Mulan star Jimmy Wong has criticised Amazon TV show The Boys for its silent Asian character according to Indie Wire.
The Boys, which recently aired its final episode of season 2, stars Karen Fukuhara as ‘Supe’ Kimiko. The Japanese American actress’s character is mute in the series and converses only with sign language.
On Twitter, Wong expressed his strong disapproval of muting her character.
“Least favorite acting thing I’ve noticed during pandemic binge watching: incredibly sexy and good looking Asian actors playing characters with barely ANY dialogue because it’s supposed to be…mysterious?” Wong tweeted, sharing an image of Fukuhara in character.
Wong, who plays Ling in Disney’s Mulan, also included an image of Justin H Min who plays super-powered ghost Ben in The Umbrella Academy. Min’s character’s dialogue is also limited.
Fans who replied to Wong attempted to explain Fukuhara and Min’s characters’ backgrounds. However, Wong refused to buy into any justification and directed commenters to a longer thread that listed characters of color that had limited speaking roles.
“For all the “well, actually” or “don’t be triggered” replies, here’s a mini thread with more examples of this tired trope,” he tweeted.
Wong added that The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke even expressed regret over Kimiko’s portrayal in the first season.
“One of the things that I wished I could have done better in season one was to give Kimiko more of a voice. I think we stumbled inadvertently into a little bit of a trap,” Kripke said.
“There’s the stereotype of a quiet Asian woman, and I was very conscious of not wanting to do that.”
“We really have to make sure that that character has a very strong voice and a very strong point of view,” Kripke added.
“And just because she can’t speak verbally, it doesn’t mean that she can’t speak. And that she has opinions, and she’s a real person.”
In other news, Disney+ has strengthened its disclaimer for its classic films including Lady And The Tramp and The Aristocats.
Least favorite acting thing I’ve noticed during pandemic binge watching: incredibly sexy and good looking Asian actors playing characters with barely ANY dialogue because it’s supposed to be… mysterious? pic.twitter.com/tn3uoTd8vf
— Jimmy Wong (@jfwong) October 18, 2020
for all the “well, actually” or “don’t be triggered” replies, here’s a mini thread with more examples of this tired trope: https://t.co/uvQmil5WRX
— Jimmy Wong (@jfwong) October 18, 2020
