The role may have been played a bit over the top, but I can see your point.
Interesting thing is, prior to the 1980s, most Asian actors were stereotyped either as karate villains or scientists, but always completely soulless and devoid of any emotion whatsoever. They were often portrayed as humorless, cold, and robot-like, who seemed like they never had any fun. In war movies where Asians played enemy soldiers, they were often shown as fanatical killing machines. There were also shows like "Kung Fu" which may have given a bit more depth, yet still, the Asian actors were generally portrayed as religiously devout, always serious and somber - a bunch of prudes who never had any fun or ever partied at all.
So, in a way, the character of Long Duk Dong was kind of a breakthrough, even if it resulted in trading in one stereotype while creating another. But at the time, it was kind of a new idea that a lot of people weren't used to seeing in Asian actors. Nowadays, it may have gotten stale and people criticize that stereotype as they would criticize any other stereotype.
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residentevil6901
8 years ago
Yeah I know but I knew even as a kid that that's all it was, I knew there were many who were like how they were portrayed in movies and many who were not. The thing with stereotypes is they're a real thing and many people fall into those categories, it's only a matter of understanding that not everyone falls into the same one. I guess I just don't get complaining about it since sometimes there is a lot of truth to how someone or something is portrayed.
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