Asian Americans & the Media (AsAmSt 55)

1) In Wayne Wang’s film, Chan Is Missing, Joe and Steve’s search for their missing friend reveals the Asian American immigrant experience characterized by assimilation, identity conflict, as well as language and generational differences. Through Chan Hung’s own story, the film disproves the model minority myth by showing that such success is not the case for every individual and with good reason.

2) When the English language teacher, George, was talking about “Chinatown politics” , he likened being Chinese-American to a Chinese bakery-made apple pie – it looks like an American one on the outside but tastes different because of the different Chinese baking techniques that went into making it (Chan Is Missing). Henry reminds the main character, Jo, that he is a foreigner even though he knows the alphabet, reemphasizing George’s point that Jo is a Chinese apple pie as opposed to an American one. The apple pie is not just a metaphor for being Asian American but also of assimilation as a Chinese person can never truly be considered American. In the conversation between Joe and Steve at the pier, Jo talks about how many Chinese people have been in the U.S. for a long time and have yet to find an identity. Steve’s frustration and confusion as to why Jo is so “hung up” on identity and Chan reflects how the struggle for identifying one’s self in the U.S. is different for second-generation Asian Americans who were born here. Generational differences and resulting misunderstandings are also conveyed through Steve who commonly speaks of Chinese immigrants as stereotypes (“Is this what Chinese scholars do in their hot tubs…?” when Jo tells him a Chinese riddle) and who sees people acting a certain way in order to blend in as “playing the game” (Chan Is Missing). According to Henry’s reasoning, Chan left for back home because “he had a hard time identifying with the mainland Chinese when he was eight thousand miles away” (Chan Is Missing). Through Chan’s backstory related by Jo, the struggle of moving and living in a new country is demonstrated as Chan “had it all…he was almost upper class and he comes here and he can’t find a job” (Chan Is Missing). Not only is it culturally disorienting, but from an economic and social standpoint, Chan Hung has to completely start over as opposed to having a more solid foundation in his home country. Such a stark difference in living in two different countries further illuminates how Asian immigrants struggle on many planes and why the title of the model minority myth is reasonably not met by many. The language barrier and its limits have the potential to breed “cross cultural misunderstanding” as the lawyer woman searching for Chan puts it (Chan Is Missing). Chan ended up having an incident with the police based on “culturally related assumptions” that highlighted the differences between English and Chinese language and what each language emphasizes in speech: grammar vs. relation to the bigger picture respectively (Chan Is Missing). Chan’s ex-wife briefly details what it’s like to be an immigrant through her ex-husband’s struggle such as having to learn English and apply for citizenship. From the stories about Chan Hung, he didn’t seem to find much success assimilating with his considered lack of success compared to Mr. Lee, his sponsor. This demonstrates the model minority as a myth as it cannot be applied to all Asian Americans and their experiences. At the end of the film, Chan Hung’s relative lack of success is interpreted through the many viewpoints of other Asian American characters that knew him (narrated by Jo) at the end of the film, their different perspectives reflecting the differences across perception and experience for every Asian American in their own stories.

3) The term “FOB” standing for “fresh off the boat” was referenced by Jo and Steve in the film. It is often used to describe people typically of Asian descent who have immigrated into the U.S. However, its use tends to carry a derogatory air to it as it is often applied to Asians in general no matter how long they have been in the U.S. However, Jo corrects boats to a more recent mode of transportation: “They come off of jumbo jets”, indicating how immigration is still happening in modern times while also indicating the term’s outdatedness (Chan Is Missing). The term, assimilation, is also referenced by the English teacher, George, who talks about the different kinds of Chinese immigrant experiences there are: those who wish to keep all their homeland beliefs and ways of life, and those who wish to assimilate by adopting western values instead. In his explanation, George reveals the limitations of assimilation for Chinese immigrants when he says “they’re not white” (Chan Is Missing).

4) Charlie Chan, the first Asian detective portrayed in media, is referenced by George when he said that Joe didn’t look like “anyone’s conception of Charlie Chan” (Chan Is Missing). This comparison of Jo to Charlie Chan signifies that Jo is portrayed as a more assimilated Asian American who differs from Charlie Chan in that he speaks English more fluently rather than through euphemisms. This growth of not only the Asian detective but of the Asian man on screen through Jo’s characterization and portrayal is a helpful step in the direction of representing Asian Americans and their experiences more accurately.

References:

Chan Is Missing. Dir. Wayne Wang. Kino Lorber Edu, 1982. Kanopy. Web. 11 Sep. 2018.

This weekend I watched To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before which is a Netflix original film.Watching the movie made me think of our in class discussion of Crazy Rich Asians, which premiered the same week as To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. I thought that it was interesting that both movies both featured an Asian American cast but one movie (Crazy Rich Asians) got more attention than the other.

Many of the films that we watch and discuss in class have to do with Asian American representation in media. I found To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before to be a refreshing movie to watch because it was a movie that featured an Asian American lead that did not focus on racial issues surrounding the Asian American community. The film did shed light on the fact that the main character was obviously a different race (they do this by including a scene where one of the Asian actresses explains to a non-Asian actor that she is drinking a Korean yogurt drink that is commonly given to Korean kids as a snack) but it was a brief moment that didn’t distract from the plot line.

Seeing a Asian American actress play a role that is typically played by an American actress reminded me of the in class screening of Better Luck Tomorrow which was also a movie about a high school experience. While the plot in Better Luck Tomorrow centered around their experiences as Asian Americans in high school (which is different from the high school love story of To All the Boys I’ve Loved), both movies casted Asians in roles that were not typically given to Asian actors such as main lead, head cheerleader, and the jock. 

As I watched Crazy Rich Asians my second time last week, it just gets better and better. This movie did a great job in establishing a representation between being an Asian American and just being an Asian born in a foreign country. Rachel Chu, who is an Asian American professor travels with her boyfriend, who was raised and born in Singapore back to his hometown discovers that he’s from a rich family and the differences between a regular Asian American household and an Asian household.

A scene that stood out to me throughout the whole film was when Nick Young’s Mom has a small talk with Rachel about never being good enough and that the reason is due to her being American. Which means that because you are born in America you tend to learn to put yourself first and make yourself first priority before anyone else. Versus if you weren’t born in America, you would know to put your family first before anything and leave everything behind. I found this vey hurtful, but at the end of the conversation I thought to myself that, everything she just said was in fact the truth but also a lie at the same time. The reason why I believe that it’s not true is because even if you are an Asian American woman, it doesn’t always mean that you don’t put your family first or that your selfish because you have ambitions, goals, and dreams. There are a lot of Asian American woman out there who loves themselves as much as they love their family. It doesn’t always have to be one or the other. As for the reason why I kind of saw it from the mother’s point of view is that compared to Asian woman abroad and Asian American woman, there are differences that I can see. Asian woman abroad tend to have a better sense that they need to have family responsibilities and are better at catering to their family at home. But that is just because social norms and the social changes that happens overtime.

One of my favorite scenes throughout the whole movie was towards the end where Astrid, tells off her now ex-husband that she can’t make him a man if he isn’t one. That whole scene really empowered me and I’m sure it also empowered many woman out there. Not that this has to do with anything related to Asian-American. Anyways, overall I saw many different cultural differences throughout this movie about Asian American’s and Asians’ core values.

1. In the article “News Coverage” by Paul Niwa, the author gives a clear illustration about the lack of representation among certain media outlets. Whether its radio, newspapers, or TV newsrooms the lack of representation of Asian Americans is obvious through the statistics represented by Niwa. Niwa suggests and argues through his data the means of changing the representation in mainstream news. He shows this but not without certain repercussions that follow in fighting the problem of representation.
2. One reason Niwa argues why Asian Americans lack such integration among media outlets is because of the lack of trust the mainstream media has on them. Mainstream media see Asian American news as not a profitable source. This mistrust in the community forces Asian American newspaper to be heavily reliant on “less sophisticated local advertisers” rather than “high paying national advertisers” (pg.668) These ads whose income help continue to life of Asian American newspaper has a direct affect to the number of Asian reporters on the field. The general effect of this is the Asian reporters are then left to work for big news companies rather than small independent ones. Working for such a big news outlet hinders Asian reporters from advancing to higher position. As one can see this cause and effect situation stems in part from a lack of trust in Asian American newspaper. In the latter part of the article Niwa brings in AAJA and their influence. The AAJA who set up programs like ELP help “train midlevel newsroom managers” (pg.667) Furthermore, many more Asian Americans become more appealing to mainstream media’s requirements and standards. And through his statistics shows an increase in the number of Asians moving up although the overall number is small like TV workers being at a “2 percent in 2000.” (Pg.667) In the end, Niwa introduced “missing” Asian American coverage. For the example the lack of Vietnamese coverage of those affected by hurricane Katrina, where most of the focus was on a population minority of whites. Niwa exclaims that these obstacles are counteracted through the use of the internet by Asian Americans. By using it they are able to spread rapidly, and self-reliantly with a voice, important topics to discuss, while having the ability to tear down the stereotypes. Using such methods to spread the word and in giving value to Asian American news. And with AAJA to speed up the process Asians can a slow increase of them participating in the different news sources.

3. Key concepts by Niwa include “missing” Asian American coverage. “Missing” Asian American coverage based on Niwa is the lack of any representation of Asian or Asian American communities that have been affected one way or the other and have not been proportionally represented regardless if they are/aren’t the population majority. All the focus goes away from the Asians to “real” Americans.

4. Based on a previous documentary of the LA riots, the cover of the riots shows a similar problem of representation of Asian American reporters. When diversified reporters were sent in to report on the riots in order to protect the lives of white lives, a small surge of color reporters and in respect a small surge in Asian American reporters came from the outcome. But this was a problematic outcome. The documentary made it clear that before the riots had time to develop, in the headquarters of newspapers the main body of reporters were whites. Only when the riots got going did Asian Reporters and their representation of them among the workforce became clear. The news business only gave Asian American reporters the representation they needed because they were viewed as disposable sources if anything were to happen to them while getting information about the riots. Although too late to apologize for such treatment, the hard work that Asian reporters brought was acknowledged. This would in the future slowly change the way representation in the work force is and put more value these reporters have. For there to be equality and fair representation one must learn the lessons from the cruel forces applied on color and Asian American reporters.

The most recent movie that has been the subject of the internet, receiving rave reviews, arousing public curiosity, and getting critical feedback is Jon M. Chu’s dramatic comedy Crazy Rich Asians. What makes this film so special or important?

Besides featuring an all-Asian cast, the movie also mocks and picks fun at many Asian stereotypes (being lactose intolerant, smart, the scary/strict mother-in-law). After watching the movie the first time (I watched it twice), I think there were some humanistic/social issues and phenomenons that were addressed, particularly comparing Asian culture with Asian American/American culture. I think the production team did a great job keeping the authenticity of the culture, although that is not to be confused with the stereotypes and behaviors of the characters. The night market scene featured many well-known dishes such as satay, as well as some native Asian dialects (Mandarin, Hokkien/Taiwanese).

Another aspect that I appreciated about this film was the strong, indepedent women ideas it portrayed through the characters. Past portrayals of Asian women in American films seemed to depict Asian women as very docile, dainty, submissive, and often sexualized. However, the women in Crazy Rich Asians are very different, regardless of whether they were Asian or Asian American. Nick’s grandmother appears to have a matriarchal position in the Young family, as she is very well-respected and seems to have authority and a final say in things. Although Nick’s father is never shown in the movie (he is apparently on a business trip), Nick’s mother seems to also have a lot of authority and respect within the household. Rachel’s mother is also very respectable because she came to America on her own and raised a child. As a single mom in a new environment, there are many struggles down the journey (language barrier, money to support the family, getting a job, all while not being able to contact loved ones back in the homeland). Rachel stands up to the harsh treatment from Nick’s mother as well as the bullying she receives from Amanda and her friends who are jealous of Rachel’s relationship with Nick. While others may think that she is “not enough” for Nick due their difference is societal status, Rachel stays true to what she believes and she knows that she is enough. Rachel’s friend Peik Lin is one of my favorite characters. She helps Rachel to keep herself grounded and reminds Rachel that she should not try to please Nick’s mother but instead get Nick’s mother to respect her. Peik Lin is a humorous character, but she also is very straightforward and blunt because she’s not afraid to speak her mind. Astrid is one of my favorite characters because she stands up for herself against her husband, who was involved in an affair with another woman. My favorite quote from the movie is, “It was never my job to make you feel like a man. I can’t make you something you’re not,” which Astrid says to her husband, referencing the inferiority complex that her husband was experiencing due to how he was a commoner married to a crazy rich woman. These portrayals of Asian women are very different from the older portrayals of Asian women (geisha girls, prostitutes, submissive to men).

When I first watched the movie, I was thinking like, “Wow, this is exactly the kind of movie we need!” Other than real Asian movies, I haven’t seen an all-Asian cast in a film in my life, so this was really exciting for me. However, a friend of mine shared an article with a different perspective on the greatness of Crazy Rich Asians. While I certainly do feel like this film was a step in making progress in the Asian American community, after reading this article I couldn’t help but agree with some of the author’s points. The main cast of the film was predominantly East Asians with the stereotypical pale/fair skin tone. If there were any brown Asians in the film, they were shown as the support cast: housemaids, cooks in the kitchen, etc. So there are still ways for us to be better at representing Asians in the American movie scene, but we are definitely making progress.

References:

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Is A Milestone, But It Shouldn’t Be