Source Of The Image: Everett Collection
Issa Rae faced major backlash two years ago for suggesting that Black women only date Asian men, satirically quoting stereotypes as reasons for the necessary union between these ” unlucky in love demographics. That was meant to be a joke, but like everything else the internet gets their hands on it, was thrown out of proportion and led to a public relations nightmare for the usually non-problematic to the star. Now, having silenced the enemies, she brought this romantic attachment to the forefront both in the HBO series Unsafe and Netflix movie The Lovebirds — and she is not the only in the prioritization of this representation.
Historically, Asians (which in this article refer to persons who identify themselves as East Asian, Southeast Asian, or South Asia) in the man, the woman in Black (AMBW) relationships are very few and far between in popular films and television. The cause is twofold: One, movies with a black cable that easily fall into the trap of becoming a “Black movie,” which often are not as culturally dominant as the traditional cinema. And two, the archaic, a track full of cinematic representations of Black women and Asian men didn’t exactly exude romantic potential. So, when asked to name a couple of titles with AMBW pairings, it would not be a shock to most that it will be very difficult for the answers.
Fans of the film might mention the remake of 1997 Cinderellaa made-for-TV film that has reinvented the Cinderella (Brandy) and Prince Charming (Paolo Montalban) as an AMBW couple of decades before the race-bending iconic characters became fashionable. Romeo Must Die (2000), starring the singer Aaliyah and Jet Li (below), and Fakin’ da Funk 1997 romance between Tatyana Ali and Dante Basco, there are two other which the earth a place on the AMBW movie list. It’s also worth noting that it can be difficult for men who are of full Asian descent to be placed in the first place. Often overlooked in favor of the half-white actors, the more it perpetuates the stereotype that Asian men are not masculine enough to be seen as leads.
Source Of The Image: Everett Collection
These films were led by the creators of color who labored to add nuances and depth to their various characters. A focused attention to the characterization of the non-white roles is not always a fact evident by the excess and ready again tropes of the spicy Latin, noisy, dirty Black friend, or non-threatening genius Asian kid. Or the mammy, jezebel, or voodoo mama evoke sexual chemistry with the nerd, master of martial arts, or clumsy foreigner with a strong accent. To move towards a viable solution, and therefore believable portrait of a Asian man, Black woman, of the relationships that the individual characters had to be renovated before they could be in the first place imagined as one element.
But in the real world, these harmful tropes that represent dramatized versions of the cartoon does not get in the way of AMBW dating — in any way, in reality fuel. Both Black women and Asian men are statistically, the least romantically desired by those with racial dating preferences in their respective gender categories, and Eurocentric ideals of beauty and gender are the culprits. In the united states, standards of beauty are constantly changing, but the basic principles of who is attractive and who is not has remained relatively unchanged.
“As two of the demographics that face the worst romantic bias, a subculture that has emerged in the two communities of bonuses to promote the cultural exchange and love without fear unfounded the trial.”
For women, be soft spoken and reserved with petite features that are traditionally revered. To the surprise of no one, the stereotype of the strong, indomitable black woman with more pronounced body attributes is the antithesis. Asian men, on the other hand, are ostracized in the dating circles for being too feminine, since America’s ideal man is outgoing and physically dominant. As two of the demographics that face the worst romantic bias, a subculture that has emerged in the two communities of bonuses to promote the cultural exchange and love without fear unfounded the trial.
Vice the columnist Zachary Schwartz made a deep dive into this scene, detailing how the cultures, the stereotypes and the romance, all blend together. Schwartz, being a half Taiwanese, had experienced the problems of dating, while Asia, mentioning how he was always cute with a pinch-worthy cheeks, never hot friend. Granted, the AMBW community is suffering its own crisis of prejudice and racial fetishization, but Schwartz says that the constant merger of two undervalued cultures “demystify cultural differences forcing the two sides to understand each other (and) help to repair the world.”
With a plethora of Facebook groups, in-person, mixers, and couple of blogs dedicated to the AMBW love, the strength of this niche of the community. And in the last couple of years, are on-screen presence is beginning to mirror its screen success. Although it is not completely exhaustive list out there, this one shows the clear increase in popular films and series that portray AMBW relationships during the end of the decade, 2010. 2018, however, seems to mark a turning point.
Since then, Netflix the murder mystery rom-com, The Lovebirds (costarring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae), Hulu Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Sun is Also a Starand the most recent Space Force, all woven well represented in AMBW relationships integral lines of the story. Netflix is Space Force he even added a segment that shed light on AMBW (there known as BWAM) relationships in episode six, with the character of Dr. Kaifang saying: “in reality we are the least likely pairing, statistically, on American couples, however, have the highest marriage rate. So when we find each other, that is in reality . . . wonderful.”
Image source: HBO
Let us return to the Rae, which now has two projects that highlight AMBW relationships. She makes a point to highlight the prevalence of interracial relations that are not composed of a White person dating a person of color. Relationships are a valuable vehicle for the filmmakers to represent the microcosm of the communities of the shock. The white minority interracial relationship has been the most represented on the screen, fuelling important debates about the privilege and social position. But there are many other racial and cultural dynamics among communities of color, that have yet to be carefully dissected in the media, taking maximum advantage of the art of the ability to revive the social commentary.
In Unsafe the four season, a discussion between a Molly (Yvonne Orji) and Andrew (Alexander Hodge), the fourth season of the main couple, he examines how Black and Asian individuals experience different forms of racism and biases that certain communities of color towards the other. This argument reflected one of Schwartz finds himself with a conflict in a Facebook group started by an Asian member to criticize the Black culture. Through the expansion of the boundaries of the TV interracial relationship, Unsafe brought to light a part of the social interaction rarely shared on the screen.
Film and TELEVISION are vital resources not only to reflect and expose the range of human experiences, but also conditioning the spectators to perceive something as normal or common, and as the environment becomes more inclusive. So, as more and more AMBW couples who appear in the film, the real-life community seems more normal and common, until it is not a subculture of the world of dating, just dating.
