Girl: “”Who are you guys?””
Virgil: “”Uh, a club.””
Girl: “”Oh, like a math club or something?””
In a way, these three simple lines from Justin Lin’s “”Better Luck Tomorrow”” speak to what the Asian-American experience is: a question, a half-hearted answer. Ask people what they think of depictions of Asian-Americans in the mass media today, and the replies are telling.
Wendy Hong, an Earl Warren College fifth year student, said, “”The girls are bitches or smart goody-goodies, and the guys are either nice and friendly or gangsters — there’s no one normal.””
Sociology professor John Skrentny summed it up by saying, “”I think they’re mostly invisible … but when they are there, they’re depicted negatively.””
At the heart of the problem are historical forces: Asian-Americans have only recently gotten to represent themselves. Like African-Americans, Asian-Americans were played by whites early on in the entertainment industry — instead of blackface, whites taped their eyes. But there is a difference in their histories of persecution, as literature professor Lisa Lowe points out. African-Americans, although enslaved and only considered citizens in the early 19th century, were still American; Asian-Americans, on the other hand, were seen as foreigners granted citizenship around World War II.
“”[This] means the idea of Asians belonging or being American is relatively recent,”” Lowe said. “”They are often between a rock and a hard place — they must either assimilate and do well in legitimate social areas or swallow sense of distance and alienation.””
Other believe that depictions have improved. Lucy Liu on “”Ally McBeal,”” Keiko Agena on “”The Gilmore Girls”” and Ming Nawen on “”The Single Guy”” and “”ER,”” are examples of Asian-Americans in nonstereotypical roles. But those are all females, not males. In addition, for all their visibility, they are not leads — they’re the best friend, the sidekick, the “”Number One Son”” to Charlie Chan.
That’s where Justin Lin’s “”Better Luck Tomorrow”” enters the picture. It is not an exaggeration to call it a watershed film in a position to make history: It is the first film with an all-Asian cast to be widely distributed, to be officially selected at the Sundance Film Festival and bought by MTV. It not only breaks the curse of the invisible or emasculated Asian-American male, but also explodes the model minority myth.
Lee Ann Kim, a KGTV weekend anchor and executive director and founder of the San Diego Asian-American Film Festival, sees “”BLT”” as one of the most promising films to break stereotypes and glass ceilings: “”[Lin] gave this awesome opportunity to this cast, to show that they … are good actors and they can be sexy and controversial and all the other things that [other] American actors are given the opportunity to be.””
While the film continues to create controversy through its “”negative”” depictions, Justin Lin said, “”I’m not trying to represent all Asian-Americans … I think what’s positive is to explore three-dimensional human beings.””
So what is in store for the future of Asian-Americans on screen? What are the remedies to the stereotypes? According to ethnic studies professor Yen Le Espiritu, the issue is as much about the numbers as of the quality of roles.
Screenwriter, playwright and visiting UCLA lecturer Weiko Lin (no relation to Justin) sees one solution as having more Asian-American artists behind the scenes.
“”If you feel like there’s not enough Asian-American roles, then learn to be a writer and write some. Go to film school, be the creator, be the people who make the decisions,”” Weiko Lin said.
Justin Lin stresses the importance of community participation and discussion.
“”This is the same thing they were talking about [for] African-Americans in the ’80s. They were saying, ‘this guy Denzel Washington, nobody’s going to relate to a black man’ … [but] then Spike Lee did, ‘She’s Gotta Have it,’ ‘Do the Right Thing,’ … I remember I asked [the studios], ‘where are the Asians?’ and they said, ‘Look, Asians pump a lot of money into the economy, but their spending patterns are exactly the same as Caucasians, so we consider them Caucasian.’ Believe me, when you go buy a ticket for ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’ they’re keeping track. If enough Asians show up … you’ll see more Asian representation on screen,”” he said.
Kim believes that more vocal support and participation from Asian-Americans themselves is essential. “”Asian Americans work very hard behind the scenes … [those] from the computer graphics standpoints, or from an editing or directing standpoint, like John Woo and Ang Lee, have done well in Hollywood,”” Kim said. “”The problem is for Asian-Americans on the screen … they’re struggling big time still because of the fact that our community does not understand the concept of going out and supporting them.””
In addition, Kim also sees film festivals as an effective way of disseminating more varied and realistic Asian-American depictions. Her most gratifying moments are seeing Caucasian faces at the SDAFF and hearing the gratitude of fledgling young Asian-American filmmakers who would have given up if not for the support of film festivals.
“”Frankly, while we are the fastest growing ethnic group, we are still the smallest … so we need help outside of our community to propel us to the mainstream, and I don’t want people to think of it as an Asian thing; I want people to think of it as a human thing,”” Kim said.
Justin Lin expressed his hope for future Asian-American films.
“”If we’re always afraid of what people think of us, then we’re not being true to ourselves … Why should we live our lives any different? Because we have the right to be empowered and explore issues without agendas,”” he said.
From Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan to female crime fighters and misguided teens, we’ve come a long way, but there’s still room for improvement. “”Better Luck Tomorrow,”” however, may open doors to wider pastures — or to echo Roger Fan as “”Daric””: “”We don’t have to play by the rules. We can make our own.””
