Oh fuck off.

The hell?

But the idea last night that two Koreans (who could pass for Chinese in a pinch) were both related to a Samoan bugged me.

Huh. And see here was me (only having seen the first ep) a little impressed that when they cast two actors as related, they were both actually Korean.

Are there many Koreans in Hawaii? Are there a lot of people who are "inter-Asian" to completely make up a term? I know so little about it that it might have pinged me as odd but I wouldn't have known how egregious it was. Sounds like it was way on that side of the line.

We like talky meat around here!

Yes, there are a ton. And at this point, Hawaii is seriously multicultural. In the generation before mine, there was lots of Asian segregation, Japanese racism against Filipinos, etc. But at this point, there is lots and lots of intermingling.

HOWEVER! If they wanted to cast the actors as related, they should have changed the characters. Right now it's either Korean characters with bizarrely Chinese & Hawaiian names (and possibly backstory, I'm too young to remember much other than a warm benevolent feeling about the first show.) or Chinese & Hawaiian character being played by people of Korean ethnic heritage.

And probably more importantly, by actors who are not from Hawaii and are talking all wrong!

This just as easily could have been the Talky Meat Thread, really.

Screwing with traditions of stated nationalities is, of course, fucked. I think about casting people who are the "wrong" Asian ethnicity in roles, however, and I wonder when and how that can be done reasonably, you know? At what point are we saying "yeah, any Asian guy can look Chinese" and at what point is it, "Sure, he could look Chinese".

But mostly I want Chin Ho to take his shirt off and ride his Harley even though that is very very unsafe.

They all sound like they're from California, to me. Other than throwing in the stray Hawaiian word to show you that they're in Hawaii, they may as well be in LA.

And probably more importantly, by actors who are not from Hawaii and are talking all wrong!

There there, I know... ::pats head::

I think about casting people who are the "wrong" Asian ethnicity in roles, however, and I wonder when and how that can be done reasonably, you know?

Yeah, philosophically, I'm happy with this just as soon as I start getting roles intended for Caucasians because it can be done reasonably. When I was a kid, I got cast as Jewish, Thai, and a sheep. I was pretty happy to get those roles. But I also auditioned for stuff like Oklahoma and the Miracle Worker and I didn't get those roles.

Once it stops being a limiting factor in my casting for me to be Japanese, I'm happy for other ethnicities, including Asian ones, to be able to play the few Japanese roles there are out there, particularly the few that aren't racist.

Addendum to say, I understand it's a complex issue, and casting directors cast for other stuff like hair color and body shape and those are limiting factors that I would have had to accept being judged on were I to have gone into the field as a career. But philosophically, I'm going to defend the roles intended for a specific ethnicity to be played by actors of that ethnic heritage until there's a more even playing field otherwise.

When I was a kid, I got cast as Jewish, Thai, and a sheep.

I can't believe you took roles away from hard-working sheep actors.

All the world knew that Cipowitz couldn't possibly have grown up in Brooklyn (unless there is a Chicago neighborhood called "Brooklyn") and they got away with that shit for a decade. Hell, they got Emmys with that shit. It's a million and change tops being tormented with this one. BUT WE WILL BITCH WITH YOU!!!!!

Or I could offer to be DDK's dialect coach. Quick, Liese, teach me that dialect...

But philosophically, I'm going to defend the roles intended for a specific ethnicity to be played by actors of that ethnic heritage until there's a more even playing field otherwise.

That really seems reasonable. Or at the very least justify it in the text.