I grew up never seeing myself on-screen, and it's really important to me to give people who look like me a chance to see themselves. I want to see myself as the hero of any story. I want to see myself save the world from the bomb.
Sandra OhRead
Hollywood likes to put actors in boxes, and it likes to put Asian actors in really small boxes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the stereotypes and limited roles offered to Asian actors in Hollywood.
Sandra Oh's quote reflects on the tendency of Hollywood to confine actors to specific roles based on racial and ethnic stereotypes, particularly for Asian actors. This limitation not only restricts the range of characters available to them but also perpetuates a narrow view of their talent and potential in the film industry.
Themes
HollywoodActorsStereotypesAsian ActorsRepresentation
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel discussion on diversity in cinema, this quote could be used to emphasize the importance of expanding roles for underrepresented groups.
More from Sandra Oh
All quotes βI'd be so fascinated to talk to a psychologist or sociologist about the deep psychological impact of seeing oneself represented. I don't think we've really touched the surface of what it does to the psyche of a people if the only image of you out there is negative. Or if it's never out there.
Sandra OhRead
Becoming an actor? If it's not a calling, don't do it. It's too hard.
Sandra OhRead
Similar quotes
Whatever you say about popular culture, people like people who know things, who are experts, and it doesn't particularly matter what they look like.
Mary BeardRead
Food should be cheap, and labor should be cheap, and everything should be the same no matter where you go; whether it's a McDonald's in Germany or one in California, it should be the same. And this message is destroying cultures around the world. Needless to say, agriculture goes with it.
Alice WatersRead
When I was growing up, the Spanish-speaking world was Balkanized. We were isolated. We didn't know what was happening in cultural terms in Ecuador, Colombia and Chile. Nowadays, this has changed a lot - fortunately for writers and readers. There is much more integration.
Mario Vargas LlosaRead
Popular culture is a contradiction in terms. If it's popular, it's not culture.
Vivienne WestwoodRead
Southern culture has fostered a type of imagination that has been influenced by Christianity of a not too unorthodox kind and by a strong devotion to the Bible, which has kept our minds attached to the concrete and the living symbol.
Flannery O'ConnorRead
What makes Harlem special is that at any given time, food seekers can not only find food deeply rooted in Southern, Latin and African traditions, but also can taste the newer Senegalese, Chinese, and Italian influences as well.
Marcus SamuelssonRead