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Stereotypes In The Film Breakfast At Tiffany's

750 Words3 Pages

According to the U.S. Census, 5.6% of the United States’ population is Asian. There are millions of Asian Americans who reside here, they exist. So why does Hollywood and other forms of media pretend like they do not? Unfortunately, when Hollywood does acknowledge their existence, Asian Americans are limited to typecasted roles such as a nerd, a taxi driver, or a kung fu master. Not only are these roles offensive, they also inaccurately represent an entire ethnic group. Asian culture is extremely beautiful and diverse; it deserves to be portrayed as such. Hollywood’s constant use of typecasting in it’s films contributes and reinforces stereotypes and racial biases towards the Asian American community.

Historically, Hollywood does not have a very good track record of being kind to actors of color. The use of black and yellow face was quite popular in the early 20th century to portray people of color as unflattering. An example of this would be Mickey Rooney’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a stereotyped Asian man. Equipped with a thick accent and squinty eyes, his character serves no purpose to the plot of the movie besides acting as a …show more content…

They are either viewed as non-existent, a scrawny male nerd, or an erotic and submissive female. Hollywood will rarely casts Asians in leading roles, and from time to time, roles that were made for Asians and other people of color often goes to white actors. It’s important to notice this since a lack of representation for people of color is harmful. According to a study done by Communication Research, the lack of representation has been linked to low self-esteem in children of color. Our consumption of these characters on screen sorts of shapes the way we view ourselves. A lack of realistic portrayal of Asian American men and women therefore affects the way young Asian boys and girls will see themselves, and how we as a society will see

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