Asian-Americans represented only 1 percent of all leading roles in Hollywood. Representation matters. Asians were largely unseen in film and television, and when they were, it was often the stereotypical negative self-hating version. Things are slowly changing... I'm keeping watch.

Flower Drum Song became the first major Hollywood feature film to have a majority Asian-American cast in a contemporary Asian-American story. It would be the last film to do so for more than 30 years, until The Joy Luck Club.

Significant moments for me:

• 16 Candles: stereotypical Long Duck Dong - 80s
• 21 Jump Street (80s)
• All American Girl: go Margaret Cho! (90s)
• All My Life
• Always Be My Maybe: rom-com
• Anna May Wong
• Atlanta: Hiro Murai directing/writing
• Better Luck Tomorrow: first mtv-like comedy
• Birds of Prey
• Charlie's Angels - 00s
• Choe Show
• Crazy Rich Asians: first rom-com
• Dave - on Hulu. Asian love interest.
• David Chang - chef
• Edge of Seventeen: the first American teen comedy with an Asian romantic lead
• Everything Everywhere All At Once
• First Sesame Street Asian character 2021
• First SNL Asian actor: 2019
• Flower Drum Song
• Fresh Off The Boat: television sitcom
• Gook
• Hangover - Ken Jeong's problematic character
• Happy Days - 70s
• Harold & Kumar
• Hawaii 5,o
• Heroes
• Hiro Murai - Atlanta director and This is America
• JoyLuck Club
• Karate Kid
• Killing Eve: go Sandra Oh from Grey's Anatomy!
• Kim's Convenience
• Lost: tv show - the Korean couple
• Lovecraft Country: Korean folktale. So exciting they included an Asian story, along with kimchi, historical references the Japan's occupation of Korea for 30 years, folktales,
• Margaret Cho
• Master of None
• Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi, white actors playing Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan
• Minari
• Mulan
• Parasite
• Pen15
• Pricilla Queen of the Desert - Cynthia
• Q Anon: Into the Storm (well Q was asian)
• Save Yourselves: a rom-com sci-fi horror flick
• Searching
• Seoul Searching: 80s throwback comedy
• Shazam
• Shortcomings
• Silicon Valley
• SNL paradox of Asian Firsts
• Spiderman Homecoming: sidekick
• Squid Games: most watched show in Netflix history
• Star Trek
• Star Wars: female fighter
• The Big Sick
• The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs civil rights activist in the black community
• The Farewell
• The Green Hornet: Bruce Lee
• To All The Boys I've Loved Before
• Together Together
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Dong Nguyen love interest
• Walking Dead
• Wayne's World: Cassandra

Directors:

• Ang Lee
• Bong Joon Ho
• Chloe Zhao
• Gregg Araki
• Jon Chu
• M. Night Shyamalan

MISC:

• Anna Wong silent actress
• Kim Sisters singers
• Nora Noa fashion designer
• Pat Suzuki How High The Moon