THE HULK GETS AN API REBOOT

Posted by Simon Luu

Have you ever seen an Asian lead in the media? If so, was that lead the stereotypical Asian who is submissive or unrealistically smart? The article I found wrote about how writers for the popular comic book The Incredible Hulk are considering making the famous Hulk an Asian character in contrast to the previous white one. The new Hulk would be named Amadeus Cho and would have the same occupation, a doctor. After reading this article, we concluded that it was a positive step in the inclusion of minorities in the media. But would this comic help reinforce or break the stereotype of Asians? After discussing this we said it would help break the stereotype because, although Amadeus Cho is a smart doctor, we thought that was inevitable because even in the previous Hulk comics he was a doctor. Furthermore, the ideology of the submissive Asian would be challenged because of how the Hulk gets ridiculously strong and, dare I say, mad. For me, yes this would be a positive action to take, but I think the result will mostly lie on what the people make of it.  We can shove all the Asian characters down the throats of Americans but if they view it in a negative way, then we would be taking a step back. I think the characters have to be accurately depicted but also depicted in a way with stereotypes aside and “airbrushed” like how they present the typical white family. We may not be perfect but neither are the white characters they are showing us. To conclude, we think making the Hulk Asian is a step in the right direction because it challenges the stereotype and allows representation in a previously white dominant sector.