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Brenda Song may only be 36 years old now, but she has been in the industry for three decades. Her career kicked off when she was only 6 and by the time she was 12, she was already signed on to Disney channel, appearing in numerous roles for the huge company.
Song, however, unlike many of the young artists now, grew up in a time when representation was rare, and as she was Asian American, it was always harder for her to land important roles. In an old interview, she revealed how Disney's progressive mindset decades back was all-important for her breakthrough.
She discussed this in an interview with Student Life magazine in 2023, where the actress opened up about how Disney was willing to look past her Asian American heritage while casting her for the role of Tipton, a wealthy heiress known for her incredible comic timing from The Suite Life franchise. She elaborated:
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"I was just very lucky to deal with a company that was doing colorblind casting at the time,...They were way ahead of the curve; they were trying to send a message out to children to show that media should reflect what the world actually looks like."
She went on to talk more about Asian representation in films and how she grew up in a time when this was extremely rare.
"I didn’t get to see myself represented in TV and in film"- Brenda Song on Asian representation during her formative years
Brenda Song grew up in a time when representing all cultural groups wasn't as common a practice as it is today. Though disparity still exists, it has changed for the better in many respects.
One of them is Asian representation in films and TV shows, which Brenda Song claimed almost did not exist during the time she grew up. But this has changed for the better in recent years. Song discussed Everything Everywhere All at Once in this regard. The movie was completely led by an Asian cast and went on to win almost every major award, including multiple Oscars.
Brenda Song said:
"It’s absolutely wonderful because growing up I didn’t get to see myself represented in TV and in film,...The thing that is great about [Everything Everywhere All at Once] is not that it has an Asian-lead cast — it was just a good f*ckin’ movie, period."
Song's comments speak volumes about how much representation of different communities means to audiences and even artists who are part of the industry. She further added:
"We are the source of all our stories that should be represented in the media...For me, it’s just to keep pushing to be fighting for our stories — to be told to not just be behind the camera, but behind the scenes."
Thankfully, we are on a path where movies and shows are more inclusive than before, and soon, it will perhaps only continue to increase in the future.
Since her Disney days, Brenda Song effectively transitioned to leading roles in leading movies and shows. Her expansive palette of work includes The Social Network, Blue Eye Samurai, The Last Showgirl, and The Quarry.
She is soon set to appear on Running Point in 2025. Stay tuned for more updates.
