During the 2022 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, the renowned Netflix series Squid Game made history since it was the first time actors in a non-English language series won.

“I think that these actors, being the first from a non-English language show to win their respective categories, promote diversity and show that recognizing talents should not be restricted by language or cultural differences,” said Alice Li (‘23).

Since Asians are still a minority in the entertainment industry in America, Squid Game winning a major award is a significant achievement toward inclusivity. 

“I think their win was pretty huge because it represented a step towards further diversity in the industry. There’s sort of a sense of pride in Asian individuals when we see representation like this and it’s like a motivation, knowing that we’ve come such a long way,” said Ella Jeon (‘25). 

The show was applauded for having a diverse cast, including actors like Anupam Tripathi from India and Christian Lagahit from the Philippines. As a result, a wide variety of Asian fans — not only East Asians — felt represented in western media, allowing the show to gain popularity. 

“Over time, I believe the audience has demanded more representation from Hollywood and for good reason. In the 1900s, most actors and actresses were Caucasian. Films that were intended to show Asian-American culture were whitewashed heavily or were just altogether racist,” said Bhavya Yanamandra (‘23).

With more Asian films and actors winning awards, there’s no denying that Hollywood has made progress throughout the decade. Regardless, many feel that there is still a lot of change that needs to be made. 

“The term ‘Asian-Americans’ covers a diverse group of people that each have very distinct cultures. This means that Asian-American narratives have the potential  to be made into very captivating movies that value authentic representations rather than stereotypical caricatures. I think making more authentic roles that defy stereotypes would further inclusivity,” said Li.