‘The View’ in Black and White: A year of stereotypical jokes about Asians proves that diversity should not stop with Whoopi.

By Christal Phillips
September 6, 2007

COMMENTARY
Days after Whoopi Goldberg’s debut on “The View” most of the media and celebrity gossip blogs are focusing on her weak, hole-ridden argument defending Michael Vick’s brutal torture and killing of innocent dogs. Many are criticizing her stereotypical statement that dog fighting is part of the culture of the American South. Others are praising Whoopi for being the first African-American woman on the ABC daytime television show since the firing of Star Jones.

The first thing I focused in on had nothing to do with Michael Vick or Whoopi’s skin color. When I saw the clip of Whoopi’s tirade during the “Hot Topics” segment of the show the only thing that caught my attention was her incredibly ignorant comparison of Michael Vick’s criminal involvement with dog fighting to the Chinese eating cats. Her exact words were: "It's like the Chinese. They have a different relationship to cats. And you and I would be really pissed if somebody ate kitty." I’m sorry Whoopi but generalizing a group of over 1.9 billion people worldwide is not a view anyone needs to listen to.

Don’t get me wrong. I am a longtime fan of Whoopi Goldberg and I am very happy that “The View” has started to add a little color on the show. The news that African-American actress Sherri Shepherd will join “The View” next week will only make the show better because of the added diversity. But the show is nowhere near covering the viewpoints of women from Asian, Hispanic, and Middle Eastern backgrounds. And considering that this is the second incident on “The View” within the last year where Asians have been the butt of hurtful stereotypes maybe it is time for Barbara Walters to consider adding some more color to a show that is literally Black and White.

When Rosie O’Donnell co-hosted the show last year she almost got away with making a mockery of the Chinese language: "You know, you can imagine in China it's like, 'Ching-chong, ching-chong. Danny DeVito. Ching-chong, ching-chong-chong. Drunk. The View. Ching-chong.” If it wasn’t for the quick response from the Asian American Journalists Association the incident would have been quickly forgotten, another stereotypical Asian joke that sadly brought the audience of “The View” to great laughter.

The day after Whoopi’s debut, the only news sources I found that wrote any commentary on the Chinese eating cats comment were Asian-American blogs Angry Asian Man and Hyhpen Magazine’s blog. It continues to amaze me how often people can get away with putting down Asian culture without having to apologize or recognize their ignorance. Maybe that problem can someday be solved once we have more Asians included in America’s “View”.

Christal Phillips is a third year student at the University of Michigan Law School.

If you’re a regular watcher of “The View” you might have the idea that Chinese people talk in Ching-Chong and all of us eat cats.