Three years ago, when Bollywood seemed poised to take America by storm, I published an op-ed that warned South Asians that increased media attention isn’t the same as improved representation (“Come on Down [Expect Stereotypes as South Asians Make U.S. Film, TV Debuts]” Oakland Tribune, KALW radio). I used examples of East Asians in mass media to show how little progress towards accurate representation has been achieved. Little has changed since then.
Though working towards institutional social change will always be more pressing than issues of representation, I always register APAs in the media on my mental sonar. The Korean actor on Heroes? Blip. Kal Penn in a leading role? Blip! Kenneth Eng? Ugh—blip!
Recently, a blip popped up–it may not be significant, but it was new, and it made me laugh. In a comedic situation typical of white “politically correct” middle classes, the narrator of Scrubs, played by Zach Braff (himself hamming up the neurotic white man who warrants the cool-begetting approval of an African American buddy) is mistaken for a racist after offering the word “chink” as a crossword puzzle solution.
In a subsequent scene, Asian doctors and Filipina nurses give the increasingly uncomfortable protagonist the stink eye. They’re pissed, and the APA stink eyes keep coming for several hilarious seconds. Too mortified by his breach of “political correctness” to attempt a clarification, Braff’s character feigns ignorance of the hostility, until a linebacker sized Pacific Islander violently jostles him with an contemptuous screw face.
The representation is not unproblematic (Non-speaking roles? C’mon!). Still, in a refreshing contrast to the stereotypes of demure APA women and emasculated APA men, Scrubs’ Angry Asians showed some serious indignation, even if it was based on a comedic premise. Better yet, the Angry Asians–of the various ethnicities and professions you would find in a real hospital–expressed solidarity. BLIP!
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On a somewhat related note, Colma: The Musical is playing at the Embarcadero Center Cinema in San Francisco this week. I’m proud to big-up my hometown hero, H.P. Mendoza, who wrote the screenplay, music and lyrics and stars in the film. It’s directed by Richard Wong. The movie’s been written up in many local rags, but I really liked Glen Helfand’s review in the San Francisco Bay Guardian.
R+D 
A contextualizing addendum: I’ve been working towards Galleon Trade–the international grassroots exchange with the Philippines–by making art and thinking about routes of exchange, trade, migration, labor, and what it means to be a Chinese American exhibiting art in Manila. I’ve also been helping out with the upcoming Ship Launch event by contacting the press. This has brought up a lot of representation issues. What media outlets do I target? Who might be sympathetic to our message? How do we convey the diversity of the participants without overshadowing the artistic integrity? Maybe my infatuation with the Angry Asians of Scrubs is a reaction to my sense of powerlessness in getting media attention, or controlling how, and under what conditions, my representation appears.