- In the Article, “Cyberspace, Y2K: Giant Robots, Asian Punks” the author of Rachel Rubin states that Asian American zines try to break Asian American stereotype such as submissive Asian female, making Asian male helpless, and small physique by printable zines and cyberzines. Zines effect on many new concepts of Asian American culture and society on America society, and the concepts could change the Asian American stereotype.
- For some Asian American zinesters, bodies are an obsession because sex and sexuality have been so central in the process of marginalizing and commodifying Asian Americans. On the Internet, pornographic images abound that hawk the stereotype of the physically small, submissive Asian woman, or the emasculated Asian man. (P.11) The most daring and oppositional aspect of Kristina Wong’s Big Bad Chinese Mama might be the fact that she publishes photographs of Asian women—all looking ugly on purpose, The captions accompanying the photos of young women making absurd faces, picking their noises, sitting on the toilet, or sticking out their tongues refer to the cultural expectations they are working to thwart: “Not quite a lotus blossom, but the next best thing,” one reads. (P.11) Many zines by and about Asian American women use zine “attitude” to confront dominant images in popular culture of Asian women: the submissive geisha-girl, the China- doll, the Indian princess. (P17)
- The key concept is a zine. The zine is the simply can imagine by magazine. The word of magazine is made combining maga and zine. It means simply that magazine is group of zines. In additional, zines can express print zines and cyber zines. The zines introduce and establish the new culture to audience.
- A screening of “Fresh off the Boat” is the Asian American family sitcom. In the screening mother was worried about children gradually losing Chinese ethnicity as they growing up in America. Then, she realized that simply rejecting and keeping ethnicity are not the answer. The sitcom shows American that Asian American think about how they try and get along with American. In this time, the Asian American zine is processing that reducing the gap of ideal between Asian American and American by media.
- The author of Sarah Moon Cassinelli, in the article of “If we are Asian, then are we funny?” states that Margaret Cho’s “All-American Girls” Asian American sitcom. Sarah Moon pointed out the stereotype Asian American female and how American brings them into derision. Then, they did not admit the race and ethnicity as identity, furthermore, they are interesting what they want to see and understand. They created prejudice and discrimination and made them even more mockery.
- The show features one scene where Mrs. Kim enters the kitchen and Margaret quips: “What’s with the [sun] glasses, Mom? You look like Yoko Ono!” While a certain level of obviousness may produce a stale affect, the reference that any Asian woman who wears large glasses resembles Yoko Ono is also stereotypical. (p.133) Just the sunglasses transform a Korean woman into the Japanese woman. It creates the stereotype the Asian American female who wears the glasses. Then, The show thus becomes a site of conflation between the troubling issues of ethnic marking and the ownership over the female body. Issues arise when Gail, a show producer, informs Cho that “‘the network has a problem with you. They are concerned with the fullness of your face. You need to lose weight'” (Cho 107), (p 133) Furthermore, it’s made evident that show’s producers believe the American audience would prefer their entertainment “devoid of racial specificity” (Lee, Parade 119). (P 134) They do not accept them as they are, but they put them in line with their thoughts.
- The key term is Asian’s. The American audiences want to watch and understand what they want to realize the Asian American. It is able to be racism. They just used the Asians’ Asianness for the purpose of the program. In additional, they did not care about real Asian’s ethnic. They bring the other method racism and made Asian joke.
- In the Class Screening, “Flower Drum Song” the two women character of Mei Li and Linda Low express two type of Asian in America. Mei Li showed the traditional Asian woman thought and behavior, and Linda Low is a person who adapts to America life and thinks of herself as an American. The films presented the audiences with a variety of directions of understanding Asianness and Asian American through difference of the two Asian women.
- John Fong, “Beyond Finishing the Game: A Look at Asian American Grassroots Outreach” states how Asian American films markets are grown and Asian American filmmakers to effort on their films for showing to audience included Asian American grassroots. Asian American filmmakers strategy lead them positive ways. Then, many companies get idea of earning economic profit from Asian American grassroots and the Asian American market.
- “Asian American filmmakers have been working to find the magic balance of asking for support from the community, without going too far and creating the turn-off of obligation or guilt.”(P.3) and “Demonstrate able understanding of the Asian American market, and how traditional marketing methods done in tandem with grassroots efforts can result in something even more effective” (P.9), They target well the Asian American grassroots. Then, “The cumulative effect of all of these efforts could potentially result in concrete steps forward in terms of how companies and distributors approach the release of Asian American films.” (P.9). Many companies find the way to get economic profit from Asian American market.
- The key term is Grassroots. The definition meaning of grassroots is the ordinary people. In the article, John Fong did not exactly mention direction of grassroots but I think that it points the normal of normal people. It means that there are not wealthy level people even if middle or under the middle level people. Then, grassroots are also abele to be Asian American and Asian American films, and they are not high level in America society. It means that Asian American films are not expensive because the Asian American market is not big and frequency. However, it is good for companies because companies are able to make a lot of profit with a small investment. Then, the Asian American grassroots grow the market.
- In the article, John Fong mentions that Asian American films did not reach to American before the movies of The Debut (2001) and Better Luck Tomorrow (2002). The Asians American films are not recognized. However, the movie of Chan is Missing (1982) by Wayne Wang is independent comedy drama film, and it is recognized in the American community.
- The author, Lisa Sun-Hee Park, express her idea by the word of “Assimilation.” The meaning of assimilation is that perfectly takes in and understands information or ideas, or absorbs in those. She argues that Asian Americans model in American culture. One of point is that it occurs the discrimination in America because the Asian American behave not like White American. In additional, assimilation is not simple and natural processing.
- “Assimilation actually reinforces established racial inequalities and imposes on even subsequent generations of Asian Americans born in the U.S. a precarious defensive dilemma in which they must constantly prove their worth as “real” Americans.”(p 17) If someone born in American, he is an American. He does not need to prove anything and his color is not important but Asian American need to prove that real American. “Asian Americans are models of assimilation, enjoying high educational achievement, good (white) neighborhoods,”(p 16) and “Asian American represent a dramatically bifurcated immigration system that separates ‘high skilled’ from the ‘low,’ and success or lack thereof in the U.S.”(p 16). It is American equal opportunity but it cause to them felt inequality.
- Key concept is the model minority myth for Asian American. Asian American effort on their education and incoming working and it made positive and succeed result, so many Americans were feeling of uncomfortable. It causes making stereotype on Asian American and became one of the discrimination in America because it is not what they thought the assimilation.
- In video “Slaying the Dragon” (1988), Asian woman has some stereotype that first they were bad image and after they become mystery, submissive. In addition, they get negative charming image because of movie character of Suzy Wong. It means that in American culture, especially Caucasians want to look and understand what they want to expect their ideas. It means that Caucasians did not look them same as American.
