Film Festival : Word on the Street

Word on the Street

Posted December 21, 2007 by johnfong in Series

“What makes Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura on the TV show HEROES) so loveable?”

Students at San Francisco State University…

	Ellenor Li - “He’s so genuine, he’s selfless, he knows that there is more to life than what is at face value. With a face like that, he wouldn’t be mean in person, no way! I just really like genuine people, and he’s not afraid to be himself.”
	Vincent Dong starred as Stephanie in Justin Lin’s hit BETTER LUCK TOMORROW. She will star in the upcoming feature THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH, to be directed by Quentin Lee.
	Michelle Moreira - “His English is broken, and you feel a little pity for him. He’s always trying to be a hero, the one that tries to pull everyone together. He’s not your typical superhero, kind of like Spiderman, like a regular person. Also because he’s a person of color.”
	Jason Chen - “My TV doesn’t get NBC.”
	Alex Loo - “No, I don’t think he’s loveable. I think he’s the stereotypical Asian. I think that’s the only reason why he’s on TV, it’s because he’s playing the stereotypical role.”
	Jessie Hom - “He’s like dorky cute. He’s like ohh… OooOOo!”
	Tim Young - “I don’t think it’s because he’s Asian. I just saw this thing on the Today Show saying that geeks are the new hip kind of cool. I think most women now aren’t looking for the jocks, they like the quirky, the varied personality.”
	JR Loyola - “The fact that he’s an Asian American and he’s on a mainstream television show.”
	Cory Wong - “His endearing personality. Definitely his power is interesting. Also the fact that he’s one of the only Asians in a constant role besides the guy on Lost. He’s a nice guy, nothing menacing about him. Someone you would want as a friend. Personable and powerful all at the same time.”
	Amy Wong - “He seems kind of like the stereotypical, nerdy Asian guy with glasses. I didn’t know he was loveable, maybe it’s because he’s tubby.”

Tags: Heroes, Hiro Nakamura, Masi Oka, San Francisco State University, Word on the Street

Comments

michella says:

i'm torn about the hiro nakamura character on "Heroes." I totally love him because he likes comic books and wants to matter in the world and he wants to save the cheerleader. but he is definitely riffing on the total asian nerd stereotype. sometimes the character challenges stereotypes and sometimes he totally plays into them. i do like his style though...i like masi oka b/c he had a cool real world job before he ran away to hollywood.
Posted on January 9, 2008, 2:32 am
chris says:

dudes... i've been saying that "masi oka is my hero" for years! i love that guy! why? i don't know! i just do.
Posted on January 10, 2008, 2:28 pm