Module 5: Asian American and Pacific Islander Intersections, Media, and its Futures
Does Asian American and Pacific Islander participation and activism in the media have the power to eliminate their invisibility?
Film and television captivate the viewing audience in their capacity to tell stories in new and creative ways. As media continues to evolve and develop, it is important for Asian American and Pacific Islander involvement also to attune itself to shifts and changes over time.
This module explores some of the exciting ways that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the media have started to express the intersectionality of diverse identities. The module also considers what work is left to be done and how those who control and produce media in the future can do so in ways that promote greater Asian American and Pacific Islander representation.
To what extent have issues of gender, sexuality, ability, class, and other identities shaped contemporary Asian American and Pacific Islander media?
How can Asian American and Pacific Islander media visibility and representation continue to progress and reflect the increasingly diverse and divergent Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences into the future?
Queer Asian American and Pacific Islander Stories
The history of the struggle to promote and include Asian American and Pacific Islander voices in the media has worked toward greater representation. Yet, the stories and perspectives of lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals and groups have largely been marginalized within this struggle. This is a troubling pattern because it reinforces the centering of heterosexual or cisgendered positions that excludes the large spectrum of gender identity in the community.
Some pioneering filmmakers have begun to make inroads into the underrepresentation of queer Asian Americans. Alice Wu is one director and screenwriter who has helped to expand representations of Asian women’s sexuality. Her first film Saving Face (2004) is a romantic comedy and an intergenerational story about the experiences of a Chinese American mother and her adult daughter, both navigating dating landscapes with their unconventional stories.
The daughter, Wil, is a lesbian who struggles to come out to her mom and her Chinese American community due to their judgment of her sexuality. The mother, Vivian, finds out that she is pregnant but conceals the identity of the baby’s father due to his younger age. She hurriedly tries to find a more socially acceptable “fake” father figure. Together, Wil and Vivian must overcome the feelings of shame that limit their romantic relationships. Eventually, mother and daughter come to terms with one another in parallel struggles to find acceptance and love.
Saving Face is celebrated for its charming character development, its inclusion of Asian American queer identities, and its depiction of sexual desire across different generations. Moreover, the movie’s happy ending offsets other Asian-themed lesbian stories that have historically ended in tragedy and loss.
Image 27.05.01 — Director Alice Wu (right) working with actresses Michelle Krusiec (left) and Lynn Chen (center) on the set of Saving Face (2004).
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The same themes of queer love and intergenerational acceptance set the scene in Alice Wu’s second film, The Half of It (2020). Starring Leah Lewis, the film is about Ellie Chu, a nerdy Chinese American lesbian who uses her writing skills to help her straight white male friend court a girl through text messages for him. Ultimately, Ellie ends up falling in love with the girl herself, and must test her loyalty to her friend while also eventually revealing her own true feelings.
Asian American Representation at the Intersections
This examination of stories about queer Asian Americans highlights the importance of intersectionality, which is a way of thinking about identity that moves beyond just one single category—like race—and considers multiple identity categories such as race, gender, class, religion, or ability. Black feminist Kimberlé Crenshaw conceived of intersectionality as a way of calling attention to the multiple forms of oppression faced by Black women. In addition to experiencing the harms of racism, Black women also experience the harms of sexism. Intersectional analyses help consider the way that queer identities, for example, add new layers to the understanding of Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences.
The stories of Asian American queer individuals and communities suffer from a double form of invisibility due to the intersection of Asian American and queer underrepresentation in media. For gay Asian men, their voices have also been sparse in mainstream media. One pioneer in this space has been Bowen Yang, a comedian who joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 2019. His role on the show was groundbreaking due to how few Asian Americans and openly gay men have ever been included in the cast, as well as the show’s long history of mocking both groups. Indeed, with so few Asians in the cast, SNL has historically resorted to yellowface portrayals. Yang’s comedic skills and wacky characters have brought authentic and positive representations of both Asian and gay men to the show.
Image 27.05.02 — (Left to right) Margaret Cho, Bowen Yang, and Joel Kim Booster starring in Fire Island (2022)—the first queer romantic comedy released by a major movie studio created by and starring queer Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
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Within film, Yang has co-starred with fellow queer Asian American comedian Joel Kim Booster in a groundbreaking movie, Fire Island (2022). Directed by Andrew Ahn and written by Booster, the movie was notable for being the first romantic comedy released by a major movie studio that was both created by and starred queer Asian Americans. In the film, a group of gay male friends take a vacation to a gay enclave at Fire Island Pines, and an adventure leads to a series of mishaps. Eventually, they all overcome their disagreements and support each other’s quest to find love.
These noteworthy efforts help to call attention to the need for more stories representing the full spectrum of Asian American sexual and gender identities. The intersectional stories of Asian Americans with a range of disabilities, gender non-conforming individuals, those with differing religious practices need more and better representation.
Community Experts and Collaborators
The future of Asian American and Pacific Islander media must include conversations of progress in the media landscape that is diverse and inclusive of the full spectrum of Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences. Beyond the identities of those who are included, independent media production demonstrates how changes can be made from the inside as a way of promoting racial justice. The example of Disney’s animated feature film Moana (2016) shows us one possibility as an interplay of media and cultural production that center Pacific Islander voices and perspectives.
The Walt Disney Company has long struggled with representation and diversity, with a history of cultural mishaps, appropriations, and misrepresentation. They have portrayed Arab culture as backwards and exotic in Aladdin (1992), mocked Native Americans in Peter Pan (1953), and characterized non-white peoples and cultures in the role of animals, including a black crow named Jim Crow in Dumbo (1941), an ape named King Louie in The Jungle Book (1967), and villainous Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp (1955). As a result of this history, Disney executives took a careful approach when they set out to tell a story about Polynesian culture in Moana.
One of the most important decisions they made was to hire nearly all Pacific Islanders to perform as the voices of the characters. This included Auliʻi Cravalho as Moana, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Maui, Nicole Scherzinger as Moana’s mother, and Temuera Morrison as Moana’s father. The Oceanic Story Trust, a group of Pacific Islander academics, historians, artists, anthropologists, linguists, and community elders, was hired to share their knowledge and advice with the filmmakers. On their numerous research trips to the islands of the South Pacific, the Disney Animation team listened to the consideration of the Pacific Islanders on how best to tell the story of Moana.
Image 27.05.03 — Disney animators consulted with Polynesian experts from the Oceanic Story Trust to ensure the accuracy of details in the worldbuilding and character designs of Moana (2016) such as garments, natural elements, hairstyles, and language.
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While the character of demigod Maui was originally depicted by animators as bald, members of the Oceanic Story Trust advised that in their mythology Maui’s hair gave him power. The character ended up with a full head of long curls. They also suggested that sailors navigating the ocean should not wear full ornamental adornments as originally depicted, but should instead wear something more practical. This kind of feedback ended up shaping every aspect of the story—from song lyrics and terminologies to the design of interior spaces, clothing, and inanimate objects.
The production of Moana demonstrates that a transparent partnership, in this instance between Disney and the Oceanic Story Trust, can lead to authentic media representation. The studios made great effort to tell the story as connected to real people. While such teamwork led to adjustments and changes to the production of Moana, authenticity is tricky because no one group of people will agree completely on what is truly authentic as cultures evolve over time and as many represented cultures have oral transmission of history rather than written ones.
While the process of making Moana was commendable, the outcome of the effort did not satisfy all members of the audience. Indeed, in spite of this preparation, Disney was heavily criticized for selling a Moana-themed kids’ costume of the Maui character with a brown tattooed bodysuit. Many complained that it disrespectfully appropriated Polynesian culture and encouraged brownface. Still, the story of how Moana was made can be a constructive example of attempting to create a culturally-informed story that foregrounds learning and respect, as well as a model for participation and support from local communities.
Media industry and cultural production that take this ethos of community participation and accountability allow community members to lead the way in authoring their own stories. For instance, the Digital Histories project by Visual Communications in Los Angeles, California, offers education to Asian American and Pacific Islander elders in filmmaking. Students in the program can transition from knowing nothing about videography to eventually shooting and editing their own short films about topics that are most important to them. The finished films are showcased in a special program at the annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. This kind of community-based media production helps to expand who considers themselves a media maker and whose stories are worthy of being made into film.
Image 27.05.04 — Filmmakers from the Digital Histories program celebrating the premiere of their short films at the 2023 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.
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Conclusion: Making Asian American and Pacific Islander Media into the Future
This chapter has highlighted the many challenges Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders face in relation to the media. These include enduring long histories of harmful and limiting stereotypes when represented, as well as being excluded from representation altogether. For people with intersectional identities—such as those who are LGBTQ+, gender non-binary, or disabled—these problems of underrepresentation are even more pronounced.
Yet the resilience of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities that fought back and resisted inaccurate representations has created independent self-representation. Media makers have been able to produce a wide range of independent media, digital media, and mainstream media. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have also organized professional media organizations to advocate for diversifying how media are made to ensure that their voices are recognized. The continued rise of talented performers, artists, and stars are paving new paths forward and calling attention to the unique perspectives of these communities.
Finally, Asian American and Pacific Islander media audiences have come together to support and critique media in order to reclaim media and facilitate transitions as media consumers to media makers. All of these actions have the potential to challenge the status quo and create new pathways forward in the world of Asian American and Pacific Islander media. This engagement however is the only solution to the problems of injustice, Asian hate, and ethnic exclusion.
The media fulfill many different functions in our lives—giving us entertainment, education, knowledge, community connection, relaxation, an escape from boredom, and so much more. These wide-ranging engagements make it even more important to continue paying attention to the many ways that media impact Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders now and into the future.
Glossary terms in this module
digital media Where it’s used
Includes many different forms of technology, including the internet and websites, mobile phones and apps, music files like MP3s, streaming television, online social media, video conferencing platforms, ebooks, digital photographs, and much more.
intersectionality Where it’s used
Conceptualized by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 as a way of understanding how various forms of inequality operate together and exacerbate each other. The term refers to overlapping systems of oppression that were not addressed adequately in the law or dominant ways of thinking about inequalities.
mainstream media Where it’s used
Media industries that are the most profitable and longstanding, and have the largest audiences. Network television like ABC and NBC, movies produced by powerful movie studios like 20th Century Studios, and Walt Disney Studios, and newspapers like The New York Times are all considered mainstream media. This contrasts with independent, community, or alternative media, which are all smaller, less financially profitable, and reach fewer audiences.
representation Where it’s used
In the context of media, representation refers to the idea that an image of a person stands in for that person or teaches you something about that person. When you see many representations of a certain thing, you learn more about it, and when something is not represented you are denied the opportunity to learn about it at all.
stereotype Where it’s used
Generalized beliefs about a group of people based on one characteristic. Typically, stereotypes perpetuate harmful discourse about groups of people and are rooted in incorrect, and often racist beliefs.
underrepresentation Where it’s used
When a group of people is rarely seen portrayed in the media and their appearances in media are disproportionate to their representation in the general population.
