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Thesis
Social, political, and economical circumstances since the mid 1800s have collectively resulted in the current underrepresentation of Asian Americans in the media. As a result, this lack of visibility has contributed to the American public’s ignorance towards Asian Americans in popular culture.
Statistics
*Though Asian Americans comprised 3.6 percent of the population, only 1.3 percent of characters on television were Asian American in the late 1990s.
*Only 2.5 percent of Stage Actor Guild contracts in 2001 went to Asians or Pacific Islanders (Faung and Lee 2000).
*Only 2.5 percent of Stage Actor Guild contracts in 2001 went to Asians or Pacific Islanders (Faung and Lee 2000).
Graphical information
Graph summary (pictured below): In 2004, Asian Americans only made up 2.3% of the radio and television broadcasting industry (“Diversity in the Media…” 2004).
Graph summary (pictured below): Of the 300 most popular films released in the United States between 2001 and 2007, only 15 of these featured one or more Asian characters. Of these 15 films, no more than three of these contain a lead Asian American character (Feng 2002).
Graph summary (pictured below): The trend of the Asian makeup of the media force from 1994 to 2002 is shown below. In 1994, Asians only made up 2.2% of the media force, increasing to 3% in 2000 and going up to 4.1% in 2001. However, in 2002, there was a drop back down to 2.7% (Riley and Kennard 2002).
Graph summary (pictured below): In 2004, Asian Americans only made up 3.5% of the cable networks and program distribution industry ("Diversity in the Media..." 2004).