56 years in the film industry and 200 films later, Jackie Chan has finally won an Oscar. An amazing feat, no doubt, for the Hong Kong actor – one which might even rival Leo’s quest for his Oscar, albeit in a more silent manner – but his win means so much more than just recognition for his hard work and talent. To me, and to so many other POC (people of colour), his triumph is a triumph for us all.
Growing up watching western television, I saw friends and families portrayed on television. There were all the tropes: the ‘popular cheerleader’, the strict mother, the comical and useless dad, the underdog etc. But the main thing I noticed was that they were almost always white. We’ll root for the underdog whenever that character comes onto our screens, but thus arises a problem when the underdog is consistently a white man or boy. The person you rooted for wasn’t black, wasn’t Hispanic, wasn’t Jewish and certainly wasn’t Asian. So where did that leave me?
The lack of representation on television and film meant that stereotypes couldn’t be broken. I was always going to be that Asian kid who was good at maths, and if I got a high mark, it was ‘because I was Asian’ not because I worked hard. It’s flattering to be thought of as an intelligent person, but there are many more stereotypes more detrimental and more harmful because of the lack of representation on our screens. In Hollywood, only 1% of films made today have an Asian lead character. This fact that has become increasingly evident with releases such as ‘Ghost in the Shell’, an adaptation of the Japanese Manga, in which Scarlett Johansson plays the main character of original Japanese origin. Movies like these highlight the problem of whitewashing or yellowface in Hollywood (the act of putting a white actor into an Asian role, à la Mickey Rooney in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’.)
Casting isn’t the only issue. The other problem is writing, specifically better writing, to break stereotypes of POC so they are not one-dimensional and are placed in recurring, similar side-roles. The ‘Doctor Strange’ movie is a good example. The character of ‘the ancient one’ is a white actress, and Hollywood directors justified the casting choice because they didn’t want to contribute to the ‘dragon lady’ stereotype, instead of simply writing a more well thought out character and making the effort to find a great Asian actress (of which there are many). This doesn’t do anything to solve a stereotype or strengthen diversity and visibility within western media.
Living in a western society as a visibly ethnic person is challenging. When your hair and skin colour doesn’t look like that of your classmates, you are reminded every day that you are different, that maybe you don’t quite belong. But when an Asian person or character does cross our screens, we pay attention.
Jackie Chan’s Oscar victory is incredible, and as an avid fan of his, watching his acceptance speech was heart-warming. In addition, his win not only shows Hollywood that Asian people can be funny and talented, (see ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ or ‘Master of None’ for examples), it also draws attention to the lack of variety of POC on our screens.
Yet the solution isn’t to be found solely in changing the minds of executives and producers. Part of the solution lies with people who identify the problem, specifically people of colour. We can’t expect Hollywood to write our stories or to understand how our ethnicity has affected or influenced us. That’s down to us and our own efforts towards what happens behind the screen. I think Jackie’s Oscar win is only the beginning.