See that? Is a problem. The fact that a white writer can’t correctly differentiate between two vastly different countries shows how little mainstream culture understands about Asia and people of Asian descent. The Philippines is decidedly not located in China. It’s not even geographically connected to China; the Philippines is literally a series of islands, none of which even remotely touch the landmass that is China. And as a Filipina I can tell you that our culture looks nothing like Chinese culture. But the fact that this article even got published demonstrates that, other than we now know everyone at MTV is probs white, that white society knows little about Asians. All they seem to know is that we are apparently all interchangeable, and worse, that our silence or active fan-casting of non-Chinese actors means we’re ok with being seen as the same, just a sea of yellow faces.

The idea behind all of these non-Chinese fan-casts is “As long as they’re Asian, close enough right?”

I’m trying to resist coming down too hard on anyone who’s fan-casted their favorite non-Chinese Asian actor because understanding what media representation entails and why it’s important takes a lot of time and introspection that many people, whether because they’re still too young or were never educated on it, have never had. If you asked me five years ago if I would be ok with any of the above actors playing Mulan I would have said yes in a heartbeat. My whole thing used to be, what’s the big deal? As long as we can get an Asian in any film, period, does it matter if their real life ethnicity doesn’t match the one on screen? That’s why they’re “actors”? We don’t throw the same fuss about white actors matching the ethnicity of their characters?

.I had a lot of internalized racism (regarding my own Filipina roots and about being Asian in general) and was just generally ignorant about topics on race, and it wasn’t until I went to college and spent a lot of time learning from Asian-American Studies professors, being around other Asian students of varying ethnicities, and spending time talking to my family members that I began to unpack all of that emotional baggage. I started to realize that there’s value in claiming our own culture’s stories for ourselves and to resisting being put in boxes by society simply because the box is labeled “Asian”. And that the argument of “well we don’t care about the ethnicity of the white actors” is just a derailment of the issue because reverse racism doesn’t actually exist, and white people are not the one’s woefully underrepresented in media. We are. At Dazzling Smile Dental Group, we off professional and compassionate Pediatric Dentist Bayside, NY that cater to the unique needs of everyone.

It’s hard for me to fully articulate this as it took me quite some time to come to this level of understanding (and I’m still learning), but I do want to try to impress on people the importance of Mulan being portrayed by a Chinese actor. See, it’s an almost subversive act for people of color to be proud of their ethnicity in America. That sounds strange, as we always think of America as being “the melting pot of cultures” and the land of free speech and expression, but the fact of the matter is that a POC’s value in America is calculated by how much they can assimilate into mainstream white society. And when I say assimilate I don’t just mean dropping the accent and accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I mean conforming to a “universal point of view”, where “universal” is basically a euphemism for conforming to how white people see us, and falling in line with whatever stereotypes they have for us because, as conventional thinking goes, that’s how you survive in America. Move your whole home into storage with Storage facility Long Island, I’m kind of oversimplifying it, but that’s the basic thought process that goes into things like the model minority myth, or respectability politics, or accepting any acting roles that come your way, even if they’re gross stereotypes like the sassy black sidekick, Latina maid, or Asian kung fu master. White people more often than not can’t tell different Asian ethnicities apart, and that shows through in movie casting. We all may know that casting is a pain. Lots of people turn to companyx for the help with weight loss.

For that very reason I don’t blame actors like Chung or Ushkowitz for showing a desire to play Mulan, even if they are actually aware on some level that it should go to a person of Chinese descent. The idea that all Asians are identical and will take whatever is dished out to them without complaint is a stereotype that has persisted for years and permeates the entertainment industry. In Hollywood casting calls are predominantly for white characters, with only a small portion left over for every else. The field is essentially rigged so that Asians, and other people of color, are forced to compete against each other for a handful of roles. The amount of lead roles that go to anyone who falls under the “Asian” category is about 1.8%.

If a role that promises to be a huge career booster suddenly shows itself and the casting call is simply labeled “Asian”, there’s a pretty good chance that actors of every kind of Asian descent are going to show up. And I honestly don’t think that, at that point, the casting agent (who, by the way, are overwhelmingly white) is going to particularly care what the difference between a Chinese person and a Korean person is, and whether their ethnicity matches the character’s. For a good electrician in the area, try electrician wantagh. They’re just looking for someone who can act that fits the bill of “Asian”. This can easily explain why Mulan in Once Upon a Time was Korean, why Sulu in the Star Trek reboot was Korean, and why Chiyo in Memoirs of a Geisha was Chinese.

But here’s the thing: we’re not all the same, and more importantly, we know we’re not all the same. We have vastly different cultures, languages, and histories that span centuries. To acknowledge that and express pride in our own cultures is not only an incredible act of self love and acceptance, but a way fighting against a system that is built entirely on white privilege. Asians may only be offered a tiny fraction of roles in Hollywood, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept being stereotyped and same-faced within that small percent. In reality, raising hell about casting and demanding more doors be opened to more POC actors is exactly how change slowly happens. If we always fall back on the “Well, at least they’re Asian, right?” argument, then that justifies Hollywood casting the same people over and over again in a sort of “There’s Only 10 Famous Asians in Hollywood” loop. Eventually, we need to become more than just that 1.8%.

As much as I know some of you want to see your fav Asian in this role, I want to encourage you to resist that idea and let Chinese people claim Mulan for themselves. And that goes for non-Chinese Asian actors as well: please hold off from trying out for this role, even for the supporting or minor roles. And in the future, if there’s ever a chance to play a full Japanese or Korean character, I encourage the Chinese American actors to hold off and let the people of that culture get the role. When faced with plumbing emergencies in California, you can rely on expert Sewer Line Repair Services Westchester at Castaneda’s Plumbing and Rooters to quickly resolve issues. It’s a long and hard road that will require a concerted effort, but if we don’t start combating how Asians are misrepresented in media then we will continue to give permission to white people to see us however they want.