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| Program: 20/20 |
Date: September 8, 2006 |
| Station or Network: ABC-TV |
Time:
10:00 PM |
Hollywood Stereotypes
JOHN
STOSSEL, ABC NEWS: Now, think about stereotypes. Where do we get our ideas about what groups of people, people we may not know, are like? From parents and friends, sure. But Hollywood plays a big part.
STOSSEL:
Most Italian Americans
have nothing to do
with organized crime.
But you wouldn't know
that watching TV.
This angers some Italian
activist groups.
DONA
DE SANCTIS, Order
Sons of Italy in
America:
We are among the few
ethnic minorities
that it's still okay
to make fun of and
that's not right.
Our young people don't
want to be identified
with the guys who
talk like this, because
that's not them.
STOSSEL:
Of course, for years,
blacks were shown
in ways that were
not really
them. But it's changed
for blacks since
the movie "Shaft." Since then, blacks have played all kinds of roles, from cops, criminals to lovers to presidents. But that's less true for other ethnic groups. On the ABC show "Lost," Daniel
Dae Kim kissed a woman. Have
you ever seen an Asian actor
do that?
DANIEL
DAE KIM, Actor:
I had done I guess
maybe 50 to 60 roles
just on television,
and I had never
actually gotten
to kiss a woman
on screen. We've
been portrayed as
inscrutable villains,
asexualized kind
of eunuchs. Even
Jackie Chan in his
movies rarely gets
to kiss his female
lead.
B.
D. WONG, Actor:
That seems very
strange. You know,
I'm still waiting
for that kiss,
myself.
STOSSEL:
Actor B.D. Wong
says he's constantly
cast as a doctor.
WONG:
I played a doctor
on "Sesame Street," I played a doctor in the film "Jurassic
Park." I play a doctor on 'Law & Order:
Special Victims
Unit."
STOSSEL:
It is kind of weird.
WONG:
It's
beyond
weird.
I mean,
it's wrong,
and it
makes me
feel somehow
like I'm
not cute.
Which pisses
me off.
STOSSEL:
Growing
up,
he
saw
white
actors
playing
Asian
parts
in
what
they
call
yellow
face.
In "Breakfast at Tiffany's" the
fussy
Japanese
landlord
was
Mickey
Rooney.
MING-NA,
Actress: You know with the huge, thick glasses and the buck teeth and
the bad accent.
STOSSEL:
Ming-Na, who now plays an
FBI agent on 'Vanished," says
as a child she didn't think
twice about the Rooney character.
MING-NA:
I never became offended by it. Until later. You know, later in my career.
STOSSEL:
Now she hates the Asian stereotypes.
MING-NA:
You have the geishas and the prostitutes. Or the dragon lady. Or the man who
knows kung fu, the, you know, girl who knows kung fu.
STOSSEL:
Some Asians say this made them hate themselves.
WONG:
I wanted to be Matthew Broderick. If you could've given me $150,000 and told
me it was possible, I would've had that operation.
STOSSEL:
Because Broderick was cool, while Asians were not.
ACTOR:
I love visiting with the grandma and grandpa and pushing lawn mowing machines.
STOSSEL:
What did it say to you as a kid?
WONG:
It made me feel that I was somehow slacking in the real goods of what it took
to be an American. And it did a number on me.
STOSSEL:
Maybe Asian Americans should protest. Groups that do like this Arab American
group have persuaded nervous producers to back off. Hollywood used to make lots
of movies about Arab terrorists, but since September 11th they are rare. This
best-seller is about Palestinian terrorists. But when the movie came out the
bad guys became neo-Nazis.
STOSSEL:
And
now
some
Italian
groups
are
complaining.
Italy
planned
to
award
Robert
de
Niro
honorary
citizenship.
But
then
De
Niro
voiced
role
in
'Shark
Tale." After
advocacy
groups
complained,
Italy
cancelled
its
citizenship
ceremony.
That's
silly,
says
Vincent
Pastore
of
'The
Sopranos."
VINCENT
PASTORE, Actor: Italian people are gangsters. That's like saying all black people
are slaves. Italian people are gangsters? It's just bizarre.
PAT
COOPER, Actor: The activists don't know what they're talking about.
STOSSEL:
Pat
Cooper
is
one
of
Robert
de
Niro's
made
men
in "Analyze This," says
there's
nothing
wrong
with
Italian
gangsters
in
movies.
STOSSEL:
The activists say Hollywood doesn't portray Italians fairly.
COOPER:
They got nothing else to do. Knit a sweater. Knit a sweater. Do something.
STOSSEL:
But the implication is that more Italians are gangsters.
COOPER:
Because we're better gangsters. But that doesn't mean all Italians are gangsters
and all Italians are bad. That's ridiculous.
DE
SANCTIS:
I have to say to people like Pat Cooper, I'm sorry, your portrayals are influencing
public opinion. The popularity of a stereotype doesn't justify it. Cowboy and
Indian movies were wildly popular for generations, but that doesn't make the
stereotype right.
STOSSEL:
Isn't it bad to promote stereotypes?
COOPER:
Who's promoting it?
STOSSEL:
You are by acting the role in this movie.
COOPER:
It's an art form, it's a movie. How come nobody comes over to me and says, how
come you're making fun of Italians? Because we have a sense of humor. I'm so
proud to be the first one to let people know we know how to laugh.
STOSSEL:
But
oftentimes
stereotypes
are
no
joke,
especially
when
people
say
they
are
true.
Next
week
we
devote
our
entire
show
to
that
topic.
Where
do
stereotypes
come
from
and
what
happens
to
those
who
dare
talk
about
them?
We
call
it
'Race
and
Sex:
What
We
Think,
But
Cannot
Say." That's "20/20" next
Friday.
(END)
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