Forum to focus on how Asian Americans are portrayed in Hollywood

The Center for Asian American Media announced Monday a partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal to address how Asian Americans are represented in Hollywood. The two organizations will bring together major industry players Wednesday on the Universal Studios lot for a forum entitled “Expanding the Conversation: Asian Americans in Media.”

“People are hungry for authentic representations of Asian Americans,” said Stephen Gong, CAAM’s executive director. “CAAM is extremely proud to present this forum during a pivotal time in our nation. We hope this conversation will spark real change within the media industry.”

On hand for the event with be notable Asian Americans including “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Sandra Oh, Peabody Award-winning director Grace Lee, producer and writer Rashad Raisani. NBCUniversal’s senior vice president of talent development and inclusion, Karen Horne, will also attend while Richard Lui of MSNBC moderates.

The forum comes a year after the height of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, when activists called into question the film academy’s lack of diversity in its award nominees and membership. Following the success and reach of that hashtag, other social media-led initiatives directly pertaining to the Asian American community also took off, including #yellowface and #whitesavior. Online communities have also questioned racial miscasting and erasure with the hashtag #AsianWhiteWashing.

The forum comes just months before the 2017 awards season kicks off, when diversity and inclusion will be on all minds. Additionally, it comes a day after a similar forum regarding opportunities and representation of the differently abled by the Ruderman Foundation, which released a study on the issue in July.

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