Asian Americans and the Media
Media and Minorities
Media and Minorities
Asian Americans and the Media provides a concise,
thoughtful, critical and cultural studies analysis of U.S. media
representations of Asian Americans. The book also explores ways
Asian Americans have resisted, responded to, and conceptualized the
terrain of challenge and resistance to those representations, often
through their own media productions.
In this engaging and accessible book, Ono and Pham summarize key
scholarship on Asian American media, as well as lay theoretical
groundwork to help students, scholars and other interested readers
understand historical and contemporary media representations of
Asian Americans in traditional media, including print, film, music,
radio, and television, as well as in newer media, primarily
internet-situated. Since Asian Americans had little control over
their representation in early U.S. media, historically dominant
white society largely constructed Asian American media
representations. In this context, the book draws attention to
recurring patterns in media representation, as well as responses by
Asian America. Today, Asian Americans are creating complex,
sophisticated, and imaginative self-portraits within U.S. media,
often equipped with powerful information and education about Asian
Americans. Throughout, the book suggests media representations are
best understood within historical, cultural, political, and social
contexts, and envisions an even more active role in media for Asian
Americans in the future.
Asian Americans and the Media will be an ideal text for
all students taking courses on Asian American Studies, Minorities
and the Media and Race and Ethic Studies.
Section 1: Historical and Mainstream Media Representations.
2. The Persistence of Yellow Peril Discourse.
3. Media Yellowface "Logics".
4. Problematic Representations of Asian American Gender and
Sexuality.
5. Threatening Model Minorities: The Asian American Horatio
Alger Story.
Section 2: Striving for Media Independence.
6. Asian American Public Criticisms and Community Protests.
7. Asian American Media Independence.
8. The Interface of Asian American Independent Media and the
Mainstream.
9. Asian American New Media Practices.
10. Mobilizing Organizations.
11. Conclusion: Many Languages, One Voice.
Glossary.
References
share an author's ideas. This excellent book succeeds on both
counts."
Journalism Studies
"An excellent introduction to many critical issues in Asian
American film and media studies. However, its ease of understanding
is deceptive since the book is extensively researched and
rigorously explores the topics it discusses ... [a] significant
addition to the scholarship on Asian American media arts."
Afterimage
"In lively, engaging prose, Ono and Pham deftly survey
scholarship on the mass media (film, television, radio, and the
Internet) and outline the history of media stereotyping.
Well-chosen examples illuminate the give and take between
mainstream media, consumers, activists, and independent artists
engaged in defining and redefining the popular image of Asian
Americans. If you are interested in learning more about the ways we
talk about race, start with this volume."
Peter X. Feng, University of Delaware
"Ono and Pham present a fascinating read on the
representational politics of Asian Americans. Using history as a
guide to read these images, Ono and Pham underscore the necessity
of understanding the cultural politics and social construction of
the category 'Asian American' itself. By exploring
contemporary images, they offer insightful readings and
constructive directions for future work in media and communication
studies. This is a very important work at the contemporary moment
that does not ignore the past."
Thomas K. Nakayama, Northeastern University
"Asian Americans and the Media offers us the much
needed critical tools, terminology, and historical framework for
reading, deconstructing, and intervening in the politics of
ambivalent representation of Asian Americans across a wide range of
old and new media, from silent films to YouTube."
Elena Tajima Creef, Wellesley College
American Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Vincent N. Pham is a Doctoral Student at the University
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.