Digest Number 804

[acinonyxjubatus42]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at yahoogroups.com, "jennyandduncan" <aldhelm at e...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-Movie at yahoogroups.com, TripChick <tripchick at r...> 
wrote:
> 
> > absolutely *not*. Oriental refers to items, the culture, the 
cuisine 
> > perhaps. People from the region are referred to as Asians.
> 
> OK, I stand corrected. But I'm right, aren't I, that if you 
say "Asian" (as in the casting 
> call) you (in Britain) are prompting people to think of Indians and 
their neighbors first 
> and foremost? That's the usage I've seen without exception on TV in 
Britain, and 

You're right. For the record, I'm of Chinese origin, and I have had 
occasions when people said "Asian" and meant specifically from the 
Indian subcontinent. Those from the Far East (or have ethnicities 
orginating from there) would be Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc. Things 
get v complicated when ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, Singapore, 
Indonesia etc are involved though....

In all my years, I have never been referred to as "Asian" 
or "Oriental"!!!

Funny - oriental as applied to food, furnishings, etc is fine, but 
applied to people faintly brings up a very mild perceived racism. 
Which is why you don't call people "oriental". 

> presumably the casting directors thought the call for "Asian" girls 
was 
> unambiguous, since they didn't add any qualifiers. What term would 
the casting 
> directors have used if they wanted girls from the far east to 
apply? (Not trying to be 
> combative here; I genuinely want to know.)

I think I might have touched on it already. They would probably have 
asked for ethnic Chinese / Japanese etc, because the differences 
between the different groups is quite noticeable - and I must add, 
the "Chinese" face that would pop up in Brit minds would be a Hong 
Kong face, not a north Chinese face....

Oops. Complicated....