1. After reading Sarah Moon Cassinelli’s “If we are Asian, then are we funny?”, I concluded that the author is trying to explain what Margaret Cho went through from being the first Asian lead actor in the TV show called the All-American Girl. Using Margaret Cho’s description of the experiences that she had while making the show, the author is showing how the show has a potential for raising awareness for the lack of and accurate representation of Asian American but it failed to do so for the same reasons that keeps occurring for years prior to the show. The show not only failed in trying to show “accurate” or “authentic” characterization of the Asian culture, it fails to make its cast feel like they could be themselves while shooting the show. This brings the question of when will there ever be a chance where Asian American can finally be satisfied with the depiction of their own culture in mainstream television.
2. One quotation that is drawn from the actual show is when the ski instructor said to Margaret, “Heeey, don’t take this the wrong way, but you have a tendency to bowww into you skis” (136). This quotation is one of many examples of sayings in the show that poorly educate the audience of the old and respectful Asian traditions such as bowing. This quote oversimplify what it means when a person bow to an elderly or someone who deserve their respects. This show was suppose to show how an Asian American girl adapt to living in the United States, not making fun of how she acts. By doing this, the TV show is not only making its audience to have an ignorant understanding of the Asian culture, it also simplify important steps that American audience needs to take in order to truly understand the Asian culture in a respectful way.
3. One key term that the author brought up is once again “model minority”. The author also talks about how the show also make its character way too one-dimensional. For example, Margaret brother Stuart embodies the stereotype of the ‘model minority'” (138). They built his character into a person who is well educated and is out there serving the community with his “braininess” (139). The show is trying to shoe that Asian American fellow that resembles Margaret’s brother is a perfect example of the right way to climb up the social ladder. Basically, what they are trying to say is the only way Asian American is able to move up their status in the society is to be smart. This also touches on another stereotype where Asians are expected to be the smart.
4. One of the first documentary that we watched in class is called Slaying the Dragon. The documentary showed an interview of an Asian American woman describing her experiences back when she was trying to audition for to be a news anchor. She talks about how the producers and casters all told her that she needed to alter her appearance so that she would look more like Connie Chung, who was the face of new anchor during that time. This ties to a problem that Margeret Cho had when she was cast to be the show’s main character, the directors told her that “the network has a problem with… the fullness of [her] face” and that she “needs to lose weight” (133). This two stories of two Asian American women trying to make their way into mainstream television shows that there were many things that they had to go through in order to pursue their dreams.
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