288) Racial Representations

I had dinner with some relatives who are in town tonight, and the topic of K-Town came up. For those who've yet to catch wind of the show, it's essentially an Asian version of Jersey Shore, centered around LA's bumping Koreatown. It's still making its way through the production process, but given the success of Jersey Shore, I've little doubt that it will make it to air.

I've heard mixed reactions from the Asian American community. Some lament the small, not-so-savory subset of Asians that are represented (check out the cast reel above. 'Roided out Asian ballers! Asian hoochie mamas!). Others see any representation in main stream media to be a step in the right direction. Plus, while perhaps not so flattering, the K-Town cast blows the stereotypes about quiet, meek, nerdy Asians out of the water.

Which raises the question - what would the ideal representation of Asians be? Certainly not the studious, TI-89 wielding, never been kissed one. But also not the hot mess, belligerently drunk one. Why are we stuck with such extremes? (Aside from the easy answer - it makes for better TV.)

What Jersey Shore did was to shine the spotlight on a pre-existing, yet not widely known sliver of Italian Americans. Now everyone knows what a guido is, what the characteristics of a guidette are. And while we laugh and marvel at their antics, deep down we know that not all Italian Americans, and to a lesser extent, not all residents of the Jersey Shore, are like that.

Is it safe to assume that the same will be true for K-Town? What makes it tricky is that there are so many other representations of Caucasians on TV that balance out the Jersey Shore. K-Town will be one of very few representations of Asians (MXC anyone?) in mainstream media. Time will tell whether the show is a regression, or a step forward.