Don't have a lot of time today for a long post, so for now I'll just share a video I found today from one of my original favourite YouTubers - Wong Fu Productions.
Wong Fu does a fantastic job at increasing Asian American representation in media both on and off screen, and they were a key inspiration of mine to go into media to help "fight the good fight" as it were.
This video made me laugh until I cried - it's a great example of the media representation I advocated a few posts ago. I love that this post plays off one of the best ways to advance representation - through humour. Shows like The Cosby Show, etc. help bring marginalized stories to the screen because they understand that comedy is one of the best vehicles to make the minority accepted into the main stream. It's not serious - it's "just comedy", "for a laugh", and therefore not as "threatening" to "serious" work. But comedy is extremely important because sharing a laugh is a great way to talk about stereotypes and why the humour works the way it does in a non-threatening situation. And this video does an amazing job at bringing humour and stereotypes to advance its message that these stereotypes are just that - ridiculous and silly.
In particular, I love that this video also progresses the cause of under-representation for Asian men - particularly as romantic leads in western media. It cleverly does so by stating at the beginning that .09% of men in the actual Bachelor television show were Asian, and that this version of the show attempts to "make up" for the discrepancy. I also like that they included Asians that aren't normally represented like Nic who's "here to represent Brown Town". One of the best pieces that highlight the lack of Asians in western media - this hysterically funny piece definitely deserves to be shared by everyone and take a coveted place in my Wardrobe of Moral Imagination.
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