With the recent popularity of #StarringJohnCho, discuss the history of Asians in Western Television and Film and the possible reasons why there is so little Asian representation today. Why are there so few leading Asians in film, and why does Hollywood tend to stick Asians into stereotypical supporting roles?
Hollywood's formula at its most reductive is a film which attracts the largest consumer or the most specific one (camera angles, landscapes, fandom etc.). This isn't to say Asian America doesn't consume film. Rather, it means there is a presumed range of audience-consumers who watch films for pleasure and, as a result, won't care whether the portrayal of the Hero who exercises restraint and is later rewarded is White or Asian. But there lies the paradox: films which are enjoyable because characters express a philosophy or individuality audiences can live through vicariously means that there is an emotion or performed emotion which is accepted as universal. Justice looks like this, honour like that. However, this axiom (self-evident truth not up for discussion) has been established alongside, in response to, or disavowing a history which is, fundamentally, racist. The term carries hostile connotations, yeah, but it also speaks to a legacy of bad blood recognized and enforced by the law to keep the peace. Asians in supporting roles confirms what is imagined as quintessentially Asian. This specificity is something the cast, rather than the lead, should accomplish because authority, which the cast defers to the lead, is assumed to lack or exist in spite of such associations. Thus, the lack of Asian leads is because there is the implicit understanding that Whiteness is unquestionably located in a philosophy that aspires to transcend or progress past racialized and ethnic histories and identities. Bring an Asian into the picture to represent a role considered unhindered by this baggage and the narrative is disrupted. Most times, it is then critiqued for attempting to insert politics into a space reserved for enjoyment—and unquestioned for its White legacy. – JMIWrites9 years ago
Great topic -- has anyone done this already? Asians are a massively underecognized ethnicity in film. As an asian american myself I am always on the lookout for asians in hollywood. – sophiacatherine8 years ago
What do onscreen adaptations of abusive relationships tell us? Why do ex's get back together? When does someone know if they are in an abusive relationship? Does having too much in common turn a relationship venomous? Is there anything redeemable about Harley Quinn and the Joker as a couple? "The New Batman Adventures" episode, "Mad Love" gives the viewer an inside look of how the Joker seduced Harley Quinn and how abusive their relation is. It is obvious through the trailer of "Suicide Squad" that that relationship will be established and built upon. Maybe it is time for someone to try to make sense of their relationship and address the suggested questions? You up for the task, puddin?
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You can focus on the hype around Civil War – Spoilers included for anyone who has not saw the film yet (I have). So Easter eggs, Spider-Man, and Black Panther!!!! Focus on how Civil War led up to the hype, or it didn't. Were all the good parts of the film in the trailers? All the really good fight scenes as well, considering most of them were in the trailers for the most part. The awesome Spider-Man scene with his Aunt and Tony – How Tom is going to change the MCU (if at all).
1. Focus on the hype of Civil War, did it lead up to the hype and expectations? 2. Did the trailers prove to tell too much? 3. Will this lead into another Spider-Man film that will be different? Did this show something different about the Spider-Man character? 4. The prequel to Black Panther and how he will evolve in the MCU 5. Easter eggs that will lead to other films, or even hints to what will happen in the future of MCU as well
Loved Civil War and thought it was great. I hope someone writes on this topic soon a I would love to read more about it. – Munjeera9 years ago
I would love to read a critical analysis of the MCU as a whole and it's effects on how individual superhero movies are made. – ColinCobb9 years ago
You could expand on this idea by analyzing how Marvel has kept the anticipation going from the post credit scene in Iron-Man and how the promotion for each subsequent movie affects audience expectations. – Rico9 years ago
If I remember my Marvel comic book timeline, Spidey was always crossing over into the avengers comics. They asked Spider-Man to join the Avengers a few times but Spidey turned them down, so I think he was made an honorary avenger. – jamiepashagumskum9 years ago
It would be cool if there was a discussion the future of the characters in the MCU after the consequences of Civil War, particularly the #TeamCap characters, and also specifically the implications for the upcoming Infinity Wars movies. – andreacr9 years ago
Movies are an escape from reality or sometimes an unfriendly (but sometimes friendly) reminder of it. They are so good at this because unlike books, unlike songs, unlike paintings, they are about as close as we can get (ignore virtual reality for now) to recreating the experience of life as we know it. There is movement, depth, sound, setting; to be frank, movies just look a lot like life. But with the freedom that comes with the film form to create anything you can imagine, comes the freedom to make films that are horrendous, poorly constructed, overly acted, inauthentic, terrifying, incoherent, you name it. Now, we all know that movies can be good to some and bad to others. Some people like horrors, some people can't stand them. Some people love sci-fi, some people find them intolerable. But some movies are just bad! When we watch them we want to, or even have to vomit. We have to leave the theater. We have to rave about in on social media. Some films we have to hate until the day we die because they leave such a bad taste in your mouth you can simply never forget it. Some films promote hatred, propaganda, or worst of all a sappy love story that will never happen. But I wonder, is there actually something that should be deemed as unacceptable, or are we, as Sartre puts it regarding life, condemned to be free… to experience any film that gets recorded, distributed, and passed through our corneas?
Should also take into consideration video games, which are actually interactive and are probably even closer to the experience of real life than films if you played it just once through. Otherwise, a great article as long as you use plenty of evidence to back up what happens when people watch a movie they think is bad (not just what you think is bad, of course, because otherwise, it would just be an article completely overlooking the subjectivity of good and bad movies). – stephkang9 years ago
Watching an Ed Wood movie might be good for self-esteem: "I could do better than that." – Tigey9 years ago
Wow, you really hit on numerous, applicable subjects with this suggested topic. I especially love your last line..that implicitly--well, at least in my eyes (sorry, pun intended)--echoes the idea of the visual images captured and then sent to the brain's occipital lobe for dissemination and understanding. I do love a "feel good" movie, even if some may thing in borders on cheesy. For example, I recently watched the movie "Brooklyn," (2015), and I adored it. I haven't watched a movie in ages that left me feeling light hearted and optimistic. But, to each, his own. Nice topic; I'm interested to see the direction one would go in writing this. – danielle5779 years ago
So let's face it, "nerd" culture has become pop culture. Superhero movies are the biggest movies every year, The Big Bang Theory is one of the most popular shows on television right now, and virtually everyone plays some sort of videos games. With that being said I would love to see an article discussing how the stigma of social outcast has, or hasn't, changed with the popularization of Nerd Culture.
Great topic. You could start with Revenge of the Nerds movie that accurately portrayed how nerds ultimately ruled. Certainly true in this day and age where they are the dot.com millionaires, billionaires even trillionaires. Because of them it's cool to be a geek now. Good for them. – Munjeera9 years ago
I think that this is going to be a great article! – KMetres9 years ago
Absolutely man! That's an article I'd love to read. It'd be interesting to examine how the high school-esque social pyramid looks like now. If the nerds are no longer at the bottom, who is? – EarlGreyTRex9 years ago
This would be quite interesting! I think the stigma exists with certain activities; such as reading comic books or playing table top RPG's. To an extent MMO's still have that huge geek stigma. Perhaps its how much time you dedicate to an activity dictates how much stigma you get. ie. how society treats someone who likes watching Marvel movies versus people who cosplay as their favourite character. – AmyChristine9 years ago
We rely on computers for our own wealth and those that control them have power. The nerd as a negative stereotype is an extension of our frustration with our lack of control. It would be interesting to read about the relationship we have with technology and the social acceptance of the nerd. – Aaron9 years ago
Munjeera got it: the portal to another reality can be opened by the nerd next to you, so be nice, Mr. Quarterback, no more swirlies. – Tigey8 years ago
Is Kink or BDSM becoming more popular in television and film? Considering popular films such as Fifty Shades of Grey, and The Secretary among only a few, what kinds of kink is deemed acceptable in our broader cultural conscience? What does kink within these formats teach us about consent, sexuality and more?
It's important to distinguish between actual BDSM culture (consent, safety, sanity) and what is portrayed as BDSM in media (Fifty Shades of Grey was labeled BDSM and Kink but actually detailed an abusive relationship) when exploring this topic. – Amanda9 years ago
Nowadays, the Hollywood system seems to be overshadowing the power of an auteur; everything is about the money. However, the indie film industry has been creating a new generation of auteurs that are making potential classics. There are hidden gems behind the Hollywood blockbusters that will someday become classics. The visibility of these types of movies has increased due to the growth of people's interest in film festivals and the film world. Movies like "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" by Schnabel, and "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind" by Gondry are the perfect examples of the pictures that are defining this generation. I want you to explore what makes a movie a "classic" and to find if there is a common thread among these movies.
If you are going to discuss what XXI century films will become classics, certain terms will need to be defined. What do you mean by classic? Is it a film that audiences watch as serious cinephiles? Is it a film that has garnered a cult following? Which directors are auteurs and how is that term now defined? – ptoro9 years ago
Discuss how Hollywood films employ propagandistic tactics in order to overtly or covertly influence their audience. Although this is especially prevalent in 'war dramas' such as American Sniper, propaganda does operate in many films on many levels, unbeknownst to most of us viewers. Who is designing and delivering these messages, and for what purpose? (This could be tackled from several different angles – specific areas of focus or suggestions for narrowing things down would be greatly appreciated!)
Yes! I just watched Civil War and it could be interesting to see how this subject would play out. The movie offers a "liberalish" view on terrorism, so would that be called propaganda? Spoiler Alert: The main guy becomes a terrorist/villain because the Avengers accidentally killed his son, so he decided to take revenge. It is very similar to the liberal argument that American foreign policy has created more terrorists, i.e. drones. By the way, I don't necessarily have a side here, but I think it is fair to say that this is a liberal argument, whether it is correct or not. Also, I would go back to Orwell's All Art is Propaganda. You cannot go wrong with Orwell. – ismael6769 years ago
It would be good to analyze how ideology works on a subconscious level in the minds of the filmmakers, because I do not believe that some of the propaganda traits in movies are made on purpose. – Andrestrada9 years ago
What we label 'propaganda' might actually cover a much wider field of investigation than the initial topic suggests. Is the issue of product placement not a form (a fairly blatant one) of propaganda? It would appear to be a direct effort to influence viewers and a have an effect on their behaviour. – ptoro9 years ago
This analysis could benefit greatly from some historical backgrounding and contextualisation. Look back at the films created by Joseph Goebbels in Nazi Germany, and compare them to government-financed films of the same era from the US, Britain, and Canada (much has been written about the life and works of John Grierson, the founding commissioner of the National Film Board of Canada). Granted, any didactic piece of art can be viewed as "propaganda" - just pick any film, and take a close look at where its funding came from and the political views of the filmmaker - but it has become somewhat of a loaded term in recent years, chiefly due to media sensationalism and post-Foucauldian developments in the field of critical thinking. It would be a real shame for whoever writes this article to miss out on the obvious because he/she is too busy chasing the more benign phantoms lurking in contemporary media. – ProtoCanon9 years ago
For a historical perspective, watching "The Triumph of the Will" is a great example of propaganda disguised as documentary. Leni Reifenstahl claimed she was just documenting the Nazi rally, while there is sufficient evidence that she manipulated the filming to put Hitler and the Nazi Party in the best possible light. – Tarben9 years ago
Tarben, she may have done that to avoid the camps. The same seems true of Max Schmeling who mugged for photos with the feuhrer while privately disagreeing with his views. – Tigey8 years ago
