Asian Americans have gotten real use to seeing themselves being portrayed in an offensive and stereotypical manner.
So when a show comes along that features a predominantly Asian American cast, there’s both excitement and trepidation at the same time. Excitement because it’s an opportunity, trepidation because its a rare chance to represent and after all, Hollywood doesn’t exactly have a good track record with this.
If history is any indication, opportunities like Fresh Off the Boat come every 20 years, such as Margaret Cho’s failed All American Girl in 1994.
Racialicious published a piece from Kevin Wong that originally appeared in Salon that lists three keys to success for the show.
I particularly like number three, give show creator Eddie Huang a break and try not to be too critical out of the gate. Give it a chance because if it fails, we may have to wait another 20 years to get this opportunity again.
You can check out Wong’s keys to success in Racialicious.