Masi Oka, smart Asian, appears on The View
by Carmen Van Kerckhove
Here’s an appearance Masi Oka made on The View a few weeks back. He of course, plays Hiro on the hit show “Heroes.” So is Masi Oka smart? I couldn’t tell because they just glossed right over it. 
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
merq wrote:
“…And Asian kids being so smart. That’s a positive stereotype. It’s a good thing, right?”
Die.
Posted 21 May 2007 at 7:30 am ¶
Luke wrote:
Oh god. Joy does it again.
Posted 21 May 2007 at 8:28 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
when oh when will they cancel this show???
Posted 21 May 2007 at 9:17 am ¶
Wendi Muse wrote:
When I saw this interview a few weeks ago, I remember thinking, “Wow, Rosie is trying awfully hard to make up for the ‘ching chong’ incident.” Unfortunately, she failed miserably. Side note, I love how they expect him to speak for all Asians and Asian-Americans. I don’t remember their ever asking a white guest to do that…but, ahem (cough white privilege cough), maybe it’s because I don’t watch The View that much.
Posted 21 May 2007 at 10:47 am ¶
fgs_sfdg wrote:
God, it’s gotta be hell sitting between those four beasts.
Posted 21 May 2007 at 11:53 am ¶
makethelogobigger wrote:
Why does anyone outside of Iowa watch that show?
Posted 21 May 2007 at 12:14 pm ¶
sarahkim wrote:
Oh, lord, poor Masi. I have to wonder what was really going through his head when Joy said the “positive stereotype” comment. The interview was flying by, so I wonder if he looked back and wished he’d addressed it. He’s also probably sick to death of discussing that Time cover. And it did seem like Rosie was hyper-sensitive about not repeating her “ching-chong” incident. Even Barbara was asking him idiotic questions! This interview was painfully reminiscent of any and all family reunions/gatherings that I attend, lol….
Posted 21 May 2007 at 12:21 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
They didn’t even let the man speak!
Posted 21 May 2007 at 1:04 pm ¶
A. wrote:
Anyone remember when poor Lisa Ling was on The View?
I remember one segment (I haven’t watched since she left the show, by the way, and I don’t regret it) in which she was talking about a special, technologically-advanced security scanner that scanned eye retinas. She made an off-hand comment that the scanner “works on all types of eyes, even ones like mine” and pointed to her eyes to emphasize that they’re slanted.
Cue HUGE rumble of laughter from the audience, because referencing “slitty” eyes are funny…?
Probably the same audience that giggled over “Ching chong!”
And never forget those horrid two Asian female audience members who agreed with Rosie that the “Ching chong” jokes weren’t “offensive.”
Posted 21 May 2007 at 1:57 pm ¶
Bill wrote:
That was sad. They should cancel that show. There are NO good stereotypes. If Asian people are smarter than everyone else does that mean everyone else is dumb? Many people don’t live up to that stereotype.
Posted 21 May 2007 at 2:58 pm ¶
Rob wrote:
Not only that.
Stereotypes are random generalizations about a group of people. If the “positive” ones are true, the “negative” ones must also be true.
Posted 21 May 2007 at 7:20 pm ¶
Mike wrote:
I’ve known too many stupid Asians to listen to this bull. If they’re going to force him to speak for all Asians, they might as well give him a chance to actually SAY something.
Posted 21 May 2007 at 9:33 pm ¶
njeri wrote:
Masi: “I was on the cover but I wasn’t in the article itself…I only looked smart.”
what was with that time cover?! no no- don’t get the REAL smart kids that are asian- just get some random ones- people will know they’re smart!
i really wish i could’ve read the article……
ALSO:
Barbra: “Are women coming on to you?”
barbra- wth?
Posted 22 May 2007 at 5:22 pm ¶
Bianca Reagan wrote:
“Lock you up in a cage and make you her little pet”?
That’s creepy. I just want to have his cute babies. And I don’t even watch Heroes.
Posted 22 May 2007 at 5:35 pm ¶
njeri wrote:
Found it!
ARTICLE: TIME magazine
“Asian-Americans: The New Whiz Kids”
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965326,00.html
Posted 22 May 2007 at 5:51 pm ¶
Christopher wrote:
BUT IN REAL LIFE, YOU DON’T SPEAK JAPANESE, DO YOU?
…
oh my god.
Posted 24 May 2007 at 5:45 am ¶
Lisa wrote:
Poor Masi, schlepped onto this awful interview to promote his show. He handled it politely and gracefully, as always.
I am a big fan of both Heroes and Masi Oka, and have watched a lot of his TV interviews online. He always gets asked these exact same idiotic quasi-questions: “You were on the cover of time as a kid?! You’re a genius?! Is it hard to get chicks because you’re smart?!” If I were Masi, I would have punched one of these morons by now. May I, on his behalf? Please?
Posted 26 May 2007 at 11:56 am ¶
Jeremy Pierce wrote:
Masi really is very smart, though, perhaps one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. (I didn’t know him extremely well, but we had a very close friend in common in college.) I think people who really do fit a stereotype in some ways have a harder time knowing how to respond to it. Since he actually is a very smart Asian, and he mentioned that he does have an awkward time with women, I suspect it’s hard for him to know what to say to those kinds of statements and questions.
I’m not Asian, so I don’t have that additional element, but anyone pursuing a Ph.D. or coming from an Ivy League background has to deal with similar kinds of statements. This is something I’m familiar with. Someone who is average intelligence can be humble about it without being dishonest, but someone who really is above average either comes across with false humility or ends up sounding arrogant. Neither option is attractive. It’s not an easy position to be in. Whichever way you go comes across negatively. Add the Asian issue, and he probably has an awkward enough time dealing with being called smart that he isn’t really in a good position to respond to the stereotype question when it’s raised.
I should note that Masi’s response did include a suggestion that being smart isn’t entirely genetic. He thinks it’s good to encourage people to be smarter, which can happen as genetic potential for intelligence can be fulfilled to a greater or lesser degree based on other factors. In a sense, that does go some way toward fighting the “Asians are smart” stereotype, even if it’s not very overt. I wonder if that was deliberate and deliberately subtle.
Posted 28 May 2007 at 9:51 am ¶