Flash Forward: The ’sexification’ of the Asian-American Male is Overdue
Posted by: Ernie Estrella on October 1, 2009 at 12:40 pm
So who else was hooked in by last week’s premiere of Flash Forward? In case you missed it, Flash Forward is the new ABC sci-fi drama about the world experiencing a simultaneous black out for a duration of two minutes and 17 seconds. In this period of time everyone was knocked out and some experienced a dream-like vision of the future. When people awoke from the blackout, all chaos broke loose. It’s not just New York City, it’s not just the United States, it’s a global occurrence.
The FBI unit investigating the phenomena is who the show follows. Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) as Mark Benford, leads a group of agents who try to piece what happened to cause the blackout and piece together their “flash forwards.” The reason that these are so special is that visions are shared exactly by the people in each vision. For instance one of the other agents has a meeting with their counterpart in England. In his flash forward, and after the blackout, the two confirmed they had the exact flash forward despite being thousands of miles apart. Benford’s vision shows him in his office, frantically trying to solve a case called the Mosaic project while someone with a tattoo of three stars on his arm is hunting him down.
In his vision, he is wearing a friendship bracelet, a corkboard filled with pictures and details about the Mosaic case include the name D. Gibbons, three stars consistent to the tattoo on his hunter, a map with Baltimore labeled, 137 Sekunden (137 seconds in German), photographs of burnt baby dolls, amongst other details.
Other interesting flash forwards are Benford’s wife, Olivia played by Sonya Walgner (who is showing up in every one of my favorite shows from Lost, to Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles) who has an affair with a complete stranger in her vision. Olivia plays a doctor, whose intern was contemplating suicide right before the blackout. His flash forward was to a future where he was alive. Another agent, Janis Hawk played by Christine Woods, is pregnant in her vision when she doesn’t even have a boyfriend. The one thing in common with the visions is that the date was exactly the same. April 29th, 2010 and everyone remembers the details as if they actually experienced it. Also, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the visionary day is also during the last week of the prime time television season. One last detail that’s tickling my brain is that surveillance footage at a Detroit Tigers game in Comerica Park showed a shadowy figure in a black trenchcoat moving while everyone is passed out. The plot thickens…
While fellow PCS staffer, Shola Akinnuso might be apprehensive following another network science fiction series in the same vein as Lost, I am unapologeticaly hooked already. There are A to B list actors involved, the story has a great hook, and it’s co-created by David S. Goyer who comic book fans will know from writing Justice Society of America with Geoff Johns and the screenplay for Batman Begins. Also Marc Guggenheim is a writer on the show and is no stranger to writing solid episodic stories of this nature. (If you haven’t checked out his fine Oni post-alien invasion comic, Resurrection, track down the first trade paperback for $6!!) And anyone who reads comics should have caught easter eggs like D. Gibbons (do I need to explain) and a billboard advertising Lost’s Oceanic Airlines.
But the biggest thing I am most concerned about though is co-lead, John Cho (Harold and Kumar, Star Trek) and his character, Demitri Noh. As a first-generation Asian-American, the sexification of the Asian-American Male is long overdue. The World Wars and Vietnam did wonders for the Asian-American woman, and Hispanics and Blacks have made great strides but what about my Asian brothers? Every time we’re portrayed either as a pencil protecting nerd, a camera-toting tourist, a scholar fresh off the boat, or a drugged out burnout. Never has an Asian male been cast in a straight lead role of a major network television show who is an actual Asian-AMERICAN. No disrespect to Daniel Dae Kim (plays a native Asian in Lost), Masi Oka (plays a nerd in Heroes), the late Pat Morita (owner of Arnold’s Diner in the comedy, Happy Days), but this is a different role. More so than any draw of science fiction, more so than a great another potential television drama, I am excited that Cho has a lead role as an un-stereotyped Asian-American, someone I can relate to.
Cho’s character Demetri Noh is also in the FBI, Benford’s partner, and engaged to Gabrielle Union’s character Zoey Andata. Hold on, an Asian-American male lead AND an interracial relationship? Has the apocalypse arrived? Have my dreams have come true? No sooner do I wipe the tears of joy watching the episode when the bomb hits… Demitri did not experience a flash forward… waitaminute… WHAT?!! (Cue in the car screeching crash sound effect and woman screaming in the background.) That’s right, those who didn’t experience a flash forward can assume that they don’t get to live to see April 29th. Can’t see anything if you’re not alive. There must have been a typo, he must have gotten the wrong script, I mean we all know it’s the black men who don’t get to see the end of the show, wait, that’s just horror flicks, or is it? Maybe, just maybe, he has a big movie lined up and can only commit to one season of the show.
So I gather myself while watching this, beleaguered, knowing that the one character that’s brought me into this show, is going to get offed by season’s end. Or is he? And this is where the story gets interesting. Why did everyone get a glimpse of the future, was it to ensure it happens, or was it to prevent it? My man, John is going to get to the bottom of this. This much I’m sure of. And if not, well at least go out with a bang, John.
Let’s track his survival rate and see if in fact, he does makes it through the entire first season. I’m not greedy, I mean I could hope he’s on for the whole series run, but we don’t know if it will make it past the first 13 episodes. But the buzz is pretty good. Aside from my Demitri Noh watch, I found all of the other elements of Flash Forward impressive, extremely captivating and well-worth my time. Flash Forward is my new favorite show of the season and I’ll be watching ABC on Thursday night–at least while Demitri is alive.
19 Responses to "Flash Forward: The ’sexification’ of the Asian-American Male is Overdue"
1 | Kayode Kendall
I knew his character was engaged, but they hooked him up with a sista! That’s what’s up! Progress, people! Progress!!!
2 | Michelle Smith
I liked FlashForward a lot, too. More than I’d expected to, truth be told. That scene with the trenchcoat guy was some of the coolest creepiness I’ve seen on TV in a long time.
3 | Shola Akinnuso
I liked it too, but the trench coat guy had me dying! It was so corny! He was walking intentionally dramatic, swinging his coat/cape and looking behind him like some devious villain. I thought the implication that somebody was ‘awake’ was cool, but the execution really had me in stitches.
4 | Matt Bergin
I really enjoyed the show and nu-Sulu was my favorite character in the pilot…but now when I watch the show I am going to be creeped out thinking that he has been “sexified.”
5 | Mary
“now when I watch the show I am going to be creeped out thinking that he has been ’sexified.’”
LOL, then I probably shouldn’t ruin the Harold & Kumar movies by telling you what I was thinking about Harold…
Seriously, John Cho is long overdue as a romantic lead, the dude is FINE!
6 | Jo
I enjoyed reading your post Ernie. I agree with you all; the FF pilot was good and actually engages your brain cells (I love “thinking” tv./movies). I think Cho’s acting has been superb and he’s quite sexy. He’s why I’m watching the show too. I’m also concerned that they’ll kill him off-typical treatment of non-stereotypical characters of color. Plus, he’s interacting with another person of color in a positive, romantic way. They tend to not last long…That said, I just wanna bring up some points. I’m Afropina so I’m looking at this in a couple of ways. I totally agree with you about the lack of non-stereotypical, Asian male images on tv, etc. And yes, we do see more Black and Latino characters on tv or in the movies. Problem is, the majority of these depictions are still stereotypical. The shows that don’t have stereotypical characters don’t get much support, if any, and die off quietly in the corner somewhere. Black folks are still “street”, “ghetto”, thugs, coons, mammies, singers/rappers & dancers, jezebel or some kind of athlete, etc. The Latino images tend to be gangbangers, “spicy” Latina/o, immigrants, maids and gardeners (heavy accent included). So what’s worse: seeing a lot of certain groups of color which creates the perception that these stereotypes are who they really are and all they can be or, not seeing enough of a another group of color period (and what we do see is again, stereotypical)? I say it’s another conundrum we can attribute to living with the complexities of race under this White Supremacist system. In a perfect world, all actors/actresses of color would get a good amount of airtime and have the opportunity to play a variety of roles like White actors/actresses. It’s the same ‘ol same ‘ol in Hollyweird. But for now, I’ll keep watching and see where the Cho’s character goes…
7 | Michelle Smith
@Shola Hahaha, okay I can’t disagree with anything you said but I still think it was cool. :)
@Jo I haven’t read the book the series is based on, but I know there is a character who doesn’t see anything when he flashes forward. Whether he’s Asian in the book I couldn’t say, but it might not be a case of creating an Asian char only to kill him but rather casting an Asian in a part that’s doomed to die. If that makes any sense?
8 | Ernie Estrella
@ Jo,
I would disagree a bit. There are many great straight black actors who had lead roles and very important parts that moved each respected show along.
Harrold Perrineau in Lost…
Erik King in Dexter
Shemar Moore in Criminal Minds
Andre Braugher in well, everything he’s in.
DB Woodside, Dennis Haysbert as the Palmers in 24
Woodside and J. August Richards in Angel…
The Wire is filled with local actors/extras who live in Baltimore and I would debate anyone who would say that show is an inaccurate portrayal of Baltimore.
I tend to think you see what you want to see sometimes.
None of these roles I’ve mentioned have ever taken away from their sex appeal. My angle was that we not only see Cho in a lead role but he doesn’t fall in the stereotypical role for an Asian male and if seen in a lead role long enough he can be seen as not only a lead actor but a sexy lead actor who can be offered a variety of roles.
9 | Kayode Kendall
Actually, Woodside was on Buffy. But that’s another thing, not to go off on too much of a tangent, but while I love the different black characters Whedon’s created for his shows, they never seem to find other black people to have sexy-time with! Think about it! Zoe and Wash in Firefly, Principal Wood and Faith on Buffy, Gunn and Fred on Angel, even in the Buffy comic, Xander had a brief flirtation with one of the slayer recruits that happened to be black. Not to mention that one episode of Buffy where Ashanti played a blind date of his that ended up being a demon who wanted to sacrifice him! I applaud Whedon for acknowledging interracial couples, but damn! He’s coming dangerously close to establishing the idea that black people don’t like other black people in his creative universe. (Is he married to a black woman, by chance?) Even on Dollhouse, Harry Lennix’s character seemed to be leaning towards Amy Acker’s character in a romantic way.
10 | Michelle Smith
I actually thought he was married to an Asian woman until just two minutes ago (Kai is her first name, leading me to think she’s Japanese), but no, she’s white. :)
11 | Jon Haehnle
Great post Ernie. I am following your lead with another “sexification of the Asian male” post — about James Kyson Lee (Ando from Heroes) http://www.popcultureshock.com/james-kyson-lee-sexification-asian-male/51329/
12 | Jon Haehnle
Also, I should note that I just watched the first two eps of FFWD and am liking it. So far so good.
13 | Jo
@Michelle
I hear what you’re saying. Perhaps it is just a coincidence that he was cast in a “doomed” role. But this seems to be a reoccurring pattern. It’s unfortunate that the non-stereotypical roles are so far and few in-between or in this case, possibly short lived.
@Ernie
I’ll have to take your word on some of these shows you mentioned, as I have not seen all of them. But I will say this about the Wire: it may depict an accurate Baltimore, “inner city”, Black experience. While the acting is superb (everyday folks included) the problem again is this is one of the main depictions of the Black experience in America. But, it is not a realistic, diverse, all encompassing depiction. I wouldn’t have a problem with the show if there were other shows depicting Black folks as a variety of peoples, with various experiences, socio-economic statuses and characteristics. The Cosby show was a great example of showing another side of the Black experience. But this show’s positive image of middle class Black folks hasn’t continued to be pervasive throughout the years. No, it’s shows like the Wire that continue to be at the forefront representing the Black experience and Black people. And the show was not even created by a Black person.
“I tend to think you see what you want to see sometimes.
None of these roles I’ve mentioned have ever taken away from their sex appeal. My angle was that we not only see Cho in a lead role but he doesn’t fall in the stereotypical role for an Asian male and if seen in a lead role long enough he can be seen as not only a lead actor but a sexy lead actor who can be offered a variety of roles.”
That was my point exactly. I couldn’t agree with you more. But I would caution you because, what you are calling sexy for these roles played actors/actresses of color coincide with stereotypes to the point where people do see what they want to see and they don’t see that these stereotypes are hurtful to people of color.
14 | Michelle Smith
Update: I’ve actually begun the FlashForward book and the character who sees no future in it is Greek. That still doesn’t answer whether the TV execs planned the role to be Asian or whether John Cho came in and blew them away and so they tweaked the role for them.
15 | Ernie Estrella
@Jo, To be honest, it’s just nice to see Asians on the screen, and if the actors get good work and there’s some variety in it for them where they’re inspired to knock it out of the park, I’m for it. I can’t get upset at who portrays down-trodden characters. Someone has to play those roles, I don’t really care who, as long as they’re good. Would we rather the Wire be filled with an all-white cast except the leads to drive home “Diversity”. That wouldn’t ring true either.
But I never use television shows/films as documentaries and guides to life. I can always hope for some more accuracy, but you can’t let it bother you. I could never enjoy Veronica Mars if I couldn’t get past the fact that there were no Filipino characters even though San Diego is the largest population of Filipinos outside of the Philippines. It’s a pet peeve, but I love that show to my grave.
Cho’s character is clearly very different that what we’ve seen, probably since Dustin Nguyen in 21 jump street if you think about it. But what’s been done since him? Nada.
I can’t get too discouraged over what you call “hurtful” roles. Look at what Viola Davis played the most pivotal role of the movie Doubt, and if you ask her, I don’t think she’d ever think twice about doing that role. That was a role of a lifetime whether you do it on stage or on film. As an actor you want to play a part that people will remember and that people will see.
Perhaps you should venture outside some of your viewing habits and you’ll find a ton of diverse roles out there for nearly every ethnic background except Asian males. It’s honestly because they’re rarely used, in America. As actors, models, in advertising, etc. When you’re an actor, a juicy role is a juicy role. Middle Eastern actors have to deal with playing terrorists now. But if those are the only roles, you do your best, or you make your own films.
CS Lee on Dexter, and Michael Paul Chan on The Closer are others who have stepped it up, although Lee is still a dorky pervert (but an underachiever which I like), but neither is a LEAD role.
I’m not angry about it, I’m frustrated, but am enjoying it while I can. But what will be great is if Cho’s character does die and it’s a successful series, people will miss his character and do wonders for him. Look at what happened to Seth Green after he left Buffy.
16 | Nelson Wong
Completely agree! Hope we’ll see more casting choices that reflect real-life with respect to Asian Americans.
Maybe I’m just an old fart but I remember Jack Soo who played Detective Seageant Yemana on “Barney Miller.” In the mid-70’s he was an actual Asian American male character and perhaps the first regular Asian American character on U.S. prime time television.
17 | Jessica
Ah, Tim Kang? As CBI agent Kimball Cho over on The Mentalist? He’s on a hit show, is the second-in-command of their team, is attractive and acknowledged to be so, runs around being manly with a gun and is the best interrogator on the team, gets to be snarky and deadpan and is overall extremely awesome? And has been around for a whole season longer than Demitri Noh?
Don’t get me wrong, John Cho and Demitri are both awesome, but, as Patrick Jane said, there’s no business like Cho business.
18 | che
October 14th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Great article. I think it’s important to shine light on the fact that Hollywood has been snubbing Asian American (or even Asian) leads for quite some time, and continues to do so. I’m not an expert on the subject, but an immediate example which comes to mind is the television series Kung Fu. It was created and dreamed up by Bruce Lee, and he had imagined himself starring, but the infinitely wise TV execs cast David Carradine instead. In no world was Carradine a bigger martial arts star, nor a better martial artist than Bruce Lee. Clearly, the industry believed Hollywood, and America was not ready for an Asian leading man.
Let’s jump ahead several decades. The long-awaited on-screen team-up of Jet Li and Jackie Chan was set to occur in the film “The Forbidden Kingdom”. These two Asian stars are arguably some of the most popular entertainers in the world. However, some bonehead decided to relegate these superstars to supporting roles, boosting up an unknown white kid as the lead, and creating a far stupider movie in the process. Meanwhile, the in-production “The Last Airbender” movie based on the animated series has replaced the Asian-looking protagonists with white actors, but left the villain (south) Asian. And speaking of Cho’s relationship with Union, I am reminded of an early American Jet Li production, “Romeo Must Die” wherein Jet Li is cast as “Romeo” essentially, but is stripped of all sexuality, when his relationship with the “Juliette” character (as played by Aaliyah) is transformed into a strictly platonic one. Jackie Chan has enjoyed the same distinction in his American movies.
The Abysmal Dragonball: Evolution left many of the supporting characters as Asian (particularly women and wise old men — roles that Hollywood feels very comfortable giving to Asians) but made sure the lead was a white guy.
There is definitely a pattern. It is often a challenge to even get films made if they feature Asian leads.
19 | che
October 14th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I forget to mention Bulletproof Monk! They rewrote the entire story to accommodate the fact that they were switching the protagonist from Tibetan to Stifler.
