The Mary Sue: First up, in its 45th season, the show is finally adding its first cast member of full Asian descent, Bowen Yang. Yang, who cohosts the podcast Las Culturistas, was a writer on the show last season and he did make it onscreen playing Kim Jong-un opposite Sandra Oh, herself one of only a handful of Asian actors to ever host the show. Yang was hilarious but his appearance shown a spotlight on the lack of diversity in the cast.
10 comments:
I'm really excited to hear that SNL is adding new cast members. Too many years we have suffered through the same 5 jokes made by Kenan Thompson as Kenan Thompson. It think its super important that they are finally adding a cast member of Asian decent. I recognized Yang from his King Jong-un sketch, during which I was fully wondering "Who's that guy? Why isn't he on the show?". Im stoked to see the new material that might come along with these new cast members. I am an avid fan of the Groundlings, who are based in LA, about an hour from where I live, and I almost cried tears of joy when I learned Chloe Fineman will be joining the cast. Another thing I was surprised about in this article is that they brought in a Production Designer for Sulu. I wonder why they didn't realize then, or when Melissa Villasenor had to play an Asian role, their lack of diversity. Or when Sandra Oh got nominated for an Emmy for her hosting performance. It seems like they had been ignoring the problem for a while, but I am glad they finally casted Bowen Yang. Congrats to him! Woohoo!!!
This is so vitally important and I am glad to finally see some Asian representation hit Saturday Night Live. As the article states, Saturday Night Live hardly ever even has hosts of Asian descent (only six the article claims!) People of color have almost always had to fight for representation in media. However, it always seems that those of Asian descent have an even harder time to get their faces seen in media. Just taking a quick look through a study from the University of California at Los Angeles shows that Asian actors have about 3.1% of ‘top film roles’ in 2016. In ‘Broadcast Scripted Shows’, they only had about 5% representation overall. Bowen Yang having an actual role in Saturday Night Live is a huge step in the right direction, and I can only hope that television continues on a trajectory of representing those of us in the underrepresented communities.
So exciting to hear about Yang’s new role on SNL. The cast has lacked in diversity and hopefully they are moving towards more representation. Yet what is very interesting, is alongside Yang, SNL has also hired Shane Gillis. Gillis has a reputation for making blatantly racist and homophobic remarks, and was even let go from a theatre he worked at due to such instances. A Youtube video was recently released that shows Gillis mocking a Chinese accent and calling Chinese people “chinks”. He also comment on Ali Wong’s career, saying “Ali Wong is making so Asian chicks are funnier than white chicks”. When faced with backlash, Gillis said he is just “pushing boundaries” and he is “trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks”. Risks like using a racially derogatory slur? It has only been a day since the casting of both Yang and Gillis has been announced, and I am eager to see if SNL or Yang will have anything to say about the situation.
Despite the fact that I am one of the biggest SNL fans on the planet, it is a little disappointing that it has taken SNL 45 years to cast an Asian Cast member. However, what is more shocking to me is the fact that in 2016, Melissa Villaseñor played Eliane Quijano in a sketch about the presidential debate. Obviously, there was a need for more diverse cast in the past, that was not addressed. They also go on to site the lack of Asian hosts in SNL’s history. I was also shocked to see that in previous sketches in which Asian characters were portrayed, for example in the Star Trek sketch, an Asian production designer was brought in to play the role of Sulu. Regardless, the fact that SNL is continuing to diversify their cast and reevaluate their content and material is encouraging, but I almost want to say too little too late. When regarding the lack of diversity in the media, there is also of work that needs to be done in order to increase representation.
Despite the fact that I am one of the biggest SNL fans on the planet, it is a little disappointing that it has taken SNL 45 years to cast an Asian Cast member. However, what is more shocking to me is the fact that in 2016, Melissa Villaseñor played Eliane Quijano in a sketch about the presidential debate. Obviously, there was a need for more diverse cast in the past, that was not addressed. They also go on to site the lack of Asian hosts in SNL’s history. I was also shocked to see that in previous sketches in which Asian characters were portrayed, for example in the Star Trek sketch, an Asian production designer was brought in to play the role of Sulu. Regardless, the fact that SNL is continuing to diversify their cast and reevaluate their content and material is encouraging, but I almost want to say too little too late. When regarding the lack of diversity in the media, there is also of work that needs to be done in order to increase representation.
I think this is a huge breakthrough for Saturday Night Live. It is so important for tv shows like Saturday Night Live to represent all races and nationalities. I can’t believe it has taken them 45 years to have their first official Asian cast member. It’s so sad that in the past when they needed someone of Asian descent to play a role they’ve had their production designer step in to act in the skit. We can only hope that Saturday Night Live will continue to become more and more diverse and representative. Maybe the attention that Saturday Night Live is getting for this achievement will encourage them to grow even more as far as their diversity. People who watch Saturday Night Live should be able to relate to the show, but they won’t be able to relate if they don’t feel represented.
This announcement from SNL is extremely exciting. I’m so glad to hear that they are trying to be more inclusive in their casting. However, I do think that this was embarrassingly long for this to finally happen. SNL has been running for decades. The fact that it is now 2019 and now we have an Asian cast member is kind of upsetting to me. However, it is very exciting that they are trying to take a step in the right direction. As we become more inclusive as a society, it is important for big media and entertainment influences to follow our lead. We can’t grow as a society without the help of these big name TV shows. As a typically liberally targeted show, I think that inclusivity will better represent the views of their audience as well. This announcement is really exciting overall, and I think it represents a big step in the right direction for the television industry.
This is great!! It's also super surprising! I think if you would have asked me I may have said SNL already had an Asian cast member, but that's just me being dumb I guess. I heard about this a few days ago and it was immediately undercut by another new cast member, Shane Gillis, saying he thinks it's ok to use racial slurs against Chinese people. Great! Comedians like Gillis think it's edgy and original to say offensive things when the reality is: it's just lazy. Racist, sexist, and homophobic jokes are such low-hanging fruit. It's ridiculous. Imagine considering yourself a comedian and that's all you can come up with. I 100% believe Gillis should be fired. Obviously, SNL is a private company so legally they can choose what they want to do. But, having someone like Gillis around does NOT create a safe space for other cast members. His presence creates a poor work environment for everyone. Gillis has also said that, despite accusations of sexual misconduct, Louis C.K. is still "the best." Which is not only ridiculous, but is a clear threat to all the women around him. Clearly he thinks that sexual misconduct, harassment, and assault is acceptable. All in all, Yang being hired is a huge step forward, Gillis being hired is 3 giant steps backwards.
I am excited to see that Saturday Night Live is expanding their core of cast members and bringing in more diverse cast members. Especially with comedy, having a diverse group of people onstage and in the writers room is so important. The humor and perspective each person can bring to the conversation is such an important part of the conversations that SNL addresses with their comedy. I do wish NBC revealed more about their hiring practices for SNL both on the performer side and writers. With a show so geared toward more liberally minded folks, it does seem odd to me that they are not more cognizant about having more voices in the room and on screen. This is something I think all producers should be thinking about more. We are starting to move in a better directions bringing new voices and ideas to the table but are still deeply lacking in a wholistic narrative.
Bowen Yang!!!!!! It is absolutely mind boggling to me that Saturday Night Live didn’t have a cast member of Asian descent before SEASON FOURTY FIVE. I can’t imagine the current seasons without him, he is absolutely hilarious. Representation on-screen is a vital conversation and deserves light shed on it; and although waaay too late to the game, I am glad that it was a conversation that began. Yang joining the cast brought the lack of diversity in the cast to the forefront, and since then SNL has made a pretty apparent and active effort to diversity their cast, thank god. “Being the first cast member of Asian descent isn’t the only glass ceiling Yang is breaking–he’s also the first openly queer Asian person to appear on the show. There have only been (I believe) six people of Asian descent to ever host the show and none of them identify as LGBTQ+” THIS IS EVEN MORE WILD!
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