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Asian-American Identity in US TelevisionWhat is the attitude of Asian Americans toward their representation in Fresh Off the Boat and the motive of ABC in airing such a show?

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BackgroundInitial research and data

+Diversity Representation in Television

United States television is predominately White

Some shows exist where the experiences of persons of European descent is neither central nor dominant Black families sometimes take focus

Examples include The Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Diverse TV shows may be those that, while not feature non-Whites as leads, have diversity within them

Asian Americans are rarely the focus

+"Black" TV Shows

Shows where African Americans are at the forefront are few in comparison to those focusing on White Americans

IMDB lists 115 "Best Black Comedy Shows of All Time," the earliest of which dates as early as 1950 Comparatively, White comedies begin as early as the 1930's.

A black sitcom is a sitcom that has a primarily or entirely black cast, or an African American individual in the lead role. Historically larger and more numerous than Latino or Asian sitcoms

Black households are approximately 20% of TV viewers.

Black sitcoms tend to have limited success with white Americans Notable exception: The Bill Cosby Show Tyler Perry's House of Payne has had great success ABC is hoping to follow this trend with their 2014 sitcom Black-ish.

+"Diverse" TV Shows

May be any show that has a reasonable number of characters not of European descent or one main character not of European descent Examples: Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Neither focus on a single non-White family Both have several non-White cast members

Increases suggest that television has reached an era of multiculturalism

Diverse movies and shows earn more money and higher ratings

If these shows fail, it could hurt attempts to further diversity

More progress is to be made in the representations of gender, sexuality, and disabilities

Though TV shows may now look more diverse, their writers remain predominately white.

+"Asian" TV Shows

Acting roles for Asian Americans have traditionally been scarce Bruce Lee appeared in childhood roles in the 1940’s Star Trek and Happy Days had Asians in supporting roles 1976 sitcom Mr. T and Tina focused on a person of Asian descent

Asian-American TV shows have been squashed throughout U.S. history TV series All American Girl, led by actress Margaret Cho was cancelled

after only one season ABC's Kung Fu had a 3-year run Gung Ho lasted only 9 episodes Others had same fate, lasting two seasons at best, if they even aired

ABC's airing of Fresh Off the Boat is being praised Allowing Asians to be both Asian and American A breakthrough show for Asian Americans, allowing them to gain visibility

as leads and not archetypes or secondary and tertiary characters Focuses on an entire Asian American family

+A Brief Literature Review, Condensed Asians are being portrayed more often in US television, with the

following explanations being given: Asian American consumption habits are significant, as they have money and

influence and can boost viewership Diversity sells A mission to reflect US demographics

The reaction to Asian American representation in Fresh Off the Boat varies A starting point but not all-inclusive representation of being Asian in the US Mixed reactions, from racist to relatable Stereotype trap May end as similar others have

My contribution: Statistics to understand the diversity aspect of US demographics Interviews with Asian Americans to determine their attitude on their

representation in the show and their thoughts on ABC’s motive

+Demographic Data

Some demographic data reveals that the Asian and Pacific Islander numbers have consistently grown since 1950 (.20% of the entire U.S. population). In 2000, Asian Americans represented 3.8% of the U.S. population; in 2010, that number was 4.9%.

+Ethnic Representation on TV

A survey of ethnic representation on CNN, FNC, and MSNBC show that Whites are over-represented and other races are under-represented.

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The ProjectQuestion generation and original contribution

+Original Project Idea

Initial Thoughts Began my project search with a focus on my own identity Wanted to know what scholarly though indicated Desired to search instances of social media to see how often a “token”

person is referred to by their race (to see if certain races are more often acknowledged as token)

Planned to take a survey of or interview individuals to see what circumstances would warrant the term “token” being applied to an individual and whether or not they believes white people could be tokens

Post-Research Thoughts There were instances someone being called a “token White person” More references regarded other races Debate exists as to whether a white person can truly be a token when the

surrounding society is predominately white, even if an individual group within a society is more diverse

Is it possible to be a “token white girl” in a setting or place of identity where white people are the majority?

+Original Infographic

+Second Project Idea

Initial Thoughts Refocused my project to explore non-White identity in television Wanted to interview friends of non-European descent to get personal opinions Desired to get perspectives on why programming is becoming more diverse Began literature survey literature on how television programming has changed

Post-Research Thoughts Various opinions exist regarding ABC’s motive

Profit Getting ahead of potential backlash for not being diverse Reacting to a shift in consumer behavior to appeal to a broader audience

Some argued that ABC should fear losing its primarily white consumers Minority community opinions

Some thought the shows were not significant enough Several thought ABC's motive was profit and the network was exploitative

New goal to focus on a historical comparison of the TV industry to determine why this programming is possible and what the motives might have been

What has happened to make it possible for mainstream television producers to create programs in which the experience of persons of European descent is neither central nor dominant? 

+Second and Final Project Infographic

+Second and Final Project Infographic, Continued

+Second and Final Project Infographic, Continued

+Final Project Idea

Initial Thoughts Revised again to narrow my topic and make an original contribution

Post-Research Thoughts Wanted to provide a real contribution Decided on the use of interviews Goal: to interview Asian Americans about Fresh off the Boat to

understand how they felt about the show's representation of Asian Americans, as well as why they thought ABC was airing the show

What is the attitude of Asian Americans toward their representation in Fresh off the Boat and the motive of ABC in airing such a show?

+Interview Questions

What is your ethnicity?

Do you watch Fresh off the Boat? If not, are you familiar with it?

If you do watch, why do you watch the show?

Do you agree, support, or relate to representation of Asian Americans in the show?

Are you aware of any other shows in the past 20 years that focus(ed) on the experiences of Asian Americans?

Why do you think ABC is airing a show like Fresh off the Boat?

If you're aware of or watch Black-ish, Cristela, or other similar diverse TV shows, do you think the reasons they are being aired is similar to or different than ABC's reasons for airing Fresh off the Boat? Howso?

+Interview Process

Remained within college community

Found individuals of both American-born Chinese and Korean American identities

Approached them under the impression that their identities, with the exception of their ethnic affiliation, would remain confidential

Asked them questions on the previous slide

Separated the interviews by identity (American-born Chinese and Korean American) to summarize and draw conclusions

+Interview Summary

Total interviewees: 10 American-born Chinese: 6 Korean American: 4

Viewership: 4 do not watch, 4 watch occasionally, and 2 have seen every episode American-born Chinese: 2 do not watch, 3 watch occasionally, and 1 has

seen every episode Korean American: 2 do not watch, 1 watches occasionally, and 1 has seen

every episode

Awareness of other Asian American shows in the past 20 years: 9 were not 1 was aware of All-American Girl (cancelled after only one season)

Statistics

+Interview Summary

Reasons for watching: Hype within the Chinese American community: 1 Friends watch it: 1 Liked the casting: 2 Find it funny: 2 Related to or felt resonance with it: 3 (all Chinese)

Feelings toward representation: Fairly represented and felt relation to characters: 4 Chinese-born Americans Have not watched, but mothers indicated accuracy of representation: 2

Chinese-born Americans No real opinion: 1 Korean American Felt it was a starting point: 1 Korean American Skeptical it could be all-inclusive (due to differences between ABC’s and KA’s)

but agreed it was more representative than “White” shows: 2 Korean Americans Korean Americans were less excited and saw less accurate representation Chinese Americans related, saw similarities to their own families, and connected

with the experiences more than other shows in terms of identity

Qualitative Responses

+Interview Summary

Opinions on ABC’s motive in airing Fresh Off the Boat: Profit (and ratings): 4 Diversity (and Asian Americans rising in population): 7 Only 1 mentioned that ABC may be attempting to cover up their lack of

diversity in past programming

Opinions on ABC’s motive in airing Black-ish and Cristela: Money and rating: 3 Diversity: 8 Depended on the show: 2

For Black-ish: a change in American sentiment and an attempt to move past racism

For Cristela: the increasing Latino population in the US

Qualitative Responses, Continued

+Interview Conclusions

All Chinese Americans expressed relation in some way and found the representation to be accurate or closer than any other show.

The Korean Americans saw it as a starting point and pointed out that the show cannot be entirely representative of all Asian Americans. 

7 responses focused on diversity and the increasing Asian American population

4 mentioned profit and ratings

1 brought up the idea that ABC could be trying to cover up its less-than-diverse past.

Thus, there was general goodwill for ABC’s attempt.

Representation Motive

What is the attitude of Asian Americans toward their representation in Fresh off the Boat and the motive of ABC in airing such a show?

+Conclusion

Overall, Chinese Americans are more positive of the representation of Asian Americans in Fresh Off the Boat than Korean Americans, but both groups were positive and hopeful.

Both groups thought ABC’s motive was largely to increase diversity, though the notion of profit was not altogether foregone.

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The End