Screenwriter Alan Yang speaks about diversity and filmmaking

On Friday evening, students braved the pouring rain to hear Emmy Award-winning producer, director and screenwriter Alan Yang speak at Bovard Auditorium, as part of the Asian Pacific American Student Assembly’s annual speaker event. 

Yang is known for working on NBC’s popular sitcom Parks and Recreation and for co-creating Netflix original series Master of None, which highlights the Asian American experience by following the life of a 30-year-old Indian American actor, played by co-creator Aziz Ansari.

The show is one of Netflix’s most popular series and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Yang attributed the success of the series to its genuity and relatability.

“We write from personal experience … and put in things that are emotionally truthful,” he said.

Later on in the night, Yang further expressed his views on how audiences relate to diverse screenwriters. “In doing so, I think a byproduct of that is people end up relating to it even if it’s not their own story.”

Yang spoke on a variety of topics, including his views on Asian representation in the entertainment industry and his experiences as a filmmaker. Although Yang graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biology, he soon began to pursue comedy and screenwriting. Yang said he worked extremely hard for many years before finally achieving the success he has today.

“A lot of great things have happened to me,” Yang said. “I’ve been very lucky with getting to work on shows that I love with people I love and respect and have learned a lot from.”

Yang expressed how he refrained from writing Asian storylines early on to avoid limiting himself as an “Asian writer” and how a process of maturation was required for him to become more comfortable with incorporating his identity into his work.

“If I’m not going to try, who’s going to try?” Yang said about writing more diverse roles and perspectives in television.

As evidenced by recent #OscarsSoWhite controversy and a study by USC Annenberg’s Media, Diversity & Social

Change Initiative, Hollywood lacks diversity, especially for Asian Americans. Asian representation only makes up a minute percentage of the film and entertainment industry. Yang does not believe this problem is malicious.

“It’s not like these people are discriminating,” Yang said. “When you’re hiring… you have so much stuff on your plate. You fall back on hiring people you’ve worked with before, or know, because the risk of hiring someone who’s a total stranger is a pretty significant risk.”

To combat the industry’s lack of diversity, Yang called for writers to take the initiative to hire new actors.

“Asian people don’t have the foothold yet … We haven’t been here as long as some other people,” Yang said. “It’s getting people on the ground floor.”

At the same time, he encouraged Asian Americans to actively seek opportunities and become more vocal and visible.

Yang also offered advice to college students pursuing filmmaking careers. He highlighted the constant uncertainty that comes with working in the entertainment industry, as well as the only way to overcome it.
“Feel so strongly that you’re willing to weather the storms, to be willing to might be unemployed for years,” Yang said. “Do not do it expecting to make money. Do not do it expecting to win awards. You just have to want to actually do the work — figure out what means the most to you, and put that into whatever you’re working on.”