There is a great deal of damage to the psyche and self-esteem of people of color (POC) that is caused by the cumulative effects of
1. having few positive characters in movies/television programs who resemble us
2. having characters who resemble us look who portray weak or negative
3. in contrast to images of POC, having movie/television characters of White folks being heroic, attractive, intelligent, leaders

Overtime, what do you think the messages that these movies. televisions shows, books teach and reinforce?

As to what can be done about this:
1. raise awareness
2. advocate for change
3. protest
4. boycott
5. use the financial resources of POC and those White people who support the goals of more culturally competent mass media to create such media offerings

**

Here's an example of a website that raises awareness about "yellowface", the "practice
the practice of applying prosthetics or paint to simulate a crude idea of what "Asians" look like [and]is non-Asian bodies (usually white) controlling what it means to be Asian on screen and stage, particularly in lead/major roles.
http://vejiicakes.livejournal.com/254810.html

Yellow (and brown)-face: A History in Pictures

Jan. 29th, 2009 at 6:07 PM

"Yellowface, at its core, is not only tied to blackface and the portrayal of African Americans on the stage by whites in the nineteenth century, the term yellowface appears as early as the 1950s to describe the continuation in film of having white actors playing major Asian and Asian American roles and the grouping together of all makeup technologies used to make one look "Asian." Thanks to the power of film executives in casting, Asian and Asian Americans who had decades of theatrical experience in vaudeville were unable to find work or were relegated to stereotypical roles--laundrymen, prostitutes, or servants."
- Krystyn R. Moon
Yellowface: Creating the Chinese in American Popular Music and Performance, 1850-1920s (page 164)


**

Here's an example of a website that is protesting an upcoming movie "The Avatar-The Last Airbender"
http://racebending.com/faq.php#movie

This upcoming movie is based on" an Emmy award-winning American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon... Avatar is set in an Asian-influenced world, and drew on elements from East Asian, South Asian, Inuit and Western culture, making it a mixture of what were previously traditionally separate categories of anime and US domestic cartoons."
-snip-

The upcoming movie changes the concept of a heroic Asian based world to make that world populated by White people. After vigorous protests about that the four stars of the show were White, the producers replaced one White actor with an Asian actor. Unfortunately, the character that actor portrays is the villain.

The fans of this show were angry
" Because the world is supposed to be Asian-based...but Hollywood has deemed that only white actors can populate it.

Because Nation that was clearly Inuit-based are now white-washed as Caucasians

Because according to the actors and creators of the movie, ethnicity is just a white person with a tan and some make-up.

Because it is cultural appropriation (ie, Market research tells us that Asian things are cool! Just not the actual Asian people)

Because this is a children's film and children are being shown that only white heroes can exist in a fantasy world.

-snip-

Is the cumulative effect of media products like this harmful to people of color and, in different ways, to White people? Hell yes.