{"id":3088,"date":"2016-05-24T18:00:47","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T01:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/?p=3088"},"modified":"2020-04-26T10:51:28","modified_gmt":"2020-04-26T17:51:28","slug":"moviestv-shows-with-asian-american-leads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/moviestv-shows-with-asian-american-leads\/","title":{"rendered":"Movies\/TV Shows with Asian American Leads"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<h2>Rationale for List<\/h2>\r\nI grew up in the 80s, when Asian American characters in Hollywood movies and TV shows were few and far between and often awful caricatures with fake accents. Unfortunately, these caricatures and lack of good roles for Asian American actors persist (<em>Two Broke Girls<\/em>, for example), when it's not just plain old whitewashing (<em>Doctor Strange<\/em> and <em>Ghost in the Shell<\/em>, for example).\r\n\r\nSo I thought I'd make up a little list of movies and TV shows for those who are looking for more than just the usual American film\/TV portrayal of Asian Americans.\r\n<h2>Criteria for List<\/h2>\r\nLike <a href=\"http:\/\/bechdeltest.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Bechdel Test<\/a>, this list's criteria isn't intended to be comprehensive or to even say \"This movie is good\" or \"This TV show isn't problematic in any way.\" But the criteria does set the movie or TV show as different from the usual Hollywood fare:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>There must be as least one Asian American character either who is in a lead role or who is fully fleshed out and complex.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>There must be at least one Asian American character who isn't faking an Asian accent.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>If there is a lead female Asian American character, she doesn't just end up with the lead male white character. Nothing against that kind of romantic pairing on principle\u2014it is just done and overdone. (<em>The Mindy Project<\/em> and <em>The Joy Luck Club<\/em> are exceptions, because the female leads are so fully developed and central to the narratives.)<\/li>\r\n \t<li>If it's a movie, I have to have seen it. If it's a TV show, I have to have watched at least two episodes of it.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>It must be somewhat watchable. I won't say these are all excellent movies\/TV shows, but I at least don't think they're horrible.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>The Actual List<\/h2>\r\nI'm listing in reverse chronological order by year (not going to distinguish within a year\u2014too much work for too little reward\u2014to get exact months of release) and then alphabetical.\r\n<h3>2019<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/80202874\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Always Be My Maybe<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AjGe7ol78ns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dating After College<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/80211563\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tales of the City<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2018<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.crazyrichasiansmovie.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crazy Rich Asians<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbcamerica.com\/shows\/killing-eve\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Killing Eve<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt7668870\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Searching<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/sorrytobotheryou.movie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sorry to Bother You<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/80203147\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">To All the Boys I've Loved Before<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iOntet85kBw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yappie<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2017<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/American-Girl-Story-Balance-Season\/dp\/B06X6H943L\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">An American Girl Story - Ivy &amp; Julie 1976: A Happy Balance<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/80192018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Star Wars: The Last Jedi<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2016<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/dramaworld\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dramaworld<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/80199128\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kim's Convenience<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLSHabwxChOtXpXDFMBO26SqBGGLWLtdoo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Single By 30<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2015<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/advantageous\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Advantageous<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/dr.%20ken\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dr. Ken<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/crazy%20ex-girlfriend\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crazy Ex-Girlfriend<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/everything%20before%20us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Everything Before Us<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/fresh%20off%20the%20boat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fresh Off the Boat<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/master%20of%20none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Master of None<\/a><\/li>\r\n<!--\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/Unbreakable%20Kimmy%20Schmidt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt<\/a> (honorable mention)<\/li>\r\n--><\/ul>\r\n<h3>2014<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/the%20librarians\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Librarians<\/a> (honorable mention)<\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/selfie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Selfie<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2012<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/the%20mindy%20project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Mindy Project<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Model-Minority-Nichole-Bloom\/dp\/B00ES2Y1F6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Model Minority<\/em><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2010<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/hawaii%20five-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hawaii Five-0<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/tv\/the%20walking%20dead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Walking Dead<\/a> (honorable mention)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2008<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">21<\/a> (honorable mention)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2007<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/never%20forever\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Never Forever<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/ping%20pong%20playa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ping Pong Playa<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/shanghai%20kiss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shanghai Kiss<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2005<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/grace%20lee%20project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grace Lee Project<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2004<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/harold%20%26%20kumar%20go%20to%20white%20castle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harold &amp; Kumar Go to White Castle<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>2002<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/better%20luck%20tomorrow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Better Luck Tomorrow<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/charlotte%20sometimes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Charlotte Sometimes<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>1993<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/and%20the%20band%20played%20on\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">And the Band Played On<\/a> (honorable mention)<\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/joy%20luck%20club\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joy Luck Club<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/the%20wedding%20banquet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Wedding Banquet<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>1989<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/gross%20anatomy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gross Anatomy<\/a> (honorable mention)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>1959<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/crimson%20kimono\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crimson Kimono<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>1947<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.canistream.it\/search\/movie\/my%20favorite%20brunette\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My Favorite Brunette<\/a> (honorable mention)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Honorable Mentions?<\/h2>\r\nHonorable mentions are for movies that have a fleshed-out non-fake-accented Asian American character who is a very side character or only supporting role. (<em>My Favorite Brunette<\/em> sneaks in there even though the one Asian American character isn't fleshed out. For a 1940s American movie to even have an Asian American character who doesn't have to fake an accent is relatively progressive for the time.)\r\n<h2>The list is not complete by any means...<\/h2>\r\nI'm open to suggestions, and I'll append to this list as I think of \/ see more movies and TV shows. Keep in mind I won't be adding to this list stuff that I haven't seen before. I haven't seen <em>Marvel's Agents of SHIELD<\/em> or the new <em>Teen Wolf<\/em> series, for example.\r\n<h2>Faking Accents<\/h2>\r\nI have absolutely nothing against Asian American actors who fake accents to get work. Getting jobs in acting is hard for anyone, and it's extra difficult for Asian American actors to get any acting jobs, even ones that are horrible parts. You do you. Get your work. Stay active. Build your r\u00e9sum\u00e9. That said, I still want to bring extra attention to the roles that involve not faking accents or reinforcing stereotypes. It doesn't mean those actors are better than actors who do other roles (in many cases, there is a lot of overlap\u2014one Asian American actor having to do one role with a fake accent may sometimes score a role without a fake accent).\r\n<h2>Asian American?<\/h2>\r\nYes, I know there are Asian movie stars in Asia, and some of them have even had some success in the U.S. (especially for action\/martial arts). Why can't Asian Americans also have the same (or better) success in their own home country? And, yes, I know I did a big old lump of the diasporas into the umbrella of \"Asian American\" when some of these actors are Asian Canadian or Asian Australian (or Asian British?). If I narrowed it down to only U.S. citizens, the list would, unfortunately, be even shorter than it is.\r\n<h2>Why does everything have to be about race?<\/h2>\r\nNot <em>everything<\/em> is about race, but race is a real issue in Hollywood. It isn't by accident that almost all major movies and TV shows are about white (or white-appearing) characters. Don't tell me I don't need to go into surgery for my damaged right arm just because my left arm is fine. For more details on why ignoring race in America is messed up and doesn't actually fix problems, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/comments\/3du1qm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Why is it so controversial when someone says \"All Lives Matter\" instead of \"Black Lives Matter\"?<\/a>\r\n\r\nIf, after reading that, you're still going to troll, I'm just going to delete you. There is plenty of that garbage out there in the Twittersphere and Tumblrsphere. I don't need to host so-called (i.e., fake) <a href=\"http:\/\/empathyeducates.org\/5-studies-debunking-the-myth-of-racial-colorblindness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\"color-blindness\"<\/a> on my blog. Go spout it somewhere else.\r\n\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3088"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3438,"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3088\/revisions\/3438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psychocats.net\/ubuntucat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}