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Michelle Yeoh's win: The underrepresentation of Asians at Oscars

And so it has finally happened. On the 12th of March 2023,at the 95th inception of the Academy Awards, an Asian won the prestigious Best Actress award for the first time.


Born in 1962 in Ipoh, Perak, Michelle Yeoh’s acting career spanned nearly four decades before she finally got the recognition she deserved. Playing the main character “Evelyn Wang” in the hit “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, Michelle Yeoh displayed superb acting skills and wonderfully brought out the “asian mom” feel of her character, deservedly bringing home the ultimate accolade for her performance.


The Academy Awards, or the Oscars as it is more commonly referred to, is one of the most coveted awards an actor or actress can receive. Even well-known names like Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence have only won the esteemed prize once. The voting process is simple: more than 10 000 members from 17 different branches from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences cast their votes and the actor with the most votes for the particular category wins.

Why are Asians underrepresented at the Oscars?


One reason for this is the lack of diversity in Hollywood. Traditionally, Hollywood has been mostly dominated by actors who are white. This culminates in a lack of opportunities on the big screen for other people, including Asians. With smaller chances to land starring roles in blockbuster films, they are not able to showcase their acting skills to the world.

Another reason for this disparity is due to the inherent stereotypical views of Asians. “Intellectually gifted, hardworking, strict parents” are just a few stereotypes commonly attributed to Asians. When scriptwriters plan the storyline of the movie, they often associate such values with Asians. An Asian American who is hardworking, nerdy and not good at sports seems to be the only role that Asians will ever get to play in Hollywood movies. This limits the variety of roles that Asians can play, to a point that viewers can already predict the personality and traits that the character has even before watching the show. This limits the variety of roles Asians can play, adding to its predictability. Novelty plays a key role in voting and people often vote for those who surprise them, or those who provide a ‘wow factor’. Conventional roles restrict Asian actors and trap them in the cycle of predictability, limiting the level of recognition they receive for their acting.


Additionally, as of the 2022 Academy Awards, 81% of the voters were white. With such an unbalanced demographic within the voting committee, it is inherently unfair for the actors who are of other minority races. The Oscars are for everybody, regardless of one’s cultural descent or skin colour, and the predominantly white voters might prefer American actors and actresses hence distorting the results. Just by looking at the list of winners for Best Actress, besides Michelle Yeoh, only one other woman of colour (Halle Berry) has won the esteemed award. Different people from different backgrounds and heritage have different values and opinions, and although not completely contrasting, attributes that Asians value more are sometimes not that highly regarded by their Western counterparts. For instance, Asians value filial piety more than Americans, while Americans place a greater significance on independence. Hence, the plot of such a movie might just seem natural for Americans but for Asians, they are in a better position to feel the dilemma of the protagonist as he is torn between fulfilling “filial piety” to his parents or chasing his dreams. Hence, the movie might not have the same effect it has on white Americans as it has on Asians. Therefore, a more diverse voting panel is key to ensuring that all shows are reviewed equally from different perspectives, such that all shows have an equal opportunity to win the award.


Why there should be more diversity in Hollywood


The United States has always been viewed as a culturally diverse place, where everyone can succeed, regardless of your race or colour. How can Hollywood, as the “cinema of the United States”, not reflect that? Film, being able to reach a large audience over a short span of time, plays a vital role in showcasing the culture of a country. The lack of representation of other races and ethnicities will lead to a narrow viewpoint of the world by Americans themselves, as their own actors might not be able to truly bring out the essence of the character that they are playing, especially when the producers undergo “whitewashing”. Whitewashing is whereby a white actor or actress is casted to play roles originally meant for another race. For the many foreigners who watch Hollywood movies, they might be disillusioned and let down by the whitewashing involved in so many American films. Recent films such as Ghost In the Shell and The Beguiled both feature whitewashing which left viewers confused about the casting for these roles. This destroys the reputation that the United States values diversity in their country and foreigners might be less willing to move to the States to study or work. No amount of advertising is more effective than just using its film industry, which is one of the most watched internationally, to cement the fact that America is diverse.


A lack of diversity behind the big screen can also lead to inaccurate representation of minority races. Whitewashing also occurs, which results in white actors being doused in makeup to look like another race. How accurate of a representation can their acting be if they are not even an actual member of the race or ethnicity that they are trying to portray? They are simply not able to “connect” with their character, therefore not able to bring the best out of the character. Screenwriters and actors also tend to exaggerate stereotypes associated with the race, which results in some inaccurate representation of the race. For example stereotypical views of Asian children include them to be well behaved and not rebellious. However, this defiant nature of teenagers is common amongst youths, regardless of their ethnicity. Hence, it would be somewhat wrong to portray every single Asian youth as “the one who has a curfew at 8”, and every American youth as being purely liberal and outgoing. Some foreigners complain that American films often portray their races wrongly, from the smallest details like how to hold chopsticks correctly to how they speak. With more diversity in Hollywood, there can be a more precise representation of various ethnicities which can lead to more people actually watching these films. This benefits both the ethnicity the film is portraying and Hollywood in general, as more people would be exposed to the ethnicity that the film is showing and Hollywood would be acclaimed for being inclusive and diverse. A more accurate portrayal of races and ethnicities will also improve the world’s perception of them. People would be more informed about their cultures and hence instances of misunderstandings and confusion will occur less frequently. There would be less prejudice against those of minority races and the society at large would be more accepting and welcoming towards them. This is relevant in almost all countries, where locals sometimes discriminate and look down on foreigners, a phenomenon known as xenophobia. Films from Hollywood would be able to use its widespread influence to alleviate this problem and help to change people’s mindset to be more accepting of different cultures and races.



In conclusion, much is already being done since the #OscarsSoWhite movement in 2015. The film industry of America has begun to see the benefits of being diverse in Hollywood and efforts are being made to turn this dream into a reality. This is reflected in Everything Everywhere All at Once’s emphatic win at the Oscars, sweeping up 11 nominations and 7 wins. Michelle Yeoh was presented the award by Halle Berry, the first woman of colour to win this coveted award. These two women, both from minority groups, are true representatives of what Hollywood aspires to achieve: A fair, level and equal playing field for all to enjoy, restricted not by colour of skin or cultural background, but by pure ability and talent. Although some voters might want to protect local talent, they have to understand that doing so will destroy the very essence of the Oscars being a globally recognised award and cause it to be more of an American award, by Americans for Americans.


Written by: Wayne Tan (23S66)

Edited by: Ng Chen Fong (22S63)


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