Color Commentary - Wes Kim

03.21 - Posted by Editor

Color Commentary Occasional musings on the state of Asian Americans in the media   By Wes Kim   Post your responses!

03.23.01 - A Call to Action   Last week, I attended a meeting for a local screenwriting group. The guest speaker, there to talk about the art of pitching, started by stressing the importance of researching individuals whom you are going to meet.     "Everybody see that Asian girl in the back?" she said as all our eyes turned to the back of the room. "The first thing she did when she walked in was give me a Diet Coke. Obviously, she must've checked out my web site and found out that I'm a fiend for Diet Coke. And so now, I'm going to remember her! See? She was really smart!" Amid the admiring chuckles that swept the room, I heard a man behind me say, "Well, aren't they all smart?"     I was dumbstruck by the remark, so much so, I'm disappointed to admit, that I ultimately said nothing. When discussing the incident later with a friend who attended the same meeting, she quipped, "Well, it's hard to know what to say to something like that. 'We're not all smart -- some of us are quite stupid!'?"     Indeed, had I confronted the man at that moment, I suspect that he might not have even perceived his comment as a slight. I might've had to go into a lengthy explanation of the "model minority" curse -- how even "positive" stereotypes place limits on what sorts of roles minorities are permitted to play. The Asian American who's always perceived as smart and hard-working is ignored when creating an artist or slacker; the African American who excels at athletics is passed over when imagining a CEO; all minorities are overlooked when a hero is called for.     In the end, I could have dismissed this remark, chalking it up to one person's ignorance, but I simply haven't been able to let it go. And the reason is this: This wasn't some random person on the street expressing his unenlightened viewpoint -- this man wants to be a screenwriter. He wants to create stories that will become films viewed by as many people as possible. Sure, I could console myself by imagining that he'll end up one of the many with dreams of Hollywood but zero prospects, but that would simply be an exercise in self-deception. And what if, by some chance, he does succeed?     This is what it's all about, people. This is what leads to a network television retelling of the Chinese legend of "The Monkey King" with a white male protagonist at its core. This is what leads to the upcoming cinematic treatment of World War II as a battle between white and yellow peoples, with no consideration given to the roles Japanese Americans played, whether as fiercely loyal American soldiers or as conscientious objectors who demanded the restoration of their rights as American citizens before consenting to die for their country. This is the intellectual laziness that keeps Hollywood from understanding that a good story properly told will draw viewers in regardless of the color of the hero's skin.     This, then, is my challenge to all of you out there: Write that script. Direct that film. Be an actor. Become a producer. Connect with others trying to achieve the same goals. You are the main character of your own life--help create something that shares this reality with the world. You have nothing to lose but your continued banishment to the margins of American culture.