"Asian guys in my show? Not gonna happen!"

[Kyriakos]

So there's this new "K-Pop Themed" show - "Make it Pop" - that's going to premire on Nickelodeon. Now I've predicted this was going to be bad (eg. the amount of K-Pop actually mentioned will likely be ~0), as Nick is now one of those things that ruins everything it touches. But seriously?

Article

Relevant parts:


Many of us know that Asian-Americans are underrepresented in mainstream American media. At least this story makes some of that racism clear and obvious.

Not sure if this is *really* about racism, though, cause usually tv shows care more about hot women than the men there, and US tv shows routinely depict men (of whatever skin color) as 'dumb' and childlike as in uncool..

So while a parameter there can be racism, i doubt it is the crucial so as to decide that this tv show has just asian females.

 

[Tee Kay]

People still watch television?

 

[gay_Aleks]

Some uncivilized places don't have access to Netflix, it seems (see: half of America.)

 

[aelf]

I think this applies to all Asians, not just Asian-Americans.

You can milk the stereotypes for advantage sometimes. Of course, that totally depends on what you're aiming at. You can't be CEO in a non-Asian company, although Indians seem to be bucking this trend lately.

But I do find it annoying when people (like BvBPL) insist that racial jokes are funny when they're just mildly amusing when recounted without malice (and that is difficult to say in many cases - a lot of latent racism bubbles under the surface in our societies, be it towards Asians, Africans or even white people, driven by fear and mistrust of 'outsiders'). A lot of negative things hide behind the cover of laughter and amusement. When delinquents beat up their bullying victims, they are almost always laughing and it's almost always "funny."

A lot of people just won't get it, though, especially if they come from a position of privilege.

 

[classical_hero]

"And then...?"

 

[Atlantic Pacf.]

Not sure if this is *really* about racism, though, cause usually tv shows care more about hot women than the men there, and US tv shows routinely depict men (of whatever skin color) as 'dumb' and childlike as in uncool..

So while a parameter there can be racism, i doubt it is the crucial so as to decide that this tv show has just asian females.

The problem is that this show is (ostensibly) focused around aspects of Asian culture. When Asians are relegated to minority status or nonexistence in their "own" show, there's a problem.

Plus, while there are men of all races depicted as bumbling fools, there are plenty of white guys presented as sexy love interests and such. When was the last time you've seen an Asian man in Western media presented this way?

"And then...?"

Your point being?

 

[Leonel]

Actually, now I'm kinda curious, are there any other Asian-Americans here (or Asian-Canadians, Asian-Australns, Asian Brits, what have you)? Other than me, TK, Leonel (if I recall correctly), bhavv (I think) and jacketgull?

I prefer the term 'American-Asian'

 

[Crackerbox]

Link to video.
To explain stereotypes to white Euro-Americans, I've suggested they watch this now dated film: White Man's Burden.

Maybe when people see the scene of the minority white children seeing only black action characters on television, then they'll understand the phenomena. As a young minority, if you watch the ethnic group you belong to be caricatures or dehumanized long enough it stymies the natural development of that child.

Sure, in adulthood there's reversal of that, but what damage does it do earlier...and it's entirely preventable.

 

[GreekAnalyzer]

So there's this new "K-Pop Themed" show - "Make it Pop" - that's going to premire on Nickelodeon. Now I've predicted this was going to be bad (eg. the amount of K-Pop actually mentioned will likely be ~0), as Nick is now one of those things that ruins everything it touches. But seriously?

Article

Relevant parts:


Many of us know that Asian-Americans are underrepresented in mainstream American media. At least this story makes some of that racism clear and obvious.

OMG Atlantic Pacific is back! Come back to S&T!
On a more serious note, I never really thought about this but this thread is thought provoking. The amount of stereotypes that I've heard in my school sickens me, and if I disagree with really anyone it's me versus creationist neo-conservative crap.

 

[Zelig]

Many of us know that Asian-Americans are underrepresented in mainstream American media.

Are they? Asian-Americans are only about 5% of the population. Comparatively you'd expect Hispanics to have about 3x the representation, which I don't think is the case.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Are they? Asian-Americans are only about 5% of the population. Comparatively you'd expect Hispanics to have about 3x the representation, which I don't think is the case.

The fact that Hispanics are also under represented doesn't mean that Asians aren't.

Neither of these things is conclusively a result of racial biasing though.

 

[Zelig]

The fact that Hispanics are also under represented doesn't mean that Asians aren't.

Sure, but proportionally equal under-representation for Hispanics affects more people than for Asians.

That white males are overrepresented isn't really news.

 

[NovaKart]

I wonder if this has to do with demographics and ratings concerns. Maybe they think white people (which means the majority) won't watch a show that has a mostly Asian cast. I'm not saying this justifies the man's comment, that he won't have Asian men on the show, actually I think it's pretty short sighted. I think perhaps TV focuses too much on demographics and what they think will draw big ratings over something that's actually interesting. If they have a show with 3 female leads they could have at least one of them dating another Asian guy.

 

[Crackerbox]

Because people simply don't just marry a person who is ethnically purely of one ethinic group, then it's a misnomer about who is depicted on television.
http://audreymagazine.com/20-asian-celebs-you-didnt-know-were-asian/

There are tons of these lists. Some Asian-Americans like Dean Cain are partly Asian and playing Superman is rather iconic (but also hysterical because Kal-el if from Krypton is not white). Keanu Reeves is partially Asian. Tiger Woods is partially of Asian ancestry. All of these guys are partially Asian males and not all look Asian.
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls053874483/

Over time with more and more mixed marriages and then more mixed marriages, who is and who isn't Asian is very very blurred. As those white Euro-Americans who do only marry another like themselves, then they will continue to be more and more of a minority. I can just hear them screaming thirty years from now, "Hey we demand equal representation. Where are the Nordic action heroes of old?"

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I wonder if this has to do with demographics and ratings concerns. Maybe they think white people (which means the majority) won't watch a show that has a mostly Asian cast. I'm not saying this justifies the man's comment, that he won't have Asian men on the show, actually I think it's pretty short sighted. I think perhaps TV focuses too much on demographics and what they think will draw big ratings over something that's actually interesting. If they have a show with 3 female leads they could have at least one of them dating another Asian guy.

It has everything to do with demographics and ratings. Production costs of a television show make it totally impractical to target a niche market unless there are two compensating factors that are almost certain;

The niche market is actually large enough to make the project sustainable.

Your product will successfully saturate in the niche, which requires it to not only work but also to have no competition within the niche.

In other words, making the show such that it will appeal to the Asian American market only makes sense if you can't get to greater than 5% market penetration some other way, and you can fairly well count on Asian Americans reliably finding the product impossible to resist. That 5% benchmark is way too easy to surpass, and isn't enough to turn a profit anyway.

 

[NovaKart]

Will most white people not want to watch a show with all/mostly Asian leads?

 

[Zelig]

That 5% benchmark is way too easy to surpass, and isn't enough to turn a profit anyway.

5% of the American market is 50% of the Canadian market.

 

[jackelgull]

It has everything to do with demographics and ratings. Production costs of a television show make it totally impractical to target a niche market unless there are two compensating factors that are almost certain;

The niche market is actually large enough to make the project sustainable.

Your product will successfully saturate in the niche, which requires it to not only work but also to have no competition within the niche.

In other words, making the show such that it will appeal to the Asian American market only makes sense if you can't get to greater than 5% market penetration some other way, and you can fairly well count on Asian Americans reliably finding the product impossible to resist. That 5% benchmark is way too easy to surpass, and isn't enough to turn a profit anyway.

So a mostly Asian cast is targeting a "niche" market? How do you explain the success of Avatar the Last Airbender cartoon? Having more Asians on a show des not equal reaching only a niche audience.

 

[NovaKart]

So a mostly Asian cast is targeting a "niche" market? How do you explain the success of Avatar the Last Airbender cartoon? Having more Asians on a show des not equal reaching only a niche audience.

My guess would be that this is a concern for the networks and studios but it doesn't mean a primarily Asian cast can't be successful. I wish networks would pay less attention to demographics and more attention to quality scriptwriting. Perhaps a cartoon isn't the best example but there's the Fresh off the Boat show, which I haven't seen but apparently it's successful enough for the moment anyway.

Margaret Cho had her show back in the 1990s that was not successful. What I heard about the problems with that show, is that they were so concerned with making it a poster show for Asian-Americans and not concerned enough with making it something people would really want to watch.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

So a mostly Asian cast is targeting a "niche" market? How do you explain the success of Avatar the Last Airbender cartoon? Having more Asians on a show des not equal reaching only a niche audience.

A mostly Asian cast isn't necessarily targeting a niche market, but that would be the only reason I can think of to put a mostly Asian cast together.

You hold auditions. Pretty much every role is going to be auditioned for by predominantly white actors. Because the situation you are in is nothing new, in many cases the most experienced people auditioning are going to be among those white actors (a self perpetuating condition). So based simply on qualifications of those auditioning chances are that coming up with a primarily Asian cast just isn't going to happen. You would have to be trying.

For a primarily Asian cast to be put together there has to be some reason to deviate from the basic process. We are talking about television, so "to make a more realistic show" is off the table. To make a more marketable show is certainly on the table, which is why they don't cast big hairy guys like me...or go out of the process to come up with a predominantly Asian cast 'just cuz'. There would have to be some reason, and 'if we do this every Asian in America will watch it' would carry some weight...but not really a whole lot of weight.