October 27, 1994
Dear NBC,
I am writing to express my appreciation of your new TV Show ER. However I am disappointed that there are no Asian doctors portrayed. Asians are a largely under-served media audience. Asian-Americans have few if any role models in TV. We feel almost invisible. I'd like to see NBC reach out to Asians, especially in ER because I'm a medical student at UCSF.
An Asian-American's role could be very complex and address issues that many first/second generation Americans face such as loss of the parent language. A Chinese patient comes in and everyone turns to the Chinese medical student. She can't help, because she doesn't speak the dialect (Cantonese vs. Mandarin) or she doesn't speak well. She speaks Spanish better than she can speak Mandarin or her Caucasian colleague knows Mandarin from college.
Another scenario could be, a Japanese patient comes in and the attending doctor turns to the Vietnamese medical student and says, you translate. Just because you are Asian doesn't mean you can communicate with all Asians.
An Asian character could introduce alternative medicine. The Asian character could have an uncle who practices acupuncture and uses herbal medicines.
The Asian character could introduce Buddhism with its outlook on death.
The Asian character could show stress and how the drive to excel could lead a student to taking caffeine pills. The student could be under high pressure to succeed from home yet show how Asians take care of their children. Most parents' philosophy is, "You study and do well. I'll take care of the bills."
The character's parents could own a Korean grocery store.
The Taiwanese student could date someone of a different race --- a Korean. And how their parents discourage the relationship or keep pushing Taiwanese men at her.
As you can tell, there's lots to be told/shown on TV. If you do consider having an Asian-American on TV, I'd be happy to give you some stories/scenarios.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Sophia Yen
UCSF Med II
Shortly after I sent this letter, NBC introduced an Asian-American medical student to the show, played by Ming-Na Wen. But she left after 2 years to pursue a larger role in the NBC sitcom "The Single Guy". So I wrote them again. And now Ming-Na's back. Probably just coincidence, but you never know.