ASIAN REPRESENTATION FTW!

How are you? How was your week? Better than mine, I hope.

Can you believe it's already March? A year since the pandemic started...but let's not negate the past year just because of the pandemic. A number of great things has happened. One being that we see more awareness raised about racism, discrimination, segregation, representation, etc.

Personally, I was extremely concerned about how Asians were perceived due to the origin of the COVID-19. Many called it the "Chinese virus" which is in no way accurate, but yet, the label stuck around. Chinese restaurants were boycotted because apparently the virus selectively chooses to hang around those places. As a scientist, I can tell you that's NOT how it works. Anyways, not here to argue about the virus and the misunderstandings that continue to linger.

One of the great things that occurred during this past year was an increase in ASIAN REPRESENTATION in the showbiz (WOOT WOOT). For some odd reason, my social media feed highlighted The Bling Empire, which if you don't already know, it is a reality show about rich Asians and Asian-Americans. The show is take on the movie, Crazy Rich Asians. While it was exciting to see more Asians represented on television, I didn't necessarily feel proud of the production because the people highlighted seemed shallow and obsessed with their own "first-world problems". This made me think about the perceptions I want media to encourage. Yes, I'm glad we're moving past the idea that Asians are nerdy, unentertaining, and overly-intelligent (because we are not all like that). However, I want media to influence society so we are perceived accurately. Most of us do not live like the people featured in the show!

If we want to change stereotypes and perceptions, why don't we change for something that is true? There is so much about Asian cultures that the world needs to know about!

Maybe I'm being too picky or I'm not open-minded. What do you think?

In this week's episode, Steph and I discussed about iconic shows that represent us, hers being Jersey Shore, for example. I encourage you to listen and think about how you want to be represented, and not misrepresented.

As always, stay cheeky,

Janelle

Check out the episode mentioned in this post on your source of podcasts (ie. Spotify or Apple Podcasts) or the "Listen" page!