I understand that within the list of composers I gathered, there is a mixture of Asian people, Asian-American people, and Asian immigrants.  This is plainly for the sake of making visible any prominent film composers of Asian descent of any kind.  Through the process of researching all of these sides, I've come up with a few observations:



How they all relate:  

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Upbringing:

It seems as if each of the composers listed above had some sort of classical training early on.  Interestingly enough, this fits perfectly within another stereotype within the Asian community as a whole:  all asians play piano or violin.  Even further, Nathan Wang's website blatantly states that his mother encouraged his piano playing, which he started at the unbelievable age of three.  This perfectly goes along with what sociologist Grace Wang says in her article about Asian mother's pushing their children to start music at a young age.  Fitting even more so with the article, Nathan Wang's list of accomplishments is a fine example of the possible reason why Asian parents push their children so hard.  Not only did he graduate from USC at age thirteen, but he is now one of the most successful composers in the world.  In the end, it is all about the success of their culture.  The Asian community wants to be visible and accomplished in the Western world.



How they differ:



Music of the Asian-Americans (U.S. Born):



The music of Asian-Americans who were born in the U.S. is very Western-influenced.  It seems as if they are creating film scores that are geared toward Hollywood.  Whether that is on purpose or not, it seems the only time they delve toward any traditionally cultural sounds is when they are working on a project that centers about Asian culture.



Music of the Asians:​



​The music composed by the Asian film composers is very heritage-based.  The instrumentation is very cultural and Asian-influenced.  However, most of these films are based around Asian culture, and are plainly Eastern-based films.

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Music of the Asian Immigrants (transnational):



​It seems like the Asian composers who have come here to study and/or find work attempt to incorporate both Eastern and Western cultures into their works.  On Huang Ruo's website, he mentions how "as a member of the new generation of Chinese, he clearly knows that his goal and task is not just to mix both Western and Eastern elements, but to go beyond that to create a seamless integration and a convincing organic unity, drawing influences from various genres and cultures."



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Culture