Asians: The New 'Punching Bags'?

Aii-yah, indeed! The Asian Heritage Month of May arrived hot on the heels of several Asian-North American protests against depictions of Asians in pop culture.

Which drew criticism of those protests.

Which raises a different question. Are Asians in Canada and the U.S. finding a louder and overdue voice of dissent? Or are they falling prey to self-defeating victim-think?

In February, New York City and Los Angeles activists campaigned to prevent "Lost in Translation" from winning any Oscars due to its negative portrayals of Japanese people.

Offended by Details magazine's "Gay Or Asian?" pictorial in April, which stereotyped Asian men as effeminate gays, protestors created an on-line petition and rallied outside the magazine's publishing offices (Details apologized in its May issue).

Meanwhile, on-line debates erupted over American Idol's William Hung, who media-watchers liken to racist caricatures Sambo and Buckwheat.

'Greeks can take a joke'

The fun didn't stop there. Counter-critics claim these activists are oversensitive, hyper-vigilant wussies who can't take a joke. As Gawker.com pointed out "it's easy to get everyone riled when something's called (or, you know, actually is) racist."

On Gothamist.com, a message board posting argued that Greeks face constant negative stereotypes but unlike Asians, "Greeks can take a fucking joke." We could ask Nia Vardalos about that, but is there any truth in what these protestors have to say, or are they all too serious for their own good? Where exactly does the line between humour and racism lie? Is this punishment for the Japanese bombing Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler's romance in Pearl Harbor instead of Affleck and J. Lo in Gigli? More importantly, did Margaret Cho really go out with Quentin Tarantino?

Two opposing views from CBC Radio co-workers and Hot Sauce Posse comedy troupe members Charlie Cho and Tetsuro Shigematsu outline the debate. Cho, a Chinese-Canadian CBC Radio One associate producer, former Rice Paper editor and unrelated to Margaret, thinks these protests are ill-conceived and problematic while Shigematsu, a Japanese Canadian CBC Radio broadcaster and militant activist, er, stand-up comedian, believes it is better to protest too much than to keep quiet.

Though impressed by the huge numbers galvanized by these protests (the on-line petition against Details gathered over 33,000 signatures), Cho was disappointed with their direction: "It's potentially great power, it's potentially something that could be mobilized to make an important point, and I think it's relatively poor usage of that power."

'Racism is funny'

He finds it hypocritical that protestors didn't condemn Details for the previous examples in the "Gay or ." series, such as British or Guido:"If you're going to make social critiques then one should look beyond the category that one belongs to. If you're going to make media critiques based on social justice then you should be consistent." Though those other groups may not face the same racism as Asians, he questions whether or not these images truly create racism. His underlying concern is that too much protest will backfire: "False or trivial claims of racism may lead to the feeling that we're crying wolf too often, or being too sensitive for healthy artistic expression."

On the flip side, Shigematsu worries that without activism, Asians risk becoming a "pop cultural punching bag." He adds that these protests help expand definitions of racism beyond being just a Michael Jackson song: "When people think of racial politics they think black and white, or as long as they don't say the N-word I'm cool." He points out no one likes to think of themselves as racist even though most racist attitudes are unconscious: "I take the stance that we're all racist and you just have to admit it and try to be working on it. Part of being racist is a lack of self-awareness. People don't like to think of themselves as an amalgamation of market forces or influences in the media."

Shigematsu adds that racism is prime material for comedy but there are boundaries: "Racism is funny. It's a rich topic. But when we do a show or when we go to broadcast, then we understand that if we cross the lines, there's going to be payback."

'A high wire act'

Figuring out where those lines lie he believes is part of a comedian's learning curve: "It's not a bad way to recalibrate yourself as a comedian when you get these negative responses. If you're any good or interested in getting better, then you have to live by the axiom that the audience is always right. If you refuse to acknowledge your audience, then pretty soon you find yourself drifting off axis."

Though Shigematsu is aware that many comedians worry protests will "neuter" their edge, he views these experiences as opportunities for improvement: "The more you know and the more you are sensitive, the better able you are to get close to and navigate the lines without crossing over. That's a high-wire act, and it's very breathtaking for the audience. But that can only be accomplished if you know exactly where the line is. And part of how you know where that line is, is by being sensitive and paying attention when groups protest."

Cho, however, thinks these protests mistakenly believe that pop culture should reflect our ideals of social equality: "When I saw the protests I thought 'I can understand your critique in the same way I didn't find a lot of the jokes [in Lost in Translation] funny. But I felt it was wrong-headed because it presumes that art should fulfill a particular mandate or that art should aspire to a certain kind of society that we want."

Stereotypes are winning out

Prem Gill, Indo-Canadian host of CityTV's ColourTV and Director of Multicultural Programming and Public Affairs, sees both sides of the debate. Though she noticed the lack of Japanese leads in Lost in Translation, she thinks calling it 'racist' is facile and ignores the "complexity" of the film. But she also thinks labeling protesters over-sensitive is an easy way to shut down discussion: "It's very dismissive."

Gill says she is very concerned about how Asians are portrayed: "There are not a lot of positive images in the media of Asian people, particularly of Asian men. We do see a lot more faces than we used to before. But the people are still stereotyped and the stereotypes come from somewhere. We, as the Asian people in the media have a responsibility. But so do all the other people."

Is it better to have some representation of minority groups even if it isn't positive, rather than none at all? Gill says she wrestles constantly with that question, but worries the stereotypes get far more exposure than "the people who are against those stereotypes. It doesn't seem like those voices are getting heard or seen."

Craig Takeuchi is a Vancouver writer.