Tak Toyoshima looks at the lack of Asian representation in TV and movies and the touchiness that sometimes results in the latest installment of his web comic, Secret Asian Man:
You can’t accuse me of not doing my part. Last year, I appeared on the HGTV series Love By Design as one of the eligible bachelors — I was both “the funny one” and “the guy who doesn’t live in squalor.” This year, I played “the quirky accordion rocker” on MuchMusic, and come September, on a new W Network series called Living Romance, I’m the guy they send out on the street to pick up women armed only with his wit and an accordion.
(At one point during the Living Romance shoot, someone phoned the producer, asking her if they had to “wrangle” — TV/movie talk for getting stuff or people; in this case, women for me to serenade — girls to appear on camera for my street serenading scenes. She answered “Joey had no trouble wrangling them himself.”)
So when I do get my guest appearance on 24?
Recommended Reading
Other relevant Secret Asian Man comics:
- SAM plays “Count the Asians”
- SAM looks at Asians in space! The last great ones were Sulu from the old Star Trek and Wang from Space: Above and Beyond. Don’t even get me started on that wuss Harry Kim from Voyager.
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang has two articles on Asian characterization in the media:
- Beyond “Spot the Asian”: Teaching our kids to critically read and deflate media stereotypes
- The Power of the Relic Hunter: Okay, so it’s a silly show. But Tia Carrere’s “Sydney Fox” isn’t the stereotypical “Asian girl”.
Where are the rock stars? As far as MuchMusic goes, my guess is that the rockers of Asian descent who’ve had the most live air time are (in order):
- James Iha from the Smashing Pumpkins
- Dave from Sum 41
- Me
I suspect that the situation is worse on MTV, as their list has only James and Dave. MTV, feel free to call me.
