The Invisible Minority
An Imperceptible Reflection
It was to my surprise that there is a history of Asians in the US. Though, to most people growing up here including myself, it is completely oblivious. Asians, who are often called the “model minority”, in actuality are more like the “invisible minority”. My own imperceptible reflection is a largely replicated experience for many other Asian-American NPCs. NPC is a term that derived from video games which stands for “Non-Playable character”. They are neither the hero of the story, love interest, or villain but often the auxiliary characters in the background that make zero impact or influence to your experience such as a shopkeeper, banker, or traveling merchant. There are many reasons for this that I will be touching on, though I want to make it clear that there is no single contributing factor for why this is.
Even though America is a place with a history of racism and inequalities, I contribute a large part of it to the growing pains of a still young nation based on an idyllic dream. America has developed immensely since it’s creation but more-so economically when compared to socially or culturally. Naturally, economic mobility can often take grasp within a single generation, whereas, cultural changes typically take more time over multiple generations. Therefore living in this 244-year young melting pot is synonymous to living in a social experiment when compared to the many predominantly homogenous countries across the globe.
What happens when you have diversity in a country? You get an explosion of economic growth, creative industries and therefore global influence. The ugly underbelly of it is you also get a culture of institutional racism, discrimination, and violence. If one argues that financial opportunities are paramount then it’s hard to find a better country to be in. But if safety is a paramount concern then it’s difficult to defend whether the US is a safe place to live. It’s hard to say whether the pros outweigh the cons but both will need to be carefully considered.
Why are We Invisible?
Demographically we only account for a minuscule 5% of the US population. Not only that but we are largely uninterested in politics which equates to even less representation. When looking at mainstream movies, music, and television, your only promising job prospect as an Asian in media is to be a local female news anchor. Statistically speaking, there’s no wonder you can travel to many places in the US and still feel like a perpetual foreigner in your own country.
Culturally there are a diametrically opposed differences between the East and West. Cultures in eastern countries value qualities such as harmony, compliance, and respecting your elders. Decisions are usually made by committee at the group level and by taking into account how your decisions will affect others around you. The West is the polar opposite as we celebrate individual expression, speaking up, and being different. You can easily see how these differing ideologies create conflict in a deep-rooted way both socially and culturally for Asians who grow up in America.
How is it Changing?
The simultaneous rising of the East and stagnation of the West. Up until now, you can see a clear but dreary picture for an Asian-American living in the West. We exist in a culture that is deeply conflicting to the one we have at home. We’re severely lacking representation in any large entertainment medium as well as politically. From our day of birth we’re coaxed into service jobs in order to fulfill our NPC duties of being compliant and subordinate. Well, that’s been changing rapidly and it’s all due to the rising influence from eastern nations such as China and South Korea. Hollywood, major sport leagues, and even game studios have suddenly began to cater to the Chinese market due to the huge financial opportunities of a growing middle class. And at a worldwide perspective, the hottest trends, music and entertainment are coming out of a 50 million person country in South Korea.
South Park’s “Banned in China” episode mocked Hollywood for catering to the Chinese government.
Asians Being Put on the Map
Asians are being put on the map for the first time and it’s not because of our local or regional impact but the global impact of Asian countries in the East. This means more opportunities for Asian-Americans who have had the unique experience of straddling these two worlds. For the first time we are seeing an Asian-led protagonist in a major blockbuster film (Shang-Chi), an Asian film winning Best Picture (Parasite), and Asian music groups winning historic accolades (BTS). The Asian-American NPC has been taking notes as the world has been quickly changing. Though the history of Asian-Americans is rife with conflict, the future is rife with opportunity.
Asian-led protagonist in a major blockbuster film (Shang-Chi)
Asian film winning Best Picture at the Oscars (Parasite)
Asian music group winning historic accolades (BTS)
