Emmy nominations remind us AAPI representation on television falls short of reality

Bowen Yang on "Saturday Night LIie" was nominated for an Emmy

OPINION

Just as it might appear that Asian representation on American television is at an all time high with a record number of shows featuring Asian leads, along comes the Emmy nominations to remind us that AAPI actors, producers and writers have a long, long way to go to achieve anything resembling real life.

There were zero number of Asian and Asian American actors in any of the categories for lead actors, the categories that get the most media attention and are featured in prime time during the broadcast.

Nevertheless, we celebrate Bowen Yang for getting nominated for his part(s)  on "Saturday Night Live" with an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in A Comedy.

Congratulations are due, too for Philippa Soo getting nominated in the Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for her heartbreaking role in "Hamilton;" and Max Minghella of "The Handmaid's Tale" was nominated in Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

There has been an improvement in Asian representation on television but if you're not a TV addict or someone who actively looks for Asian and Asian American stories and actors in featured roles, Asian and Asian American representation continues to look abysmal.

We are grateful for Mindy Kaling's "Never Have I Ever," "Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens," Netflix's "Warrior," and Disney's 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" starring Olivia Rodrigo, "Blue's Clues" host Joshua Dela Cruz, Lou Diamond Phillips in "Prodigal Son," Sandra Oh in "Killing Eve," Michelle Yeoh in "Star Trek: Discovery" and the increase of secondary roles awarded to AAPI actors in a number of series, but the fact that I can name practically all the shows and actors in one paragraph leads us the sad conclusion that Hollywood is far from seeing America for what it is.

These Emmy statistics, of course, are linked to the overall underrepresentation of Asian and Pacific Islanders on television. Actors of Asian descent made up 1.7%, 3.1% and 1.8% of lead roles across broadcast, cable and digital shows, respectively, during the same time period (while making up 5.6% of the U.S. population, according to UCLA's “Hollywood Diversity Report 2020: A Tale of Two Hollywoods”

Following are the nominations in the major categories (minus the technical nominations) featuring Asian American artists.

PEN15 starring Maya Erskine -- Best Comedy

Maya Erskine, “PEN15” (“Play”) -- Best Writing for A Comedy

Yahlin Chang, “The Handmaid’s Tale” (“Home”) -- Writing for A Drama Series

Janet Mock , “Pose” (“Series Finale”) -- Writing for A Drama Series

Padma Lakshmi, "Top Chef -- Outstanding Host for a Reality Program

Tan France of “Queer Eye" -- Outstanding Host for a Reality Program

Brett Chan, Stunt Coordinator, "Warrior" -- Outstanding Stunt Coordination

Awkwafina, Henry Golding, Chanel Miller make Time's list of most influential people

ASAM NEWS &

VIEWS FROM THE EDGE

Time Magazine's top 100 list, Time 100 Next, that spotlights 100 rising stars who are shaping the future of business, entertainment, sports, politics, science, health and more includes 21 people of Asian descent from actress Awkwafina to 23-year old physicist Yuen Cao.

Among the Asian Americans named in the Time 100 Next list are actress Awkwafina of The Farewell, Bowen Yang of Saturday Night Live and Chanel Miller, a woman who went public about being sexually assaulted on the Stanford campus.

About Awkwafina, Sandra Oh wrote “I cannot express how pleased I am to see her meteoric rise. I’m not surprised because she is a complete original. There are so many things I can point to: Her timing. Her beautiful, melancholic face. And her unforgettable voice.”

Bowen Yang has been described as a potential breakout star on SNL. UPROXX wrote “he’s managed to accomplish some nearly impossible feats in his short time in front of the camera. He’s given us polished impersonations of world leaders and presidential candidates, he’s perfectly encapsulated the kind of woke bro who aspires to be a SoulCycle instructor, and he’s introduced us to China’s “Trade Daddy.”

Chanel Miller has been praised for her courage for coming forward publicly about being sexually assaulted on the Stanford campus. Known only as Emily Doe during the trial of Brock Turner, her book "Know My Name" has been her coming out. Goodreads says with her book, she “reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words… But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios.”

Amanda Nguyen is a survivor of rape who has turned her horrendous experience into a force for positive change. The group she founded, Rise, has passed 25 state and federal laws, protecting DNA evidence gathered from rape kits that have been credited with numerous prosecutions. She is also a 2018 Nobel Prize nominee.

Vijay Gupta uses his musical talents to help the homeless. He quit the Los Angeles Philharmonic where he worked as a violinist to teach music at homeless shelters and prisons. He is also a MacArthur Genius Fellow.

Varshini Prakash serves as executive director of the Sunrise Movement. Washington Governor Jay Inslee called her and her organization “some of the greatest sources for hope in our fight against the climate crisis.”

Alyssa Liu is a rising star in the ice skating world. At age 13, she became the youngest US Women’s Figure Skating champion in the world. Michelle Kwan said her quad lux “is pushing the technical envelope, and there’s no slowing down.”

Edward Leung was arrested last year and even though he's in jail, the 28-year-oldhas become the spiritual leader of the Hong Kong's months-long unrest. He coined the protestor's favorite chant, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”

Dutee Chand  in July became the first Indian sprinter to win the 100-m at the World University Games. This year, she became the first openly gay athlete in India. Her next goal is the 2020 Olympics.

Roya Rahmani is Afghanistan's first female envoy to the U.S. in 2018. Her ambassadorial appointment was also a message to the Taliban, of which she says, "are not our representatives.” Ending the war “should be decided by the people who are most affected by this process.”

Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan's current Environmental Minister, is only 28-years old but he's poised to become the country's next Prime Minister when Shinzo Abe steps down.

Nite Yun is a Cambodian American “changing America’s relationship to Cambodia, one exquisite dish at a time,” said Samin Nosrat, a chef, author and host of Netflix’s Salt Fat Acid Heat. Her restaurant in Oakland, CA, Nyum Bai, has quickly made a name for itself a year after opening.

Blackpink is K-po'ss next big thing.

Blackpink became the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella. While BTS is better known, the four-woman group has 31-million fiercely loyal social media followers. The group’s goal, they say, is to make music that helps listeners gain “confidence and boldness.”

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit's year-old Future Forward Party gained 17% of Thailand's Parliament. The billionaire scion of a car-parts empire has energized young Thais who are eagar to loosen the grip of the country's military rulers.

Mei Mei Hu is working on a cure for Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases. Her company United Neuroscience is working on a vaccine to help the immune system produce antibodies to fight off these degenerative diseases.

Henry Golding catapulted onto the world stage with Crazy Rich Asians. He is now attained leading man status, especially noteworthy for Asian males. Michelle Yeoh calls him the perfect son.

Lilly Singh has turned her YouTube fame into her own show on NBC’s late night line up. As Jimmy Fallon wrote, ” You don’t rack up millions of fans all over the world without being someone people can relate to.”

Yuen Cao, a 23-year old physicist, investigating what happens when two layers of graphene—a crystalline form of carbon, each just one atom thick—are laid atop each other. He discovered that if you twist the sheet, it forms great insulation. Twist it another way, it becomes an electricity superconductor with zero resistance.

Varun Sivaram, an energy innovator, he is chief technology officer of ReNew Power, India’s largest renewable-energy company, where he works to accelerate the expansion of renewables in a country critical to global efforts to stem climate change.

Kotchakorn Voraakhom, a landscape architect who designed Bangkok's first public park in a decade which is capable of absorbing one-million gallons of water to help control the flooding that inundates the city every year. She is in the process of designing a larger park that will include Asia's largest green roof 

Jayathma Wickramanayake, a Sri Lankan, was appointed the United Nations’ Envoy on Youth in 2017—and the U.N. announced Youth 2030, a strategy to involve young people in U.N. initiatives and strengthen the organization’s focus on their needs, including sustainable development and economic empowerment. “

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SNL fires newly hired controversial comedian

Saturday Night Live fired a comedian after Asian Americans  strongly condemned his anti-Asian slurs.

Shane Gillis, the standup comedian who's been the target of a barrage of criticism on social media for his use of racial and homophobic slurs in his routine, was fired from SNL Monday.

"After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL," said a spokesman on behalf of SNL producer Lorne Michaels.

The spokesman explained that Gillis' racist remarks were unknown to Michaels, who hired him "on the strength of his talent as comedian and his impressive audition."

"We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show ... The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard."

After his dismissal, Gillis responded over Twitter, "It feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements but here we are." 

Clearly, Gillis' snide farewell shows obvious lack of remorse. He still doesn't understand why what he said was offensive to so many.

Gillis was one of three new comedians added to the SNL cast last Wednesday. Among the new hires was Bowen Yang, the first Chinese American to join SNL

Hours after the SNL announced the new additions, a podcast was uncovered in which Gillis used racist slurs in referring to Chinese and Chinatown. The outcry against Gillis continued throughout the weekend on social media including comments from Presidential candidate Andrew Yang. 

The backlash continued to snowball when other material and interviews popped up on the Internet showing that being offensive to Asians, LGBTQ and women was not only part of Gillis comedic material but part of his thinking.

Studies show that Asian Americans are among the most prolific users of social media -- from producing content on Youtube, finding entertainment and news on streaming networks to just connecting with each other on Twitter, Tic Toc, Instagram and other social media. As the strong response against Gillis, the use of social media as a form of protest is something AAPI is learning to wield.

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TGIF Feature: SNL adds Chinese American comedian to its cast

SNL

Bowen Yang as Kim Jong Un.

Bowen Yang was hired by Saturday Night Live as a writer in 2018, but in the show's upcoming 45th season, he'll be moving in front of the camera.

Yang is the first Chinese American cast member for SNL He will join comedians Chloe Fineman and Shane Gillis, as SNL's new cast members.

SNL has faced criticism for not having an Asian as a member of its 18-person troupe. The last time there was a cast member of Asian descent was in 2013 when Fred Armisen, who is of Korean descent, left the show. Earlier, Rob Schneider, a Filipino American, was in the cast in the 1990s.

Yang first appeared on SNL in March, when he played Kim Jong Un in a sketch alongside host Sandra Oh.

With Yang's hire, no doubt, will likely include a return of Kim Jong Un and Presidential candidate Andrew Yang (no relation)  will likely become an equal-opportunity target for lampooning.

Besides Yang, comedians Chloe Fineman, Shane Gillis, will join the cast when the show starts its 45th season on Sept. 28.

Yang's new castmate Gillis, however, drew criticism  for previous racist comments meant to be humorous. He used an racist slur in referring to the Chinese and a derogatory terms for LGBTQ people.

Gillis response to the criticism:

"I'm a comedian who pushes boundaries. I sometimes miss. If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you're going to find a lot of bad misses," Gillis wrote. "I'm happy to apologize to anyone who's actually offended by anything I've said. My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks."

That's not really an apology and it didn't quiet the criticism.

CNN Opinion writer Jeff Yang tweeted that "if you want to know what being a person of color is like, it's literally that for every Bowen Yang-shaped step you take forward, you also take one racist-ass Shane Gillis-shaped step back."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this post misspelled Fred Armisen's name.

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Hasan Minhaj, Padma Lakshmi celebrate immigrants in the arts at New American Festival, Sept. 14-15

Padma Lakshmi, Arturo Castro, Aparna Nancherla, Jonny Sun, Ronny Chieng, Marcus Samuelsson, Min Jin Lee, and Yasmin Khan to headline New American Festival in New York City

In a celebration of immigrants' contributions to American art, food, film, comedy, fashion and more, foodie queen and model Padma Lakshmi will give a keynote address.

New American Economy (NAE) has announced the complete lineup of events comprising the inaugural New American Festival, a groundbreaking event that brings together a wide range of immigrant cultural luminaries this weekend, Sept. 14-15.

The festival will take place at NeueHouse (Madison Square – 110 East 25th Street), in New York City.

Following its debut in New York, NAE will bring the New American Festival to cities across the U.S., including Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Kansas City, Nashville, Houston, and Oakland, among others.

“The New American Festival celebrates the visionary contributions that immigrants make to the fields of art and culture,” said New American Economy’s Katherine Steinberg. “Immigrants have revolutionized cuisine, and altered our perceptions through convention-breaking comedy, music, literature, and performance. The festival highlights how our cultural diversity is our national strength across each of these fields.”

According to NAE’s recent analysis of the 2017 American Community Survey, more than 400,000 immigrants are working in creative or artistic occupations, helping support the nearly $1 trillion creative industry sector in the United States. There are more than 25,000 immigrant actors, producers, and directors; nearly 23,000 immigrant musicians; more than 17,400 immigrant photographers; and more than 16,000 immigrant writers and authors nationwide.

Josh Wyatt, CEO of NeueHouse, said, “NeueHouse is honored to partner with the New American Festival to host its inaugural festival and call our space their home this month. The NeueHouse creative community thrives in an inclusive environment regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation and socio-economic backgrounds, a vision that is shared and celebrated by the New American Festival. NeueHouse deeply values and supports the diversity of members through thoughtful programming, community forums and business platforms that enable success for all.”

New American Festival headliners include established and emerging artists whose work has changed their respective fields and art forms.

New York Times best-selling author, host, and executive producer Padma Lakshmi will give the keynote address which kicks off the celebration Saturday morning.

In addition, the festival will also offer conversations with award-winning host, comedian, writer, and producer Hasan Minhaj (Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Homecoming King) and sex therapist, radio and television show host and author Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer and a performance by America’s leading Latino dance organization, Ballet Hispánico.

Other headliners include renowned chef, restaurateur, and author Marcus Samuelsson (Red Rooster Harlem, Marcus B&P), Big Friendship co-author and Call Your Girlfriend podcaster Aminatou Sow, author Min Jin Lee (Pachinko, Free Food for Millionaires), and author, broadcaster and cook Yasmin Khan (Zaitoun, The Saffron Tales).

The festival will feature a panel discussion with Comedy Central talent and executives and a stand-up hour featuring comedians, including Ronny Chieng (senior correspondent for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah), Aparna Nancherla (Comedy Central’s Corporate, Netflix’s The Standups, Bojack Horseman), Vladimir Caamaño (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Marvel’s Runaways, Jimmy Kimmel Live), and more.

BoJack Horseman writer, everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too author, and illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s New York Times best-seller Gmorning, Gnight! Jonny Sun will bring an interactive multimedia piece to NeueHouse with collaborating artist Hannah Davis.

The musical lineup features artists across genres, including Canadian singer-songwriter Ruth B, and Japanese Breakfast, the indie-rock solo music project of Korean-American musician Michelle Zauner.

Also joining the festival will be America’s leading Latino dance organization Ballet Hispánico, author Daniel José Older, The Splendid Table podcast host Francis Lam, 2018 James Beard Foundation Book of the Year winner, Michael W. Twitty, Chinese-American bilingual rapper and hip-hop artist Bohan Phoenix and many other guests.

All tickets can be purchased at www.newamericanfestival.com. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

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