Author Archives: Cameron Castanares

In the article “How Good It Is to Be a Monkey,” author Min Song explains the meanings behind some of Gene Yang’s comics on the Chinese American life in the late 1900s. Song describes most of Yang’s graphics as, although satirical, somewhat realistic. Many 0f the comics depict the struggles that Chinese Americans have with who they are and how others view them.

“Yang’s work is thus situated between the poles of realism and genre fiction…” (76). Here Song states that much of Yang’s work has not only presented realistic views, but they also have presented these views in an exaggerated or fictional way to appeal to a larger range of readers. “…the complexity of the stories Yang wishes to tell is conveyed with great succinctness through his use of the visual and textual.” (78). Also, the book “Gordon Yamamoto” declares that Yang’s work, although short, are profound and often contain deep meaning of race and identity.

The term racial formation means the study of race and how it is a socially constructed identity. It describes how race is defined by society, economy, and politics. The term graphic narrative (graphic novel) basically means a comic book. A book, or novel, of mostly pictures and text boxes that often tell a story or convey a meaning. Although most people view graphic novels as a genre meant for lazy readers, many comic creators, like Gene Yang, can create deep and meaningful images and stories through the use of simple comics.

Yang’s works depict the Asian American identity in a humorous or exaggerated way, while at the same time keeping the theme or message still relatively realistic. Similarly, the Asian American sitcom, “Fresh off the Boat,” presents an Asian American family who simply live their daily lives but often run into humorous situations that often times have a deeper cultural meaning. Both “Fresh off the Boat” and Gene Yang’s comics attempt and succeed to present a normally sensitive topic like race in a humorous but very real light, which in the end helps them gain popularity and succeed business-wise.

In Sarah Cassinelli’s document “If we are Asian, then are we funny?”, Cassinelli describes Margaret Cho’s memoir titled “I’m the One that I Want” which reveals Cho’s experience during the making of the television show “All-American Girl.” However as the document goes on, Cassinelli begins to criticize “All-American Girl” for relying on racial jokes and stereotypes instead of legitimate comedic form and also explains how Cho contributed to the show’s downfall as well.

“…Cho seems to be declaring her show, and most importantly its intentions, as innocuous.” (131) Here Cassinelli describes how Cho, despite knowing the true nature of the show still outwardly defends it. But later in the document Cho states how “…she recognizes that the whole experience is a ‘big mess.'” (131) Cassinelli explains how this confusion, that Cho is clearly revealing, shows how both the show and memoir “I’m the One that I Want” fail to address the cultural ideas that ultimately lead to the failure of the show.

The document creates a new term it calls “Asianness” which seems self-explanatory. It simply means having the characteristics or features of an asian. Being Asian like. It also introduces the genre sitcom and categorizes the show “All-American Girl” to be in it. Sitcom is literally short for situational comedy. It is a sub-category of comedy where characters go about a slice-of-life form of story that features comedic moments and conflicts over multiple episodes.

According to Cassinelli’s document, “All-American Girl” went wrong in many aspects. The show tended to focus more on racial comedy and had no comedic structure. Often times, the show would poke fun at Asian culture and audiences would have trouble identifying with the characters or even becoming offended by them. Unlike “All-American Girl,” “Flower Drum Song” was a film and instead embraced Asian culture and would often poke fun at the contrast between American and Asian culture but usually in a relatable or innocent way. In fact, many critics claimed it to be artistic in it’s cultural representation. Perhaps the creators of “All-American Girl” should have taken a few pointers from “Flower Drum Song” and made a show that embraced and emphasized Asian culture instead of mocking it.

In the article “Beyond Finishing the Game: A Look at Asian American Grassroots Outreach,” author John Fong describes some of the hardships Asian American film producers face in their industry. In his article, Fong explains how the largest issue Asian American film producers face in the film making process is a way to present or show their work to their intended audiences. In other words, it was difficult to find a business that was willing to invest in their film due to the lack of knowledge on Asian American films and therefore unknown risk of losing profit. He also describes how it was also difficult to find people who would be willing to view their product.

Fong presents many examples throughout his article such as the 2002 presentation of “Better Luck Tomorrow.” He states that inspired by the success of another film called “The Debut,” “Better Luck Tomorrow” was created mostly for Asian American audiences. However, because of the films inspirational themes and controversial content, it attracted many viewers and made a large profit. (6-7)

One term Fong introduces (at least to me) is the term “grassroots.” In the article, Fong never directly defines this term, despite it being used throughout almost the entire article. However, out of context, a reader could decipher that the term grassroots means the most basic level of something or the most simple. It was never used negatively but it never seemed positive.

In his article, Fong presents many examples of films that shocked the film industry with Asian American culture. Similarly, the film “Chan is Missing” by Wayne Wang also seemed to blindside the film community by having groundbreaking themes while still keeping some ambiguity. The film “Chan is Missing” was released during a questionable time as many Americans still did not fully approve of Asian Americans. However despite many believing it would mainly be enjoyed by other Asian Americans, upon release, the film shockingly gained praise by not only the Asian American community but by many Americans of other ethnicities, which is precisely what Fong explained in his article. Fong explained in his article how many Asian American film producers struggled to create their films and “Chan is Missing” was no exception to such.

The document Moving the Image explains how films in the late 1900s were often made by white men. In fact, most minority filmmakers were ignored and often times even unfavorable. Most audiences would immediately shut down the idea of watching a movie merely because it was made by an Asian American. When people thought of Asian Americans, they thought of teachers or saints, but never film artists. However, in this document, author Renee Tajima argues that people should view Asian American film producers with the same respect as other producers.

“We were worried about financing our films, getting a decent airdate…” (13) Many Asian American movie producers struggled to find work and often times were forces to accommodate with what they were given despite it being below adequate. But because there were so few of them, receiving any sort of payment was considered a blessing. As the author put it, “Asian American filmmakers were small fish in a small pool and even the Film Fund was a bastion to conquer.” (21) Through this sentence the author shows that even things that were made to help film producers were considered hurdles to them.

The document does discuss the term multiculturalism on page 13. It is described as the support or embracement of other cultures or races. In the author’s own words, other cultures and races refers to white women, white gays/lesbians, and people of color.

In the documentary film “Forbidden City,” many Asian Americans being interviewed discussed the hardships of going against the norms of Asian Americans. They described how their actions were, initially, poorly received from both Asians and white Americans. But overtime, people began to accept their decisions and even went so far as to support some of them. Similarly, in Moving the Image, the author explains how Asian Americans struggle to find funding and support for their films and productions. However, unlike “Forbidden City,” Moving the Image is more advocating than explaining as the argument of the document is still under debate and has not yet become a reality.