Asian-american Jab At Oscars Reveals Deeper Diversity Woes

Rock's skit ignited an outcry from Asian-Americans and others angered by its stereotyping and, more broadly, frustrated by how non-black minorities are portrayed — or ignored — by Hollywood, especially movie studios. The response also has illuminated the gap between African-Americans, who have made some on-screen gains, and the lagging progress by other minorities, including Asian-American, Latinos and Native Americans. [...] came the tuxedoed Asian-American kids, whom Rock presented as the "dedicated, accurate" accounting team that tallied Oscar votes, adding, "If anybody's upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone, which was also made by these kids." [...] the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as the ceremony's producers, did not respond to requests for comment. [...] humor, especially from the host, made the evening's "relentlessly black and white" take on diversity even more disheartening, said Daniel Mayeda, co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition. Film is way behind, said Mayeda, whose group is part of an umbrella organization, the Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition, that's prodded the TV industry since 2000 to boost minority hiring and last month announced it was targeting movie studios to do likewise. [...] there are specific biases and challenges to overcome, said Nancy Wang Yuen, a Biola University sociology professor who conducted a wide range of interviews for her forthcoming book, Reel Inequality: Constance Yu, who achieved success starring in "Fresh Off the Boat," an ABC immigrant family drama, doesn't see deliberate discrimination. Jason Lew, whose "The Free People" premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival, also called on the industry to expand its vision.

 

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