Asian 'American Idol': Stereotype or Star?
ASIA, Commentary, Deanna Chew, Posted: Mar 19, 2004
By now, most of America is familiar with William Hung, the Chinese pop star wannabe from the University of California at Berkeley who made his debut appearance on this year's season of "American Idol."
Known to most people as the "She Bangs" guy, Hung's audition for the show has become one of the nation's longest running jokes. Video clips of his performance can be found all over the Internet and a few die hard "Idol" fans have even created fan sites to pay homage to the one-hit wonder (www.WilliamHung.net).
But success has come at a price for the Hong Kong native. Although his atrocious rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" has landed him instant notoriety, Hung's success in the music industry has become rather bittersweet for the rest of the Asian American community.
Today many are beginning to worry that Hung's thick Hong Kong accent and crooked buck teeth will further reinforce people's stereotypes about Asian Americans. And while I admit that this idea has crossed my mind a few times, I'm not sure if I totally agree. After all, people aren't making fun of the fact that he is Chinese. They are making fun of the fact that he can't sing, which in my opinion is totally justifiable since he did sign himself up for the show.
While Hung's persona on stage does fit classic stereotypes, I don't think it's fair that he should take all the heat for it. After all, it isn't his fault that he was born with slanted eyes or crooked teeth. Just like it is not his fault that people should see him as such. What it all boils down to is that there are a lot of people out there who fit into traditional Asian American stereotypes. This, however, does not mean that we should try to hide them in the closet. Instead, we should simply accept them for who they are and help others to see them in the same way. While it sounds like a cliché, I believe this is the only way we will be able to finally eradicate stereotypes from our society.
We often talk about breaking free from the cultural boundaries that surround us. But to do so, we must first discover who we each are as individuals. If breaking free from stereotypes means denying our own culture to conform to the so-called American ideals, then we haven't achieved anything. After all, being American doesn't mean fitting into the same mold as all the other millions of people in this country; being American means being ourselves, stereotype and all.
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User Comments
T.K. Marino on Mar 24, 2004 at 12:48:23 said:
The fact that Mr. Hung had the nerve, the fortitude, and self assurance, (even though he is a "nerdy Asian Guy".) to audition and appear on a shallow, innane show which is aimed at finding a "heartthrob" for immature white american teenager's to drool over, makes him a celebrity.
Should he have skipped auditioning for the show because he is not a 6 ft.- 4 in. pretty white boy???
Malcolm X on Mar 24, 2004 at 07:44:24 said:
William Hung is nothing more then a modern-day sambo in a modern-day minstrel show for white people to laugh at in the guise of "support". IS it any surprise that this is the only type of image white society allows in the media? The Asian women as an sexually object just wanting to suck on a whiteman's penis and Asian man as nerds, geeks, dorks, and evil oppressive dictators.
Bruce Chan on Mar 23, 2004 at 20:49:03 said:
After reading your article, I could not help but conclude that your line of logic is overly naive. Stereotypes will always be a part of society. Stereotypes exists because there will ALWAYS be people from a particular group that fit a certain profile. However, to suggest that we can eradicate negative stereotypes by embracing them is misguided.
-->In the case of the Will Hung phenomenon, one needs to ask why America has decided to celebrate him. You say his ethnicity plays no role in his popularity. I vehemently disagree. To discount the significance on how his race plays into this running joke ignores how America has traditionally perceived and depicted Asian men. Possibly not since the appearance of Long Dong Duc in Sixteen Candles have I witnessed an exploitation of such a negative image that continues to plague Asian males. The producers of American Idol recognized this and have capitalized by making a mockery of him.
In and of itself, I agree Will's performance is comedic. However, let's be honest with ourselves and agree that it is not his singing nor his sincerity that has made him popular. It is because he is this helpless nerdy Asian fellow, who is game for ridicule unbeknownst even to himself. By understanding that Asian American males are largely marginalized without a proper balance of dignified and empowering images makes this hardly a laughing matter (name the last respectable non-martial arts image of any Asian AMERICAN male). Any inroads and progress Asian males have made in entertainment/media has taken a major step back with this sorry display that will be played over and over to millions of viewers.
No one is trying to hide Will. He is who he is. However, you should ask why this Asian American continues to be idolized while others that do not fit any of the denigrating Asian stereotypes remain ignored.