypes will always find their way into scripts, news, and

advertisements. But, what modern television has shown us is that Asian Americans are being
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portrayed with more dimensions and care. This in turn, shows signs of a promising future.
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Works Cited

American Immigration Center, (n.d.). Asian american history timeline. Retrieved from:

https://www.us-immigration.com/asian-american-history-timeline/

Asian Nation, (2016). The first Asian americans. Retrieved from: http://www.asian

nation.org/first.shtml

Beadle, M. (2016). Representations of Asian Americans. [Slide Show] (Slides 6, 22, and 32)

Library of Congress, (2016). Immigration. . . japanese. Retrieved from:

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/

immigration/japanese3.html

Luther, C., Lepre, C. and Clark, N. (2012). Diversity in U.S. mass media (1st ed.). Chichester,

West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. (Chapters 2 & 4.) (Pages 14)

Sf Travel. (2016). The history of angel island: The ellis island of the west. Retrieved from:

http://www.sftravel.com/article/history-angel-island-ellis-island-west