Asians face ‘epidemic of invisibility’ in Hollywood’s top films, study finds
- Only 44 out of 1,300 recent top-grossing movies had Asian or Pacific Islander leads – and a third of those roles were played by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
- Two-thirds of API characters had non-American accents, were hyper-sexualised, subject to racial slurs or fell into another stereotype, researchers said
Aside from action star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s hit movies, Hollywood’s most popular films have rarely featured Asians or Pacific Islanders in leading roles on the big screen, according to an academic study released on Tuesday.
The findings showed “an epidemic of invisibility” for Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) in movies released from 2007 to 2019, said the study from researchers at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
They also said the underrepresentation and stereotypical portrayals may have contributed to recent incidents of violence and harassment against Asians in the United States.
About 7.1 per cent of the US population identifies as Asian or Pacific Islander. In the 1,300 top-grossing films during the study period, 3.4 per cent of leads or co-leads were played by API actors, the researchers found.
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Of 44 films with API actors in leading roles, 14 of them starred Johnson, the former wrestler known for the Fast & Furious and Jumanji films. Johnson’s mother is from the Pacific island of American Samoa.
Six movies featured a female API character in a lead role, the study said.