Hollywood. Home to most—if not all—of the movies we know and love today. The blockbuster movies we’ve known and grown up with such as Home Alone, The Parent Trap, and many others all originate there. However, if there’s one thing that all these movies have in common, it’s the lack of Asian representation.
Asians have more often than not been disregarded and discriminated against just because of their ethnicity. They have always been the butt of jokes; always labeled as “nerds” or “cold” (among other criticisms); and, more often than not, misrepresented on screen.
According to Dr. Stacy L. Smith and other researchers from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, only 5.3% of roles in the top 100 films for 2014 were Asian. Even then, the times when Asian culture or characters were shown were more often than not simply two-dimensional stereotypes—hence, the rise of Asian-fishing in a lot of these movies.
Considered as the Western media’s attempt to colonize almost everything in the film industry, Asian-fishing happens when movies with so-called Asian settings would cast Caucasian actors who mock and stereotype Asian people. This can be seen in movies such as Ghost in the Shell and Aloha where fully white people played the roles of Asians.
Despite this, the short but blissful moments where Asian representation was done right, are always satisfying and worth the watch. Here is a list of some short films that contain Asian representation that you should definitely watch. Unfortunately, recent groundbreaking movies with Asian representation such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Raya and the Last Dragon are not featured in this list due to their unavailability on streaming platforms as of writing:
A Filipino Christmas by Disney and Make-A-Wish Short Film (https://youtu.be/NeNHiUrA34U ) The short film starts with a flashback of a young girl who receives a Mickey Mouse stuffed toy from her parents in the 1940s. It resumes again in 2005, as it shows that same girl, now much older, who passes on the Mickey Mouse toy to her grandchild. The film ends with a warm note as the grandma comes down one morning to see their living room filled with parols, reminiscent of her childhood in the Philippines. While watching the film, everything seemed so familiar. From how it had the kalesas and wooden houses to the focus on parols and the Christmas spirit of Filipinos, the film’s depiction of a Filipino Christmas contrasted with the normal Christmas tree and red stocking over the fireplace combination. Properly representing Filipino culture and the importance of Christmas to Filipinos, the short film truly felt like a homage to the Philippines.
Bao by Pixar (https://youtu.be/f5CcgFTO274) Pixar’s Oscar-winning animated short film entitled Bao, focuses on a Canadian-Chinese mother as she manages to bring to life a dumpling just before it was about to be eaten. The movie follows the pair as they go through all stages of life. We later learn that the imaginary dumpling was the mother’s way to cope and come to terms with the fact that her child was leaving her to get married. This film showcases Chinese culture, such as the different foods and even mothers doing tai-chi on the streets. Contradictory to the usual and stereotypical cold-and-overbearing-Asian-parent-and-pressured-child trope, the wholesome love the mother had for her child was refreshing to watch.
The film, which was named “bao” (包) or dumplings in English, focused a whole lot on Chinese cuisine and food, more specifically on the importance of this food in Chinese relationships.
In Chinese culture, good food is believed to bring harmony and bring families close. The filmmakers were able to properly showcase this part of Chinese culture. Whenever the mother would showcase her love for her family, food was always involved. In fact, bao was her beloved son!
One Small Step by TAIKO Studios (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWd4mzGqQYo) The animation follows a Chinese-American girl named Luna who dreams of becoming an astronaut and going to space. Her father, who runs a shoe repair business, constantly supports her dreams and aspirations. Luna slowly drifts further and further away from her dad as she tries to achieve this goal until her father’s death. Burnt out and devastated, she gives up on her dream, which she later pursues again after finding her old astronaut shoes. The film ends with her in space, thinking of her father as she finally reaches her dream. The way it was able to fully represent the father’s unconditional support for his daughter’s dreams was something that felt very Asian. Instead of showering his daughter with spoken support, he gave his all by supporting her through his actions. Despite not having a lot, the father still tried his best to provide and support his daughter with whatever he had. He would stay up and wait for his daughter to come home and wake up early to make breakfast. He would also fix his daughter’s shoes and make them new again for her to use the next day. These small and quiet gestures spoke much about how supportive the father was of his child.
A Folded Wish by Artmoeba Productions (https://youtu.be/9HEkdFzHLHs) The short film begins with a pair of twin sisters folding origami cranes together. As we continue watching the story, we find out that the two sisters are fatally ill. They begin folding 1000 origami cranes in hopes they can remain together forever. The film ends with the panel on the two cranes, implying that both the sisters were able to stay together, just not here on Earth. The film heavily focuses on the senbazaru belief, which originated after the Hiroshima bombing after a girl with leukemia folded 1000 paper cranes. It is believed that if you are able to fold a thousand origami cranes, you will be granted one wish. Small pieces of Japanese culture were prominent throughout the film. From the kimonos the character wore to the Japanese paintings and even the origami, this film was able to properly showcase Japanese culture. A stark contrast to how we think of Japan as a technology powerhouse, it was able to show a different and more traditional sense of the Japanese all while staying respectful.
Despite the growth and awareness regarding proper Asian representation in media, Hollywood still has a long way to go. Especially with preferential treatment against Asian actors and singers, it’s hard to ignore the fact that there is still discrimination being faced in the Hollywood industry today. In fact, most films with proper representation of diversity are made by small and independent studios. It might even take a while before Asians can finally stop staying in the background of these blockbuster films and regularly star as the focus of them. However, compared to before, it’s safe to say that the industry has grown a lot in terms of diversity. Especially with the production of Asian-centered blockbuster movies such as Crazy Rich Asians, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings, Hollywood has definitely started to take a step in the right direction. Hopefully, in time, one’s race won’t play a factor anymore in the Hollywood industry.
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