From: ajh@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Alan Hu)
Subject: Re: Media Stereotypes: The Solution
Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University.
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 22:07:00 GMT

In article <1782@rwja.umdnj.edu> jpark@rwja.umdnj.edu (John Park) writes:
>achen@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (jupiter) writes:
>
>
	[Suggestion for Asian buyout of Hollywood deleted.]
>
>>But then the question is will movies that have an Asian as the
>>leading male be able to make money in this racist country? 
>
>Hey wait a minute, I don't think that two wrongs make right here.
>If you imply that some foreign company should take over a studio, and push
>an agenda, then this is scary talk.  I think a japanese company has purchased
>Paramount Pictures or some other studio, but has let the execs in Hollywood
>pretty much run their own show.  However, I do recall Star Trek V, which is a
>Paramount production.  I think somewhere in the movie Sulu was made captain of
>the Excelsior.  Although it is plausible that a movie set in the future of a
>unified Earth should portray *at least* some asian starship captains
>(a glaring ommission in Star Trek TNG - which has some very negative messages
>about asians anyway), I do wonder if the japanese owners had any influence in
>this, or if the script writers were doing this in a spirit of goodwill.

This is an OLD issue, long a sore point among Asian-American trekkies.
As I recall, Sulu was supposed to have been promoted to Captain by the
first or second movie (makes sense, as he was on the command track, and
had served with great distinction on the Enterprise), and indeed, he had
been promoted, except that Hollywood execs decided to leave that bit of film
on the cutting room floor.  I'm not a real trekkie, though, so I'll let someone
else fill in details if people really care...

>
>A much more glaring example of "foreign" influence in the media is Rupert 
>Murdoch, from Australia (?, the memory is old), who owns newspaper companies
>across the globe, & Robert Maxwell, and other news magnates from Europe.
>But this doesn't cause alarm, compared to the thought of asian ownership
>of a newspaper or studio, for some strange reason ....

Hmm, I wonder why?  Or why people don't worry about a British takeover
of American industry, even though British investment in the US is greater
than Japanese investment here...

>
	[Good stuff about letting talent and merit, not race, decide
	 the issue deleted.]
>
>There is a need for more talented and artistic&outgoing asian males in the
>entertainment industry.  That is the need.  Asian men who have the outstanding
>talent are the solution.

I'm not in the Entertainment industry, so this is hearsay, but:
What people in the industry say is that there is no shortage whatsoever
of talented and artistic and outgoing Asian Americans.  They are just
denied any chance to shine by the Hollywood establishment (unless you count
getting blown up by a Rambo-exploding-arrowhead a chance to shine).

Roger, would you care to share some info?
						--Alan Hu
----------
I am not Arthur Hu.  I am NOT Arthur Hu.  I AM NOT ARTHUR HU.

I am not a neo-conservative writer for AsianWeek.  I did not go
to MIT.  I do not conduct phone surveys.  I am not married.
I do not believe in Dan Quayle's family values.

Arthur Hu is a fine person.  So am I.  We are not, however, the same person.
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