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CBS refuses to give Asian stars in Hawaii Five-0 equal pay, they leave
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More like NCIS Hawaii
lightskintwin
Banned
No harm, no foul. I think it's an interesting discussion.
I guess I would disagree with you on the point of it being a bad thing. I would look at the amount of English content that America consumes and point out that we already have a number of Australian, British, and Canadian shows (to use as an example) that we consume. There are also plenty of foreign actors from those three countries that act in Hollywood.
If the Internet and streaming video has done anything, it has lowered barriers to content across the globe. In the past few years I've watched shows in multiple languages. Some were so-so, but others were amazing. A decade ago, I would have had zero chance of watching those shows because they would have never even had a path to my TV.
I would argue that if Chinese, Korean, and Japanese (live action) TV shows were part of the popular consciousness in America, then that would raise the demand for more content starring Asian American stars. Yes, there would be crossover, with some foreign actors getting starring roles, but there would also be American born actors getting cast. No one complained that a "foreigner" was headlining House after all.
Maybe I'm off my rocker, but it seems like a good way to build demand.
Who knows, maybe we should all just start GAF OTs on the better shows and get to watching. The discussion might draw in others.
First you're talking about predominately White English speaking media from other countries. Hollywood is a White Industry, therefore they need White actors to play in their films and TV shows.
We import White International actors for the most part to play Americans.
I don't think you understand the racial/ethnic/cultural differences and barriers for Asians yet alone their media.
Plus we don't have nowhere near the need for Asian roles to be filled in Hollywood because we don't make much media that stars Asians.
Americans consuming Asian media wouldn't change that, because we'd remake it and adapt it to America and cast our predominately White actors working in our White industry to make it like we're already doing.
Chole Bennet/Wong talks about this issue in this very good interview
https://youtu.be/1RvNuvSD8A0
It's weird Hollywood can hire Asian directors but not Asian America actors in lead roles. It's sad that actors like Sam Worthington still get work in Hollywood
finowns
Member
What's wrong with Sam Worthington?
matt360
Member
I would argue that if Chinese, Korean, and Japanese (live action) TV shows were part of the popular consciousness in America, then that would raise the demand for more content starring Asian American stars. Yes, there would be crossover, with some foreign actors getting starring roles, but there would also be American born actors getting cast. No one complained that a "foreigner" was headlining House after all.
Maybe I'm off my rocker, but it seems like a good way to build demand.
Who knows, maybe we should all just start GAF OTs on the better shows and get to watching. The discussion might draw in others.
You might be right, but Japanese TV is garbage. There is absolutely nothing on Japanese TV that would appeal to mainstream international audiences. But I would love to see certain popular Japanese actors and actresses appear in mainstream Hollywood movies and on TV. I remember seeing Matsuda Seiko on an episode of Bones once and I thought that was really cool.
Although I'm not really a fan, I think Watanabe Naomi could probably make it big in Hollywood. She's already a hit in the gay bar scene in NYC.
hodayathink
Member
Sam Worthington is basically a stand-in for the idea that "average" White actor gets higher profile roles than exceptional minority actors.
lightskintwin
Banned
Sam Worthington and others like him are simply a result of Hollywood's huge demand for White male lead actors, because the majority of films and TV shows Hollywood makes are predominately White male narratives therefore there's going to be much more opportunities given to White male actors.
No different than Nat Wolf getting the lead for the upcoming Death Note or Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan being the lead actors in a show called Hawaii Five-0.
It's simply the way the industry works.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
I mean, I don't have a problem with the dude getting work, but he's a piece of wood. He's better off not being a leading man.
D
Deleted member 325805
Unconfirmed Member
She's one of the most beautiful women on TV, it's amazing even she has trouble landing roles.
I think a big thing is dude lacks a lot of charisma. He's basically the generic protagonist we saw a lot of last gen.
Dude is the most bland actor ever. He's like the default create-a-character in games.
The issue isn't more or less foreign content. No one says look at XXXX show championing diversity it has Canadian actor Mathew Perry playing an American. The core of this issue is cultural segregation within America and how it is often done along ethnic lines. At some point within the casting process people are segregated into xxxx-American subgroups rather then being treated equally as part of the same unified cultural group. (something that is applicable in many other countries.)
TV execs seeing those that can't pass as a Caucasian American stereotype as not being American is the issue. Which is funny because in practice audiences don't seem to care.
TV execs seeing those that can't pass as a Caucasian American stereotype as not being American is the issue. Which is funny because in practice audiences don't seem to care.
DiscoJer
Member
In Grace Park's case though, it's kind of interesting. She's appeared in reboots of two series. In the first one (Battlestar Galactica), she took the role originally played by a black man. In this case, she took the role originally played by a Hawaiian man (and is a Hawaiian character)
Valkerionseven
Member
Never watched this show... were they main characters/important ones? If so then yeah super messed up they were not getting equal pay.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
Technically main characters, hardly shown as such.
Chuckie
Member
Wtf. I never heard of that series, yet somehow has three of my TV crushes starring in it.
Class. Act.
Hari Seldon
Member
This must have been brewing for a while because at the end of last season they had Grace on a plane leaving Hawaii to hunt sex traffickers. I honestly thought they were going to do a spin off with her as the lead star.
Captain Skeleton
Member
I'm on board!
Hari Seldon
Member
The more I think about it they should be begging them to stay. This show is a money maker and with McGarret leaving they could keep the show going with DDK and Grace as the leads and with Caan still coming in for half the episodes as a support character. This show is my guilty pleasure and I don't want to see it go down lol.
TheCochese
Banned
Nah, give me my Magnum reboot instead.
who's the non-white equivalent of sam worthington
Cuba Gooding Jr.
IdreamofHIME
Member
I think a big thing is dude lacks a lot of charisma. He's basically the generic protagonist we saw a lot of last gen.
Hehe
Number 4 is Alex Mason....voiced by?
Mr Sam Worthington.
Chaos2Frozen
Member
....They don't actually look the same other than being white....
Jesus.
Asian-American representation is important because Asian-Americans are underrepresented in American media.
Asians, in Asian countries, have their own media. They don't need to look towards American media for representation of Asians.
There is a difference between Asians and Asian-Americans.
Asian-American representation is important because Asian-Americans are underrepresented in American media.
Asians, in Asian countries, have their own media. They don't need to look towards American media for representation of Asians.
There is a difference between Asians and Asian-Americans.
Exactly.
tearsintherain
Member
It gets a little tricky though depending on how you define Asian Americans. Do Indian Americans (Mindy Kaling, Aziz Ansari) get counted as Asian Americans or not? AA's make up 5.6% of US population but that includes EVERYONE - Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Indians, Pakistani, Japanese, etc.
By that number you'd expect 1 out of every 20 TV actors to be asian, and asians actually are OVER represented in some stats - 7.1% of main cast members of network TV are represented by AAs, led by shows like Fresh off the Boat, Mindy Project, Quantico, Dr. Ken, etc. Some will be offensive (Han on 2 Broke Girls) and some will be minor roles but they are there. The number is much smaller when you consider Hollywood movies or top 3 lead actors on a show.
If you think about solely individual groups, say Korean or Chinese, the numbers can get skewed worse off and probably with a lot of shows juggling cast around the past year I'm not sure how accurate the 7.1% is anymore (the stat is from 2015 network TV not including netflix/etc which have a number of diverse shows). I'd bet a show like Fresh Off the Boat which is almost all asian also skews the numbers off, there are definitely fewer shows that feature asian actors as the lead role and as we see with Hawaii 5-0 or Archi Punjab on The Good Wife it seems easier for them to get booted off for some reason, which really doesn't make any sense.
Take the Good Place too for example, amazing show and it features a very diverse cast but the two leads are Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, so how much is that weighed against having a supporting cast that is almost all people of color including a few asians?
Either way I still can't believe CBS isn't getting massive pushback for letting go their two best stars imo. It just is so weird that they'd rather keep Danny than Grace and DDK.
Why would my definition of Asian-Americans not include South Asians or Pacific Islanders?
Listen, what I was trying to say in a more polite way was:
Promoting the consumption of Asian media (k-dramas, Anime, whatever from Asia) isn't going to help a damn thing. Asian-Americans have their own story and own unique set of experiences. Suggesting that exposing America to Asia media to help things, isn't helping at all. It will only add to the perception of Asian-Americans as "the other." And I am not suggesting that every single damn Asian character on an American TV show has to have an Asian-American agenda. Sometimes, it's just nice to show that Asians can be everyday Americans. Wacky neighbor, jock bro, homecoming queen etc.
I recognize and appreciate that the suggestion and the heart behind it are coming from a good place. But no. Just no.
UnemployedVillain
Member
It's always incredible how little people understand whitewashing with respect to Asian Americans.
Bu-but Asians in Asia where their media representation is 99.9% don't have a problem with it!!! No shit, Sherlock
No way. Didn't he win an Oscar? Worthington will never have one of those. Cuba can act.
The career paths of actors like Daniel Wu and Maggie Q suggest that it might actually be easier for Asian Americans to try to build their career in HK or Asia and then come back as an established name and the their own show/film.
Been binging through the Amazon show Bosch lately and it was a bit disappointing that they got rid of Bosch's Asian partner David Chu from the books. And then you have characters like Reggie Wu who is married to the title character's ex-wife and is pretty cool, but then disappears after the first season for no reason.
Been binging through the Amazon show Bosch lately and it was a bit disappointing that they got rid of Bosch's Asian partner David Chu from the books. And then you have characters like Reggie Wu who is married to the title character's ex-wife and is pretty cool, but then disappears after the first season for no reason.
lightskintwin
Banned
I think the biggest thing people don't want accept is, as with those media industries in Asia being a specific ethnic Asian industry, is Hollywood is a White industry.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
That's some BS
Hope this show crash and burns now
Hope this show crash and burns now
This man a true professional. More than we can say for the CBS executives.
I am glad he kept it classy but at the same time didn't kiss ass.
That would be great
Razgriz-Specter
Member
GoutPatrol
Forgotten in his cell
If O'Loughlin leaves at the end of the season it probably would get canceled anyway.
lightskintwin
Banned
CBS responded to the controversy:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...nificant-salary-increases-asian-stars-1018909
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...nificant-salary-increases-asian-stars-1018909
LinkSlayer64
Member
My friend has tried to argue this is because they were in support roles. I have tried to argue that they had been elevated past that, but they say that this still comes down to a dispute over their relegated role.
I don't really know how to argue this, and neither of us have watched it, so I actually cannot support my claim.
Uh, any ideas, or insight that I may have missed in the thread?
I don't really know how to argue this, and neither of us have watched it, so I actually cannot support my claim.
Uh, any ideas, or insight that I may have missed in the thread?
They didn't really respond to the controversy because that would be implicitly addressing the race aspect of it.
HisImperialMajesty
Member
The 7.1% figure is honestly a little misleading. Yes, it seems like based on cast size, Asians are represented proportionally to it's population, even slightly overrepresented. However, the more important statistic is that only ONE % of the leading roles go to Asians. That's a tiny number! When you can count the number of Asian leading men/women on prime time TV shows with two hands, and then realize that half of those characters are heavily accented or stereotyped characters, then you know that there's a serious problem underrepresentation of Asian Americans on TV.
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