CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)

Show diversity within diversity. Show stories with a breadth, depth and nuance of our multi-ethnic, buried communities including representing those under the AANHPI umbrella that may be less represented. Showcase stories about characters with a wide spectrum of body types, skin color, hair types, etc.

Don't make assumptions about what AANHPIs should look like. Steer clear of a narrow focus on certain body types, skin colors, or hair types.

Pay emerging talent, including support staff, a living wage. You cannot foster and maintain a diverse pool of talent if the barriers to entry are prohibitive for people from less privileged backgrounds.

Don't overlook other benefits that can make working in the entertainment industry sustainable. Besides offering a living wage, consider offering health benefits, sick days, vacation time, and other benefits to create a healthier workplace environment.

Ensure diversity up and down the chain, both behind-the-camera and in-front of the camera.

Don't forget that diverse talent can contribute to your production behind the camera as well. Ensure your department heads and crews are diverse. From casting to costume, diverse individuals working behind the camera widen the world you see on the screen.

Recognize that the “AANHPI” label encompasses many different ethnicities, cultures, and histories with roots across East, Southeast, South, West and Central Asia, Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia in addition to their diasporas across the globe.

Don't treat the AANHPI community as a monolith. AANHPI communities are composed of over 2000 ethnicities with their own unique cultures, languages, and traditions as well as their unique diasporas globally. Also, while Asians and Pacific Islanders have been historically grouped together, even those two groups are distinct from each other.

Ensure that Asian and Pacific Islander characters are shown with their full humanity and with varied personalities, values, and experiences. Show the diversity within Asian and Pacific Islander communities, beyond a narrow set of “positive” traits or a single type of story.

Don't portray Asians solely as Model Minorities. Asian Americans are often portrayed to have certain “positive” traits (e.g., industrious, politically undisruptive, intelligent, inoffensive), but this myth flattens differences among individuals, while also driving a racial wedge between Asians and other underrepresented groups in the U.S.

Create storylines that explore or affirm Asians as fully belonging members of their own country. It is important to portray Asian characters as people with identities and experiences not just defined by their origin or outsider status, and without making assumptions about their foreignness or loyalty.

Don't use storylines that solely portray Asians as Perpetual Foreigners. This stereotype treats individuals of Asian descent as permanent outsiders in their own country, which can have harmful consequences, such as being questioned about their origins, treated with suspicion, or seen as not truly belonging to or loyal to the United States. Regarding Asian individuals as Perpetual Foreigners creates a diminished sense of belonging for Asians.