 A study shows that asian actors are cast in roles that are just too white and not culturally specific to them being asian Let's talk about what this really means. Oh my goodness and apparently if you read the comment section it means a lot We're talking about a study from the norman lear center at usc Andra and they're talking about the meaningful risk to casting asian roles in proximity to whiteness and this sparked so many debates What does it even mean to act asian? It is okay for an asian to act white Is it okay for an asian to act black? Why does it seem like you can only either be a nerdy asian? Try to act white or try to act black in america What's going on man? So make sure you like subscribe and turn on your notifications because this one It's a little complicated, but you know what is not complicated Smala sauce a sauce that is eastern and western not trying too hard to be either one But probably a little bit more eastern check it out. Smala sauce.com. We are shipping right now very proud of it Anyways guys, um, they said andra in the top hundred titles on streaming platforms in 2022 Like basically almost all let's just say 95 out of 100 of the asians in the top hundred streaming titles That were asian american acted more white than anything according to the study Okay, like acted close and proximity to whiteness. They're not talking to other asian characters. They're not talking about cultural specificity They're not making deep cut asian jokes or even asian jokes at all It's almost like these characters were written for white people But then just given to an asian and people were debating is that right wrong? Is it a deis? It tokenization or is it actually how some asian americans really are in irl? Yeah, I mean I have some reasons why I think that is So a few reasons one is that some of these asian actors are getting thrust into these non asian roles For diversity purposes or they're like, hey, this is a side character We don't have to put another white person here. This asian actor can do the job Let's just slip him in there give him a white name. It doesn't matter for example Katie burrannek being played by constants wool in the terminal list It's not really brought up that she's asian But she's a pretty asian woman and she almost is just she's playing the character without with the eastern european last name Right, right. Who knows? I mean, maybe she could have been adopted, right? They could make that excuse, right? um, also I think that a lot of asian actors who go into hollywood are kind of I don't want to say white wash but essentially more like into white culture because theater acting If you've ever taken acting class, even if you took an improv class, it feels white It's not necessarily wrong that it feels white But you understand what i'm saying like those are things designed by white people when I took you talking about the theater When I took a theater class in college one theater class in college My teacher or professor was a black woman, but you could say when you are watching her teach I don't know. Was she acting like a white woman? I don't know. You know what i'm saying? So I guess like uh, that's also another Aspect of it a lot of the writers might be looking at even that specific actor and be like, yeah They could pull this white character off. Yeah They they feel white to me when I'm in them doing the reads Yeah, and then a lot of uh good asian actors themselves in their real life are very americanized Minus a lot of the asian actors who are born in asia that came here to work such as ronnie chang jimmy Oh, yang those guys or grace park or phrase like they they they have to or dan even daniel day kim these guys They're they're clearly very asian. They're very in tune with the asian I feel like almost like 60 percent of the time asianness is brought up in their character Maybe not like a a deep Aas type convo, but it just might play into the content, right? So I I I guess my main question though is and a lot of the main Grype about this is one What does it mean to play an asian character? Do you have to make a reference about you being asian even if you're an asian character? That's in the movie for 10 minutes Do you have to make some reference to taking off your shoes before they get into the house? Something like that, right? Is that what you would want? Is that what people are talking about, right? And then, um, also just like I guess I guess what about like Asians from asia like k-dramas. Is that what acting asian is like like you got Like duna Right, that flicks. Right. I don't know. I mean, it's a good question I think that that's why there was so much argument in the comment section. I mean real quick is being acting asian american specifically Almost having sort of a sarcastic analytical outside. I a little cynical like a daria Like a meg griffin like a lisa simpson or like, uh, obviously spock Is the most stereotypical asian like he was written to be like, you know, he's like i'm kind of robotic and human I'm fighting both sides. Well, obviously the asians east asians are the robotic stereotype I think even though all those characters could have been swapped with an asian person and it would have made sense I think essentially that's gonna be seem too stereotypical Right, I guess I guess I just want to know what people are asking for if they're fed up with this I don't think actually that many people are mad about the representation lately I think because there's so much of it. You would take it, right? Like it's almost like i'll take it, but it's not perfect, but i'll take it Yeah, I mean seeing an asian face is still much way way way better than no asian I think the truth is and it's changing right now. It's becoming more 3d. It's becoming more nuanced But long story short in america for the past 100 years or so I'd say since sammy davis jr And actually since african americans were even allowed into the mainstream There's always been a white spectrum and a black spectrum And there's a middle point and I believe that asians are placed more towards white And I believe that latino people are placed more towards black And that's not necessarily fair to either group, but that is where the placement has been on the pre-existing Linear cultural spectrum of america Okay, so even though it might be more technical to make it a hexagon or a heptagon and rank it more scientifically People don't right right. All right. Let's talk about some asian characters that people are generally satisfied with Some asian actors that when they show up Even other asians are like satisfied with this representation, right? Right, I would say to me the most asian character that I ever saw on mainstream And it's so crazy I got to go so far back to do it But it makes sense because the director was asian american in himself was justin lin having sung king playing this cool manga Samurai like philosopher in fast and furious too. And you know what is crazy and I still hear asian american guys Talk about that character sometimes. How many asian guys in your real life? Do you know act like sung king in that movie? That act like him in some I wouldn't say a lot. I haven't met that many. Yeah, but I'm just saying that he felt asian though Right, he felt like a zen. No, because he felt like almost like a of the lineage of a samurai So I guess is that how you just make decisions and you don't look bad. Yeah, so is that how asians should act in real life? Like because if if if people are just writing characters Based off some asian person they've met in real life, then asian people got it Also, yeah, but I just think that the white writers who are oftentimes the writers. They probably only meet authentically more White adjacent or white washed asians in their circles, right? So I guess it's like a whole thing where it's like some accident as well as some on purpose Which creates this whole thing where you go man 95 out of 100 lead a character asians acted white Let's talk about uh, steven yun Ronnie chang jimmy o yang daniel day cam. I feel like we're generally satisfied with all their characters. They play What about sand those guys were born overseas? Sandra o from canada aquafina is asian american Are we are are we satisfied with the characters that they play them both? I mean, obviously we know aquafina I wouldn't say that they actually act white. I'm not saying that they You know what I mean? I wouldn't say from knowing them. Yeah, they don't act white in the characters But I guess so we should we want more asian actors to act like them less like constants. Woo, right because everybody No, one of the likes like her apparently constants. Woo in her characters and irl is like deeply deeply feels white I guess apparently that's what everybody's been saying Um, I don't know man. It's complicated. I guess I guess how do we juxtapose it with a character like boogie? Where taylor? I believe what takahara takahashi. Yeah, takahashi the the hooper. He was quote unquote acting black Do you know what I'm saying? That was uh, I guess the well, that was a theatrical release That would have counted against the hundred, right? Like that would have been right boogie wouldn't get wouldn't get counted in that. Um, yeah, I mean And then but then acting black is a problematic acting white It's problematic acting asian acting too foby too asian is stereotypical and problematic It's almost like long duck dong is the asian character or some version of it I'm not saying it hasn't elevated over the years and then people are thinking when you're acting white You're acting like taylor swift or maybe ryan gosseling and then when you're acting black It's almost like people are thinking like Something really stereotypical too. Like, you know what I mean, whether it's like kevin hard or like mba young boy or You know tiffani had it's just something i'm saying that those are the I just feel like that's how people like triangulate things for asians you're gonna be like Either this thing that we think you are your dad is your uncle is your grandpa is and then or you're gonna be A wannabe version of this or a wannabe version of that that's how I feel like it sort of plays out for asians in a media sense And um, yeah, we're gonna get some interesting comments. Anyway, um, this guy just said Yeah, I just feel like people think that asians are close enough and it just checks a diversity box It's probably like a lot of directors They're just forced to do it because the execs are making it like a dei quota initiative So that's why you see so many asians shoved into pieces It's glad we're glad to see their faces But it's not like they like asian eyes anything I feel like part of the issue is that a lot of the asian actors are considered corny Where I think a lot of asians would be okay with Them acting like a cool version of a white guy or a cool version of a black guy Like if an asian could act like leonardo de caprio or to be honest ryan gosselin He kind of has some cool roles He's dorkier than leo though leo leo, but he doesn't play dorks though He does not play dorks right when was the last time ryan gosselin played a dork plays A dorky hunk. Yeah, but I'm just saying they're all right leo If you if a asian guy play can play like a leonardo de caprio Can play like a mccana hay or a de caprio Then we'll take it right even though he's acting like a white guy, but he's not a corny white guy But we just never have seen that I know So I guess that's what maybe since it's a hasagao But maybe that's what people are mad about like like if an asian guy can literally play like denzel I don't think they're gonna. I don't think anyone's gonna trip about that All right, and we got to get into two major debates here This one was between republican assimilated asians and assimilated but more I guess like liberal woke asians And asians who just don't even feel assimilated at all. They were in a triangle argument So this guy basically was like so you can't be too white, but also not too asian to make everybody happy These casting calls are just so ridiculous and complicated looking for an ambiguous asian of unaffensive shade And basically somebody else was like, yeah, what's wrong with being white? Some of my best friends are white and then somebody else came in and said, you know, it's okay We're not saying that that's wrong We're just saying we just need to have our culture actually shown and what makes us different and somebody else said came in and was like Yeah, you're right. I don't feel like everybody knows they stopped representing me because I am different from everybody Like all this sides So there's different groups of asians right and there's different viewpoints on this some asians Some asians wanted to just grow up and be accepted like everyone else to be able to walk in a room to walk into a role you mean be treated as a white person without It you being from a different phenotype ever being brought up Right to just be treated like literally every like your your ethnicity is not a reason that you're there And then there's another group that's like, hey, we're americanized but we hold on to our culture So I'd like to see our culture acknowledged And then there's the ones that are like the foreigner asians who are like literally like well, you know I'm just new to this country. So, you know, I really don't uh, I don't think uh, yeah I'm just I cannot penetrate the mainstream flow. Yeah, I'm an immigrant. So I think like of those three groups What group are you like, you know to the audience asking somebody said man This all comes down to wanting southeast asians from the hood that break all east asian stereotypes to finally get put on And not in a negative way only like gran terino either somebody said yes f all these model minority stereotypes I don't fit in with them. I don't relate them and somebody said I just am sick of seeing the get bullied asians I want to see some get gully asians Honestly, I wouldn't say this the whole going to solve everything but like I feel like that. Yeah, that'd be cool I I think, you know, you got to have the stories and uh I think it'd be cool. I guess like how you could tie in like in like some white movie, maybe they they should be able to encounter like a Cambodian gang or something like that like that would be interesting to write that in Like in a good way in the Cambodian gang like helps them, you know Yeah, but not just uh, not just view them in a negative light, right, right, right But then I guess is that what they want they want Cambodian gang members Or do you just want urban Filipino guys that are dancers more because I won't say this in the dance movies There probably should have been more Filipinos because there was a southeast asian guy who came in and said Hey guys, not all southeast asian characters need to be from the hood For example, we could be journalists like hang s nor from the killing fields Or there was a recent uh, vietnamese romantic Netflix show that was in vietnam that guy was obviously not like uh, johnny dang or anything like that Shout out to johnny dango. That's tight too. Somebody said, uh, yeah I mean, I guess why why is everybody not happy andrew everybody's thinking that this is gonna solve it That's gonna solve it I just think that the truth is people want more playable characters in street fighter You know in street fighter andrew you had to beat the lower characters to like open up the grayed out characters So you could be akuma and all the other better street fighter characters that were more advanced and like, uh, evil ryu or whatever but like i'm saying like, uh You know what i'm saying like like are people just not happy with the the choices on the table? Yeah, I guess man. I mean I think about simu, you know simu's characters shang chi You know, obviously very asian character written now. He's in a bunch of other movies, but not necessarily playing I don't think age being asian is the focus of his character in some of these other roles that he has Like are people gonna be okay with barbie? I don't think they talk about him being asian No, no and barbie he doesn't he he could have been he's just another ken so Is that is that how people would want is like you have an actor who played clearly an asian role jon chow He's herald and kumar. That's clearly asian But he's playing a stereotypical nerd asian but then jon chow can go off and play all these other roles that like It's non specific to being I think the one about losing his daughter Searching is not they don't it's not asian, but his daughter's asian So it's like it is like asian but it's he's not acting like an asian dad Is he or like what a typical asian dad is like? I guess he's very intense But he's intensely looking for zara. I would imagine a lot of asian dudes would be like that. Yeah, I don't know. I think that uh It's so hard and I don't think everybody's gonna be happy But I do think people need to really look at this I feel like when judging asian characters you need to look at it one way Whether you think they're acting more americanized and that means more white or they're acting more urban And that means they're acting more black or they're acting more asian which means they're acting fobby whatever that is just Scan them to see if they're an embarrassment if they're a good character at the baseline And then I think the culture and everything is second because if they're a bad character the culture almost doesn't matter It's gonna be a bad character. It's gonna be an embarrassment because you what long duck dong He was playing an asian character embarrassment Right, but he was being a yeah an asian embarrassment. So I'd rather have In a way like just a good Asian character that's not an embarrassment if that it's between those two right right right And then it's a matter of it's a cool asian character that you can relate to or you can't relate to because I always feel Like the samurai characters in uh, john wick. I can't even forget. I'm forgetting his name right now. Haruki The guy who plays uh, he's a japanese actor the japanese guy that's part of the table Yeah, you know what I mean or one of the assassins or whatever, you know And then I'm saying like that's pretty cool. But then it's almost like he's so foreign too because he's like a literal like right, right? I mean, I guess it's cool that we have cool foreign characters like we have like, uh Ken Watanabe and like some other cool donnie yen plays pretty cool in john wick Yeah, some of the korean actors are pretty cool too. So I I guess like I think it's cool that people from asia are being seen as cool in the west but then it's funny because Because they're from asia. It kind of leaves out asian americans So asian americans are wondering Hey, when are we gonna be get to be seen as cool and not corny? But actually a lot of asian americans are kind of corny to be honest. So yeah, because I think that The process that makes and I don't think it's like a lot but a pretty sizable amount. They like Try so hard to be Quote on quote white or try so hard to be black But then it does like doesn't work But then nobody has fully formed what it is to be asian and even to be asian It could vary for different groups or socioeconomic classes or education classes or different histories, you know It's easier to act like a samurai when you're actually from japan It is like when you're great great great when one of your ancestors was a samurai Anyways guys, let us know in the comments down below what you think about all this Who are some other good asian characters that you thought? Uh did a great job representing themselves. We're still very specifically asian Um, and yeah, let us know what you think like are a lot of asian Actors in their roles playing too white Can they just replace non asian characters with an asian face? Does that still count as representation? I still think so, but I'll say this I'll say this I think that a lot of people in the comments section and we're arguing a lot more than this norman lear study They were talking about entire assimilation priorities and game plans in this Being an asian face living in the west. So anyway, let you guys Let us know what you guys think of the comments section below until next time we to hop up boys. We out peace