Since the Cold War (1948-1991), many generations wrongly associated the Asian continent with communist ideology. While this is partly true for certain countries, it doesn’t apply to all of Asia. This misconception created a significant barrier, preventing many Western countries from accessing Asia’s rich culture. Instead, these countries developed prejudices, some of which remain sadly prevalent today. This is sometimes expressed violently through episodes of Asian hate or the wrong assumption that Asian people were responsible for spreading the Coronavirus.
This inequality is also reflected in the media through popular Asian archetypes: the sexually voracious "dragon lady," the evil Dr. Fu Manchu, asexual martial arts heroes, the model minority (naturally smart, hardworking, wealthy, and well-behaved), Chinese supervillains, and characters who enter scenes to the sound of a gong or with wildly over-the-top accents. Asian women have been victims of hypersexualization, fetishization, and objectification, while South Asian men were often cast as terrorists, taxi drivers, or effeminate mama’s boys.
At times, Asian people have been victims of yellowface or brownface—offensive practices where makeup is used to imitate the appearance of East Asians—and tokenism, which refers to symbolic gestures toward diversity, often by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups just to give the appearance of racial or sexual equality. Even worse, stereotypes based on erroneous assumptions about Asian people and their culture are still present in films like Mulan (Tony Bancroft & Barry Cook, 1998), and are evident in the lack of Asian characters or cast members in many productions, both in front of and behind the camera.
It's shameful that discrimination and aggression toward Asian people continue, even after major historical events like The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), World War II (when some Asians were placed in concentration camps), and the Vietnam (1955-1975) and Korean (1950-1953) wars. This is especially true considering that Asia has one of the highest populations of immigrants, with many people leaving conflict-ridden areas in search of better living conditions. When they resettle, Asian immigrants bring with them their rich culture, which is passed down through generations until it becomes integrated into the culture of their new homes. In the United Kingdom, this influence is noticeable in many ways—geographically, through religious institutions, and in the arts, including entertainment, literature, music, food, and pop culture.
Economically, Asia’s impact is also significant. In 1997, Asia ushered in economic advantages both locally and globally with the rise of the Four Asian Tigers: Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. These high-growth economies, fuelled by exports and rapid industrialization, have achieved significant growth since the 1960s, exporting their products to industrialized nations around the world.
One of the benefits of globalization, particularly through the internet, is the accessibility of various cultures with just one click. Generation Z, known as the Digital Native generation, may take this access for granted. Although we’re often criticized by conservatives as being the "whining generation," specialists argue that Gen Z is politically progressive, with a strong focus on diversity.
The phenomenon of Asiaphilia is part of our generation’s culture and stands in stark contrast to the views of previous generations. This shift is evident in the entertainment industry. Asian pop music and its many artists and bands have gained global popularity, and in film, two consecutive years of Asian winners at the Academy Awards—Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, 2019) and Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, 2020)—brought unprecedented attention to Asian cinema. This led to more visibility for Asian-led productions, such as Raya and the Last Dragon (Carlos López Estrada & Don Hall, 2021) on Disney+ and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Destin Daniel Cretton, 2021) in theaters.
In 2022, Pixar released Turning Red (Domee Shi), the first animated film to feature Asian protagonists and have a predominantly Asian team behind the camera.
In 2024, Disney+ released Shōgun, based on a novel of the same name set in medieval Japan. The production was meticulous in its attention to detail and set records at the Emmy Awards, marking numerous firsts for the Asian community in both critical and public acclaim.
Japanese television dramas (doramas) began gaining international popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s as part of the "Korean Wave" (Hallyu) and the rise of J-dramas, K-dramas, and C-dramas. This wave exploded worldwide in 2018 with the release of Crazy Rich Asians, and the post-Parasite era further broke the bubble of Western media's limited portrayals of Asians, with Asian characters now being seen as relatable and desirable romantic partners.
For the first time, Gen Z is shifting the focus away from hegemonic Western culture, bringing Asian people out of the shadows where previous generations had hidden them. However, it’s important to acknowledge that there is still a high number of violent incidents motivated by Asianphobia. These events led to the creation of the #StopAsianHate movement and hashtag in January of this year, after the killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee.
Despite the growing appreciation for Asian culture in the West, troubling incidents of racism and misinformation continue to surface. In late August 2024, the UK witnessed hate-fueled riots targeting immigrants, reigniting conversations about xenophobia and cultural intolerance. These events are a grim reminder that despite the progress made by the younger, more inclusive Generation Z, deep-seated prejudice remains an issue.
Adding to this, disinformation recently spread about the Brazilian telenovela Pés de Chinesa, which allegedly used AI to fabricate scenes that offensively portrayed the practice of foot binding. The telenovela sparked outrage due to its insensitive depiction of Asian people and their culture. Brazil, home to a significant percentage of Asian descendants, saw widespread backlash, with critics arguing that the show’s portrayal reinforced harmful stereotypes and distorted cultural practices for shock value.
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