Edge of glory
THE Asian-American community celebrated a memorable night on Saturday at the 16th Annual Unforgettable Gala in Los Angeles.
The event celebrates prominent members of the AsianAmerican community whose work has helped advance their culture in Hollywood and beyond.
This year, the celebration honoured actors Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park with the BMW Ultimate Drive award, actress and rapper Awkwafina with the female breakout award, and Ross Butler with the male breakout award.
Actor Justin Chon and Dr Mike Hong were honoured, as well as snowboarder Chloe Kim and agency and marketing executive Ted Chung.
Leonardo Nam and Maggie Q were named Actor and Actress Of The year.
On the red carpet, Butler said that Asian-Americans in Hollywood are on the “edge of something great as far as representation is concerned.”
“We have Asian-Americans playing non-stereotypical roles and roles that were not written for Asians, and this has just been happening in the past two or three years,” Butler said.
“We need to stick to who we are and not compromise and play something that we’re not based on who the culture thinks we are. The next few years is going to define that and everything is going to change.”
Star Wars: The Last Jedi and its predecessor The Force Awakens were noted for featuring Asian-Americans cast in prominent roles.
Awkwafina recognised how important it is to see a “face that looks like you in such a far-reaching series like Star Wars,” while Nam said it “feels normal,” voicing the night’s overarching sentiment that Asians in the media should not be considered out of the ordinary.
During Q’s speech, she relayed a story about how she was offered a role as “the chink” and spoke about defying people’s expectations and valuing one’s own worth.
When Kim took the stage, he joked about the progress Hollywood has made with films that had infamously cast white actors in Asian roles, like Ghost In the Shell, The Great Wall, Doctor Strange and Aloha.
“Inclusion and diversity are popular buzzwords, but what I challenge everyone in this room to do is to move beyond these notions of simply being included -- to lead . ... If you’re a leader, you never have to beg for a place at the table because you’re the one hosting the dinner.” – Reuters