 Is it okay for Asian actors to perform in an Asian accent? Constance Wu is speaking up about it, and she's urging for more authentic representation. But, David, this is a sensitive topic for a lot of Asians, so let's talk about it. Yeah, this is going viral in the Asian entertainment community right now. Let's run the clip from the daytime talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show. How do you feel, though, representation has changed for Asian Americans? I feel like... I feel like it's gotten better, but I feel like there's still work to do. Well, you know, I think it has gotten better and that it's more there. I still think the conversation is too focused on positive representation of Asian Americans, and I think that's another trap. I don't think we need positive representation. I think we need whole human representation, which includes our faults, which includes talking about things that are difficult in the community, such as the internalized misogyny that happens such as me talking about what happened on the show. An Asian love interest with six-pack abs. Why can't we have one that doesn't have six-pack abs? Yeah, because I totally got some under here. I'm just doing a load. No, but I mean, the point should be that you are loved and worthy as you are with all your flaws. You're even if you don't have six-pack. But Asian Americans have a history of being mocked in especially in popular culture, and I think that is why there has been this sort of overcorrection of wanting to be cool, such as like when I did Fresh Off the Boat, people were very mad that my character had an accent. So much so that some actors would say, Asian actors would say I refuse to play any character that has an Asian accent. And I almost feel like that refusal almost- You're saying there's something wrong with it. Yeah, almost strengthens the antiquated idea that there's something inherently shameful or buffoonish about an accent. I love that accent. When you look at it objectively, all it means is that you know two languages. That is friggin' cool. Yeah, I mean, I think in a vacuum manner, regardless of how controversial Constance Wu as a person in her own personal roller coaster and imaging with the public, most people could agree with what? Anywhere from like 60 to 80 percent or 100 percent of what she said? Well, I think, yeah, she was just saying, hey, more authentic stories, but accents are good. They're cool. If you can do them well, I think that is a caveat, by the way. Obviously, we know that that whole usage of accents is very sensitive in the Asian world because a lot of people get made fun of and tease about it growing up and also is it used just to make fun or mock Asians? Anyways, guys, we are going to get into all of that because there are a lot of comments, so please hit that like button and check out other episodes of The Hot Pop Boy. Somebody said, why are accents so heavily debated in the Asian community in the Latino community? They're often embraced. I mean, I do think it's a little bit different. The whole story is different. I mean, I know that a lot of Latinos shows and a lot of Latino comedians lean heavily on the accent and it's not really debated in their world. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of like how everybody, you're kind of expected to say, like, Latino. Like if you're saying the word Latino, you got to say it in the accent. Yeah, I do think it's different because I guess all Latinos speak Spanish and they have just a whole different relationship. They're part of the Western hemisphere. It is a different situation. Yeah, so anyway, make sure you like, subscribe, turn on your notifications. Andrew, let us just get into the comments section and then our own takeaways. Somebody said, well, how about we just give those roles to people with actual accents so it's less cringe? And someone said, yeah, would you like that, Constance? Because then you never even would have got your career started on Fresh Off the Boat because you were kind of using a kind of sus accent. Ooh, that's a good dig. Yeah, they have a point, but I would just say there's not like countless actors that you can choose from. You know, you have to just choose ones that can do the role and fit the role and can fit it well enough. It is true, though, even in 2023, your accent does not have to be perfect, but it does have to be better than it was 10, 15 years ago. I do think in Fresh Off the Boat, hers and Randall's like came in and out, but hers, it was like, I was like, man, it's barely hitting the threshold any worse. And those would have been problematic, but they barely hit it. I would say they were, they barely got over the line. Somebody said, we need to portray more Asian-Americans as Americans, guys. I love the immigrant stories, but what the heck, man? Even all the shows that we're getting nowadays always have some mysticism or some immigrantness, whether it's Minari, Shang-Chi, Kung Fu, ABC. This was a pretty Americanized Korean guy. I want to say he's like in his 40s. I think that our Asian immigrant story is still extremely interesting to people, and it does make for a good story, because they are good stories. So whether it's us being an outsider in American-born Chinese, whether it's us being immigrants in Minari, whether it's being actually just in Asia like Parasite or whatever it is, these stories are just good. But I do think as long as the story is good, and if you can find really good Asian-American stories, I think they have legs. But what do you think about this guy constantly arguing, man, like, beef had no mysticism. There was no Confucianism in it, or at least no, like, ancient version of it? Like, we just need more of that. Why can't we just have more? Be American. Yeah. I mean, just someone got to write a good story. That's all it takes. Yeah. I mean, obviously, the market has to accept it. I think sometimes timelines, they don't move how we want them to, right? The timelines are going to burn, and the candles are going to burn how they do. Somebody said, I understand a perspective, but I feel in today's society, it's only going to increase harm towards Asians in the West. Yeah. I mean, basically saying that, like, I get where she's coming from, but just they think that accents increase the foreignness, and the foreignness leads to more attacks in the street. Do you think it's because a lot of the accents are, like, some form of a Chinese accent, whether it's Cantonese or, like, a Northern accent? You're talking about, like, for example, Ken Jeong being Korean, but doing a Chinese Vietnamese gambler accent as Chao in the Hangover series? Yeah. I don't know. I don't personally... I kind of see what she's trying to say. It's an interesting comment, and I'm trying to rack my brain of comedians who use Asian accents, and then whether they're pro or anti-China. I don't know. Maybe she feels like that when you're very Americanized, you feel more okay doing a bunch of accents, and if you're more American than you're more anti-China. I don't know. Who knows? Somebody said, my opinion is that we as Asians should not just fit the narrative that society brands us as. Asian representation is way too broad of a brush anyway. I understand it's an easy way to categorize and digest people who look like me, but to say how Asians should be portrayed in media is way too nuanced to have a definitive answer that we should all agree on. Just be true to our unique selves and be done with it. So this was a person who was saying, like, man, we're just all so diverse. Why are we even trying to brand a 60% of the world anyway? Yeah. No. I mean, that's a good question. But also, how do we do it then? Yeah. But then, because it's like almost like saying, Chuck, it's almost dismissing the discussion, but then it's like, but we do have a discussion. Now, I need to see the new proposed system, the alternative system before we move systems. Of course, this was the negative Constance Wu section. Someone said, yeah, wise words from the most respected member of our community. Somebody said, man, Constance Wu is so annoying or voice or acting just everything about her. I can't stand her. She is so whiny. Other people said, stop the bullying in the comments, guys. Social media should be uplifting, but it's so toxic instead of just a free, it just becomes a free space to bag on something. All right. Let me just stand up and say, I think she has been through a lot in the past few years, whether it was her own doing or whatever, the backlash and everything in the rumors and things she was talking about. And, you know, and I do think that people change. And I think that Constance, what she said in this clip is agreeable for the most part. Yeah. And I don't, I don't think it's like, but yeah, I guess one of these days, she needs to acknowledge that even her Taiwanese accent, Taiwanese Mandarin accent is like, she is like 5.5 out of 10 is barely there. Is not the master of accents. All right. Let me just say that. Yeah. She's from Tennessee. I mean, she probably pretty grew up in the mainstream world. Let's just say that someone said accents are fine. How come like Latinos accept their accents, but then people don't see them as British accents. So why can't we depict the Asian American experience? So it's like, it's a bit naive to assume that people see Asian accents as something cool because so many people diss on them. It's not treated like the British accent. Yeah. I think it is becoming cooler. I think it takes a really cool person to do an Asian accent and make it sound cool. I've heard it. Who, who, who did it? Ken Watanabe. Oh, he sounds cool. He's from Japan. No, I thought even Donnie Yen sounded really cool in John Wick 4 doing HK Kanto accent. Yeah. Also, these guys are from Asia. They kind of have these very refined, like cool, high level accents. What you're saying is not a village accent. To be honest, it's not. Yeah. Sometimes those are just a little bit more blue-collar. Yeah. You're going to die. Somebody says, I don't care what anybody says. If there was no Jamaican, Irish or Australian, any accents, things and comedy in general would have been so boring. There's two sides to every argument. It can be hurtful when it's used to bully others, but when it's delivered right, it's so refreshing and fun and it just brings such a new thing to the, to the Joker to the scene. Yeah. I mean, I think it's true too. Anyway, yeah. And what do you think of yours? Your takeaways, man. There's so many arguments about it going back and forth. Oh, this last comment was really interesting. She said, I agree with much of what, but with what she's saying and I feel like, but I feel like the timing isn't right and the pendulum has not swung as far as it needs to in regards with Asian actors in the mainstream. If we were at a different point into our integration, it would make more sense. But I think we're still at this time where we got to fight for every inch. This was almost like more calculative based off where they feel like we are in our timeline. Or, you know what she's saying, do or don't do accents. No, that accents are bad. They're not inherently bad, but just for the calculus of the moment strategically. My response to that would be to do better accents and just do them well enough and just push through it. That's what I would say. I would say don't stop doing accents. That's like, stop saying this word. It's like, no, just like, let's just work through it and like do better actions. Let's have a higher standard for accents from everybody. Yeah. So everybody's got to try harder. How about this, Andrew? More responsibility has to be put on the content of what is being said in the accent. Exactly. Because John Wick, Cain is being a badass, killing everybody, being the strongest dude, pretty much. So it's like, how can what he says be wise? Well, listen about this, David. This is my argument. We're all in the food space. How can an Asian-American chef cook authentic Asian food? That's more authentic than them. So if I'm a Chinese-American chef, I'm like, oh yeah, look at all this food that's straight from China that I'm cooking. And then people are like, yeah, I love your food. That's great. What, I can't do an authentic accent, too? Like, why can we not still work with authentic elements from the motherland, even though we're American? Yeah, I think it's complicated, man. I mean, he even goes to the argument and shout out to Nigel, you know, we're friends with him. But like even the debate over Uncle Roger, I could see valid points on both sides. You know, I think these things are really in the gray area. Andrew, what are your final takeaways? Is Constance like right, wrong? I think she's kind of right. I don't agree with all of her lines that she said in that interview, but for the most part, when it comes to accents, we should do accents and we should do them well. Yeah, I always think it's interesting anytime any like internal Asian-American discussion gets put out on like middle America daytime news. Anyway, let us know what you guys think of the discussion in the comment section below. Keep it civil. I think there's good arguments on both sides. Until next time, we're the Hop Hop Boys. We out. Peace.