Chinese American Culture Misrepresented in Media

MEDIA (MIS) REPRSENTATIONS OF CHINESE-AmericanS Culture Media (Mis) Representations of Chinese-Americans Media (Mis) Representations of Chinese-Americans In the west, representations of people who are outside of the standard or norm, (white, middle & upper class, male) are not represented with accuracy. Chinese-Americans are one such group that doese not often receive an accurate or dynamically real representation of the spectrum of the culture or the people within it. Media representations in the west of Chinese-Americans are limited to a few stereotypes, generally.

Some of those stereotypes include that all Chinese people practice and have mastered martial arts, and that all Chinese have exceptional intelligence in mathematics, sciences, and technology. Another media stereotype of the Chinese is that they are all short of stature, particularly poking fun at short men. Chinese men are often stereotypically represented as geeks or nerds -- exceptionally "book smart," but lacking in coolness and social skills. Chinese women are very often represented as generally obedient, and submissive.

American women are often represented as either the Madonna or the whore. Chinese women are in an analogous situation with their representations: they are either a whore/geisha/prostitute, or asexual virgins with purity. Chinese-Americans are furthermore often lumped together with East Asians in general, as if East Asians are interchangeable or all the same. Asians in western media often play ethnicities that are different from their own, such as a Korean-American actor Sung Kang playing a Japanese Yakuza in the film Ninja Assassin.

In actuality, there is incredible diversity in culture among the Asian people. Media representations are often limited, lack dynamism, yet, there are still some very public examples of Chinese-American culture that are in direct opposition or challenge of these misrepresentations. Public figures such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan reinforce media representations and stereotypes that all Chinese-Americans are martial arts experts. Martial arts are absolutely a part of Chinese heritage. It is an aspect of the culture that plays well with media -- it is exciting, interesting, and entertaining.

Yet martial arts are not the only aspect of Chinese culture that is marketable or commodifiable. There are many Chinese-Americans that practice martial arts, but they may not be masters at them, or they might only practice as a meditation and not for fighting/combat. Furthermore, to state what seems to be obvious, there are Chinese-Americans that have no background in martial arts.

While Bruce Lee was one of the first Chinese stars of the west and was not a stereotype himself, his cultural legacy gets used in the present as a way to perpetuate stereotypes about Chinese-Americans. Jackie Chan has had a prolific career and certainly has contributed to the success of other careers in the film industry. His movies are distributed worldwide and often have extravagant or abundant resources for great production value. He has made so many movies -- all of which are martial arts and/or action based.

The world does not receive a diversity of representation in a Chinese star with worldwide credibility and influence. In this way, Chan contributes to the limitations in media representations of Chinese-Americans. Jeremy Lin created quite a sensation in America and in the world. Jeremy Lin is a Chinese-American professional basketball player. He plays for the New York Knicks. The fact that he is Chinese or rather, not black is enough of a shock regarding stereotypes of Chinese-Americans and athletes.

The stereotype for professional basketball players is that they are large African-American men who are naturally gifted at the sport. Chinese-Americans are rarely represented in the media as being athletic, let alone with enough athleticism to compete professionally. While lots of Chinese adults and youths really enjoy basketball in the U.S. And beyond, it is a surprise to the average American that a Chinese-American enjoys and is skilled at basketball. His existence and his abilities were a media and cultural phenomenon.

'Linsanity' refers to the meteoric rise and prominence of NBA basketball player Jeremy Lin. He is the only current Asian-American playing at the professional level in America and has displayed his immense athletic talent by helping the New York Knicks to a seven-game winning streak in February of 2012. (Wo, 2012, 5) Lin also challenges or confronts the stereotype that Chinese-American men are short. Professional basketball players are taller than average in general, and so is Jeremy Lin. Moreover, Lin is a Christian, and very public about his views.

It is becoming more commonly known that many Asians are practicing Christians, such as Koreans and Chinese, yet the stereotype is that they are Buddhists or Taoists -- some religious practices-based or originating in the "old country." (China) Gene Luen Yang is a writer and illustrator. He is most famous for his comic American Born Chinese.

American born Chinese is a kind of slang that is often abbreviated as "ABC." In this comic, the main theme for the target audience (youth) is that it is all right to be different from the cultural norm and that there is value in difference. The comic also shows the tough process that Chinese-Americans and other.