“Crazy Rich Asians” (2018). “Parasite” (2019). BTS. “Squid Game.” BLACKPINK. “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (2022). “Never Have I Ever.” 

These names have been circulating the media and seem to be winning every award out there. There’s this change in the media climate and a hope for an inclusive future appears to be in everyone’s hearts and minds. There seems to be this “pro-Asian” sentiment in Hollywood and social media. From Oscars and Billboard awards to headlining major music festivals, there’s buzz around a “new era” in Hollywood that is dedicated to representing the Asian American community and its stories. 

But let’s wake up. Hollywood has no intent of systemic change nor is it planning on making this diversified representation of Asian Americans a sustainable change. 

The first issue is how all of this representation is primarily centered around East Asians. Asian Americans are not a monolith; we are comprised of diverse cultures that have a history of colorism and privilege differences against each other. Light-skinned Asian communities who are portrayed as the “model minority” often experience privilege on the basis of colorist sentiment. Yet, when the media claims that there are big changes, they fail to acknowledge that Pacific Islanders or Indian Americans are completely neglected, which is often a result of colorism. 

According to USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s “invisibility” analysis, 44 out of the top 100 films in 2022 were missing Asian women in speaking roles, while 99 had no Pacific Islander female roles. 

I have to question the element of fetishization that contributes to this rising phenomenon of the Asian takeover of Hollywood. People have gone so far as to even have “face-claims,” where Discord servers and groups dedicate themselves to looking more like a certain Asian face they desire. From Koreaboos, defined as non-Korean people who attempt to “become” Korean, to yellow fever, it seems like this “appreciation” for Asian representation actually just has undertones of violence and sexualization. 

It’s also important to consider the history of hypersexualization of Asian women and the mystification and exoticization of the East that is rooted in imperialism and militarism. 

Fetishization and hypersexualization snowball into bigger and more aggressive forms of racism as seen through the Atlanta spa shootings, where six Asian women were killed. The New York Times wrote that “the suspect told the police that he had a ‘sexual addiction’ and carried out the shootings at the massage parlors to eliminate his ‘temptation.’” The suspect’s actions were not isolated; they were the result of Asian Americans dehumanized on the basis of hypersexualization. By continuing to ignore the ill-intent behind the support of Asian media and representation and claiming that Hollywood has entered a new era of diversity is also feigning ignorance to the glaring red flags of fetishization.

Additionally, the lack of diversity when representing all Asian Americans while simultaneously only pumping out the same East Asian generational trauma plotlines speaks volumes about the shallowness of this so-called diversification. It’s strange how the general public seems to gravitate toward the same archetype of Asian representation — the estranged relationship between the parent and child due to generational differences. 

I just have to ask: Is our trauma entertaining to you, Hollywood? Is this niche, trauma-focused aspect of our culture appealing? Why is it that most of the breakthrough movies like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” or “Crazy Rich Asians” have the same trope and are played by the same actress, Michelle Yeoh? Our stories are more than just the cold and distant mother who can’t communicate but loves the child deep down with the “too Americanized” child who struggles to balance multiculturalism. We’re more than just our trauma. 

I scoff at the narrative that Hollywood is becoming more inclusive. 

I’m horrified if this is our representation and the best it’s going to get. It lacks sustainability, and it’s disappointing to see how shallow this faux representation is. Unfortunately, I don’t see a future for change, nor do I think Hollywood is going to get any closer to genuine inclusivity because, on a systemic level, it’s built on a foundation of whiteness. 

It’s not just an issue of seeing a familiar face on screen, but an issue of how my culture, my community, my people and my ancestors are being represented and perceived. Media is more than just entertainment consumption — it has the power to meld our perceptions and reality together. Hollywood has the power to influence, and it seems like this power is being used to distort Asian American narratives. I’m sick of the Asian American experience being tokenized by Hollywood for futile attempts of diversity.

But I’m really not surprised that this is our reality. I’m just disappointed.