Negative Stereotypes of Asian Americans

Rising Against Negative Stereotypes of Asian Americans in Popular Culture That Developed Throughout History Negative stereotypes of Asians have been collectively internalized by societies, and were manifested by a society's popular culture, including the media, literature, theatre, and other creative expressions. Throughout America's history, Asian Americans have been conceived, treated, and portrayed as perpetual foreigners; un-assimilating and inherently foreign regardless of citizenship or duration of residence in America. These negative stereotypical views developed to what can be described as “the six faces of the oriental” which are the pollutant, the coolie, the deviant, the yellow peril, the model minority, and the gook (Lee, p.8). Stereotypes like these have been preconceived overgeneralizations about a group, without regard to individual uniqueness. This is evident through numerous Supreme Court rulings, acts of legislature, and statements made in the nation's media, such as "Go back to China!" (a familiar racist expression of xenophobia against Asian immigrants). The perceptions of Americans toward Asians in the media including characterizations of communication and social skills have drastically changed over the years. From the obvious negative stereotypes of the “six faces of the oriental” that developed in the 1800’s and early 1900’s to the perceived “positive” stereotype (but still actually negative) that occurred in the 1960’s to depict Asians as the “model minority,” the stereotypes never disappeared. These stereotypes placed on Asian Americans throughout history in popular culture were all negative, and today Asian Americans still experience these same negative racial stereotypes which we as Americans should strive to eliminate in order to grasp the idea of tolerance of Asian Americans in popular culture to create a less prejudiced society. The stereotypes of “the six faces of the oriental” derived from their ancestors during the