Decisions on What to Study Continues to Keep Asians Invisible in the American Entertainment Industry

Watching the Super Bowl and its (some would call, underrated) Half-Time Show this year made me realize once again just how invisible Asians are in the American entertainment industry. As the Chiefs and the 49ers battled it out on the field and Usher reminded us of his hits from the 1990s, not an Asian face was projected, even for a split second, onto the TV screens of more than 100 million people around America tuning into the biggest sporting event of the year. The biggest representation of Asia in this Super Bowl, sad as it is, is whether prominent visitor Taylor Swift would get there in time from Tokyo.

That is not to say that Asians are not there at the Super Bowl. Plenty of Asians, myself included, relished the annual tradition of watching the Super Bowl with (many other Asian) friends, and even playing flag football when younger. Many Asians were surely in the stands of the Las Vegas stadium when the game took place and many more were backstage, helping to operate the games. As data analysts, doctors, sound technicians, project managers, and service staff, Asians of all stripes and backgrounds would have been an integral part of making the Super Bowl happen.

So given that Asians are important as both the audience and operating staff of the Super Bowl, it is doubly unfortunate that Asians are not more visible on the front stage of the entire experience. Common stereotypes hurt the chances of greater Asian participation. Despite exceptions like Jeremy Lin, Asians are commonly thought of, by both Asians and non-Asians alike, as genetically disadvantaged to perform well in sports. Weak physical capabilities mean that many Asians are discouraged from becoming professional athletes before they even try.

The same goes for music. While Asians seem to excel in non-mainstream types like Western classical and the niche ethnic or traditional, until the emergence of K-pop as a cultural force, few Asians became pop culture headliners in America. Some also attribute this to a cultural disadvantage fundamental to Asians. White, black, and Hispanic affinity for enjoying public musical performances over generations, punctuated by fast-paced musical numbers, have no equivalent in Asian traditions, where music across the centuries remained slow and the public only observed fast-paced dancers without participating in those dances.

Unfortunately, few Asian families are interested in rectifying the lack of Asian presence in the entertainment industry. In my current job helping (disproportionately Asian) high school students get into top universities, I see overwhelming interest in scientific research, engineering, computer science, and other STEM subjects, while rarely I see anyone interested in anything related to music, art, or professional sports after graduation. If this reality is any indication, the next generation of Asians in America will be just as invisible as the previous ones.

Frankly, this disproportionate interest in STEM does not have to be the case. The previous generation of those studying STEM, my parents included, did so as a matter of financial stability. The ingrained belief that science and technology are in demand among large companies in America meant that many studied STEM, not out of personal interest, but just so that they could get stable, high-paying jobs so important as a source of social status among Asian families. With many Asians now financially successful, their offspring do not face the same pressure to replicate financial success in the same way.

Thankfully, in some ways, this STEM obsession is breaking down. Many Asian-American high school students play sports and music as their main extracurricular activities, with many deciding that they would want to continue with them in college. The next logical step is to have them think that sports and music can also be realistic professional interests rather than just something they need to do as extracurricular activities to get into top universities. Here, the lack of a persistent Asian-American presence today, combined with still-rigid definitions of success, prevents Asian kids from taking a leap into the unknown.

Success in sports and music is elusive; there is no doubt about that. The power of Confucianism, which sees scientific pursuits as more socially refined and intellectual than entertainment, continues to work to the detriment of Asian kids who dream of being on the front stage of the Super Bowl. Yet, with the likes of the Super Bowl and pop music fundamental parts of the American socio-cultural fabric, Asians may not be fully American until they also partake in them. Perhaps this realization can help some Asian kids really think about how damaging the Asian obsession with STEM can be.