The Goonies was a movie which was released on June 7, 1985. The film was directed by Richard Donner and written by Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus. The Goonies revolves around two brothers and their group of friends, who call themselves the Goonies. The Goonies stumble upon a treasure map belonging to the famed "One-Eyed" Willie. The gang proceeds to pursue the treasure shown on the map but are met by the Fratelli family who recently escaped jail and are also on a hunt for the treasure. The Goonies then have to survive and best a gauntlet of traps and obstacles to outsmart the Fratellis and ultimately claim the treasure.

The Goonies was a large success among the American audience and its popularity exists to this day. Among the Goonies in the movie is Richard "Data" Wang. Data, an Asian American, is seen as an extremely intelligent yet quirky character and was noted by his overstuffed overcoat. Data idolized James Bond and created numerous ridiculous inventions which ended up saving the gang at one point or another. In a blend of goofiness and intelligence, Data was a successful and popular character. Although there were positive aspects to the character, Data still suffers from a slight accent as well as a the tendency to refer to himself in the third person which is a less than ideal image.

At the time, Asian Americans were still struggling to find an identity in pop culture torn in a struggle between Bruce Lee and Long Duk Dong. The character of Data, I believe, provided a more moderate medium between the two extremes which ultimately became a part of the current Asian stereotype. Even though Data still possessed a bit of an accent and was still visibly foreign, he was also seen as an integral part of the Goonies and was not an outsider like Dong. I believe this role was a strong supporter and perhaps the pioneer of the image of the Asian as the "calculator" or the "wiz kid" which ultimately was the image of the model minority. On the flip side, although this image is an overall positive one, it still alienates Asian Americans from the average American kid.It's curious that although Data was intelligent, courageous and bold, Hollywood felt it necessary to also give him an accent and make him clumsy. Thus, the national image of Asian Americans remained as awkward and goofy figures with a thick accent and sub-par grammar. Despite this, I believe Data was a positive step in the image of Asians in America.