Intelligent. Fierce. Ambitious. Cristina Yang, played by actress Sandra Oh, has been one of my favorite fictional television characters from “Grey’s Anatomy,” a medical drama. Set at Seattle Grace Hospital, the show follows the lives of doctors and interns, with Cristina Yang, a standout among them.
Watching Cristina Yang on the show inspired my middle school self to aspire to her acuity and drive. I was determined to become a cardiothoracic surgeon like her, drawn to her compelling intensity that made me want to follow her path. Looking back, I realize Cristina Yang’s significance didn’t just lie in her character, but also in her contribution to establishing Asian American representation.
Cristina Yang is an anomaly for Asian American portrayal in popular culture. For over a century, visual media, especially from Hollywood, has disseminated the same Asian American stereotypes that lack dimension, diversity, and most of all, human connection with viewers. Overall, the majority of Asian characters were marked with exaggerated features, like slanted eyes, and spoke with accents that were often caricatured, using broken English that bordered on mockery. A classic example is evident in the depiction of Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Mr. Yunioshi, portrayed by a white actor, was depicted in yellowface makeup, donning fake tan, dyed black hair and traditional Oriental attire, with taped eyes to simulate slanted eyes — a mockery of a Japanese man. With these dehumanizing exaggerations, Mr. Yunioshi is not a character. He is a caricature. This is not the first or last time Asian actors were replaced or overshadowed by white counterparts. The 2016 film “The Great Wall” notably featured Matt Damon in a story set in China and centered around Chinese themes. As for Asian…
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