Hypocrisy at the Oscars - Chris Rock cries about diversity, then makes fun of Asians

I have a former colleague who is a Stanford MBA, but also an actor. He's Asian. Literally ALL he posts on Facebook is complaints about how Asian actors don't get a fair chance and that even Asian roles are played by white actors.

His last few posts:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/1/11139290/chris-rock-academy-awards-2016-diversity-non-black-pocs

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-why-make-cheap-jokes-871623

http://www.vice.com/read/institutional-racism-was-the-funniest-joke-at-the-oscars

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/24/arts/hollywood-diversity-inclusion.html?_r=0

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/working-hollywood-youre-not-white-859697

And so on...

 

Laughable

 

That Asians feel discriminated?

 

Not sure how you derived me dismissing Asian gripes from what I've said. In fact as a fellow Asian I would expect you to see one of the parts where it was questioning why people are making comments on what Asians should/should not be offended about.

Chris Rock perpetuated offensive Asian stereotypes, at least they were offensive to me. Who was his audience? Who originated these stereotypes? Who continues to portray these stereotypes throughout media?

http://www.asamnews.com/2015/12/31/...t-pop-strikes-sour-note-with-asian-americans/

Portrayals of Asian Men
http://i.imgur.com/l4SjlLs.jpg
Portrayals of Asian Women
http://i.imgur.com/HDpCJru.jpg

Calling Chris Rock Racist and saying Blacks are immune to racism and/or Hypocrites does not stop the status quo from publishing these stereotypes to the general population. Black people don't own these forms of media.

Yes a black man made an offensive comment, but so did a white Jew named Sasha Baron Cohen. Are you going to talk about how Jews are untouchable in the media also? Because if you did the whole package I would be ok with that if you were ranting.

But let me clarify what I'm trying to convey here; being Pro-Asian equality does not mean desiring another minorities "immunity" from criticism, it's like two dogs fighting for scraps thrown from the table. And from what you've said it seems that you are criticizing a minority right to throw us under the bus and talking about how Black people get away with certain stuff. That's not going to get us equal rights.

From the last time I checked in history;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Kochiyama

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Vincent_Chin

Critical events in Asian-American civil rights history were made by speaking out against the status quo and not complaining about some stupid ass minority who panders to it in a wholly white owned and influenced media instuition.

 

http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-03-02/what-its-be-butt-joke-one-kids-oscars-speaks-out

Apparently the kids and parents didn't know what the joke was exactly.

 

I have no complaints about Asians not being chosen or casted in main roles in Hollywood

It's part the entertainment business that people should just accept would never change. These castings are made purely for ratings and money, and whatever market research determined that an Asian lead would probably lose them money vs. someone else.

Unlike other professions, the entertainment business have no quantifiable merit per se, there's no real way of measuring acting abilities. I believe that the majority of great actors or singers were never discovered for one unfair reason or another and probably found other jobs elsewhere.

Do I feel for Asian actors that don't get casted for any major roles in Hollywood, sure I can understand their pain. But then again how many failed singers or actors gets rejected everyday for not having the "it" nose, hair, sound, cheekbone, eyebrows, nationality, race and thousands of unreasonable and unfair reasons.

The industry is rough and people with money only give a shet about earning more money, and imo that gives them the right to cast actors however the hell they want.

 

Sorry but Hollywood has proven it is completely clueless when it comes to predicting what people will pay for. The idea that east asian males aren't profitable is just myth more than reality because the people making the decisions are terrified morons.

 

that's not my point though. The point isn't about how accurate the market research are, the point is the decision makers have the right to do whatever the hell they want with their millions that they put into a movie, and there's nothing we can do about it other than to go to a movie or not. Whether or not these decisions lead to actual maximum profit is the stakeholder's problem.

 

It's very clear Hollywood is all about race-baiting, just like MSM and the court/government. (Protecting cop from murders every single time, except finally indicting an Asian cop on a clear accident. Happened to read this news just now :/ )

There are all kinds of ways to make money, but for decades Hollywood had been the go-to tool to creating myths and hatred against specific targets, among many other things Hollywood does, and it is not really about money.

Some can choose to ignore the brainwashing, but it is inevitable for most folks. Just the blatant bashing or promoting bad morals is not common in the entertainment industry of other countries. Hollywood is very deliberate.

They love this stuff!

 

This thread and topic here likely wouldn't even exist without the joke and of course that's the joke.

 

This is wrong, and exactly what's wrong with the internet.

Everything you see goes through control groups made up of different demographics. The actual people who watch movies and TV make the decisions that lead to who the studios cast and what they show.

East asian males aren't profitable because A. The majority of western women feel uncomfortable seeing them as romantic figures compared to males of other races B. Fail to convey on screen charisma comparable to other actors

Percentage wise, their stories just aren't that interesting in the West. The current generation takes stereotypical corporate jobs and the bad boys do the whole Tokyo Drift thing growing up. Asian women themselves barely find asian men attractive - that's why it's an impetus for East Asians to be financially secure to attract a female.

It's another dumb thing to complain about when you look at what's going on in real life. You wouldn't expect Chris Farley saying he deserves to be cast as Superman or a romantic lead, because in real life, people don't fantasize about jolly fat men in a sexual way. It automatically becomes satire if he does it, even if the movie takes itself seriously. Doesn't mean they don't have girlfriends or get married in real life. If it's not something scrutinizing audiences buy in real life, don't expect them to do a 180 for an on screen guy because he's "shown in a different light".

With all that said, it's still up to the producers who they want to cast. Think of this - with all the money in China and Chinese businessman buying stakes in global sports and businesses, why haven't they started a production house that casts Asians and gives them hero roles? Because they, like Hollywood, know it doesn't sell.

 

How do you explain why there are so few Asians in production jobs in hollywood?

 

I'm sure there is some Hollywood version of good ole boy network going on, but it's incomplete with out statistics of how many Asians actually try/want to get into film.

In general, Asians typically are underrepresented in executive jobs across ALL fields. Even tech. So, I think there's a more general explanation than something specific to Hollywood.

 

LOL @ whoever gave me that anonymous psycho-analysis rep. Thanks for the rep points .

 

I didn't see the Oscars so I didn't see this joke in context. What I'm wondering though if Chris Rock's joke is perhaps deeper than just making fun of Asians but actually making fun of the stereotypes of Asians as hard working and good at math. It seems to me that he might've been poking fun at the idea that Hollywood thinks primarily in terms of stereotypes.

For me I've always been leery of the Model Minority stereotype as stereotypes rarely are good. As much as people think Asians as good at math and hardworking they also stereotype Asians as bad at sports, socially awkward and cheap. For me though I'm not going to get that worked up about it. At the moment I'm far more focused on what's happening with the election than the Film industry.

 

Agreed

So this the type of Asian American representation we got for "Oscar diversity night"?

Hypocrisy...

 

Yes, you did actually get it. Most people didn't understand who the brunt of the joke actually was.

In addition the final real punch line was about hypocrisy in Hollywood when he made a comment about these are the same kids that work in the sweatshop that make the shoes that you all wear. (which is another stereotype).

 

Exactly

 

Where are you seeing ANY of this in the article you've linked? I clicked expecting to see some sort of study or at least a summary. All I got was a few quotes from TV executives who say mainstream audiences get uncomfortable with seeing an Asian man in a sexual light and that an "urban audience" didn't approve of Jet Li kissing Aaliyah.

Here I can agree with you. Two tangent points I'd make though.

I've been to various parts of Asia before, including China. While Chinese film production is nowhere close to where Hollywood is, they're not over there casting white folks in leads because culturally, that's not what sells in the East, especially when 99% of your population is Asian. The same can be said for Bollywood. So naturally it makes sense for Hollywood to cast mostly white actors/actresses because of cultural attitudes as well.

Secondly, I DO think the cultural attitude towards Asian-Americans in media are slowly shifting in the US. A show like Master of None would never succeed back in the 90s, much less have Aziz be nominated for Best Actor in a Golden Globe award. We wouldn't have a show like Fresh Off the Boat, featuring pretty much all Asians in lead roles taking in more than twice as many viewers as Better Call Saul. And somehow mainstream audiences have not yet balked at Glenn's relationship with Maggie, kissing scenes included, on America's third most watched TV series.

One reason is possibly because we didn't have as many second generation Asians speaking perfect English and fully engrossed in western cultural norms. Personally I'd guess that a western audience really wants actors/actresses with western values but not necessarily what's considered 'western skin'. As the Caucasian population shrinks over time with each generation of super liberal HS graduates coming of age, I think we'll eventually get there.