Interchasianable: New Asian on Gossip Girl

by Guest Contributor Jen, originally published on Disgrasian

A new Asian chick has joined the cast of Gossip Girl. And she walks and talks! And her character has a name!

We’re movin’ on up, to the East Side, to a deluxe apartment in the sky-y-y!

Only problem is, “Nelly Yuki” (as played by Yin Chang) is a NERD. If Diana were talking about her, she would say, “A total NNERRRRRRRRRRD.” So, yeah, I don’t mean that in a cool way. Take, for example, the “A” story of last night’s episode, which has Serena’s frenemy Georgina returning to the Upper Beast Side, chugging Cosmos, reconnecting with her coke dealer, hitting on older men, and drugging Serena’s diet Coke. Compare that to the Nelly “B” story, which has Blair’s academic frenemy (wait, what, they actually go to school??) and main competition for Yale pushing her chunky glasses up her nose a lot, lugging her violin case everywhere, studying for the SAT furiously, whining about her boyfriend dumping her, professing she is lactose intolerant, looking cross-eyed, and getting the batteries stolen out of her calculator by Blair before her college boards. RIVETING stuff, right?

It looks like Nelly “Let’s Get Retarded in Here” Yuki will stick around for a few episodes, but don’t expect a whole lotta sizzle from that steak. Examine the stills below, the first of which was taken when the other Asian chick “Kati Farkas” was on the show, and the second from next week’s episode:

Not exactly what I’d call progress.

Source

Note from Carmen: My favorite part of this episode was when Jenny’s father offered to walk her to school. You know, from their apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (though the visual markers clearly identify it as DUMBO), to her school on the Upper East Side. A leisurely 2+ hour stroll.

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New Asian Girl on Gossip Girl vs Asian Girls at my Alma Mater « Immigration, Assimilation, Ethnicity and All That Jazz on 01 May 2008 at 10:16 am

[...] by chinesecanuck on May 1, 2008 Racialicious has a post about a new character on the CW show, Gossip Girl. I have to admit that I DO NOT watch the show, [...]

Comments

lowercase tasha wrote:

Nicole Fiscella (Isabel, the black girl) is getting more lines too! I think once the other Asian girl left, they dropped the whole “minority bookend” (Asian girl on Blair’s right, black girl on her left) concept. Though I am very partial to Ms. Waldorff, I hope Nelly street smartens up and realizes that Blair and her crew are running game, cause this could turn out to be a very unkind joke at her expense, ala “Cruel Intentions”.

P.S. Tiring of little J and her antics . . .the death knell should have tolled for her last week when she got caught with that stolen dress.

XOXO, you know you love me

Posted 01 May 2008 at 7:22 am ¶
Feminist Punk! wrote:

Then why bother watching Gossip Girl? it looks like another typical ridiculously whitewashed TV show with whiney, stupid, spoiled rich white kids.

Oh that’s right. Most TV shows are like that.

Boring.

Posted 01 May 2008 at 8:27 am ¶
Jha wrote:

It never fails to amaze me how awful glasses are here in North America. *pushes up geeky awesomely-designed glasses*

(I don’t watch Gossip Girl. I’m guessing I’m not missing much.)

Posted 01 May 2008 at 9:14 am ¶
Penni Brown wrote:

I actually have to remind myself that these are kids in HIGH SCHOOL. why aren’t parents boycotting this show that highlights teenage drinking, drug use, premarital sex. Why is it that when rich white kids do these kinds of things, it’s entertainment, but if minority kids do it, it’s an attestment to their inherent immorality?

oh yeah, and i cringed at the yuki story line. aarrgghhhh

Posted 01 May 2008 at 9:51 am ¶
Feminist Punk! wrote:

@Penni Brown:

because that’s what high school kids do! right?

Haha. When I was in high school, I couldn’t get a date. I was the only female in my class obsessed with Star Wars, and I spent all my time in the library reading stage plays.

So um, yeah, I never experimented with sex, drug use, drinking, or any of the “typical high school teenage stuff.”

I miss realistic 90s shows like, “My So Called Life,” and “Freaks and Geeks.”

BRING THOSE SHOWS BACK!!!!

Posted 01 May 2008 at 10:31 am ¶
R. Prince wrote:

I love, love that point, Penni Brown, right on. That is so true!

Posted 01 May 2008 at 10:42 am ¶
jessabean wrote:

Woooow. What the hell? Glad I don’t watch this show.

And I second Feminist Punk’s suggestion–I LOVED “My So Called Life”!

Posted 01 May 2008 at 2:36 pm ¶
Penni Brown wrote:

I loved My So Called Life too! To be honest, I STILL don’t know girls that kick it like these upper east side girls do…and we’re all grown and making our own money. LOL heck, my prom dates were set-ups with the boys from church.

but, we can still go back to the point that b/c mainstream america has soo many shows to choose from, they can let this one little show slide b/c they have other shows that balance it out.

On a tangent, why aren’t there any minority desperate housewives of NYC. I figure if there was EVER a place to have a diverse group of filthy rich women, NYC would be that place.

Posted 01 May 2008 at 3:44 pm ¶
flabbyabby wrote:

Penni Brown you are a woman after my own heart!! Your words ring so true and why is it black holier thans in the media NEVER criticize this moronic tripe with the same fervor that they attack hip-hop[I'm looking at you racialicious] aren’t black kids being exposed to this vapid junk as well?! Or stuff like ‘Tila Tequlia’ and ‘Rock of Love’ we need to demonize ALL the sleazy,perverted junk that is warping the youth mindset.

Posted 02 May 2008 at 9:56 am ¶
Taylor wrote:

“Haha. When I was in high school, I couldn’t get a date. I was the only female in my class obsessed with Star Wars, and I spent all my time in the library reading stage plays.”

FP,

Where have you been all my life? Specifically in high school.

Posted 02 May 2008 at 12:15 pm ¶
lowercase tasha wrote:

H to the A to the T-E-R-S! Can’t you all appreciate stylized fluff when it comes your way? Duh, it’s called a guilty pleasure! My only gripe with “Gossip Girl” is that the minorities don’t get more plotline, but as far as the characters’ materialism, elitism, recreational drinking, drug use, and casual sex go, it’s really nothing new, and not only is their behavior not novel for a teen drama, it’s surrealist and obviously fake, for example, the way they just waltz up to bars and order drinks and get into these clubs, when they’re supposed to be minors. Did you all have this much of a problem with “Clueless” or “Mean Girls,” because, the kids in those films are remarkable similar to the characters on GG?

I don’t even know if the comparison of Gossip Girl to the ills of hip-hop is entirely valid. For starters, the women on GG actually speak, unlike in a stereotypical, male artist oriented hip-hop video, where the women are mainly props that are meant to do little else than shake and be seen. The young ladies of GG are very much in control of their lives and their decisions. They plot, scheme, organize, think. The show, itself, revolves around them. Can you say the same about stereotypical hip-hop video girls? Are they in control? On a lot of these teen dramas and soap operas, there are consequences for the teens’ “risky” behavior, like drunken mistakes, an STD, a pregnancy (Julia Salinger on Party of Five), a pregnancy scare (Blair Waldorf on GG), a sullied reputation (Virginal Blair lost her place as Queen Bee of her clique when word got out that she slept with two guys in one week). Now, is that usually the case in stereotypical hip-hop videos? I mean, yeah, we could bring it back to “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and mention some more conscious artists, but more often than not, the Common’s and the “Okayplayer” crew are the exceptions to the norm, and viewers don’t usually see the consequences of the video girl’s supposed promiscuous behavior in the lyrics and videos. It’s all, “Backseat of my jeep, lets swing an episode . . .” Well, what happened to the girl after the episode? So, yes there is difference between these teen dramas and the stereotypical hip-hop videos, and if I had had a child and had to choose between the lesser of the two evils, then I’m picking GG.

You know the CDC just came out with alarming statistics, saying that almost half of black teen girls between the ages of 14-19 have had an STD. A good question to ask would be what media is influencing their sexual behavior? Seeing as that Gossip Girl hasn’t yet been on the air for a full season, it’s highly unlikely that they got any ideas from the show. However, I do know another popular, taste making artistic medium that might be influencing their sexual habits. Three guesses . . .

Posted 02 May 2008 at 12:16 pm ¶
DivergentDana wrote:

“I’m looking at you racialicious”

Ah, there was a post on reality TV a few days back, I believe… and if you believe that the site’s full of “black holier-than-thous”, then why are you here? I’m not calling for “banishment” (like I could) or attacking you, or anything, I’m just curious.

Posted 02 May 2008 at 12:21 pm ¶
lowercase tasha wrote:

And another thing, more young girls need to be watching GG for fashion tips, so they can learn how to dress like young ladies and not like pop-tarts

Posted 02 May 2008 at 3:35 pm ¶
Whitney wrote:

I like GG but I’m almost 23. I’m not in high school, and I doubt that my mom would have let me watch this show back then (I wasn’t allowed to watch Dawson’s Creek.). I just hate how the situations are so unrealistic (come on, 15 year olds going to clubs and bars? I don’t think so, no matter how much freaking money you have, that ain’t gonna happen). And I don’t like the drug usage, I don’t like them sleeping around, and I don’t like the drinking and I really don’t like that the characters are more one-sided and not more real. I mean, what normal high school girl can relate to a girl their age who lives in an apartment that costs millions and a wardrobe that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and who goes club hopping and bar hopping?

Posted 13 May 2008 at 3:01 am ¶
Whitney wrote:

I should elaborate…. I only like GG because it’s so overly ridiculous and i know it’s nothing more than a fantasy.

Posted 13 May 2008 at 3:02 am ¶