New Show Comes at Important Time for Asian Americans

New Show Comes at Important Time for Asian Americans

New actors just starting off will sometimes claim to have many different skills to be considered for roles in films. The thinking is simple: an actor with more skills should have more offers.

But one Chinese American actor set a clear limit early in her career. Olivia Liang made a promise to herself. She would "never learn martial¹ arts" until someone paid her to do it.

"When I started off in the industry, people would asak me why martial arts was not (wasn't) on my resume²," said Liang.

She explains that many people expect Asian actors to have martial arts skills. However, having that ability could typecast an actor. Typecast means always to cast, or assign, a certain kind of actor the same kind of role.

Liang kept her promise. She has learned martial arts as she takes the starring role in The CW Network's new series "Kung Fu." And she got paid to do it.

"Kung Fu" comes from the 1972 series starring David Carradine. It stars Liang as Nicky Shen. While visiting China she joins the Shaolin Temple where she learns Shaolin values and martial arts.

After her teacher is killed, she returns home to find her community unsettled by a local gang. She must use the martial arts skills she learned to protect her neighborhood and family. Soon she discovers that she is being targeted by the same killer³ responsible for her teacher's death.

The CW network is based in the United States and is known for superhero shows. However, Liang says "Kung Fu" is different.

"Nicky is heroic, but she doesn't see herself as a hero," explained Liang. "She sees bad things happening and feels like she needs to do something about it."

The series has mostly Asian American actors. Also, the showrunner and executive⁴ producer in charge of the show is Christina M. Kim, an Asian American. The showrunner has creative control over a program.

"I'm so excited that I get to give some people this opportunity to shine," said Kim.

When Kim watched the first camera test for the show, she remembered thinking: "I've never seen the screen filled with Asian American faces like this is."

Kim says the show has five writers of Asian ancestry⁵. Half of the writers are also women. Kim says this is usually not the case. "Usually, it's just me and one other woman in a room."

Playing Nicky's father, Jin, is actor Tzi Ma. He says it is wonderful to have so many people with Asian ties working on the show. The people making creative decisions on the show, he says, actually know the Asian experience.

"Not only is there representation⁶ on screen, but we back it up from our writer's room to all our guest directors," said Ma. He added that it is something he has never seen in his long career as an actor.

Ma hopes the authenticity⁷ of the series will help to change the public view of Asians. Currently⁸ hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise.

The Asian American community is also paying attention -- not only to see their stories on television but to see how they are told.

Valerie Soe is a professor in the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University. She hopes the show's producers and writers will be careful with what imagery is presented to viewers.

She thinks the gang storyline could be problematic. It could increase the stereotypes¹⁰ "that all Asian men are gangsters¹¹" or criminals.

However, Soe says the series is generally a win for her because it gives one more example of an Asian American story. She uses a common expression to describe her feelings: The more the merrier. This means that the more people involved in something, the more fun, or merrier, it will be.

Soe says, "I think not everything's ... going to be exactly what we want. But, if you have a lot of different choices, then you don't expect everything from one."

Words in This Story

role -n. the character played by an actor

martial arts -n. any one of several forms of fighting and self-defense (such as karate¹² and judo) that are widely practiced as sports

resume -n. a short document describing your education, work history, etc., that you give an employer when you are applying for a job

gang -n. a group of criminals

opportunity -n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

guest -n. person who is invited to a place or an event as a special honor

authenticity -n. the state of being true and accurate

stereotype⁹ -n. to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same

the more the merrier phase : used to say that more people are welcome or invited to do something

fabulous¹³ -adj. very good

1 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

2 resume   

v.（中断后）继续，恢复；n.摘要，简历

参考例句：

• We'll stop now and resume at two o 'clock.我们现在停下来，到两点再干。
• My resume shows that I have the right qualifications for the job.我的简历表明我正符合这项工作的条件。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

5 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

6 representation   

n.表现某人（或某事物）的东西，图画，雕塑

参考例句：

• The painting is a representation of a storm at sea.这幅画描绘的是海上的暴风雨。
• All parties won representation in the national assembly.所有政党在国民大会中都赢得了代表资格。

7 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

8 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

9 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

10 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 gangsters   

匪徒，歹徒( gangster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gangsters offered him a sum equivalent to a whole year's earnings. 歹徒提出要给他一笔相当于他一年收入的钱。
• One of the gangsters was caught by the police. 歹徒之一被警察逮捕。

12 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

13 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。