The absence of Asian American protagonists in TV shows and movies set in the United States may be excused in part by the small size of the Asian American population (although, if 1 in 30 Americans are Asian American, then proportional representation would require five big-budget films with Asian American actors above the title and three Asian American family sitcoms each year). But whites extend their self-image of centrality into domains where they have only the most tenuous relevance. For example, the blockbuster movie Empire of the Sun is supposed to be about the Japanese occupation of China, but focuses on the experience of the white British expatriates. Similarly, the writers of Come See the Paradise, in portraying the tragedy of the Japanese-American internment during World War II, found it necessary to express the human cost through the voice of the white fiance of an internee. Can you imagine a Chinese film claiming that Chinese-Americans played the central role in the American Revolution? Even if you can, can you imagine it being taken seriously by almost all the critics in the media?

Even if this ahistorical arrogance is harmless -- even if every viewer is fully aware that these are works of fiction -- the fact that TV and movie producers are willing to distort history for the sole purpose of giving white audiences a white protagonist to relate to, is very strong evidence that we live in a racially-conscious marketplace that will not be remedied by formal rules of colorblindness. The inability of white audiences to relate to an Asian American star has no rational relationship to quotas, affirmative action, or any other progressive race-conscious proposals for social justice.