Author Archives: Mathew Lim

1.

In the graphic novel, American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang depicts the struggle of a Chinese American boy, Jin Wang, to fit into American society. Through this struggle Yang illustrates the struggle many Asian Americans face with finding their identity as being American with an Asian background.

2.

In excerpt B at the very beginning on page 194 we see Jin Wang transform from being Asian American to being European American.

This scene represents Jin Wang assimilating into American culture. Not only does his looks change, but he also becomes ashamed of Asian background and beats up his cousin Chin-Kee later on in the graphic novel. This shows his rejection of his Asian identity and the want to just be American. Through this Yang depicts the struggle of early Asian Americans discovering what it means to be Asian American and fit into American culture.

Later on in excerpt B Chin-Kee beats up Jin Wang using various martial arts moves on him such as: “Kung Pao Attack” (208) ; “General Tsao Rooster Punch” (210) ; “Peking Strike” (211) ; and “Hot and Sour Wet Willy” (211).

These attacks are variations of Chinese American dishes that is widely spread in the US. Although, not authentic Chinese food, it represents Jin Wang inner struggle with his Asian American identity. It shows him wanting to fit in, but his Asian background comes back and reminds of who he really is. This scene of him getting beaten up by Chin-Kee portrays the struggle that many Asian Americans go through to find their identity. Like the Chinese American dishes they have an Asian background, but they are American. It shows that there is a weird happy middle area of being both that Asian Americans need to find in order to create their own identity.

3.

A keyword that helps us better understand this graphic novel is assimilation. In Lisa Sun-Hee Park’s “Assimilation” she talks about the different definitions of assimilation and if it is even needed in the first place. One quote she uses to describe assimilation is “a state-imposed normative program aimed at eradicating minority cultures” (15). This is depicted in the beginning of excerpt B of American Born Chinese when Jin Wang transforms completely from Chinese American to European American. He reaches this state of eradicating and ridding himself of his minority, Chinese, background. Yang includes this struggle of assimilation to reveal to the reader the struggle that Asian Americans face in American society.

4.

This graphic novel connects to the in class screening of the Fresh off the Boat episode, So Chineez. In this episode Jessica Huang struggles with being American, but still maintaining her Chinese background, similar to Jin Wang’s experience when he is getting beaten up and reminded of his Chinese background. They both go through a process of assimilation. For Jessica it is to get into the country club which she ultimately decides not to join. For Jin Wang it was literally becoming European American. These two characters from different sources of media deal with the identity struggle of Asian Americans and the search of defining themselves.

1.

In the article, News Coverage, Paul Niwa argues that Asian Americans are underrepresented and misrepresented in American mainstream news.

2.

“out of the nearly 2,500 news articles published by the two newspapers
in 2005 about the storm, only six stories (0.25%) were about Asian
American Communities. The news coverage was proportionally well below
the 2.8% of the population that Americans of Asian ethnicities comprise in
the worst hurricane-hit areas” (pg 664).

Only .25% of stories were about Asian Americans but Asian Americans made up 2.8% of the population in the worst hit areas. Comparing the percentage population to the percentage of stories covering of Asian Americans, the population percentage is a little over 11 times that of the stories. This shows how underrepresented Asian Americans are in the news. This was 6 stories about Asian Americans for a population of 53,000 that were caught in the area that was hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Putting it in perspective that is about 1 story for every 9,000 people. This shows how little Asian Americans are represented in mainstream news.

“These kinds of story angles have not been pursued in white neighborhoods
when whites have perpetrated similar mass shootings. Journalists did not investigate the ethnicities of former Northern Illinois University student Steven
Phillip Kazmierczak or Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. No
questions were raised about whether their ethnic cultures were related to the
school shootings they perpetrated” (pg. 666)

When a Korean American student committed a mass shooting the journalists asked whether or not Korean culture had anything to do with the mass shooting. By linking culture to the shooting, the question assumes or implies that Korean culture is evil, wrong, or broken in some way. This skews people’s image of Korean Americans in society. Because if someone were to hear that question they would tend to link Korean culture and mass shooting. This gives Korean Americans and Asian Americans a bad image in society. Furthermore, Korean Americans and Asian American culture is not evil or wrong in anyway. This misconception of Asian Americans in mainstream news shows that they are misrepresented.

3.

A key term that can help us understand Niwa’s article better is journalist. A journalist is someone who writes for newspapers, magazines, or news websites or prepares news to be broadcast. It is a journalist’s job to help voices be heard, report the truth, and put forth knowledge of what’s happening in the world for people to know about. This is why Niwa is being so critical of journalists. They help voices be heard, but he argues that they aren’t helping Asian Americans be heard because they are being underrepresented. Asian Americans are also being misrepresented is news and he points these acts of professional carelessness out.

4.

Niwa also points out that there is a lack of Asian American journalists and news people. This connects to the in class screening of Slaying the Dragon. In this film we learn about Connie Chung and her career as a new anchor and reporter. But because she was so popular and media she ended up becoming a stereotype and not a role model for Asian Americans to become journalist, reporters, or news anchors. This is shown when we see a lady being interviewed and how she said that she had to change her hair to be like Connie Chung and to change her makeup to look more exotic. This shows how even within the professional news world that Asian Americans are misrepresented.

1.

In the cinema journal, “Of Myths and Men: Better Luck Tomorrow and Mainstreaming of Asian America Cinema,” Margaret Hillenbrand makes a case in the section, “Asian American Masculinities on Film and the Problem of ‘Filmmaking’,” that the problem about Asian American films is that it is about itself.

2.

“The agenda of Asian American cinema is up-front as it tells the stories of immigration, segregation, and ongoing exclusion.” (pg. 53).

In this quote Hillenbrand isn’t saying it’s a bad thing that the films take on these issues. She’s saying that Asian American films are made to educative of immigration, segregation, and exclusion; and because of this Asian Americans are portrayed poorly in films. It’s because these issues purposely put Asian American in stereotypical roles and belittles them. Instead Asian Americans should be cast into bigger American films with a more prominent part. Maybe something like an American superhero movie with an Asian American superhero. Or maybe a love story of an Asian guy and a White girl. Either way it would be a more positive portrayal of Asian Americans without being an educative film. This leads on to another issue stated by Hillenbrand.

“Asian American cinema for largely Asian American audiences” (pg. 54).

Because most Asian American films take on issues like racism and segregation and exclusion of Asian Americans, it’s more likely to draw in Asian Americans that can relate to the films instead of the rest of the world that needs to be shown the struggles Asian Americans go through. So the only way to get around this would be to have Asian Americans play a more prominent role in American movies with a positive image of them. Like I stated above maybe a superhero movie because then there is also the whole backstory of the character that leaves room for the immigration, segregation, and exclusion issues that Asian Americans faced. But the problem here is to not fall into stereotypes such as a Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, or the Charlie Chan sort of character. Something more American without forgetting the Asian culture or identity.

3.

A key term for this reading is Asian American. Although most people are familiar with this term, to me it still hasn’t been clearly defined. The Asian American identity is something that many have struggled to define for themselves and find what it means to be Asian American. This is because Asian Americans are American, but are still excluded and ostracized from society because they are still treated as foreigners. To help cast and mold a definition for this term I believe than Asian Americans need to play a bigger role in cinema like a superhero because superheroes are so deeply rooted into American culture. With this sort of story it allows a blending of Asian and American exploring what it means to be Asian American and gives a positive role model for Asian Americans. It can fall short and maybe fall into stereotypical characters, but it is a good starting place to help explore and define the term.

4.

In the movie, Crazy Rich Asians, I can see Hillenbrand’s argument that most Asian American films are largely for Asian audiences. There is the notion that Asians like to stick with Asians and not go outside of their racial group. Because the movie does poorly to cast a more diverse audience this stereotype takes a prominent role in the film. Because the cast is all Asian it is more likely to draw in Asian Americans than it is to draw in Whites, Mexicans, or Blacks.

1.

In the chapter, “Who Am I? Creating an Asian American Identity and Culture,” from the book, The Asian American Movement, William Wei claims that Asian Americans struggled with a sense of identity. Although they immigrated to or were born in America and followed American values and culture, they were not accepted by whites. At the same time they were American citizens and no longer just Asian. Because of this Asian Americans struggled to define what being Asian American really meant

2.

“Asian Americans are foreigners who all look alike and choose to live together in quaint communities in the midst of large cities and cling to ‘outworn,’ alien customs” (p.49).

• Wei includes this because it shows how white people define and see Asian Americans. To white people Asian Americans are stereotyped as all looking the same. They are also categorized as only living in small communities with each other, such as Chinatown. Because whites are the majority and dominate American lives, these stereotypes are widely spread throughout the country. Thus changing the way people define and judge Asian Americans before meeting them.

“Whether negative or positive, stereotypes are essentially false images that obscure the complexity and diversity that is an inherent feature of Asian Americans as well as other people” (p.50)

• Because Asian Americans only see stereotypes in media such as Bruce Lee or Dragon Lady, they don’t have a clear sense of who they are. Like Wei says, “stereotypes are essentially false images.” Since these images are false, Asian Americans don’t have a role model or someone they can look up too without being stereotyped. If they look to media all they see are Asian guys portrayed as martial arts masters or some unimportant side character. Asian girls are portrayed as exotic and oversexualized. These things are not Asian Americans, but media’s portrayal creates this false image in society’s mind and makes it hard for Asian Americans to escape it and define who they are.

3.

“Unassimilable Sojourners” – A sojourner is someone who stays somewhere temporarily. Unassimilable means not being able to be assimilate. Wei uses this term to show the rejection of Asian Americans into American society, life, and culture. I found this term interesting and had to look it up to see what it meant. This term reinforces the idea of Asian Americans being the “perpetual foreigner.” No matter what they do to be American they are rejected and still seen as only Asians.

4.

This chapter by Wei strongly connects to the chapter, “Assimilation,” in the book, Keywords for Asian American Studies, by Lisa Sun-Hee Park. In this chapter she includes the argument by Du Bois that “African Americans were already Americans; therby raising the question of ‘assimilation into what?'” (p.14). This can also be applied to Asian Americans help define what Asian American is. Assimilate implies one half being stronger or more prevalent than another half. Asian Americans are already American and don’t need to assimilate nor be more American. I believe that the answer to what being Asian American lies in the blending or mixing of Asian and American culture, not the assimilation of Asians into America with American being the dominant half.