Asian enough? | David Huynh | TEDxVermilionStreet

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

David Huynh shares his story of struggles as an Asian-American actor. By illustrating the underrepresentation of Asians in the film industry, Huynh calls for society's awareness and more diverse and equitable representation.

My mother came here in 1968

during U.S. involvement
in the Vietnam War.

My father came here in 1977
after the fall of Saigon

and after having spent two years
in a Cambodian refugee camp.

Obviously, they had me.

We're American, or specifically,
we're Vietnamese American.

Now, somewhere along the way,
their first generation son

started experimenting
with the real gateway drug: art.

(Laughter)

I started taking
theater classes in high school

and performing in musicals and plays.

I loved it.

I met people who have and will continue
to influence me for the rest of my life.

I got hooked on the rush
of stepping on stage

in front of a room full of strangers,

and I haven't stopped since.

I majored in it in college.

I went on to train at a professional actor
training program based in Houston

and earned my MFA.

I got to work on beautiful stories
written by great writers

like Tennessee Williams,
Henrik Ibsen, and Shakespeare

with some very talented
and open-hearted collaborators.

Then, I graduated, and it was time
to move and start building a career.

I moved to New Orleans in 2014

because of all the opportunities
in film and television.

I did everything an actor moving
to a new market needs to do.

I got new headshots,
I connected with a good agent,

and I started going on auditions.

During one of my first
on-camera auditions,

I did all my work beforehand.

I was off-book, I had
an understanding of the scene,

I was focused, but I was still flexible
and playing the scene.

And the casting director said,
"Good, that's great!

Would you mind doing that
in a more Chinesey accent?"

Yeah.

(Laughter)

That's when I realized
that this industry has me in a box.

There's a certain way
I'm expected to sound,

a certain way I'm expected to behave,
and certain roles I'm expected to play.

The majority of my on-camera auditions

seemed to call for a voice
that just wasn't my own:

broken English was expected
to be my calling card.

I would vent to some of my peers,
and some of them would say,

"What? But your English is so good!"

to which I say, "Thanks, yours too."

(Laughter)

Others would make a more earnest attempt
to connect and try to understand,

but often, many of them
didn't have the experience

of having their skin speak for them
before anything else.

Then, I left.

I traveled for some time
and then moved to New York City.

There, I met a milestone.

Not only did I meet people who understood

I met people who had been through
the exact same things I had, if not worse.

There was a national call
for Asian-Americans

to share their experiences
through #myyellowfacestory.

From that, we got messages like,

"That time on a TV show, a writer said,
'We hired you because you are Asian.

Be Asian!'"

What does that even mean?

"That time I was called in
to play a Thai hooker

and asked to translate my lines
into whatever Asian language I spoke."

(Laughter)

Because we're all interchangeable, right?

(Laughter)

"That time an audience member wrote in,

'There were no Blacks or Asians
in Shakespeare's time.'"

Inaccurate.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Thank you.

"That time the sound designer
for my first play asked,

'So what are we gonna use?
Chinky music?'"

Yeah.

"In grad school, I was told

that if I was uncomfortable
with white actors in Asian roles,

I shouldn't have written Asian roles."

Not only do we have trouble
finding roles that we can play,

we meet obstacles when we try
to create them for ourselves.

These messages were shared

shortly after casting announcements
for the "Ghost in the Shell" movie.

For those of you who aren't familiar,

"Ghost in the Shell"
was originally a Japanese anime

centered around a character
named Motoko Kusanagi.

She's a law enforcement officer
in a futuristic Tokyo.

In the live action film adaptation,

she is played by Scarlett Johansson
in a black bob.

Let's look at another movie
that made splashes because of its casting.

In the original story of "Dr. Strange,"

the Ancient One was born 500 years ago

deep in the Himalayan Mountains
in an area we now know as Tibet.

He devoted his life
to studying the mystical arts

to defend Earth against black magic.

This is one depiction from the comics.

In the live action film,
he is played by Tilda Swinton.

(Laughter)

Tilda Swinton, who seems to be wearing
robes inspired by Buddhist monks.

It's difficult in this industry
because there are a few roles

written with an Asian setting
or Asian characters in mind.

The few Asian roles that exist
are being played by Caucasian actors

resulting in 'Hollywood whitewashing.'

It's the practice of a white actor
playing non-white roles.

It takes the foundation of our identity

- like our culture, our traditions,
our origins, and our religion -

and treats it like a costume.

A step beyond that is 'yellowface.'

It's the practice of using
make-up and prosthetics

to make a non-Asian performer
look East-Asian.

It dehumanizes us, and it feeds this idea

that we're outsiders,
that we just don't belong.

You can see it here in the 1961 movie,
"Breakfast At Tiffany's":

Mickey Rooney playing Mr. Yunioshi.

Again, in 2014, "How I Met Your Mother."

And again, in 2016, "Absolutely Fabulous."

On the left is Huki Muki,
a male Japanese fashion designer.

He is played by Janette Touch,
a Caucasian actress.

At some point, when there's a deliberate
lack of inclusion, it becomes exclusion.

The trend in mainstream media
seems to be that we don't belong

or that we only belong
in very small roles.

There seems to be this refusal
to view Asian-Americans

as fully fleshed-out humans
with our own passions, desires, and lives.

We're more than aromantic nerds,
ninja assassins, or sexy school girls.

But if that's all a society
is being shown by the media it consumes,

it can crosses over
into our day-to-day lives

by our subconscious
biases and perceptions.

At the University of California,
Santa Barbara,

Dr. Dana Mastro published a study

that said the average American spends

more than five hours a day
in front of a television.

That's not including devices
like computers or cellphones.

Seventy percent of infants spend

more than two hours a day
in front of a TV.

It goes on to say that because of this,
audience members may not even realize

this kind of media exposure
affecting their perceptions of reality.

So, the media we are shown
can affect society

by affecting the way
we view diverse groups.

So the media being produced
takes on a whole new importance.

So, what do we do?

Well, by being here and giving me
your time and understanding;

that's huge.

I think a large part of this
is because we don't understand

what's been the norm
for a very a long time.

By being aware and calling it out
when you see it,

it's a huge gesture towards more diverse
and equitable representation.

Call out whitewashing.
Call out yellowface.

See shows with leads
of other ethnic backgrounds,

with plots that revolve
around their lives and experiences.

Experience all the flavor and variety

that make our country
so unique and diverse.

Before we end,

I'd like to share an experience
from one of my favorite plays.

I was cast as one of the leads

in an adaptation of George Farquhar's
"The Beaux' Stratagem."

In it, I played an English
aristocratic playboy.

He swashbuckled and swindled his way
into his love's heart.

Afterwards, a student found me.

She stopped me and made a point
to look into my eyes and say,

"I've never seen anyone who looks like me
doing what you're doing.

Thank you so much."

That's what it's all about, y'all.

Thank you.

(Applause)

Thank you very much.

(Applause)