Flashy front covers of gossip magazines and dramatic scenes playing in crowded movie theaters predominantly highlight people of Caucasian race. As a result, an overwhelming majority of mainstream outlets of entertainment unfairly overlook the Asian population in America. Occasional portrayals of Asian Americans in media simply reinforce stereotypes that cause biased judgments of their undesirable foreign habits, reserved timidity, and high proficiency in academics. In today’s society, media publications in popular culture should begin to accurately and equally represent the Asian community across the nation in correspondence with the growing Asian population and the emotionally detrimental stereotypes in publications to ensure rightful equality. 

The Asian race is inexcusably underrepresented in various channels of entertainment, from radio broadcasts to blockbuster movies, despite a growing Asian population. As stated in a study released by USC’s Annenberg School For Communication & Journalism, “across 100 top-grossing films of 2012, only... 5% [of speaking characters] are Asian [while] just over three-quarters... are White (76.3%)... [which] are relatively stable trends” (Race/Ethnicity in 500 Popular Films 1). These startling statistics show the extent of the disparities between Asian and Caucasian representation in multiple forms of broadcast and popular communication. This prejudice is unjustified, seeing that “about one in 20 people in the United States identify themselves as Asian” (Shattering Asian American Stereotypes 1). In fact, “Asian Americans are the highest-income, best-educated and fastest-growing racial group in the U.S” (“Asian Americans” 1). With the rapid growth of the race’s population, the amount of media communications displaying the Asian community is unproportionally low. The entertainment crowd is not limited to only Caucasians, so the entertainment itself should feature people of other ethnicities. Not only is there an inadequate broadcast representation given the growth of Asian American population, but the stereotyping and generalizations reinforced through the occasional publication cause damaging misunderstandings about Asian culture.

Misrepresentations of Asian lifestyles characterized by high intelligence, submissiveness, and foreign unfamiliarity lead to detrimental effects on the self-perceptions of Asian individuals and the attitudes of others toward them. Due to the unfair representation of the Asian race in popular television shows and Hollywood movies, “Asian Americans... complain that they are called [names] in junior and high schools” (Chow 1). They feel labeled and controlled by the standards manifested by national media, causing individuals to “question their identities and experience difficulty when attempting to define themselves” (La Pierre 2). Thus, the inaccurate representations of racial generalizations in entertainment ultimately lead to the growing abjection and despondency of the Asian community. In addition, Asian American youth have an extremely limited group of role models that they can idolize and relate to, in comparison to the considerably larger amount of Caucasian leaders. The unfair stereotypes emphasized by media broadcasting create a disproportional amount of emotional support for the subordinated race.

Some media leaders and viewers may counter the fact that Asians are unfairly represented by stating that various entertainment channels have begun to feature characters with a wider variety of ethnic backgrounds. However, the representations of Asian Americans in modern-day entertainment all serve to reinforce negative generalizations rather than bring true equality. Common stereotypes strengthened by American media include the nerd or geek, the unaccustomed foreigner, and the quiet introvert. Author David Mura remarks that Asian Americans are viewed as “perpetual aliens [that] can’t be seen as representative of all Americans” due to the oppressive stereotypes placed upon them (Chaudry 1). These generalizations are constantly exploited by filmmakers and publishing directors, who steadily substantiate the biased standards with each new role. As long as these stereotypes continue to be manipulated in popular entertainment, any amount of Asian portrayal in media will be ineffective at balancing the reputations of Asians and Caucasians.

With the race’s steadily growing population, increasing Asian representation in entertainment is essential to a true reflection of America. The glaring problems of inadequate representation and prejudiced depiction need to be resolved to clear misunderstandings and erase unfavorable notions. Media leaders must recognize the significance of the growing Asian demographic and begin to venture away from stereotypes in order to elucidate the highly generalized cultural group. Asian Americans should be casted in ordinary roles rather than in the stereotypical standards in an attempt to eliminate biased stereotypes. In popular culture today, directors should fittingly represent Asian characters in media to a greater extent to ensure equality for the races. The balanced media representation of this race will result in greater emotional stability and more opportunity for individual expression for Asian Americans across the nation.