In celebration of APPI Heritage month, Newsy's 'In The Loop' dives into the rise of AAPI representation in Hollywood and the issues that still stand.
In the last few years, there has been a rise of Asian and Asian American representation in hit films, like the history-making best picture winner"Parasite," the rom-com hit"Crazy Rich Asians" and now the critically-acclaimed"Everything Everywhere All at Once," in theaters now.
Plus, it's not like Quan wasn't connected; he had been in some of the biggest movies as a kid, such as playing Short Round in"Indiana Jones" and Data in"The Goonies." But his experience in having a tough time finding adult roles as an Asian-American actor is all too common in the industry. While yellowface has been largely phased out in recent decades, there's been a number of recent roles rewritten for white actors or simply cast as white actors, despite being an Asian character. For instance, Emma Stone acted in"Aloha," Tilda Swinton in"Dr. Strange" and Scarlett Johansson in"Ghost in the Shell."
"Crazy Rich Asians," led by an all-Asian ensemble cast, became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the past decade.