This powerpoint is a presentation version of a website designed to explore Asian-American identity in US TV.

1. +
Asian-American Identity in
US Television
What is the attitude of Asian Americans toward
their representation in Fresh Off the Boat and the
motive of ABC in airing such a show?

2. +
Background
Initial research and data

3. +
Diversity Representation in
Television
 United States television is predominately White
 Some shows exist where the experiences of persons of
European descent is neither central nor dominant
 Black families sometimes take focus
 Examples include The Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel-
Air
 Diverse TV shows may be those that, while not feature non-Whites
as leads, have diversity within them
 Asian Americans are rarely the focus

4. +
"Black" TV Shows
 Shows where African Americans are at the forefront are few in comparison
to those focusing on White Americans
 IMDB lists 115 "Best Black Comedy Shows of All Time," the earliest of
which dates as early as 1950
 Comparatively, White comedies begin as early as the 1930's.
 A black sitcom is a sitcom that has a primarily or entirely black cast, or an
African American individual in the lead role.
 Historically larger and more numerous than Latino or Asian sitcoms
 Black households are approximately 20% of TV viewers.
 Black sitcoms tend to have limited success with white Americans
 Notable exception: The Bill Cosby Show
 Tyler Perry's House of Payne has had great success
 ABC is hoping to follow this trend with their 2014 sitcom Black-ish.

5. +
"Diverse" TV Shows
 May be any show that has a reasonable number of characters not of
European descent or one main character not of European descent
 Examples: Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine
 Neither focus on a single non-White family
 Both have several non-White cast members
 Increases suggest that television has reached an era of multiculturalism
 Diverse movies and shows earn more money and higher ratings
 If these shows fail, it could hurt attempts to further diversity
 More progress is to be made in the representations of gender, sexuality,
and disabilities
 Though TV shows may now look more diverse, their writers remain
predominately white.

6. +
"Asian" TV Shows
 Acting roles for Asian Americans have traditionally been scarce
 Bruce Lee appeared in childhood roles in the 1940’s
 Star Trek and Happy Days had Asians in supporting roles
 1976 sitcom Mr. T and Tina focused on a person of Asian descent
 Asian-American TV shows have been squashed throughout U.S. history
 TV series All American Girl, led by actress Margaret Cho was cancelled after only
one season
 ABC's Kung Fu had a 3-year run
 Gung Ho lasted only 9 episodes
 Others had same fate, lasting two seasons at best, if they even aired
 ABC's airing of Fresh Off the Boat is being praised
 Allowing Asians to be both Asian and American
 A breakthrough show for Asian Americans, allowing them to gain visibility as leads
and not archetypes or secondary and tertiary characters
 Focuses on an entire Asian American family

7. +
A Brief Literature Review,
Condensed
 Asians are being portrayed more often in US television, with the following
explanations being given:
 Asian American consumption habits are significant, as they have money and
influence and can boost viewership
 Diversity sells
 A mission to reflect US demographics
 The reaction to Asian American representation in Fresh Off the Boat varies
 A starting point but not all-inclusive representation of being Asian in the US
 Mixed reactions, from racist to relatable
 Stereotype trap
 May end as similar others have
 My contribution:
 Statistics to understand the diversity aspect of US demographics
 Interviews with Asian Americans to determine their attitude on their representation
in the show and their thoughts on ABC’s motive

8. +
Demographic Data
 Some demographic data reveals that the Asian and Pacific Islander numbers have
consistently grown since 1950 (.20% of the entire U.S. population). In 2000, Asian
Americans represented 3.8% of the U.S. population; in 2010, that number was 4.9%.

9. +
Ethnic Representation on TV
 A survey of ethnic
representation on
CNN, FNC, and
MSNBC show
that Whites are
over-represented
and other races
are under-
represented.

10. +
The Project
Question generation and original contribution

11. +
Original Project Idea
 Initial Thoughts
 Began my project search with a focus on my own identity
 Wanted to know what scholarly though indicated
 Desired to search instances of social media to see how often a “token” person is
referred to by their race (to see if certain races are more often acknowledged as
token)
 Planned to take a survey of or interview individuals to see what circumstances
would warrant the term “token” being applied to an individual and whether or not
they believes white people could be tokens
 Post-Research Thoughts
 There were instances someone being called a “token White person”
 More references regarded other races
 Debate exists as to whether a white person can truly be a token when the
surrounding society is predominately white, even if an individual group within a
society is more diverse
Is it possible to be a “token white girl” in a setting or place of identity where
white people are the majority?

12. +
Original Infographic

13. +
Second Project Idea
 Initial Thoughts
 Refocused my project to explore non-White identity in television
 Wanted to interview friends of non-European descent to get personal opinions
 Desired to get perspectives on why programming is becoming more diverse
 Began literature survey literature on how television programming has changed
 Post-Research Thoughts
 Various opinions exist regarding ABC’s motive
 Profit
 Getting ahead of potential backlash for not being diverse
 Reacting to a shift in consumer behavior to appeal to a broader audience
 Some argued that ABC should fear losing its primarily white consumers
 Minority community opinions
 Some thought the shows were not significant enough
 Several thought ABC's motive was profit and the network was exploitative
 New goal to focus on a historical comparison of the TV industry to determine why
this programming is possible and what the motives might have been
What has happened to make it possible for mainstream television producers
to create programs in which the experience of persons of European descent
is neither central nor dominant?

14. +
Second and Final Project
Infographic

15. +
Second and Final Project
Infographic, Continued

16. +
Second and Final Project
Infographic, Continued

17. +
Final Project Idea
 Initial Thoughts
 Revised again to narrow my topic and make an original contribution
 Post-Research Thoughts
 Wanted to provide a real contribution
 Decided on the use of interviews
 Goal: to interview Asian Americans about Fresh off the Boat to understand how
they felt about the show's representation of Asian Americans, as well as why they
thought ABC was airing the show
What is the attitude of Asian Americans toward their representation in Fresh
off the Boat and the motive of ABC in airing such a show?

18. +
Interview Questions
 What is your ethnicity?
 Do you watch Fresh off the Boat? If not, are you familiar with it?
 If you do watch, why do you watch the show?
 Do you agree, support, or relate to representation of Asian Americans in
the show?
 Are you aware of any other shows in the past 20 years that focus(ed) on
the experiences of Asian Americans?
 Why do you think ABC is airing a show like Fresh off the Boat?
 If you're aware of or watch Black-ish, Cristela, or other similar diverse TV
shows, do you think the reasons they are being aired is similar to or
different than ABC's reasons for airing Fresh off the Boat? Howso?

19. +
Interview Process
 Remained within college community
 Found individuals of both American-born Chinese and Korean American
identities
 Approached them under the impression that their identities, with the
exception of their ethnic affiliation, would remain confidential
 Asked them questions on the previous slide
 Separated the interviews by identity (American-born Chinese and Korean
American) to summarize and draw conclusions

20. +
Interview Summary
 Total interviewees: 10
 American-born Chinese: 6
 Korean American: 4
 Viewership:
 4 do not watch, 4 watch occasionally, and 2 have seen every episode
 American-born Chinese: 2 do not watch, 3 watch occasionally, and 1 has seen
every episode
 Korean American: 2 do not watch, 1 watches occasionally, and 1 has seen every
episode
 Awareness of other Asian American shows in the past 20 years:
 9 were not
 1 was aware of All-American Girl (cancelled after only one season)
Statistics

21. +
Interview Summary
 Reasons for watching:
 Hype within the Chinese American community: 1
 Friends watch it: 1
 Liked the casting: 2
 Find it funny: 2
 Related to or felt resonance with it: 3 (all Chinese)
 Feelings toward representation:
 Fairly represented and felt relation to characters: 4 Chinese-born Americans
 Have not watched, but mothers indicated accuracy of representation: 2 Chinese-
born Americans
 No real opinion: 1 Korean American
 Felt it was a starting point: 1 Korean American
 Skeptical it could be all-inclusive (due to differences between ABC’s and KA’s) but
agreed it was more representative than “White” shows: 2 Korean Americans
 Korean Americans were less excited and saw less accurate representation
 Chinese Americans related, saw similarities to their own families, and connected
with the experiences more than other shows in terms of identity
Qualitative Responses

22. +
Interview Summary
 Opinions on ABC’s motive in airing Fresh Off the Boat:
 Profit (and ratings): 4
 Diversity (and Asian Americans rising in population): 7
 Only 1 mentioned that ABC may be attempting to cover up their lack of diversity in
past programming
 Opinions on ABC’s motive in airing Black-ish and Cristela:
 Money and rating: 3
 Diversity: 8
 Depended on the show: 2
 For Black-ish: a change in American sentiment and an attempt to move past
racism
 For Cristela: the increasing Latino population in the US
Qualitative Responses, Continued

23. +
Interview Conclusions
 All Chinese Americans expressed
relation in some way and found
the representation to be accurate
or closer than any other show.
 The Korean Americans saw it as
a starting point and pointed out
that the show cannot be entirely
representative of all Asian
Americans.
 7 responses focused on diversity
and the increasing Asian
American population
 4 mentioned profit and ratings
 1 brought up the idea that ABC
could be trying to cover up its
less-than-diverse past.
 Thus, there was general goodwill
for ABC’s attempt.
Representation Motive
What is the attitude of Asian Americans toward their representation in Fresh
off the Boat and the motive of ABC in airing such a show?

24. +
Conclusion
 Overall, Chinese Americans are more positive of the
representation of Asian Americans in Fresh Off the Boat than
Korean Americans, but both groups were positive and hopeful.
 Both groups thought ABC’s motive was largely to increase
diversity, though the notion of profit was not altogether
foregone.

25. +
The End