The Big Bad Representation Wolf

I have been reflecting more on whether it was important to have Asian-American representation within a variety of media. Specifically, I wanted to explore the issue of whether any visibility is better than no visibility. I think there is a general consensus that positive, rounded, complex depictions of Asian-Americans in the media are, if not desirable, than at least not overly detrimental. However, I would like to explore the ways in which even negative and/or stereotypical depictions of Asian-Americans (while not ideal, and obviously very harmful in a variety of ways) have positive value.

From our discussions in class on representations, there seems to be two criteria that are usually listed when evaluating the various roles Asian-Americans play in the media: whether the depiction was positive or negative in the sense that the role portrayed a "good" or "bad" character and whether the depiction was stereotypical or not. Moreover, these two criteria seem to be operate independently but are not exclusive. For instance, in class we were talking about Sandra Oh's character in Grey's Anatomy and how she was depicted positively but stereotypically. We also talked briefly in another class about KTown and one of the criticisms I repeatedly hear about KTown is that it may not be a stereotypical depiction of Asian-Americans, but it is not a positive depiction either. Finally, there are those roles like those that Anna May Wong often portrayed that were stereotypical as well as negative.

I would like to posit that all of these depictions, while not being "ideal" whatever that word means, have benefits in the long run despite their failings. At the very least, having any Asian-American actors at all means that there are Asian-Americans working in the film industries. Even when those depictions are questionable, such as in the case of Anna May Wong, having access to the film industry means gaining experience in those industries. With this experience, Anna May Wong, later in life, made her own films with what she believed were positive depictions of Chinese-identified individuals. As such, participation in the film industry allowed Anna May Wong to gain the skills and the connections to allow her to self-represent.

Nonetheless, my argument hinges on the belief that self-representation is ultimately good or at least better. Instinctively, I believe that the presence of self-representation, while not the ultimate good, benefits the overall collection of representations of Asian-Americans. As with any other group comprised of such a large variety of individuals and experiences, I think that adding more voices, covering a wider range of the representation possibilities will ultimately make the overall picture created by the media truer and do actual experiences more justice.