The Actor

As we get ready to begin filming our final project, we had to make careful choices as to who we were going to cast for our main character. We knew that we wanted our character to be dorky, lovable, and somewhat relatable. Initially I thought of my tall, awkward, white friend named Jake. He perfectly embodied the character. However, I couldn't stop thinking about how our film was supposed to "challenge social conventions." I went home that day, like every other day, and sat down next to my mom as she watched a show on television called "Fresh Off the Boat." It was then that I had an epiphany (or as close to an epiphany as an 18 year old can get) and knew how we could challenge social conventions. Not only in the news but everyday at school I hear people talk about stereotypes in one form or another. "All Asians ___," or "All Jews ___," and I am getting annoyed with theses bold generalizations. Not only that, but these stereotypes were being used for entertainment on my own television. I decided to do some research and came across many websites such as this one and this one. Basically, they talk about how Asians are still being underrepresented in media while films are (thankfully) making reforms to incorporate black and female representation.

Growing up in Southern California, I was constantly surrounded by Asian Americans as well as their culture. I noticed that what I saw on screen didn't match what I saw in real life and even though I have absolutely no Asian blood running through my veins, I couldn't help but feel offended. I knew that for our film we wanted to have an Asian American cast as our lead. I can't even recall a movie I have seen where an Asian was the lead. As I started thinking about who to cast, I needn't look further past Aaron Wong. I met Aaron in my economics class this year and he was the perfect balance between cute and awkward. It was clear that Aaron would be the perfect choice to represent Asians in media for our project. Below I have a picture of Aaron looking off into the future of Asian representation in media: and it is looking bright.

Cheng, J., Hsieh, C., Lu, S., & Talgo, S. (n.d.). Media Representations of Asians. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://sitemaker.umich.edu/psy457_tizzle/home

Haque, Z. (n.d.). Representation of Asian Americans in film limited. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.nyunews.com/2014/12/05/haque-9/