ABSTRACT
ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTUBERS: PORTRAYING A NEW
GENERATION IN NEW MEDIA
Studies on the media’s representation of Asian Americans have found that
mediated images of this group are steeped in stereotypes, if they are represented at
all. While research has focused on mainstream media, researchers have yet to
examine issues of representation in new media such as YouTube, where images
promoted by Asian American contributors are thriving. This study examined these
videos. Using computer-aided qualitative content analysis with both a deductive
and an inductive approach, the author found similar patterns of representation
between YouTube videos by Asian Americans and traditional media. Through
deductive analysis, the author found that the Perpetual Foreigner, Model Minority
and Asexual Male stereotypes were present even in YouTube videos by Asian
Americans. Inductive analysis revealed two themes, Nice Guys and Generational
Rift, which provide different ways of representing Asian Americans. Although
these videos do provide nuanced representations, the presence of prevailing Asian
American media stereotypes and the on-demand nature of YouTube limit their
potential impacts.
Brian Cortes
May 2013
ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTUBERS: PORTRAYING A NEW
GENERATION IN NEW MEDIA
by
Brian Cortes
A thesis
submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Mass Communication and Journalism
in the College of Arts of Humanities
California State University, Fresno
May 2013
APPROVED
For the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism:
We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student
meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the
university and the student's graduate degree program for the
awarding of the master's degree.
Brian Cortes
Thesis Author
Kelley McCoy (Chair)
Mass Communication and Journalism
Roberta Asahina
Mass Communication and Journalism
Franklin Ng
Asian American Studies
For the University Graduate Committee:
Dean, Division of Graduate Studies
AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION
OF MASTER’S THESIS
X
I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in
its entirety without further authorization from me, on the
condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction
absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of
authorship.
Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must
be obtained from me.
Signature of thesis author:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This thesis would not have been possible without the help and inspiration of
many remarkable people. It is also the result of serendipity and fortuitous
encounters with professors who have influenced my academic growth. I would
like to express my deepest appreciation to the following professors: Dr. Andrew
Jones, for teaching me that the academic study of popular culture content is not a
frivolous pursuit and, more importantly, for encouraging me to attend graduate
school; Dr. Kelley Campos McCoy, for being the best thesis advisor a graduate
student could ask for and for patiently working with me to craft a thesis that I
could be proud of; Dr. Franklin Ng, for his advice and guidance, especially with
regard to Asian American studies; Dr. Roberta Asahina, for being part of my
thesis committee on such short notice; and Dr. Timothy Kubal, for introducing me
to the wonderful world of computer-aided qualitative research.
I would not have achieved much today if not for the love and care of my
family. To my father Antonino Cortes who worked hard to afford me a solid high
school education that today is the foundation of my academic endeavors and to my
late great aunt Josephina Cura who pushed me to study harder during my
elementary school years, I owe my deepest gratitude. Furthermore, as a small
token of my gratitude and remembrance, I dedicate this thesis to my late great aunt
Virginia who passed away as I was writing this thesis.
Above all, I would like to express my love and gratitude to my fiancée, Mai
Ka Yang. If not for her love, care and support, I would not have been able to come
this far. I also thank her for not rubbing my face in the fact that she finished her
master’s program before I finished mine. I love you!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
Purpose, Scope and Significance of the Study .................................................. 4
CHAPTER 2: STEREOTYPICAL REPRESENTATION OF ASIAN
AMERICANS ............................................................................................... 6
Asian American Media Stereotypes .................................................................. 9
YouTube .......................................................................................................... 15
Research Questions ......................................................................................... 18
CHAPTER 3: METHOD........................................................................................ 20
Reliability ........................................................................................................ 21
Sampling ......................................................................................................... 22
Asian American YouTube Contributors ......................................................... 23
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ....................................................................................... 26
RQ1: Which media stereotypes appear in YouTube videos created by
Asian American men? .......................................................................... 27
RQ2: What themes emerge in YouTube videos created by Asian
Americans?........................................................................................... 32
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ................................................................................. 39
Significance of Findings ................................................................................. 42
Limitations of the Study .................................................................................. 42
Suggestions for Future Research..................................................................... 42
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 43
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ 49
APPENDIX A: CODING SCHEME ..................................................................... 50
APPENDIX B: LIST OF CODED AND ANALYZED VIDEOS ......................... 53
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1 Summary of Categories ............................................................................ 26
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
In media studies, the term representation encompasses both the quantity
and the quality of depicted images (Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005). With
regards to both quantity and quality, the media’s representation of Asian
Americans leaves much to be desired. Studies have shown the rate at which Asian
Americans are represented in entertainment media is not in parity with the size of
their population (Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005; Signorielli, 2009). For
example, although Asian Americans (ethnic groups that trace their ancestry back
to the countries of Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,
Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan,
Thailand, and Vietnam) comprise 5.6% of the population, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau, Mastro and Behm-Morawitz (2005) found that Asian Americans
only make up 1.5% of characters in prime time television. In addition, Signorielli
(2009) found that between 2000 and 2008 portrayals of Asian Americans along
with those of other racial minorities have decreased considerably. When they do
appear, Asian Americans are often represented as stereotypes (Hamamoto, 1994;
Lee, 1999; Shim, 1998).
The Asian American community has spoken out against mainstream
media’s omission and selective representation. In 2010, Media Action Network for
Asian Americans turned out to protest the film The Last Airbender, which is the
adaption of the popular Japanese anime-inspired television program Avatar: The
Last Airbender, when Paramount Pictures decided to cast white actors in roles of
key characters. An Asian Indian actor, however, was cast to play the villain. The
heist drama 21, which is based on the story of a team of MIT students turned cardcounting experts made up mostly of Asian American men, features only one Asian
2
American actor in a marginal role. Alvin Lin (2008), a blogger for the online
edition of MIT’s The Tech, called the casting decision “discriminatory” (para. 1)
and referred to the film as “whitewashed” (para. 5). The creator of the current CBS
sitcom 2 Broke Girls, Michael Patrick King, expressed pride in the program’s
diverse cast that includes Chinese American actor Matthew Moy, who plays a
foreign-accented “Korean” immigrant named Han. However, Marissa Lee of
Racebending.com calls Han’s character “an unimaginative, lazy and flat
stereotype” (Weinman, 2012, para. 1). Responding to the culture industry’s routine
defense of comedy, Lee states the following: “When communities of colour [sic]
complain about stereotypical characters like Han, we’re often told, ‘Can’t you take
a joke?’ Why can’t you tell any good ones?” (Weinman, 2012, para. 6).
The omission and selective representation of Asian Americans in
entertainment media is nothing new. White actors in “yellowface” performed
Asian caricatures such as Charlie Chan in the eponymous detective series, the
sinister Fu Manchu in Flash Gordon, and as a buck-toothed Japanese landlord in
Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The producers of Kung Fu had initially slated Bruce Lee for
the lead role. However, concerned that Lee’s Chinese appearance might not
resonate with viewers, the producers gave the role to David Carradine instead
(Fuller, 2010). Protests by the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, as
well as criticisms leveled by members of the Asian American community against
discriminatory practices in the mainstream media speaks to the significance of
issues surrounding the underrepresentation and selective portrayal of Asian
Americans.
Meanwhile, news stories about popular Asian American contributors on the
video hosting website YouTube.com tells a different story. Aspiring Asian
American filmmakers, actors and comedians are gaining millions of followers
3
among YouTube users. A CNN news piece features a little known digital video
production company called WongFu Productions, which was founded by Asian
Americans of Taiwanese and Chinese ancestry (Rowlands, 2009). Similarly, the
New York Times has noticed the “YouTube stardom” of Ryan Higa and Kevin
Wu, aspiring actors and comedians of Japanese and Chinese descent, respectively.
According to the report, Ryan Higa at one point was the most subscribed YouTube
personality in the entire world (Considine, 2011). Both CNN and The New York
Times opined that the dearth of Asian American characters in mainstream
entertainment media might explain the popularity of Asian American personalities
on YouTube.
While research has addressed the representation of Asian Americans in
entertainment media, scholars have yet to address self-representation in nontraditional or new media. The goal of this study, then, is to conduct an in-depth
analysis of the self-representation of Asian Americans in YouTube videos.
Commonsense reasoning would dictate that self-representation would be free of
stereotypes and are therefore fair and accurate. Indeed, Hamamoto (1994)
maintains that the involvement of Asian Americans in media industry could
promote fair and accurate representation. However, certain overriding factors,
such as the rational self-interest to advance one’s career, could thwart more novel
principles. For instance, despite his claims of challenging conventional Hollywood
images of African Americans, Black actor and director Tyler Perry could not
escape criticisms for his portrayal of Black womanhood in films featuring his
signature character Madea, which Patterson (2011) argues only reifies popular
stereotypes of Black women. With regards to YouTube, the monetization of usergenerated content via the advertising partnership with parent company Google
4
might motivate content creators to offer compelling content at the expense of
accurate self-representation.
Purpose, Scope and Significance of the Study
The current study examines the self-representation of Asian Americans in
YouTube videos. Research that focuses on new media is a worthwhile endeavor,
as it could provide a further understanding of new media. Specifically, whether
new media is making headway in racial minority representation, or merely
following patterns observed in traditional media. For theoretical background, the
researcher turned to Stuart Hall’s definition of representation and Richard Dyer’s
definition of stereotypes. The two concepts are inextricably linked. Dyer (2002)
views stereotyping as an aspect of representation, while Hall (1997) views it as a
signifying practice in which we use language to externalize mental concepts in our
minds.
The current study focuses on the representation Asian American men. Since
the media represents Asian American men and women differently, it is appropriate
to approach these issues separately. Hamamoto (1994) observed that Asian
American women have had an easier time finding acceptance in mainstream media
than their male counterparts. In addition, Mok (1998a) observed that the perceived
characteristics of Asian women—slender, delicate and submissive—were viewed
as desirable feminine qualities, while those of Asian men—timid, studious and
docile—were viewed as contrary to Western masculine ideals. Mok (1998b) also
observed that there have been fewer romantic pairings of Asian men and White
women in Hollywood films than those of Asian women and White men. Despite
these observations, there is no denying that there are issues with the media’s
representation of Asian American women. While Asian American men are often
5
desexualized, Asian American women are often hypersexualized (Zhang, 2010).
However, issues around mediate representation of Asian American women
warrants a separate, more focused effort.
Using qualitative content analysis, the current study examines videos
created by popular Asian American male YouTube contributors. This research
contributes to mass media scholarship in shedding light on issues of selfrepresentation in new media. Likewise, it contributes to existing literature on
Asian American media stereotypes and to the study of such issues in online
videos.
The current study comprises five chapters. This chapter introduced the
nature of the problem and laid out the purpose and scope of the research. The next
chapter outlines the theoretical framework and relevant issues of the study and
summarizes the major literature in the field. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the
methodology used to perform the study, and chapter 4 presents the results of the
analysis. Finally, chapter 5 provides an interpretation of the results, particularly in
regard to the larger issues raised in the literature review. It also summarizes the
limitations of the study and suggests directions for future research.
CHAPTER 2: STEREOTYPICAL REPRESENTATION OF ASIAN
AMERICANS
The term media representation has been used by scholars to refer to both
the quantity and the quantity of mediated images. For example, a study conducted
by Signorielli (2009) on minority representation focuses specifically on quantity—
how often different racial groups appeared as characters on prime time television
programs. The current study draws from Stuart Hall’s definition of representation,
which emphasizes quality rather than the quantity. Hall (1997) submits that the
system of representation is produced in a cultural context and requires that
members share conceptual maps and a common language. As an advocate of
social constructionism—the notion that “reality” is the product of social
interactions—Hall (1997) maintains that the material world is understood through
representation. The traditional view of representation is that it is the act of
reflecting, or distorting, the meaning of something. In other words, representation
involves re-presenting an existing meaning, and thereby creating new meaning
that may or may not be accurate. A second definition of representation comes from
formal politics. In a representative democracy, elected officials stand in for
constituents in the legislative process. Hall draws from both definitions to
construct his own notion of representation. He states that representation is the
process by which something is given meaning and that this meaning becomes a
stand in for what is being depicted.
Culture plays a crucial role in the process of representation. Hall (1997)
maintains that people within a culture share common conceptual maps or
frameworks of interpretation that allow for the simplification of the complex
world through a system of classification. Thus, people belonging to the same
7
culture tend to interpret certain images and symbols in the same way and may
arrive at a similar understanding.
Consistent with social constructionism, Hall (1997) maintains that
meanings are not fixed a priori and, thus, are open to negotiation, contestation and
redefinition. Nevertheless, the perpetuation of certain kinds of images in the media
has reinforced certain perceptions. Theories such as Bandura’s social cognitive
theory and Gerbner’s cultivation theory (as cited in Tan, Fujioka, & Tan, 2000)
suggest that repeated media exposure can teach and cultivate certain beliefs.
Studies provide empirical evidence that media representation influences real-world
reaction towards minorities and, ultimately, racial policy positions. Tan et al.
(2000) found that among White audiences, negative portrayals of minorities lead
to negative stereotyping, which then influences their opposition to policies that
benefit minorities such as affirmative action. Building on this work, Mastro and
Kopacz (2006) found that the degree to which the media’s representation of
minorities accommodates White in-group norms also influences the way Whites
perceive minorities as well as their support for racial policies. For example, Lewis
and Jhally (1994) found that The Cosby Show, which portrays an African
American family espousing White middle-class values and lifestyle, has inspired
favorable appraisals of African Americans among Whites.
The current study also relies on Richard Dyer’s definition of stereotypes.
Stereotyping is an aspect of representation that involves an ordering process that
uses short cuts to reference the material world in a way that expresses cultural
values and beliefs (Dyer, 2002). Dyer’s definition of stereotype and Hall’s notion
of representation are similar. Both processes allow for the simplification of
complex social structures in using simple heuristic devices that are easy to apply
and understand. Dyer (2002) explains that stereotyping is part of the practice of
8
typing, which is the process of categorizing the world into types. According to
Dyer (2002), the use of types to make sense of “the great blooming, buzzing
confusion of reality” (p. 12) is a harmless and inescapable part human thought
process. Likewise, Hall (1997) maintains that to classify and put things in order is
an innate human intellectual capacity. For example, we attach certain
characteristics to people based on their social roles such as student, professor,
politician and so on. In fiction, Dyer (2002) maintains that types distinguish
different kinds of characters as hero, villain, foil and so on. He adds that highly
visible traits function as short cuts that “[condense] a great deal of information and
a host of connotations” (Dyer, 2002, p. 12). Dyer (2002) himself admits that
stereotypes are not necessarily wrong: “it is not stereotypes, as an aspect of human
thought and representation, that are wrong, but who controls and defines them,
what interest they serve” (p. 12).
While the capacity to use types is an innate human feature, the system in
which things are classified is learned through socialization (Hall, 1997). Hall
refers to the attachment of symbols and images to objects and events that occur in
a social context as signifying practice. According to Hall, stereotyping is a kind of
signifying practice in that it classifies people into categories. However, he
suggested, stereotypes go further in that they “[reduce] people to a few, simple,
essential characteristics, which are represented as fixed in Nature” (Hall, 1997, p.
257). Cognitively, stereotyping involves (1) categorization of individuals into
groups based on superficial characteristics such as sex and race; (2) attribution of a
set of traits to all members of that group; and (3) attribution of that set of traits to
any individual members of that group (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995).
There are several factors that may give rise to stereotypes. Past experience
with an individual member of a certain group may activate corresponding group
9
stereotypes. Perceived differences in social roles such as gender and occupational
roles may activate stereotypes about appropriate behavior and appearance. Social
and political conditions may also trigger the need for stereotypes, particularly
where group conflicts and power relations exist. For example, the need to justify
unfair treatment of a group or the impetus to maintain the status quo may give rise
to stereotypes.
The dominant group in any culture exerts greater influence in the
construction and maintenance of stereotypes. As Berger and Luckmann (as cited in
Dyer, 2002, p. 12) state, “he who has the bigger stick has the better chance of
imposing his definition of reality.” Indeed, Larson (2005) maintains that media
stereotypes perform a system-supportive function in promoting dominant
ideologies while marginalizing others. Patricia Hill Collins (as cited in Hamamoto,
1994) uses the term “controlling images” (p. 2) to describe the subordination of a
group through representation. For example, the stereotype of Asian Americans as
the overachieving yet docile Model Minority undermines claims of inequality and
racism while simultaneously diffusing White anxieties towards another Asian
American stereotype, the Yellow Peril.
Asian American Media Stereotypes
Researchers have identified Asian American stereotypes in mainstream
media (Hamamoto, 1994; Lee, 1999; Shim, 1998). Media stereotypes portray
Asian Americans as exotic, inassimilable Perpetual Foreigners and as the naturally
talented, docile Model Minority. Some Asian American stereotypes are genderspecific. Asian American women tend to be portrayed as conniving Dragon Ladies
or submissive, delicate Lotus Blossoms, while Asian American men tend to be
depicted as cruel, sadistic villains or as awkward, asexual nerds. Stereotypes of
10
Asian American women are linked to perceived exotic sexuality, while stereotypes
of Asian American men tend to be linked to perceived lack of it. For example, the
power of the Dragon Lady resides in her ability to seduce, manipulate and corrupt
White men, while the Lotus Blossom is valued for her willingness to please them.
On the other hand, Mok (1998b) maintains that the perceived intelligence and
threat posed by Asian American men are rarely associated with masculinity.
The current study focuses on Perpetual Foreigner and Model Minority,
which are frequently referenced in literature on Asian American media
stereotypes. It also focuses on the Asexual Male stereotype, which is the most
commonly referenced stereotype of Asian American men.
Perpetual Foreigner
The foreigner stereotype is the perception that Asian Americans are all
exotic foreigners hailing from the Far East. They are sojourners whose
inscrutability is matched only by their bewilderment with Western values and
customs, and thus, they are regarded as inherently incapable of assimilating to
American culture. Under this stereotype, Asian Americans are portrayed as
maladjusted immigrants who speak broken English with heavy foreign accents. In
addition, they are portrayed in clichéd occupations such as Chinese delivery boy
or launderer, (Kwak, 2004), as unwilling to adapt to American culture (Rim,
2007), as disloyal to the U.S. (Kawai, 2005), as experts of martial arts and “eastern
wisdom” (Shah, 2003). Regardless of their citizenship status or length of residence
in the U.S., Asian Americans are assumed as “fresh-off-the-boat” immigrants
(Cheryan & Monin, 2005; Zhang, 2010). Cheryan and Monin (2005) as well as
Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, and Torino (2007) observed that in real life Asian
Americans born and raised in the U.S. are often mistaken for immigrants,
11
encounter questions about their country of origin and receive praise for their
fluency in English.
The foreigner stereotype was constructed to deny Asian Americans fullfledge citizenship. Scholars (Chang, 2002; Kim, 1999) trace the root of the
foreigner stereotype to xenophobic sentiments against Chinese immigrants during
the 1800s, culminating in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that barred further
immigration from China. Hamamoto (1994) states that unfounded fears the
“yellow peril”—throngs of Chinese and Japanese immigrants invading the White
Christian nation—inspired the “othering” of Asian Americans. The photograph
commemorating the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad is one of the earlier
examples of the exclusion of Asian Americans from media. According to Shim
(1998), although they comprised 90% of workforce that completed the project, not
a single Chinese laborer appears on the photograph, effectively denying their
contribution in building the nation. Length residence in the U.S. and legal
citizenship status did not save Japanese Americans from being perceived as
disloyal to their country. Perceived as threats to national security, they were sent
to internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II (Rim, 2007).
One of the effects of the foreigner stereotype is “identity denial” (Cheryan
& Monin, 2005). Cheryan and Monin (2005) conducted an implicit association
experiment using images of faces of different races and words related to
foreignness. They found that Asian faces were consistently associated with
foreignness more than those of Hispanics, Blacks and Whites. The same study
found that Asian American participants see themselves as American as Whites.
However, they are cognizant that others might perceive them as foreigners. To
alleviate this perception, Asian Americans engage in “identity assertion,” a tactic
that involves exhibiting an “American” lifestyle or demonstrating of familiarity
12
with “American” popular culture in order to side-step challenges to their identity.
White participants, on the other hand, did not experience such challenges nor did
they feel the need for identity assertion.
The Perpetual Foreigner stereotype could adversely impact the social
relationships of Asian Americans. Applying cultivation theory, Zhang (2010)
hypothesized that media-activated Asian American stereotypes, including the
foreigner stereotype, make people less likely to initiate friendships with them. As
expected, Zhang found that Whites were less likely to choose Asian Americans as
peers and would prefer friendships with other Whites, Black, or Hispanics.
Model Minority
The Perpetual Foreigner stereotype perpetuates the notion that Asian
Americans are irredeemably alien and incapable of assimilating to American
culture. Paradoxically, the media also construct Asian Americans as the exemplar
that other racial minorities should emulate. Reports regarding the extraordinary
achievements of Asian Americans in the face of racial discrimination began to
surface in popular news magazines in the 1960s (Kawai, 2005). A 1966 article by
New York Times Magazine praised Japanese Americans for overcoming racial
discrimination. Later that same year, U.S. News and World Report praised
Chinese Americans for their economic achievements without government
assistance, in contrast to Blacks receiving public assistance.
The rosy image painted by these articles gave way to the Model Minority
stereotype, the perception that Asian Americans possess qualities that make them
inherently superior to other minorities (Kawai, 2005). They are regarded as
academically talented, economically driven and hard working. They are also
perceived as less likely to become subject to the criminal justice system because of
13
their respect for authority and strong family values that keep them free of domestic
issues (Zhang, 2010). Entertainment media often portray Asian Americans as
intelligent, technologically savvy, docile, unassertive and deferential to Whites.
This image is in sharp contrast to the media’s stereotypes of Blacks and Latinos,
who are often portrayed as lacking the qualities that made Asian Americans
successful (Ono, 2004).
Scholars (Hamamoto, 1994; Kawai, 2005; Okihiro, 1994) are suspicious of
this seemingly benign and flattering stereotype. They argue that the Model
Minority stereotype serves a different purpose. Hamamoto (1994), Kim (1999) and
Kawai (2005) suggest that the Model Minority myth was designed to undermine
claims of racial inequality and discrimination. They maintain that it is no
coincidence that the articles in New York Times Magazine and U.S. News and
World Report that extolled the success of Asian Americans were published during
the era of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, which called attention to
the rampant racism in American society. They argue that the Model Minority
stereotype is part of “colorblind” discourse, which dismisses the persistence of
racial discrimination (Kawai, 2005; Kim, 1999). Moreover, it ascribes failure to
the individual, while ignoring structural and historical context that created inequity
(Hamamoto, 1994) and protecting White privilege (Kim, 1999). Kawaii (2005)
argues that the image of Asian Americans as docile and unassertive is an attempt
to feminize the masculine threat symbolized by the Yellow Peril. The educational
and socioeconomic attainments of Asian Americans and the military and economic
gains of Asian nations threaten the domestic and global superiority of Whites. The
Model Minority stereotype diffuses these fears through images that portray Asian
Americans as passive conformists, deferential to White authority.
14
Furthermore, the “positive” tone of the Model Minority stereotype has done
little to improve the way Whites perceive Asian Americans. In an experimental
study, Ho and Jackson (2001) found that negative attitudes towards Asian
Americans might also stem from “positive” stereotypes. While Whites perceived
Asian Americans as intelligent, successful and a problem-free minority, they also
tend to perceive them as competitors and as sources of fear and envy.
Asexual Male
The Model Minority stereotype portrays Asian American men as hard
working, naturally intelligent, and law abiding. However, Mok (1998b) argues that
this image does not necessarily exude sex appeal. This part of the larger pattern
followed by entertainment, which also media tend to portray Asian American men
as devoid of sexuality or lacking the qualities that women find attractive
(Hamamoto, 1994; Mok, 1998b). Asian American men in masculine roles are rare
in entertainment media, although this has not always been the case. In the 1920s, a
young Japanese actor named Sessue Hayakawa appeared in Hollywood silent
films. Hayakawa often appeared in roles of a dashing sophisticated and exotic
leading man, becoming one of Hollywood’s first male sex symbols. However,
later in his career Hayakawa appeared in roles as a villain, evoking the Yellow
Peril stereotype. Responding to the racist mores of the era, Hollywood refrained
from depicting physical contact between ethnic men and White women. By the
1930s the appearance of Asian Americans on the silver screen dwindled and they
were replaced by White actors in “yellowface” (Mok, 1998b). White actors in
yellowface performed Asian Americans as caricatures. The most notable example
is the eponymous Charlie Chan. A talented detective, Charlie Chan uses his
exceptional powers of deduction to solve crimes that baffled White policemen. He
15
delivers his signature Confucian axioms in short, accented fortune-cookie lines,
alluding to his supposed Chinese ancestry (Shah, 2003). Yet, Charlie Chan is
portrayed as asexual, passive, and deferential to Whites. Despite being a father,
Charlie Chan was without a wife and seems to show no interest in women (Mok,
1998b).
The history of Asian immigration may have contributed to the asexual
image of Asian American men. According to Takaki (as cited in Shek, 2006), the
first Asian immigrants to the U.S. were mostly men. While some worked as
miners and railroad construction workers, others were employed in “feminine”
work such as housekeeping, cooking and laundry. At the same time, fears that
Asian men would corrupt White womanhood motivated anti-miscegenation laws,
which were instituted to prohibit intermarriage between Asian men and White
women. Unable to start families of their own, many Chinese immigrants were
condemned to lives of bachelorhood. Early immigrants from the Philippines were
also subjected and forced to endure similar treatment. Hamamoto (1994) argues
the image of Asian bachelors working as domestic servants inspired the media’s
asexual depiction of Asian American men.
YouTube
By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, prime time television
programming has become less diverse (Signorielli, 2009). While the rate of
representation of African Americans has reached proportional parity in terms of
population size during this period, Asian Americans and Latinos remained underrepresented. However, while Latinos have disrupted the black-white racial
paradigm, Asian American representation tends to be overlooked. For example,
Wong (as cited in Kwak, 2004) observed that opinion polls tend to include Latinos
16
but not Asian Americans. Despite these limitations of the medium, Abrams’s
(2010) research indicates that television is still the preferred medium of
entertainment among Asian Americans. In addition, he found that Asian
Americans who identify strongly with their ethnicity tend to seek programming
that affirms their group’s image. Given the lack of identity affirming images on
television, Asian American viewers may turn to alternative sources such as
YouTube.
YouTube.com was launched without much fanfare in June 2005, offering a
user-friendly website that overcame technical barriers that, until then, kept digital
video from becoming a viable online medium (Burgess & Green, 2009). In
addition, YouTube fostered an online community with social networking features
that allowed users to rate videos and leave comments, as well as connect as
friends. Since its acquisition by Google in 2006, YouTube has gone from a little
known online video distribution website to the one of the most visited sites on the
Internet. It is estimated that 20% of Internet users choose YouTube as their online
destination (Kruitbosch & Nack, 2008). According to statistics provided by
YouTube, approximately 72 hours of video are uploaded to the website every
hour. Integration with mobile devices, from which three hours of video are
uploaded and 20% of total website views originate, has made YouTube’s usergenerated content more accessible. The use of YouTube as a promotional tool by
professional musicians and politicians suggest that YouTube is beginning to
resemble mass media (Burgess & Green, 2009). Despite these developments,
YouTube has yet to encroach upon conventional television viewing. Waldfogel’s
(2009) study on the effect of online content distribution on conventional television
viewing suggests that the impact is negligible because both authorized and
unauthorized distribution of content online offset any losses in television
17
viewership. Thus, YouTube has yet to reach the same level of influence that
television may have on the viewing public.
Even so, YouTube is worthy of research attention for its fundamental
difference from traditional media. Corporate-controlled traditional media is a
capitalist institution whose goal is to profit from advertising revenue generated
from content tailored for a wide audience (McChesney, 1999). Content production
occurs in an institutionalized context that involves network executives,
programmers and producers all working for major networks or major films studios
(Bielby & Bielby, 1994). The people that make up this institution are members of
the elite—economically and culturally privileged White males—and, as a result,
the content they produce reflect the views and values of dominant White culture
(Hamamoto, 1994; Horwitz, 2005; McChesney, 1999; Tucker & Shah, 1992).
Furthermore, the risk-averse and profit-oriented media industry relies on bigbudget productions that small independent production studios cannot hope to
compete with (McChesney, 1999). The implication is that underrepresented, less
privileged groups lacking the resources have little to no chance of utilizing
traditional media. YouTube may be no different from traditional media in terms of
corporate control and profit motive. For one, Google, whose main source of
revenue is also advertising, owns it. Second, it is likely that the monetization of
YouTube videos could foster profit motive among content contributors. The
difference lies in YouTube’s participatory culture, which is fostered by
decentralized content production. The user-generated content that drives YouTube
offers more diversity than traditional media (Godwin-Jones, 2007). Granted, most
YouTube videos consist of video blogs or vlogs, video journals that document the
everyday experience of vloggers (Wesch, 2009). Nevertheless, YouTube grants
18
anyone with an access to an Internet-bound computer and a digital camera the
opportunity to deliver a message to countless YouTube viewers all over the world.
Research Questions
The goal of the current study is to explore the mediated self-representation
of Asian American men in YouTube videos. In working towards this goal, it
focuses on the Perpetual Foreigner, Model Minority, and Asexual Male
stereotypes. As previously stated, the current study focuses on the representation
of Asian American men. Conventional wisdom would dictate that selfrepresentation would be more accurate, if not more favorable, compared to
received representation from mainstream media. This may not always be the case.
On YouTube, contributors may succumb to the mainstream media practice of
exploiting stereotypes to appeal to a wider audience and increase viewership.
Thus, one cannot assume that in a democratic and participatory medium such as
YouTube self-representation is guaranteed to be accurate. The current study also
focuses on the emerging themes to discover unique ways, if any, that Asian
Americans men are self-represented in YouTube videos. Therefore, the current
study seeks to answer the following research questions with the overarching
question being, “How are Asian American men self-represented in YouTube
videos?”:
RQ1: Which media stereotypes appear in YouTube videos created by Asian
American men?
RQ2: What themes emerge in YouTube videos created by Asian American
men?
The current study looks at stereotypes and themes in light of what has been
observed in entertainment media with regards to the representation of Asian
19
Americans men. The implication of the current study’s findings with respect to the
differences and similarities between new media and traditional media will be
discussed in chapter 5. The next chapter delineates the approaches and
methodology used to answer the research questions and introduces the Asian
American YouTube contributors whose videos were included in the analysis.
CHAPTER 3: METHOD
Qualitative content analysis was used to answer the research questions.
Content analysis involves coding distinct patterns in data into categories. Coding
refers to the process of marking distinct patterns in data, while a category is a
classification of these distinct patterns (Ryan & Bernard, 2003).
A two-part analysis was conducted. The first approach relied on
predetermined categories to determine the extent to which prevailing media
stereotypes about Asian Americans appear in content created by Asian American
men themselves. Hence, the first portion of the analysis used prevailing Asian
American media stereotypes— Perpetual Foreigner, Model minority, and Asexual
Male—as predetermined categories. In this portion of the analysis, the researcher
reviewed videos, the unit of analysis, at least twice to code references to Asian
American media stereotypes.
The second approach relied on grounded theory. Developed by Glaser and
Strauss (1967), grounded theory begins with inductive coding of raw data instead
of predetermined categories derived from the literature, and thus, allows
researchers to see data with fresh eyes. Grounded theory designs involve a cyclical
process of data gathering and coding (Charmaz, 2006). As the primary researcher
of this study reviewed each video, distinct patterns in data were identified and
compared with one another. Similar coding references are grouped together into
themes. A theme is similar to a category in that it is also a classification of
recurring patterns in data. During inductive analysis, videos were reviewed a third
or fourth time to identify indicators that relate to the ways in Asian Americans are
represented.
21
In content analysis, a coding scheme ensures consistent interpretation of
data (Stemler, 2001). A coding scheme was developed that listed definitions of
coding categories and their indicators. The full coding scheme is provided in
Appendix A. A coding scheme for stereotypes was first developed deductively
using information gleaned from existing literature on Asian American media
stereotypes. Following the recommendation of Zhang and Wildemuth (2009), a
coding scheme for inductively drawn themes was developed inductively from raw
data. Categories and themes were defined in specific terms so that they will be
understandable to an independent coder.
To enhance both deductive and inductive analysis, the researcher used QSR
International’s NVivo qualitative data analysis software version number nine.
NVivo, formerly known as NUD*IST, is a computer program that allows
qualitative researchers to conduct a more systematic and rigorous means of
organizing and analyzing qualitative data such texts, images, audio recordings and
videos (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006; Zhang & Wildemuth, 2009).
Zimmerman (2009) used NVivo to examine the use of YouTube as a promotional
tool among major presidential candidates during the 2008 general election.
Reliability
Reliability is the extent to which independent researchers can replicate the
results of a content analysis using the same coding scheme (Macnamara, 2005).
The analyzed videos were randomized using Microsoft Excel’s randomize
function, and the first 10 videos were sampled for an intercoder reliability test. A
White female former graduate student experienced in graduate-level research was
recruited to serve as an independent coder. Using the same coding scheme used by
22
the primary researcher, the independent coder was instructed to code for both
stereotypes and inductively drawn themes.
Sampling
YouTube channels number in the tens of millions, which presents a
formidable challenge to researchers with regards to sampling. To circumvent this
challenge, the researcher consulted Asian American online communities to find
sources on Asian American YouTube contributors. The Asian American
entertainment blog Jackfroot.com provides a list of the 10 most subscribed
YouTube channels operated by Asian American contributors (Troung, 2011). The
rankings of these channels in terms of subscription were cross-referenced with
Vidstatsx.com, which is a website that tracks various YouTube channel statistics
such as subscription numbers, number of views per video and viewer ratings.
Indeed, Vidstatsx corroborates the subscription rankings of each channel.
Troung’s list includes Filipino American Christine Gambito, also known as
HappySlip, who is the most subscribed Asian American woman in the “Comedy”
genre. Since the current study focuses on the representation of Asian American
men, Gambito’s channel will be excluded from the analysis. For unknown reasons,
Troung’s list also includes two popular Asian YouTube contributors from Canada
(Peter Chao, also known as pyrobooby) and Australia (John Luc, also known as
Mychonny). Although Chao and Luc are among the most subscribed channels in
their respective countries, the current study focuses on YouTube content by Asian
Americans. Therefore, only the seven most subscribed Asian American YouTube
channels were included in the analysis.
There were 1,211 videos found in the seven channels YouTube channels.
Using data from Vidstatsx.com, 30 of the most viewed videos were sampled from
23
each of the seven channels. Web series, which consist of two or more videos, were
counted as one to allow as much variety as possible, bringing the total number
videos included in the analysis to 206. These include videos in the “Comedy,”
“Entertainment” and “Film” genres. Videos in the “People & Blogs” and “Music”
genres, as well as videos that serve social networking functions—“talking head”
vlogs, behind-the-scenes footages, announcements, musical performances and
videos that document offline activities—were eliminated from analysis. Videos in
these genres offer little opportunity for critical engagement compared to videos
that contain dialogues and storytelling. It is important to note that while musical
performances were eliminated from the study, content set to music found under
the “Comedy,” “Entertainment” and “Film” categories were included as long as
they are among the thirty most viewed videos. These videos tend to contain
storytelling elements that present opportunities for critical engagement. Sampling
the thirty most popular videos from each channel served two purposes. First, it
allowed the researcher to review a wide variety of videos ranging from old to new,
short to long in duration, as well as videos from various genres. Second, it allowed
the researcher to review videos that have reached more viewers.
Asian American YouTube Contributors
The following are brief descriptions of the Asian American YouTube
contributors whose videos were sampled for analysis. Rankings and subscription
numbers were based on figures obtained at the time of writing.
nigahiga
The person behind the second most subscribed channel on YouTube is
Japanese American Ryan Higa. At one point in 2009, Higa’s channel was the most
subscribed channel in all of YouTube. Boasting over 5 million subscribers, the
24
nigahiga channel features comedy skits, fake commercials, mock instructional
videos and parodies of popular songs.
freddiew
Frederick Wong and Brandon Laatsch are the people behind the sixth most
subscribed channel on YouTube. Garnering nearly 3 million subscribers, the
freddiew channel offers visually striking action-oriented videos that appeal to firstperson-shooter video game enthusiasts and sci-fi fans alike. Wong appears in
videos more often than Laatsch who tend to appear mostly in behind-the-scenes
footages documenting the making of videos.
kevjumba
Kevin Wu, a second generation Taiwanese American, is the person behind
kevjumba, which is the 11th most subscribed channel on YouTube. With nearly 2
million subscribers, Wu’s channel is a collection of personal musings and comedy
sketches that occasionally features appearances by his father.
TimothyDeLaGhetto2
Second generation Thai American Tim Chantarangsu is the person behind
TimothyDeLaGhetto2, which is the 45th most subscribed channel on YouTube.
Chantarangsu revels in raunchy and provocative themes that some viewers may
find inappropriate. Nevertheless, his channel has garnered over 1 million
subscribers.
WongFuProductions
WongFuProductions consists of Philip Wang, Ted Fu and Wesley Chan,
who are of Chinese and Taiwanese descent. The trio has been making and
releasing short films on the Internet before YouTube became a popular online
25
video hosting website. Ranked 57th in subscriptions, WongFuProductions entertain
over 1 million of their subscribers with short films and web series content that are
often oriented on romance themes.
JustKiddingFilms
Bart Kwan and Joe Jo are the duo behind JustKiddingFilms. Although they
have kept their ethnic identities private, their performance of heavily accented
Korean and Vietnamese characters suggest they may be affiliated with these
groups. Garnering over 500,000 subscribers, JustKiddingFilms is known for its
campy comedy sketches that often poke fun of Asian American idiosyncrasies.
DavidSoComedy
Korean American David So is a relative newcomer to YouTube. Launched
in 2011, the DavidSoComedy channel features So’s brand of observational
comedy delivered in vlog format. Within just a year, So’s channel gained over
200,000 subscribers.
This chapter delineated the approaches and methodology used to answer the
research questions and introduced the Asian American YouTube contributors
whose videos were included in the analysis. The results of the analysis are
presented in the next chapter.
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS
The primary researcher reviewed a total 206 videos for the analysis. Out
this total, however, only 46 were useful for, and thus, subject to analysis.
Delimiting criteria imposed by the coding scheme limited the number of videos
included in the final analysis. A full list of coded and analyzed videos is provided
in Appendix B.
Two approaches were taken to analyze content. The researcher coded
videos for stereotypes to address RQ1. For RQ2, the researcher took a grounded
theory approach and inductively identified emerging themes. An independent peer
coded 10 of the 46 videos subject to analysis. Table 1 provides a summary of the
number of coding references, percent agreement and Cohen’s kappa coefficient for
each deductively and inductively defined categories.1
Table 1
Summary of Categories
Number of coding
references
Percent agreement
(Cohen’s Kappa)
Perpetual Foreigner
41
90% (0.78)
Model Minority
9
80% (0.61)
Asexual Male
4
90% (0.61)
Nice Guys
9
90% (0.74)
Generational Rift
14
90% (0.78)
Category
1 Cohen’s kappa statistic accounts for chance agreements. A Cohen’s kappa coefficient of 0.61 is
considered a reasonable level of agreement (Stemler, 2001). In this study, agreement between the primary
researcher and independent coder initially fell below this level for the Model Minority, Asexual Males and
Nice Guys categories. They discussed their differing interpretations and revisited the coding scheme,
further refining it in the process. This peer debriefing led to a rise in the levels of agreement in the three
categories, as presented in the table.
27
The Perpetual Foreigner stereotype, which appeared in 41 coding
references, is the category that occurred most frequently. The Asexual Male
stereotype, which appeared in 4 coding references, occurred the least frequently of
all. Nice Guys and Generational Rift are coding categories that emerged from the
inductive analysis. Among the inductively drawn categories, the theme of
Generational Rift, which appeared in 14 coding references, occurred more
frequently. Reliability was calculated for each coding category by percent
agreement score and the coders achieved 90% agreement in all but one. To
account for chance agreements, Cohen’s kappa was calculated for each coding
category. The coefficient for each category is 0.61 or higher, suggesting that
agreements are beyond chance.
RQ1: Which media stereotypes appear in YouTube
videos created by Asian American men?
The first portion of the analysis addresses RQ1. Videos were coded in three
predetermined categories—Perpetual Foreigner, Model Minority and Asexual
Male.
Perpetual Foreigner
The Perpetual Foreigner stereotype depicts Asian Americans as
inassimilable exotic foreigners. In the analysis, Perpetual Foreigner appeared in 41
coding references and was the most frequent category to appear in YouTube
videos by Asian Americans contributors. The most common indicator of this
category were accents and others linguistic mannerisms. Foreign accents were
common in comedy-oriented videos, where actors affect comical “Asian” accents
to perform Asian characters. It is important to note that most actors that appear in
28
these videos do not speak with natural foreign accents, as they can be heard
speaking English as “normal” in other videos.
Most examples of the foreigner stereotype were found in Kwan and Jo’s
channel, JustKiddingFilms. Their signature characters, Unco Chin and Unco Same
speak with an exaggerated “Vietnamese” accent, implying fresh-off-the-boat
status. “Unco” and “Same” denotes accented pronunciations of the word “uncle”
and the name Sam. In the video Unco Chin and Unco Same Clubbing 101, the duo
teaches viewers how to behave at a nightclub. From this point forward, phonetic
spelling will be used to indicate accent and quotes will be followed by a revised
version in parentheses that reflect correct spelling and grammar:
UNCO CHIN: I hap so many of my Asian bruh-duh, they do the
standing at the clup. Basic-kuh-ly, they stan and then they get the
dring and they stan and they look at the guhw. But I want you guy to
hap the bowl-sek and go out theh.
(I have so many of my Asian brothers, they just stand at the club.
Basically, they stand and then they get a drink and they stand and
look at the girls. But I want you guys to have the ball sack and go
out there.)
UNCO SAME: Why you want to dring, turn so ret and then do the
sick? … So the fuss rue to do the clup-ing the right way, you hap to
wear the sek-sy clowts.
(Why do you want to drink, turn so red and then get sick?
… So the first rule to clubbing the right way, you have to
wear sexy clothes.)
The duo ends the video by corrupting the urban phrase “peace out” to become
“peace outside,” further signaling the characters unfamiliarity with the American
vernacular.
Kwan and Jo are not the only ones to exploit accents for comic effect.
Likewise, So of DavidSoComedy affects a “Korean” accent to perform certain
29
characters in his skits. In Facebook Parenting - For the troubled Korean teen, So
plays a Korean American father who discovers the grievance leveled against him
by his daughter on the social networking site facebook.com:
I have is-suh daughter. She say is-suh Daddy ich-a bad-uh man. Okeh!… She put it in this-suh what, book face? Is-suh book facey?
Face-suh-book? You thought is-suh daddy never pind out is-suh
‘bout a book face-suh brocking, huh? I know every-sing. Is-suh
daddy, I know what ich-in your mind! Daddy work-uh por Samsung,
I know is-suh all the computer.
(I have a daughter. She says Daddy is a bad man. Okey!… She put it
in this what, book face? Is it book facey? Facebook? You thought
Daddy would never find out about facebook blocking, huh? I know
everything. It’s daddy, I know what’s in your mind! Daddy works
for Samsung, I know all about computers.)
Model Minority
The Model Minority stereotype promotes the image of Asian Americans as
well behaved, problem-free and overachieving racial minority. This stereotype
appeared in eight coding references. An example of this is Higa’s Like a Good
Boy, where he turns a popular song by Asian American hip-hop band Far East
Movement “Like a G6” from a song that glorifies inebriation and alcohol
consumption into a one that celebrates sobriety and good behavior. A verse from
the original song goes:
Now I'm feelin so fly like a G6
Like a G6, Like a G6
Now now now now now now I'm feelin so fly like a G6…
Girl I keep it gangsta, poppin’ bottles at the crib
This is how we live, every single night
Take that bottle to the head, and let me see you fly
Hell Yeah!
Drink it up, drink-drink it up,
When sober girls around me, they be actin like they drunk
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Higa alters the lyrics to become:
Now I'm following the rules, Like a Good Boy
Like a Good Boy, Like a Good Boy
Now, now now now now I'm following the rules Like a Good Boy…
Girl I’mma treat you right, Helping you cross the street.
This is how I live, I stay in every night.
Give me a controller and we'll have a good time!
Heck yes!
I don't curse, no, I don't drink.
No alcohol around me so you'll never catch me drunk.
Higa’s parody lends itself to the Model Minority image as it represents Asian
Americans as capable of self-discipline and self-regulation.
Another example is WongFuProductions’ The Wan Percent, which mocks
the Occupy movement while portraying Asian Americans as politically
unassertive and academically talented. Although this video did not meet the
sampling criteria, it is worth mentioning, as it is a fine example of the Model
Minority stereotype. In the video, a few Asian Americans are among a crowd of
mostly White protesters. The Asian Americans in the crowd leave as soon as they
hear that the rally could last for days. This denotes that Asian Americans lack
commitment in matters of political upheaval. Eventually, the protesters are caught
off guard when they find that the house they are occupying is not home to a
member of the “one percent” elite, but rather to Alex Wan, an Asian American
student who is among the top one percent of his school. Wearing a buttoned-down
shirt and a pair of eyeglasses, Alex confronts the protesters:
I’m Alex Wan. I have a GPA of 4.42 and I’m at the top one percent
of my school. You’ve been chanting on my lawn for five hours and
it’s really distracting me from my studies. Can you please leave?
31
As the protesters disperse, Alex mutters, “They should take more honors classes.”
This video lends itself to the notion that Asian Americans, while academically
talented, are unwilling to engage in political struggles.
Asexual Male
The Asexual Male stereotype portrays Asian American men as sexually
unappealing and devoid of interest in women. This stereotype appeared in four
coding references. Freddiew’s Gun Size Matters is a notable example. In Western
cultural text, the gun has long been a symbol of the male phallus (Katz, Jhally,
Ericsson, Talreja, & Earp, 1999). In this short action video, Wong, armed with a
small handgun, and an attractive White woman engage in a gun battle with armed
assailants. When a White man wielding a huge rifle appears out of nowhere, the
White woman is instantly captivated. When the assailants have all been
dispatched, the White woman abandons Wong to be with the White man. The
video denotes the inadequacy and undesirability of the Asian male body through
the phallic symbolism of the gun. The implication is that the qualities of the White
male body are more desirable than those possessed by the Asian male body.
While Gun Size Matters hinted at the sexual inadequacy of Asian American
men, some videos were more obvious. In JustKiddingFilms’ Asian Accents, Unco
Same and Unco Chin were having a conversation at a public park when an
unattractive White woman wearing a skimpy dress approached them.
WOMAN: Hi! I couldn’t help but overhear your exotic accents and
it’s hot. Can we just fuck?
UNCO CHIN: Of course not! Wat da hehw! Are you crazy?
C’mon, do we look li’e the piece of object to you, try to hap the sex
from my sek-sy body? C’mon, girl! You so perverted! Wat da hehw
you want me to did?
32
(Of course not! What the hell! Are you crazy? C’mon, do we look
like objects to you, trying have sex with our sexy bodies? C’mon,
girl! You’re so perverted! What the hell you want me to do?)
In this example, Asian American men were portrayed as sexually desirable, albeit
in an objectified manner. However, their rejection of the proffer of sex suggest
asexuality.
RQ2: What themes emerge in YouTube videos created
by Asian Americans?
The second part of the analysis addresses RQ2. Inductive coding uncovered
two emerging themes: Nice Guys and Generational Rift.
Nice Guys
The videos Just A Nice Guy and Nice Guys both inspired the label and
provided exemplars for this theme. The term “nice guys” describes one of the
ways Asian American men are self-represented in their videos: they are kind,
gentle towards, and sensitive to the needs of women. However, they are also shy
and reserved about their feelings even when their intentions are pure. The
characteristics of a Nice Guy may fit into the Asexual Male stereotype. However,
contrary to the Asexual Male stereotype, which portrays Asian American men as
ineffectual or aromatic, Nice Guys are capable of experiencing romantic attraction.
This theme appeared in nine coding references. In WongFuProductions’ Just A
Nice Guy, the main character, Nick, describes what it means to be a “nice guy.”
Hi. I’m Nick and I’m a nice guy. You know me. I’m the guy you
always call for a ride whenever you get stuck somewhere. You asked
me to fix your laptop that one time when you got a virus. I
stayed up late to tutor you in that class I took two quarters ago…
I’m always meeting up with different friends just to catch up and
talk about how they’re doing. But don’t get me mixed up, though.
I’m not a popular guy. I’m a nice guy.
33
This quote suggests that a “nice guy” is not necessarily perceived as charismatic or
attractive despite his good qualities. Being “just a nice a guy” is not necessarily
the impression that Nick wants to give, especially towards the opposite sex. Nick
laments an unrequited affection for a young Asian American woman named
Pauline:
[Being branded a nice guy] is like the scarlet letter. “Everyone shall
know him as just a nice guy.” Or like being blacklisted in the dating
community. It never really made sense to me. What did I do that
made it impossible for Pauline to even humor the thought of me as
her boyfriend? And how is it that it could be so obvious to me that
we were good for one another, but to her it was laughable?
In this quote, Nick expresses frustration with being seen only as a platonic friend,
although he sees himself as an eligible romantic partner. When Nick wishes to
become more than just friends with a young Asian American woman named Amy,
his friend Joe cautioned against it. Joe informs Nick that he is on Amy’s “friend
ladder,” which bars him from becoming her boyfriend. Inspired by the popular
notion that women are more attracted to “jerks” than they are to nice guys, Nick
adopts a “bad boy” approach, affecting male chauvinist behaviors in the hope of
escaping his current predicament and get on Amy’s “dating ladder.” However,
Nick’s new approach fails to make an impression on Amy. In the end, Nick finds
that remaining true to himself and being honest about his feelings is the best way
to win Amy’s affection.
The theme of the music video Nice Guys, a collaboration between Higa and
Wu, is quite similar to Just A Nice Guy. The lyrics to the accompanying song seem
to draw inspiration from the notion that women are attracted to male chauvinists.
Nice guys finish last,
That's why I'll treat you like trash,
34
It's not what I really wanna do.
But, you only date bad guys so,
I'll give it my best try to,
Treat you the way you want me to.
I never open a door,
or pull out a chair.
You can tell me how your day was
but I don't really care.
And if you ever get cold,
you'll just have to hack it,
‘Cause I'd be cold too
If I gave you my jacket.
In this video, Higa and Wu affect male chauvinist behaviors to no effect. Rather
than attract them, women are simply “turned off” by their behavior. The tone of
the accompanying song changes when the duo realizes the error of their ways:
But behind the scenes she means the world to me.
‘Wanna tell her that she's beautiful, and show her that she's loved.
Hold her hand when she's scared, tell her how much I care
With this realization, Higa and Wu quickly change to back to their true selves and
the women they are after respond very well.
Videos in which the Nice Guy theme appeared also represent Asian
American men as “old-fashioned” when it comes to courtship. They are gentlemen
who rely on romantic gestures to woo women. For example, in
WongFuProductions’ Take it Slow, a young Asian American couple drives home
from prom. Upon arriving at the young woman’s residence, the young man
reaches into his jacket pocket to produce not a contraceptive but a compact disc
containing a “slow song.” He then asks his date to dance one last time. This video
denotes that Nice Guys would rather treat a woman with respect, than seek mere
sexual conquest.
35
Generational Rift
Asian Americans are viewed as belonging to close-knit family units and
emphasizing filial piety, which compels them to revere their elders (Jo, 1984; Lui,
2002). In contrast, some videos in this study portray a rift between older and
younger generations of Asian Americans in terms of values, professional goals and
cultural taste. In What we HATE about Each Other video series, Wu and his
father, Mr. Wu, air grievances they have against one another. For example, Wu
and his father disagreed in their taste in music and food.
MR. WU: I don’t like you always singing these rap songs. You
know, these ridiculous rap songs. (He makes hand gestures, mocking
rap performers)
WU: That’s what people listen to these days. Those songs are
catchy.
MR. WU: You call those songs?…
WU: I hate it when you go grocery shopping, ‘cause instead of
buying regular groceries, you buy, like, weird Asian stuff that I’ve
never seen before.
MR. WU: You don’t like that stuff? Fine! Next time you buy your
own groceries.
The exchange eventually turns to the subject of Wu’s academic performance,
which Mr. Wu finds unremarkable.
MR. WU: I hate it how you didn’t go to Harvard or Stanford like I
wanted you to.
WU: Dad, I thought you said it was okay that I didn’t get into one of
those schools.
MR. WU: Well, I’m proud of you. I’m just disappointed you didn’t
turn out to be as smart as I’d hope…
36
WU: I don’t like how your breath smells like donkey (bleep).
MR. WU: Kevin, I hate how use this kind of bad word in front of
me!
WU: Well, I’m sorry. Maybe if I went to Harvard I could’ve learned
proper English instead of using these bad words.
MR. WU: Harvard? In your dreams! You made so many Cs in high
school…
WU: Oh, OK, my bad! I’m sorry I didn’t turn out a nerd like you,
Dad. I’m glad I’m moving out soon so I don’t have to deal with this
(bleep).
MR. WU: Kevin! You come back here! I’m your father! Don’t use
those bad words!
The banter between Wu and his father was meant to entertain viewers, although
there might be a grain of truth in Mr. Wu’s statement regarding his son’s
academics. In real life, Wu did not in fact attend Harvard or Stanford. Instead, Wu
attended UC Davis, from which he eventually dropped out.
JustKiddingFilms’ Crazy Asian Parent is another example of a video that
portrays conflict between parent and offspring. Albeit with a role-reversal twist,
the video captures the tension that arises when parents and offspring disagree
about life goals. A Vietnamese American father argues with his son about which is
the better career choice, medical doctor or hip-hop rapper. However, instead of the
son wanting to be a hip-hop rapper, it was the father pushing him to become one.
SON: There’s something I want to tell you dad. I wan to be a doctor.
FATHER: Oh! Li’e da Dr. Dre, ha? Dat’s so coo, producer and da
rapper.
(Oh! Like Dr. Dre, ha? That’s so cool, producer and a rapper.)
SON: No. I mean like a physician doctor.
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FATHER: Wat da hehw! You hang around da science clup again,
ha? I tehw you they da bad influen.
(What the hell! You have been hanging around the science club
again, ha? I tell you they are bad influence.)
SON: No, Dad. They’re good people. You don’t know them like I
do.
FATHER: Shoo they are! Why can’t you be da normal boy, li’e da
Li’l Wayne…
(Sure they are! Why can’t you be a normal boy, like Li’l Wayne.)
SON: Because that’s not what I want to do. The health field makes
me happy. Don’t you care about what makes me happy, Dad?
FATHER: Fuck no! Be da duck-tuh is da risky. You hap to be da
rapper. It’s mo’ stable, O-keh? We didn’t come all the way here just
so you can be da stupid duck-tuh.
(Fuck no! Being a doctor is risky. You have to be a rapper. It’s more
stable. Okay? We didn’t come all the way here just so you can be a
stupid doctor.)
SON: From the valley to the ghetto?
FATHER: Yes! We specifi’cly made this move just so you can had
da street credential. This fo’ you, man!…
(Yes! We specifically made this move just so you can have street
cred. This is for you, man!)
SON: Dad, I’m sorry. I don’t even like hip-hop. I like classical
music. I just listen to [hip-hop] just to make you happy… Dad, can
you just accept my decision? I’ve been wanting to be a doctor ever
since kindergarten. I thought it was just a childhood fantasy, but my
passion only got stronger. Now, I got accepted into Harvard medical
school on a full scholarship and I’ve made my decision to go.
FATHER: Doesn’t sound as safe a rec’id deal to me… Wat am I
gonna tehw my best frien’, Mr. Park? His son is Jonathan
“Dumbfounded.” He hap the rap career. Wat da hehw do you hap?…
38
(It doesn’t sound as safe a record deal to me… What am I gonna tell
my best friend, Mr. Park? His son is Jonathan “Dumbfounded.” He
has a rap career. What the hell do you have?)
SON: Why do you always have to compare me to other people’s
kids?
FATHER: I’m just so ashames.
(I’m just so ashamed.)
In the video’s prologue, Jo of JustKiddingFilms gives the following statement.
Don’t you just hate it when your parents try to choose future? I do…
There’s more to life than three jobs—doctor, lawyer, engineer.
There’s way more than that! There comes a time when you need to
take life into your own hands.
Jo’s statement implies a belief in autonomy in career decision-making. More
importantly, however, it denotes disagreement between parent and offspring.
This chapter presented the results of the analysis. The next chapter will
discuss the findings and significance of the study, identify its limitations and
suggest directions for future research on the subject.
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION
Studies on the media’s representation of Asian Americans have found that
mediated images of this group are steeped in stereotypes, if they are represented at
all. Asian Americans are shown in entertainment media as inscrutable Perpetual
Foreigners who are inherently incapable of assimilating to American culture.
Journalists have portrayed them as academically talented, economically driven,
and hard working Model Minorities, arguably to silence claims to racial
discrimination. Asian American men are represented as asexual and devoid of
qualities that women find attractive.
While research has focused on the representation Asian Americans on
mainstream media, researchers have yet to examine issues of representation in new
media such as YouTube, where images promoted by Asian American are thriving.
This study seeks to fill this gap by examining YouTube videos by Asian American
male contributors.
The Perpetual Foreigner stereotype appeared frequently in the analyzed
videos. Some videos portrayed Asian Americans speaking broken English with
exaggerated “Asian” accents. Videos that contain this stereotype tend to be under
the “Comedy” genre, which suggests its use is intended for humor, rather an
authentic representation of Asian Americans. However, for non-Asian American
viewers with little to no contact with Asian Americans, media, both old and new,
play an important role in informing beliefs regarding this group. More to the point,
this kind of representation, by overemphasizing the immigrant status of Asian
Americans, may reinforce the notion that they are outsiders who do not belong in
American culture and effectively deny them of their American identity. A
potential explanation for the use of the Perpetual Foreigner stereotype in these
40
videos is that it is an attempt to distinguish U.S.-born Asian Americans from
recent immigrants. For U.S.-born Asian Americans who must deal with constant
challenges to their national identity, setting themselves apart from fresh-off-of-theboat immigrants might be one way to assert their American identity.
The Model Minority stereotype also appeared in the analyzed videos,
although indicators were few. This suggests a lack of self-identification with the
Model Minority stereotype among Asian American YouTube contributors, who
themselves are not necessarily college-educated or professionally overachieving.
For example, following his YouTube success, Wu has postponed college
indefinitely to pursue an acting career. He recently starred in the independent
feature film Hang Loose with Filipino American actor Dante Basco. Although the
members of WongFuProductions are college graduates, they have chosen careers
in creative fields over more secure and lucrative professional careers.
The Asexual Male stereotype appeared the least amount of times. The
Asian American contributors who created the content analyzed in this study were
more likely to self-represent as “Nice Guys.” Unlike the Asexual Males, Nice
Guys experience sexual attraction and possess the desire for female
companionship, although women might not always respond to their “oldfashioned” approach to courtship. The Nice Guy image is perhaps not a total
departure from the Asexual Male stereotype in the sense that it still deviates from
the dominant masculine ideal that requires men to project an air of toughness,
aggression and self-assuredness. Nevertheless, the Nice Guy representation
portrays Asian American men as having agency over their masculinity. This
observation reflects the findings by Chua and Fujino (1999), which suggest that
Asian American men are indeed engaging in more flexible forms of masculinity.
Second generation Asian American men in particular have been found to
41
disengage in dominant forms of masculinity. Rather, these men link masculinity to
other sources such as economic power, politeness and possessing a caring and
nurturing attitude towards women.
Generational Rift is the second most frequent theme to appear in the
analyzed videos. This theme involves portrayals of conflict or disagreement
between Asian Americans from different generations. This theme implies that
subsequent generations of Asian Americans are adopting values and attitudes that
may be different from or even contrary to those of prior generations. More to the
point, contrary to the enduring popularity the Perpetual Foreigner stereotype, later
generations of Asian Americans may be adopting Western values and attitudes and
are becoming more “Americanized.”
YouTube’s democratic ethos opens the Internet to underrepresented groups,
such as Asian Americans, who are seeking to provide more accurate
representations of their communities. However, whether these representations
challenge prevailing cultural and media stereotypes remains to be seen. As
observations gleaned from the current study suggest, Asian American media
stereotypes are present even in YouTube videos by Asian Americans. Although
their videos do provide nuanced representations, YouTube’s on-demand nature
limits the kind of audiences they could influence. It is hard to imagine that studios
producing content for mainstream media would change the way they represent
Asian Americans in light of their growing popularity on YouTube. Thus, the Asian
American community should continue to advocate for fair and accurate media
representation through activism. For now, the potential impacts of Asian American
YouTubers are limited to viewers who actively seek identity-affirming images
online.
42
Significance of Findings
The current study contributes to existing scholarship on Asian Americans
and issues of representation in new media. In particular, the current study found
that YouTube videos by some Asian American male contributors contain
prevailing Asian American media stereotypes found in traditional media. In
addition, the themes of Nice Guys and Generational Rift provide different ways of
representing Asian American men and their community, respectively.
Limitations of the Study
Content analysis is limited by the inability to determine the motives of
content producers and the impact on viewers’ perception. As with most studies
that rely on media content analysis, the current study can only make inferences
about contributing factors that inform the creative decisions made by Asian
American male YouTube contributors, as well as their potential impact on
viewers.
Suggestions for Future Research
The current study focused exclusively on the self-representation of Asian
American men on YouTube. Further research in this area could examine the
representation of Asian American women in online videos. In the last few years,
videos that specifically target Asians, such as the anti-Asian rant by a White
female UCLA student and by White male Indiana University student, have gone
viral. Future research could focus on ways online video contributors from other
groups represent Asian Americans.
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: CODING SCHEME
51
Categories and Indicators
Asexual Male
This category is based on the stereotype that Asian American men are incapable of
experiencing sexual attraction and are sexually inferior compared to males of
different races.
 Indicators
Scenes, speech or words that depict Asian American men as ineffectual,
lacking sexual desire, lacking sex appeal or showing no interest when in
the presence of a woman or women.
Model Minority
This category is based on the stereotype that Asian Americans are naturally
intelligent, hard working and well behaved.
 Indicators
Scenes, speech or words that depict Asian Americans exhibiting
academic skills; working hard or espousing the value of hard work;
obeying authority, or espousing the value of obedience.
Perpetual Foreigner
This category is based on the stereotype that emphasizes the immigrant and
foreign background of Asian Americans, that they are incapable of assimilating to
American culture, and that they are “less American” than other racial groups.
 Indicators
Scenes, speech or words that depict Asian Americans speaking broken
English or with exaggerated “Asian” accents; in clichéd occupations
such Chinese delivery boy, restaurant worker or launderer; as unwilling
52
to adapt to American culture; as disloyal to the U.S.; as expert in martial
arts and “eastern wisdom.”
“Nice Guys”
This theme suggests that Asian American men take an “old fashioned” approach to
courtship. They are gentle and kind towards women, yet reserved about their
feelings for them.
 Indicators
Scenes, speech or words that depict Asian American men being
“gentlemen,” e.g., opening doors, pulling up chairs, etc.; Scenes, speech
or words that depict Asian American men being reserved about their
feelings when in the presence of a woman or women.
Generational Rift
This theme relates to behavioral differences and conflict of values between
successive generations.
 Indicators
Scenes, speech or words that depict conflict between parent and
offspring with regards to professional or academic goals, dating and
marital preference, as well as personal beliefs and cultural taste (music,
food, entertainment, etc.)
APPENDIX B: LIST OF CODED AND ANALYZED VIDEOS
54
List of coded and analyzed videos
YouTube Channel
Title
Number of
indicators
DavidSoComedy
Facebook Parenting - For the Troubled
Korean Teen
2
DavidSoComedy
Kim Jong illah hip hop legend
1
DavidSoComedy
Korean Beauty Supply
1
DavidSoComedy
Kim Jong Illah ft. New Heights
1
freddiew
Gun Size Matters
1
JustKiddingFilms
Shit Asian Dads Say
1
JustKiddingFilms
Shit Asian Moms Say
3
JustKiddingFilms
Unco's - Freaky Girls
2
JustKiddingFilms
Korean History Channel
1
JustKiddingFilms
Asian Accents
2
JustKiddingFilms
Crazy Asian Parent
4
JustKiddingFilms
Korean Teacher in America
3
JustKiddingFilms
Unco Chin and Unco Same Clubbing 101
1
JustKiddingFilms
Getting That Asian Booty
2
JustKiddingFilms
Unco's - Gangster Life Party
2
JustKiddingFilms
Crazy Asian Parent - Party
2
JustKiddingFilms
Asian Secrets
2
JustKiddingFilms
Unco's - Tastea
1
JustKiddingFilms
Asian Dream Girl
1
JustKiddingFilms
Special Ingredient
3
JustKiddingFilms
Rude Asian Waiter
1
JustKiddingFilms
Asian Beating
2
55
List of coded and analyzed videos (cont.)
YouTube Channel
Title
Number of
indicators
JustKiddingFilms
Movies vs Real Life-Karate Kid
2
JustKiddingFilms
No Parking
1
kevjumba
Biggest Cockblock
1
kevjumba
Friend Zone ft. Jamie Chung
1
kevjumba
What we HATE about Each Other
3
kevjumba
Girls are Like M&M's
1
kevjumba
What We HATE About Each Other pt. 2
3
kevjumba
My Dad is Asian Ep.1
2
kevjumba
Put it in Purse
1
kevjumba
Sex and Tutors
2
kevjumba
My Dad is Asian Ep. 2
2
kevjumba
BDAY
1
nigahiga
Nice Guys
1
nigahiga
How to be Ninja
3
nigahiga
Like a Good Boy
1
nigahiga
BEST CREW - The Audition
4
nigahiga
The Ninja Glare
1
TimothyDeLaGhetto2 Thai Smiles
1
WongFuProductions
Take It Slow
2
WongFuProductions
Just A Nice Guy
5
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