The USC Norman Lear Center and the non-profit organization Gold House have collaborated to produce a new study on Asian representation across film and TV streaming platforms in the year 2022, entitled “A Balancing Act for Asian Representation: More Visible But Not Yet Specific.”
Citing a significant increase of Asian characters from 3% to 16% over the course of 2007 to 2022, the study examined major characters in the top 100 films and series on streaming platforms (categorized as characters in three or more episodes of a show or billed in at least sixth place in film credits.)
The joint study reveals that strides have been made when it comes to Asian actors being cast in non-tokenized roles; however, these roles still spotlight proximity to whiteness more often than they showcase authentic cultural specificity. In response to this disparity, Gold House created the “Gold Story Test,” drawing from the Bechdel Test, which measures gender representation.
USC and Gold House’s study shows that common tropes that have been historically relegated to Asian characters —such as “perpetual foreigner” and “tragic hero” —are less prevent in recent content. However, the “model minority” stereotype remains visible; nearly half of Asian characters analyzed in the study were in intellectual fields, and only 11% were shown as working class.
The report also found that the majority of Asian characters’ storylines are not exclusively focused on their race; just 18% of characters had a storyline in which race was central to their arc.
Tiffany Chao, vice president of entertainment and media at Gold House, spoke on this notable shift.“We hear from many actors who express a strong desire to move beyond roles and storylines only centered on their race — to play multidimensional characters that can be just as funny, flawed, or inspirational as anyone else and just so happen to be Asian,” she said. “Race-agnostic roles should not come at the expense of cultural authenticity. That is a false binary. We hope to see more stories that feature the full range of the Asian diaspora’s experiences.”
While there are more nuanced and multifaceted stories featuring Asian characters, there remains a distinct lack of diversity when it comes to skin tone.
90% of the “most visible” Asian characters on streaming platforms were of light or medium complexion. Additionally, two out of every three characters did not speak to another Asian character, even though there were an average of four Asian characters per title. Further proving an emphasis on proximity to whiteness, more than half of Asian women were shown in romantic relationships with white men, which data suggests is not reflective of reality.
“This study was an opportunity to take a deep dive into the quality of prominent Asian roles, and our results underscore the importance of nuance in the discussions we have around representation,” said Soraya Giaccardi, senior researcher at the Norman Lear Center. “Avoiding tropes and stereotypes by simply erasing cultural specificity only continues to obscure the full breadth and diversity of the Asian diaspora.”
Other major takeaways from the study include:
- Just 6% of identified Asian characters were featured in leading roles.
- One identified Asian character was queer; none were transgender or nonbinary.
- 4 of the 73 titles studied included an ensemble cast of Asian characters.
Read the full report here.
