My subject is Asian Portrayals in Film Throughout History, and my outline for this subject is as follows:
I would go over the history, stereotypical roles of men vs. women, critiques, well-known films, and recent films and their reactions.
For history, one source I would refer to is this Washington Post article. This article talks about significant Asian actors and actresses in the past century, and the struggles that they faced, from being casted in stereotypical roles to being whitewashed.
For stereotypical roles of men vs. women, I found this thesis that someone wrote that touches on this area. Asian women are generally sexualized in media, while Asian men are sometimes portrayed as nerdy and undesirable. I am not a princess person, but I always liked the strong, smart princesses, especially Mulan. It was one thing to see a Disney princess who looked like me, but it was another to see her lead an army and save China. There are too many films however that portray Asian women as damsels who need to be saved.
For critiques, I forget where I saw it but I saw someone critique Awkwafina in Shang-Chi for being an Asian actress that is “in everything” and that her role did not suit her. This angered me, because no one says this about a white actor or actress. Many white celebrities star in many movies and franchises, and yet their roles are never questioned due to their race. (I need to find this source.)
Well-known films/recent films I want to touch on are the Joy Luck Club for its significance, Disney portrayals such as Mulan vs. the Aristocrats (even though they are cats, the way the Simese cats are portrayed is downright offensive), Crazy Rich Asians, and most recently, Shang-Chi, the first Asian superhero. Also, I have to note I was thoroughly dissapointed in Marvel at how they failed to promote the movie because the superhero is a person of color. However, I am proud to say it blew the box office out of the water, and I contributed to it. (I posted links to articles on the significance of some of these movies as a hyperlink).
I think this will be a great TED Talk! The examples you chose are really good and get your point across. I like how you talk about both gender roles and how they differ.
I actually wrote a discussion post about Asian portrayal and film and I think it is such an important topic. It’s often overlooked as to how little representation is in American films and I am so excited to read your take on it.