EW: Diversity in Entertainment: Why Is TV So White?

By John | Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | 6 Comments

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Click to expand. Source: Entertainment Weekly – Network breakdowns include only cast regulars (as of June 6, 2008) for scripted series airing in fall 2008.

I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly and in this past week’s issue, they had the story, “Diversity in Entertainment: Why Is TV So White?” and the lack of diversity of the television’s upcoming fall lineup of new shows.

Is it really that hard to fill television today with Asian Americans? I read the article, and some other postings on the web, and I still didn’t find any good answers. I have come to the conclusion that Hollywood is just plain lazy and not a priority. Well, with more choices in cable programming and the Internet, the major networks’ influence on entertainment is waining. Hopefully, in entertainment 2.0, there’ll be more Asian American representation reflective of our presence in this country, no matter how small it is relative to the general population.

With NBC supposedly having 9.7% of its cast members be Asian Americans, are we over-represented? How would that feel on the opposite end? And what kind of roles are these going to be? Are we ever going to see an Asian American male actor playing a regular role as a doctor? At least we got to see an Asian American couple kissing this year – LOL. I wonder if greater television actor diversity will occur once Senator Obama becomes president? . Maybe ‘24‘ then will have a white president.

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jeffat8asians

As Jeff Yang pointed out, Asian Americans have some of the most subscribed and watched channels on Youtube (Nigahiga, Happyslip, Kevjumba). I don't think that identity or non interactions with nonAsians is the reason - it's more of the decisions about what would see that are made by network television. Grace Park has a strong role (roles, really), but then again, Battlestar Galactica isn't on network television.

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jeffat8asians

Asian Americans are much more represented in "Entertainment 2.0". As Jeff Yang pointed out, Asian American have many of the most viewed channels on Youtube (e.g. Niga Higa, Happyslip, Kevjumba). I don't think the issue has to do with "identity" or Asian American interactions with nonAsians - it's more like the choices that network TV makes. Grace Park has a pretty strong role (roles, really), but then again, Battlestar Galactica isn't on network TV.

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ancient one

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ancient one

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MinorityMilitant

That's what I really hate about these Hollywood discussions. They pull out numbers and expect that it will finally shut our big mouths for whining too much. As you mentioned in your post, John, "With NBC supposedly having 9.7% of its cast members be Asian Americans, are we over-represented?" You can throw in as many weak characters as you want and say you've met the quota, or even exceeded in two-fold, but are there any strong roles that you see any Asian Americans play on the air? I can't seem to find one. Sandra Oh? B.D. Wong? Daniel Dae Kim? Much love to them but how about a giving us a shot on a major sitcom or drama series. If America could produce reality show winners like Dat Phan and the "Jabbawockeez" in prime time, then why can't we be given a shot at a major scripted show with a strong Asian American role? Sorry for "whining" on your thread, John.

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Jeff C.

If they're including the CW as a major television network, then they should also include Univision and/or Telemundo, which are probably 90%+ Latino

As for answering your question, the reason that there are so few Asian-Americans in the media is because, for all purposes of advertising, Asian-Americans are whites. We shop like whites, we dress like whites, we listen to the same music as whites...

This goes back to the core question: do Asian-Americans have an identity? Personally, as a Chinese-American, I've gotten used to my dual-identity. I have my "white" side that listens to Fall Out Boy and Kanye West and dresses in Abercrombie, and I have my "Chinese" side that listens to Jolin and Jay Chou and dresses in A|X... I even style my hair differently when I know I'm going to be hanging out with my Chinese friends versus, say, going out with co-workers

Another issue that may or may not be true is that, when there are enough of them, Asians tend to hang out with other Asians (at least this is what I observed in a university setting). By doing so, it creates an "us-versus-them" mentality. And obviously, if we go by the numbers, "them" greatly outnumbers "us". Why should the media portray Asians interacting with non-Asians if it doesn't happen in real life? I mean, I can understand sticking in the token Asian in "E.R." or "Law & Order", but could you really imagine "Friends" having one Asian, or even one black or one hispanic in the mix? It would remind me of Power Rangers, where they blatantly go out of their way to show ethnic diversity (as an aside, I always assumed that the original Red Ranger was supposed to be Native American since the Yellow Ranger was Asian and the Black Ranger was black)

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