tv Do racial stereotypes still persist in TV?

ItDonnedOnMe said:
No, and in fact it basically sounds like the typical stereotype you would expect if a super hero were played by an asian actor.
Click to expand...
Exactly!
It sounds like BS to me.

All day I've been running back and forth about what an American of Asian ancestry (and that's the part that catched me the most) would identify as their own stereotype, then super hero qualify it.

I remain convinced that "American" is predominantly a mindset and only flavored by anyone's ethnicity, which I'd say would be a weakly influencing factor.

WTH's the 'need' for a super hero in the first place? I'd have to identify that first.
Actually, I'd have to identigy a super villan first, THEN figure out the super hero second.
Otherwise, IDK why we couldn't just send the regular police or National Guard out to address the super villain.

So, now that I've (theoretically) identified the super villain, how on Earth would I flavor the super hero with stereotypical Asian (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Philipine, or other Oceania peoples? Pick one) super hero.

And this is the point where I just get fowl and p!ssy because the whole exercise just grates on my ever last I-hate-bigots nerve.
However, the reason I don't wholesale abandon the idea is because I know this whole realm is weak for me and if I ever had an assignment to address it I don't wanna just come back empty handed, so I pay more attention than it warrants.
Goofy, eh?



A super villain terrorizes the community.
A White Bread Anglo Saxon super hero, an Japanese super hero, a Chinese super hero, a Middle East super hero, a Far East Indian super hero, and a Belgian Super hero all show up to kick @ss.
WTH do each of them bring to the table?
I dunno.
Seems pretty retarded to me.
 
WTF are you guys talking about?! And why did this become a discussion solely about Asians? Do you seriously not know what a stereotype is?

Asians are good at math. They don't know how to drive. Asian women are subservient and reserved. Asian men will defend the honor of their family at any cost, including suicide.

THESE are racial stereotypes, and yes, they are ALL OVER THE PLACE in popular entertainment.

Also, ItDonnedOnMe makes some very good points.
 
Last edited:
I HATE LINSANITY!! It's great the guy is playing well. But, when he comes down to earth, I am going to feel sorry for him. The NY News starts with his performance each night. It's downright pathetic. But, I guess it's better then "8 year old shot in drive by bike shooting."

Stereotyping is stereotyping because there are plenty of stereotypical people. So, of course TV is still filled with them.
 
“stereotype”: a very firm and simple idea about what a particular
type of person is like.

Sounds like every character on TV; doctors, lawyers, fathers, big
sisters, little brothers. By its very nature TV stereotypes
everyone. There is nothing at all wrong with stereotyping.

Especially in SitComs where stereotypes are essential. The reason
we see so few nonwhite characters on TV is because the creators
come under fire by activist groups if they stereotype any
nonwhite. We can see a doofis, bumbling white dad - we cannot see
a doofis, bumbling Black dad without groups protesting. Asian
activist groups are just as ridged. No way would a characters as
amoral, selfish and stupid as the Bundy family be accepted if they
were the “Leung’s”. Whites doing those stupid things means 11
seasons. Imagine if the broad stereotypes in “Modern Family” were
all broad stereotypes of Asians.
 
directorik said:
“stereotype”: a very firm and simple idea about what a particular
type of person is like.

Sounds like every character on TV; doctors, lawyers, fathers, big
sisters, little brothers. By its very nature TV stereotypes
everyone. There is nothing at all wrong with stereotyping.

Especially in SitComs where stereotypes are essential. The reason
we see so few nonwhite characters on TV is because the creators
come under fire by activist groups if they stereotype any
nonwhite. We can see a doofis, bumbling white dad - we cannot see
a doofis, bumbling Black dad without groups protesting. Asian
activist groups are just as ridged. No way would a characters as
amoral, selfish and stupid as the Bundy family be accepted if they
were the “Leung’s”. Whites doing those stupid things means 11
seasons. Imagine if the broad stereotypes in “Modern Family” were
all broad stereotypes of Asians.
Click to expand...

Good point. I loved the Bundy's, by the way.
 
rayw said:
When considering how many ethnic or demographic specialty film festivals there are it could be very easy to speculate that stereotypes are quite prevalent in TV & film, otherwise what's the point of differentiating themselves if they have no defining characteristics.

http://www.ifp.org/resources/hbo-a-major-player-in-niche-cultural-festivals/
Click to expand...

Sulu was a stereotypical Asian in the old series, but, with the movies, he became a captain who just happened to have Asian ancestry. Same with Captain Sisko.
 
Aspiring Mogul said:
Sulu was a stereotypical Asian in the old series, but, with the movies, he became a captain who just happened to have Asian ancestry. Same with Captain Sisko.
Click to expand...

Well... you see... that's kinda exactly the problem I have with a lot of these things.

There's a "person" in a situation, making decisions, doing some things.
Does a WASP like me do something stereotypical?
Would Sulu make different stereotypical decisions and subsequent actions?
Would Sisko?
Many situations have a fairly restricted range of sensible responses - which completely shuts down any stereotypical behavior.

Okay, maybe Richard Simmons might respond to a Romulan Warbird of his port bow in a... non-militaristic fashion.

richard-simmons.jpg


But that's more Richard Simmons as a unique individual than as him as representative of... of... God knows WTH that pseudo-man is.
IDK.



At what point is recognizing and respecting genuinely different cultural values being a responsible storyteller and when is it making egregious stereotypical offenses?
Should we "white bread-up" everyone? That seems offensive to me in a whole other direction.
 
Well, Sulu didn't say anything about his honorable ancestors or talk of committing ritual suicide, and Sisko didn't do jive talkng or whatever. Both parts could easily have been played by WASP's.
 
Bingo.


So how do I create a character for a fictional scenario that adheres to a believable stereotypical behavior profile - without - offending those demanding representation of their particular demographic?

"We want to see more __my race/minority/special interest___ represented in film. But they can't be an offensive stereotype. And they can't act like Whitey".

Well... f#########ck meeeeee.
Pick one, would ya?!
 
Aspiring Mogul said:
Well, Sulu didn't say anything about his honorable ancestors or talk of committing ritual suicide, and Sisko didn't do jive talkng or whatever. Both parts could easily have been played by WASP's.
Click to expand...

Actually, Sisko's character traits reflected his regional upbringing (his father was a chef in New Orleans). It didn't come up all the time, but often enough. So, yeah, he could have been played by a white actor...but a white actor from New Orleans. It gave the character depth, but did not play to stereotypes.

...of course, Sisko was also pretty damn crazy, particularly by the end, but that's another story! (I love DS9)
 
wow, all of a sudden, I feel "White protest" on this board ... haha... jez kiddin'

Just some perspective:
I'm brown, from Bangladesh. I was part of the majority in my country. Nobody ever called me anything other than different variations of "shorty" or "fats." I was okay with it, as I couldn't fight everybody. But I didn't grow up with any kind of emotional feeling of not being good enough.

Have I met people in the US who didn't like me because I'm brown. Sure. Did it upset me? Never. Cause my brain was never trained to get upset at racism or stereotyping or anything like that. I just thought it was funny or even interesting.

In Canada and the UK, the n-word for a brown guy like me is "Paki." Now I had heard the term before in high school when my teacher told me that when he was a student in Canada, they called him "Paki." I thought, "hmm... interesting."

But recently, I was at a film meet with fellow filmmakers where people read out their scripts, and in one of the scripts, there was an incident about brown people in Canada being called Pakis. I just thought, "hmm... interesting." But two of the brown filmmakers who grew up in Canada got emotional. Later, I asked them why? They said it brought back memories of being called a "Paki" in school. See, that had never happened to me, so I couldn't relate, or even get upset. But I could see why they got upset.

Now, I'm not saying anything. All I'm saying is that stereotypes probably affect minorities a bit more than it does the majority. The majority can look at Al Bundy and laugh. I'm brown, but I laughed too. And I didn't think about whether he was white or black or whatever. But Al Bundy is a lovable character. I loved the guy. If you make an Asian Al Bundy and use stereotypes in the right way, taking into perspective that it is possible that they are more touchy about stereotypes than Whites, who are the majority, I'm sure some people will get upset, but I think most people will like the Asian Al Bundy.

If you are a Muslim from Bangladesh like I am, you can laugh at the stereotypes (88% of population). You can even renounce your religion, like I did. If you are Hindu from Bangladesh, you are going to be upset at the stereotypes (10% of population), and you will cling harder to your religion. And I can understand the reasons for the upset, and the need for communal feelings. All I'm saying is that there may be reasons why people get upset at stereotypes. I'm not saying they're justified. But instead of getting upset at why people get upset, maybe we can all just say "hmm... interesting."

that's all folks. I'm not trying to stir the pot at all. just wanted to provide my perspective.
cheers
Aveek
 
trueindie said:
I'm not trying to stir the pot at all. just wanted to provide my perspective.
Click to expand...
Nah, I think we're all cool here.
No one is singling any one group out on anything.
From my vantage point it's a free for all where any "interest group" is subject to the same stereotyping respect/offense conundrum, making everyone of us in the same boat.

Frankly, I get sick and tired of being thrown in the "majority" oppressor role.
I ain't oppressing sh!t nobody.
I don't care care is a person is black, white, brown, red, yellow, zebra striped, chocolate mint swirl, man, woman, tranny, gay, lezzie-only-part-time, Hindi, Hindu, Muslim, atheist, Christian Quasimodo, whatever.
Just show up for d@mn work and get your sh!t done.
Come to work wearing a pink tutu for all I care, just get the d@mn work done.

I eat, and hours later sh!t comes out.,
Guess what? Same for everybody else.
Have a big juicy car wreck and the laws of physics will tear your @ss apart no matter WTH your skin color, gender, sexual disposition, or religion is.
It just doesn't matter.

But...
I'm a middle aged white dude.
Apparently I'm oppressing ALLLLLLL the other minorities.
I'm keeping all the non-whites from getting a job or a loan at a equal rate, all things otherwise being equal.
I'm keeping that glass ceiling over all the women.
I'm denying the GLBT, LGBT, BLT-whatever communities their civil liberties evolution.

I am?
Really?
D@MNATION!
I must busy as a mutherf#cker!

So, yeah. There's stereotypes flying all around.
Me and "my peoples" are unfortunately subject to them, as well.

And it's bullsh!t.
So I extend the same dismissive courtesy to everyone else.



So, how do we craft a stereotypical superhero that both respects their own unique cultural characteristics while simultaneously rejecting offensive characterizations?
When is your fictional character tokenism or legit?
It's not easy.
At least to me it's not.

What does a lesbian superhero do exactly? Does she "lick" all her enemies?
Or, how does Muzzie! The Magnificent Muslim! deploy a strategy against his super villain foes?
Can Muzzie be a female Muslim superhero?
A transvestite biracial Jew-Muslim convert superhero in a wheelchair as a result of some poor prenatal healthcare of her unmarried parents?
Oh wait... is she/he superheroing during her/his first year of living as the other gender before her/his surgery is approved by her/his HMO? That could make a difference in how her/his stereotype is developed.
Well... it could.
I'm just sayin'.


This is why I don't do stereotypes.
They're idiotic to me.

However, I did enjoy both Defendor and Super recently, both with middle aged white males as lead characters.

51n1SOGrXFL._AA160_.jpg
51fJNVgOnML._AA160_.jpg


I failed to notice anything particularly stereotypically "middle aged white" about either of them.
They both seemed universally stupid to me. :D
 
Last edited:
@Ray lol

Listen, the next time they tell you that you white people are bad for everybody, you tell them "you know what, there's this brown dude, Aveek. While I oppress other people, I also gave Aveek a student visa, let him work in the country, gave him a good job from which he was able to save money, so that now he can make pretentious little bits he likes to call shorts. So one hand washeth the other. And what have you done lately?"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top