Uber Spies Don't Slant Their Eyes That Way!

I'm currently watching Night Stalker (yes, it's still not cancelled!) and it suddenly occurred to me that there've been many Asian actresses and references lately on night time TV. Tonight alone, we had Alias's Sydney talking mandarin (okay, it wasn't her, but she adlibbed pretty well, LOL) while dressed up as an East Indian (verrrrra preggers East Indian, dudes. An aside to those who watched: am I the only one who thought the last scene in which she played a tape recording of Vaughn talking against her baby tummy was mighty weird? I mean in real life, Michael Vartan (who played Vaughn) is her ex-lover and this baby is Ben Affleck's--the guy who replaced Vartan--but in the show, she's carrying Vaughn-Vartan's baby, which means her and Affleck's baby is doing an ALIAS as Vaughn-Vartan's kid. HAHAHAHAHAHA.)

Okay, back to the topic at hand. Anyway, right after Alias, here's another Asian guest-starring in Night Stalker. Other TV shows have their Asian co-stars too. There's the Korean couple in Lost. There's the Sandra Oh character in Grey's Anatomy. Does anyone still watch ER? Is the Chinese doctor still there?

I heartily approve, especially when the portrayals aren't the usual Asian stereotype. The cultural references are still there, but the actors and actresses are given a chance to actually go deeper.

I'm also happy to see that romances are bringing in more Asian protagonists too. Jade Lee's Tigress series is an example. I think buying editors are interested because the marketing department is telling them something ;-). I don't know how many Asian readers at signings have told me how happy they were to find a fellow Asian writing about an Asian heroine/hero. And in a way that they approved ;-).

Certainly, Asian characters have come a long way since the Chinese mistress in Tai Pan. I remember reading it and going...wow, we need to update this stereotype! It's tough, though, because when you're writing about a culture, you have to include certain stereotypes.

When I was watching the movie The Good Earth, based on Pearl S. Buck's novel of the same name, they had a whole cast of Caucasians with very THICK make-up acting as Chinese villagers. The result was sort of hilarious to an Asian chick watching it for the first time in Malaysia. But one character stood out and I remember him so well. He played the very greedy and very conniving rich guy who kept saying a line like: "I predicted this! I predicted it all along!" It didn't matter whether things were happening for the good or bad, but he always "predicted it." And although I can't remember the whole plot of that movie and book, I always remembered this character, played so outrageously well by the actor. Why? Because there were many Asians I'd known who bahaved exactly like that.

Today, I don't think a movie like The Good Earth could be made in quite the same way without MANY protests from the Asian community. ;-) Can you even imagine The Last Emperor with a cast of thousands and the main characters all Caucasians in heavy slant-eyed makeup?! LOL. Maybe in a Saturday Night Live skit, like the memorable John Belushi Samurai.

The point I'm trying to make is that it's good to see Asian writers/actors given the chance to write and act out their culture. Too many times we've seen episodes and books written by non-Asians and although they might be great works, they were rarely anything beyond a part of the story. There always seemed to be a lack of Asian-ness, if I can say this without making everyone start calling me names.

What I mean is...the character is named...oh...Li Ling or something Asian, and that's it. She looks Asian, she's given a set of Asian parents, but rarely do you see anything else...no cultural references that she's really Asian. The talk, the thought process, the jokes, emotions, everything--there's no reference of Asian-ness at all. It's like writing about a Jewish family and taking out references of their Jewish-ness. Am I making sense? Every time I read a book like that I start to question why even bother making her/him Asian then?

So here's another smoooooth segue ;-). I like to leave this little nugget of news till the end so you have to slog through all the boring stuff first before you get to the goodies, LOL. I was invited to submit an idea for an anthology. So, in the works is a proposal in which there will be three novellas with three Asian heroines. And each one will bring her Asian heritage onto the table as she kicks some ass and makes some love. I'm bringing in a myth about an ancient Chinese sabre with Chinese immortals familiar to Asian readers. I'm layering it with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon stuff. Throw in some spies and operatives from different periods. And yet, they will also be contemporary romances. I'm crossing my fingers that this proposal will be bought. Wish me luck!

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