Week 2 Readings: Assimilation

In Lisa Sun-Hee Park’s article, “Assimilation”, Park focuses on asserting the complexity and peculiarity assimilation of races in America by how model minority myth of Asian Americans affected status of Asian Americans. Asian Americans have developed from low-wage laborers to a ‘model minority’. The life of model minority seems possible to be an example of assimilating as a norm, in this case norm indicates life of Whites. However, yet Asian Americans still need to stay as a foreign minority who behaves appropriately and which rejects the idea of assimilation.

Park begins by giving two different understandings of assimilation. First, she presents the belief of W.E.B Du Bois. Du bois asserts in “The Conservation of Races” that African Americans are already Americans and racial differences exist, therefore there is no need for assimilation efforts to integrate different races into one normative measure. “If one is already an American, the assimilation efforts are normative measures to center whiteness as the nation identity … With substantial agreement in political ideals and social engagement, Du bois saw no need for assimilation.” (p.14)

Park also presents idea of Robert E. Park. Robert Park saw assimilation as a solution to racial differences. While Du Bois saw racial differences are normal and racism is what creates problem, Robert Park believed assimilation would help balancing the racial differences. “Park viewed assimilation as a solution to racial difference, which he understood as a social problem.” (p.14)

Park presents two different beliefs on assimilation to demonstrate possible positives and negatives of assimilation and to give better understanding of what assimilation in America would mean before narrating how assimilation is complex to define with the situation of Asian Americans. Park focuses on the “model minority” myth. “It holds up Asian Ameicans as models for other minorities based on measures of income, education, and public benefit utilization rates.”(p.16) She mentions Asian Americans’ life developed but “these narratives represent a double-edged sword for Asian Americans. Lisa Lowe eplains that Asians in the U.S hold an impossible position in which they are simultaneously projects of inclusion and exclusion.”(p. 16) Assimilation is based on notion that all races are ‘real’ Americans yet as a model minority, Asian Americans are at “the position of the perpetual foreigner/victims who must be rescued, welcomed, and domesticated.”(p.17) Asian Americans are believed as foreigners who behave right despite the citizenship rights. She concludes, “what is clear, however, from these many years of contemplation is that assimilation is neither simple nor “natural”.”(p.17)

Portrayal of Asian Americans in early firms is an example of a peculiar assimilation. Asian American When Asian actors started to appear on Hollywood movies such as “Walk Like Dragon”, “Sayonara”, and “The World of Suzy Wong”, Asian appeared as mysterious foreigners. Hollywood and Whites did not care about real Asian characteristics but chose to portray Asian women as exotic, obedient, and docile foreigners. They wanted Asian women to behave as they want but still would not recognize as same citizen.