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When Dragon Ladies Die 9/14
Anna May Wong was remembered for her roles as being villainous after her death. Not because those were the roles she wanted to to play but the only ones offered to her at the time due to her race.
Her roles offered either portrayed her as a weak woman willing to sacrifice her own happiness to satisfy the white counterpart or as a malicious woman which only amplified the stereotype of the Asian woman (the dragon or the butterfly)
"if Asian women act in a way that bear out either stereotype then they must be victim to "internalized" racism or sexism"
Just as movies generally made Asian women the villain it made Asian men criminals as rapists where as it made the white males the hero with traits that would make them more appealing to Asian women. Causing division between the race.
POC actors were only able to keep their jobs during the transition from silent to sound films if they did not have a accent.
Hollywood would often use china as a backdrop was never acknowledge it.
The Cheat 9/4
The silent film follows a wealthy women who embezzles money for the red cross charity for her own interests but ends up losing it. She then turns to one of her colleagues to loan her the money however when she tries to return the money the man sexually assaults her and she shoots him. In the end her husband ends up taking the fault but the truth is revealed at the trail.
The films explores ides of wealth, adultery, and romance
The film also makes the only minority (an asian man) the villain. All of the other actors in the movie are white however the as soon as the minority enters the film they are seen as a threat to the main couples marriage. In addition the film adds on to the asian identity by putting the character in traditional clothing and having him pray. The movie plays on the ideologies that have been present in the past that "Asian Americans" can be a threat to our society and must be carful to do business and have social relations with them.
Given the time period in which the film was released, right before WWII, the Asian actor was used to portray Japanese as an evil/antagonist group of people even going to the point where he branded a woman. "East is east and west is west and never the Twain shall meet"
Most often Asian actors would not play a love interest in the movies because hollywood would not want to showcase interracial couples, so they were confined to a villainous role.
Toll of the sea 9/7
The main character showcases features of Asian women being weak and disposable
The woman keeps waiting for the man to come back to her. Often she is seen just waiting by the sea waiting for his boat to come back. Which sends the message that the only thing she has to look forward and what her life revolves around is a white man, who in the end abandons her for a white woman.
Looking at clothing, body language, etc can all indicate cultural differences
The language in letter the husband wrote to her seems broken. Which could indicate he was writing as a child so that she could understand his word.
The introduction of the white wife showcases that in most situations Asian woman must just accept the disparities that they must face. They must control their emotions and remain quiet/submissive even in situations where the opposite reaction would be expected. Which can in turn make them seem weak and controllable.
"Detroit Blues" Zia 10/19
Zia writes the paper to discuss the events that occurred to Vincent Chen. An Asian American man who was beat to death by Americans days before his wedding for simply existing.
These aren’t the kind of men you send to jail"
The judge did not send the men who beat Vincent to jail but rather just put him on probation for three years and fined them 3,780 dollars that is to be paid over the three years.
The live of a man was worth three thousand dollars. Once again we see the life of a POC be neglected and the life of the white individual to shown as more important. No justice was seen then and no justice continues to be seen today.
"The founding of the American Citizens for Justice, or ACJ, marked the formation of the first explicitly Asian American grass-roots community advocacy effort with a national scope."
"“It’s because of you motherfuckers that we’re out of work.”
"At no point did Ebens ever publicly express remorse for taking Chin’s life; he never spent a full day in jail."
Made up Asians 9/19
The comparison of yellow face to black face highlights some ideas that is not discussed enough in the media today. Even today while it may be as prominent yellow facing is present in numerous outlets of media through certain make up trends taken from Asian culture or the incorporation of chopsticks in the hair as decorative features.
More often Hollywood seems to ignore provide accurate representation unless facing some sort of back lash from the general public that may impact their business
Casting Scarlet Johanson in "Ghost in a shell"
Writing Asian characters but providing them to the white counterpart or making them mixed to make the story more appealing to the auidence.
"yellow-face does not exist in their catalogs"
This quote stood out to me because before this class I was unaware there was even a word to describe making some look Asian. In general the term cultural appropriation is used often in media today. The lack of attention to this subject just highlights why cinema has been able to get away with doing it for so long.
The Exclusion Era 1862-1940
A time in media when Asian characters were portrayed, if at all, as villainous or weak characters. This time period began with Anti-coolie act and ended after WWII where the portrayal of Asian characters differed entirely.
In addition to media portrayal Asian Americans were treated horribly in the united states in various forms such as lynching, passing of laws that prevented them from working, deportation, and prevention in becoming citizens.
During this time is when yellow-face started to become more prominent.
MultiCultural Redemption 11/9
"Crazy Rich Asians spends little time commenting on the racism experienced by Asians at
the hands of white people. "
"Asian American filmmakers often end up investing into coherent positions like the model minority in order to appeal to a broader audience."
"the model minority does not include all Asian Americans, and it is historically those darker-skinned Southeast Asian Americans such as the Hmong, Cambodian, Filipino, and Vietnamese that are excluded from this vision of assimilation"
Only dark skinned asian in the film were workers for the young family at the gate and when shown on screen was portrayed as dangerous characters.
Only way to break the racism stereotype is with wealth.
Techno-Orientalism 11/16
Asian American societies are typically see as technologically advanced often portrayed through holograms and high teach features. However even with the tech the cities are still shown in the same manner - with trash, poverty levels still at high and etc. Almost portrayed as a dystopian society.
“If the Orient was invented by the West,” he writes, then the Techno-Orient was also invented by the world of information capitalism"
"Japan and China are thus signified differently in the techno- Orientalist Japan and China are thus signified differently in the techno- Orientalist vocabulary. Both are constructed as competitors and therefore threats to the
U.S. economy
But not all accounts of Asia’s development of machine, computer, and robot technologies can be said to bear the stamp of techno-Orientalism, of having been authored or mediated by the Western techno-Orientalist lens.
Asian American Media Representation 11/30
The article highlights the change in representation of Asian Americans in media over time. Constracting from the typical roles we have seen them in the past to the role that we currently see today however there is still some progress that can be made in society to ensure proper representation
"research has demonstrated that differences between Asian American stereotypes and favorability of stereotypes differ by gender, specifically regarding sexual desirability depicted in the film"
"Asian American women are typically depicted as helpless, dependent, servile, docile, and sub-
missive, Asian American men are often portrayed as reserved, studious, and socially awkward"
"While more diverse representations of Asian Americans in film has increased in recent years, there is still much room for improved positive, stereotype-resisting representations"
The Other Question 9/4
Stereotypes are often used in politics to gain power over groups of people.
Argues that there can never be a positive or negative aspect when dealing with stereotypes.
Stereotypes are inherently racist because they are given to a group of people from those outside of the race, in which they are able to point out some traits that the race may have while ignoring others.
Daughter of the Dragon 9/14
Asian women are often sexualized and are uses words such as "exotic" to characterize them. Fetishizing them to make them seem more appealing to the white man. More so as objects rather than wife material.
Asian men in particular are portrayed as evil human beings who are capable of doing unspeakable acts without any remorse.
There is always some sort of comparison of the Asian race to the white. In this movie it is not as obvious given there is an Asian man who acts as an hero but still his power is lower compared to the white man.
The World of Suzie Wong 9/26
Interracial couple trope.
The film follows an asian prostitute who's live needs to be "saved" by a white man. The theme of a white man and Asian women is still prominent in this film where the women becomes too dependent on the man and ultimately ends up getting hurt.
Suzie ultimately follows the same pathway that we have seen in numerous other films when she is left by Ben.
Suzie tries to transform herself to become a "western woman" so that she can be with Robert. Leaving her own culture to please the white man.
Portrayal of Asian Culture
The film takes place in Asia but how it is visualized in the movie is not accurate.
In numerous sense that showcase the setting the commoners are made to seem less than the white counterpart. This is done by putting them in dirty clothing and having then begging on the street. Compared to Robert who was in a suit creating a clear division between him and the asian race.
Asian woman stereotype
In numerous aspects of the film Asian women were sexualized. Working in the bars looking to seduce the men as if they did not have anything else to care about.
Often the clothing that the women wore was to gain the attention of the men.
The woman in the film indicate that they would be abused by the white men. Demonstrating that Asian women are often seen as submissive more so objects rather than people.
Asian American Media Activism 9/28
When Asian actors are cast on shows they are often secondary characters which could be embedded in the fact that film makers did not think that having an Asian lead would budget well when the flim was released.
The article also explores the idea of cultural citizenship in which people cannot feel accepted until they believe they are treated equally in real life and in media.
Proper representation can be difficult to achieve because there can be combat indicating that filmmakers are now not casting white people which in turn can seen as unjust.
Better Luck Tomorrow 10/5
The film is stem away from the some of the typical again stereotypes but also gives into a lot more.
Smart Asian Kids
Also getting into trouble at the same time
The women in the film are still being treated as objected giving into the theme of hyper sexuality that we have seen be prevalent in numerous films in the past.
Theme of bravado was big in the film with the male characters always seeming like they had to prove they were tough or enough through violence.
Shimizu's Straitjacket Sexualities 10/5
Explores masculinity on "Better luck tomorrow" more specifically with the interactions seen with Ben and Steve throughout the film and the dynamic they have.
In numerous films that we have seen in the past Asian men have been seen as violent and this could be linked to their masculinity.
A change was seen in the film where the reasons behind the men violence was explored rather than just presented.
Habal's San Francisco's International Hotel 10/17
The paper discusses about the tragedy that occurred where numerous elderly filipino individuals were thrown out of housing and forced to lived in the international hotel under terrible conditions so that development of big corporations could be expanded.
As a result of being kicked out numerous Asian Americans banded together to fight against the imminent domains claims made starting the International Hotel anti-eviction movement
"Manilatown Center also makes it a way for new generations of Filipinos to remember the manongs, the vanished neighborhood in which these pioneers once lived, and the unity of Asian American communities." pg 6
Grand Torino 10/31
The film essentially demonstrates the progression of the Walt as he deals with own inner racism
In particular with the neighbors he forms a relationship with them that proves to be of value. To a point where he scarifies their own life for them.
He also protects the family in various different ways throughout the film.
Racist under tones are used throughout the film that gives into the stereotypes typically associated with the Asians.
Fragility of women continue to be a theme in the film as Sue was abused in the film.
In addition to women being shown as fragile and objectified men are still shown as expressive and dangerous.
Mississippi Masala 11/7
Film that explore the interracial relationship between South Asian and African American community
Racism is seen throughout the film particularly with Mina's father and his lack of acceptance of Dimitreus.
Similar to saving face where racism is seen
Ideology that certain races must stick to their own traditions and norms.
The white race is seen as superior due which is evident in many countries today where they are seen as the ideal race because of what they represent. In many instances immigrant parents still do hold that ideology.
The film end with a happy ending, possibly, where Mina and Dimitreus end up together however there was no real resolution to the troubles that they faced throughout the film. Instead they decide to ignore the judgment of others and do what makes them happy.
Similar to other docs that we have seen in the past we see a relocation from the home and the effect that has on an individual especially Jay.
At Crossroads of Two Empires 11/7
"the film could not envision a future in which
cultural hybridity held a legitimate public space"
"a film that—unlike its successors—could not imagine a happy ending to interracial romance or a resting place for postcolonial émigrés."
The article essentially says that while the film explores the interracial relationship it essentially gives states that these relationship are practically impossible without major scarifies being made. In particular in the film they had to let go of their families ties.
History On the Run 10/31
Ideas of the white savior complex is evident in which it wasn't until that Walt came into their lives that the Hmong family was able to be saved from their gangs that surrounded their lives.
"The Gran Torino symbolizes a rite of passage—toward either proper white masculinity through inheritance or a deviant racialized masculinity of inner-city gang life that signifies improper ownership through attempts to steal the car"
"Juxtaposing Asian American stereotypes with heroic white masculinity enables the plot’s redemptive work of Americanization and (white) masculinization for Hmong American youth."
Crazy Rich Asian 11/9
Family Trauma
One of the biggest themes in the film is family dynamics. We see the evident strains in the young family such that while it may seem like they are close there are unsaid characteristics that make it evident that is not the case.
Nick hiding his wealth from his Rachel
Lack of acceptance of Rachel and Elenaor
Prejudice against "Asian Americans"
Asian Wealth
One of the films to demonstrated the wealth and urbanization of Asian families stepping away from the stereotypes that we have seen in the past of the countries being poor and dirty.
Asian Women in Media
The film breaks the traditional stereotypes of women needing a man but does so by first showing what the relationship looks like and introducing a tragedy in which the women accepts that she will be fine with or without the man.
Rachel love nick but does not need to be with him. Even comes to a point where she is willing to leave him so that his relationship is not ruined with his family. While this is a sad conclusions she is shown as strong as she gains the courage to leave.
Astrid is trapped in a loveless marriage where her husband is threatened by her own success. So she hides her true self to build him up to the point where she even tolerates him cheating. At the end she too get the courage to leave him and accept that she doesn't need a man who is threatened by her power.
Rachel's mom being a victim of domestic abuse and finding the courage to leave the relationship and being unwed pregnant.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist 11/4
Often immigrating to America can cause one to loose ties to their culture and heritage as they try to fit in to the cultural norms of America. Is this a sacrifice that must be made in order to achieve the American Dream?
After 9/11 racism towards certain cultural identities were higher than ever with individuals not even being able to have facial hair because they "looked dangerous" and even having trouble at security offices
Immigrants and POC's can never truly feel accepted into society because underlying racist tones are always present regardless of their achievements or if they were even born in the country.
Model Minority Terrorist 11/14
"as the South Asian American moves from model minority to possible terrorist, the narrative discourse accordingly shifts in order to question the loyalty of the so-called “brown” Muslim body. "
"model minority embodiment that combines his intellectual acumen, good looks, and ability to play the role of the ‘generous’ Oriental faux-royal."
"The novel constructs the model minority who is indispensable to the proliferation of capital in its various guises. The elite university not only boasts a diverse student population but also sells an individual whose knowledge of foreign markets will benefit the corporate employer."
Modern Boys and Mobile Girls 11/16
The techno image associated with Asians can prove to be detrimental to the modern day image of Asian societies given the fact it portrays the people as simply a part of the factory chain rather than an individual.
Techno-orientalism generates a false narrative of what Asian societies are which then contributes to the racist stereotypes that people can then have.
Being good with technology
Typically Asian image
Western cultures mimic eastern cultures but the opposite in not true
"We don't have any equivalent of the robot sushi bar in Harvey Nichols"
Everything Everywhere All at Once 11/28
Broken Relationship
Waymond tries to maintain a relationship with Evelyn but she often pushes him away because he was the cause for her family disowning her so she still holds resentment towards him.
Joy is everything an Asian parent would be scared to have. However while Waymond is able to accept her Evelyn has trouble doing so. Evelyn is so afraid to loose her that she often holds her too close almost suffocating her. She needed to learn that she needs to let Joy live in order to have truly successful relationship.
Redemption
In its core the movie is about redemption, ones ability to reforms the relationships or try to at least. This for Evelyn look very different than the usual route however through her jumping through the multiverse she learns to value the people around her and she realizes as much as she wishes things could be different no life is perfect so she must accept what has been given to her.
Self Sabotage
Evelyn is the key definition if being her worst enemy in the film. She refuses to accept help from anyone else and often takes on much more than she can handle. When the stress then becomes too much she takes it out on her family which adds on to the drift between her and waymond and joy.
In Search of Asian American Cinema 8/31
Even within Asian countries there is diversity seen through the different dialects that we speak and political differences but western culture often overlook these qualities grouping diverse individuals in one bubble. In the past differences within the Asian population were used against each other to prevent the race from becoming stronger. Even the term “Asian American” means different things to different western regions ranging anywhere from east asian and south asian.
Society gave the term Asian American new meaning compared to the derogatory term it once was in the past to come together in protest etc. It has even been proven useful in the arts such that by using the term “Asian American” it allowed them to get funding that would not be possible otherwise. People often label cinema as “Asian American” if it has a minuscule connection to an Asian counterpart even if the film is not based in America or revolves around the issues of Asian Americans. In the future we needed to start labeling it if it follows certain themes and the substance of the films.
My Geisha 9/19
The movie plays into the overwhelming idea at the time that Asian women are fragile and obedient. Seen more so as objects for the white man to use and control than actual human beings.
Robert being enfacuatbed with the fact he is Yoko's first kiss. Making it almost seem as if he is taking away her innocence.
Robert making advances at Yoko, grabbing her in an aggressive manner when she is dressed up as a geisha. He probably would not behave the same way if he knew she was Lucy.
Racism was seen in numerous aspects of the film playing into certain stereotypes.
Lucky attempting to speak Japanese but doing so in a disrespectful manner, putting on the traditional clothes but calling it a costume, changing her facial feature to make herself seem more Asian.
The sumo wrestler not understanding Lucy speaking Japanese highlights how ridiculous she sounds to the point he walks away from her
Hypersexuality of Race 9/21
The author takes a different view point on the traditional vision of the asian woman indicating that i instead of being innocent they were actually very in tune with their sexuality and even use it for their own benefit.
Asian women have often been punished for owning their sexuality including being harassed on the streets, being stoned to death, and been taken as war brides. The idea of mail ordered brides proves to be humiliating given that their entire lives is dependent on staying married to an US citizen aka a white man.
Recuperating Suzie Wong: A Fan's Nancy Kawn-dary" 9/26
The articles explore ideas from the movie highlighting key ideas such as the as the fact the Robert only cared for Suzie when she portrayed herself as an Oriental indicating that there was some sort of fetish there.
Scene where he rips off her western clothing
The movie was made to please both people that give into the racist viewpoints and those who combat it.
Enter the Dragon 10/3
First film where the Asian character did not give into some of the more cliche stereotypes that we have seen in the past.
Asian Woman
Asian women are still being shown as objects when they are brought forward to the fighters to choose from.
Scenes that showed them naked made the women seem like props for the film rather than actual characters.
Bruce Lee and the Anti-Imperialism of Kung-Fu 10/3
Key idea explores the difference between multiculturalism and polyculturalism. While both brings forward the idea that numerous cultures can exists within a society and sharing of ideas and traditions can occurs polyculturalism argues that there is constant blending and interactions occurring within society resulting in the differences between the culture to be less vague where as multiculturalism states that more often than not most groups stick to their own niches.
The articles claims the Bruce Lee was innovative making him the first celebrity to promote polyculturalism
Saving Face 11/2
One of the first films that we have seen where we explore the LGBTQ community in the films that we have seen.
Begins to show the journey in which Asian families have trouble dealing with the identity of the their child.
"My daughter is not gay"
The typically traditions were also heavily challenged in the film which would typically being "dishonor" to them family.
Pregnancy while not being married
The cross section between two races of Asians and African American
The racism that is present in this relationship is interesting to me given that both groups experiences racism on the daily however both races also gives into the stigma stereotyping each other instead of coming together they turn on one another.
Orientalism 8/31
The orient proves to be a vital part of Western culture as the Orient is the origin of numerous European colonies and has shaped European culture but these facts are often overlooked.There can be two definitions of Orientalism and academic and social one but the authors describe it as a method that has been utilized by western culture to dominate the “orients” into submission. As a result one cannot speak in orients” without addressing the discrimination that they face. The orient have always been under the power of Western culture even and after World War II.
Film 8/31
A cinema rubric is placed in Asian American cinema in order to assure that films that are made don't give into stereotypes and portray Asian American in a negative connotation due to the fact Asian Americans are often visualized as sexualized abjection, fear, anxiety, and desire. Asian America have since taken to cinema to reclaim their “voice” to assert the movies that have been released in the past have been blatantly racist. In order to ensure proper presentation funding and training workshops have been curated by hollywo0d. Activities have even generated their own work to represent themselves properly. The request for proper Asian American representation paved the way for other classification of individuals to fight for proper representation as well.
“We must be represented and we must represent ourselves.”
Marchetti
9/12
Rape narratives were often given to the Asian American men to make them seem more villainous
Immigration of Asians to America resulted in the "yellow peril" in which the white community
They were worried they threaten the society that they had built including their their jobs and interracial couples. This was often portrayed in movies by the type of roles typically given to Asian American actors and actresses.
"Hollywood favors romances involving white males and Asian females, while Asian men tend to be depicted either as rapists or asexual eunuch figures By contrast, Asian females are often depicted as sexually available to the white hero."
Mimura's "In the Afterglow of Regenerative Violence" 10/12
Breaks down cinema into three different sublevels
Second cinema: independent artists make films to combat large production companies but is still open to radial critique
"independent or art cinema"
Third Cinema: Films that are made to challenge a viewpoint that society may have. Tends to be the least funded compared to the other two levels.
"Shares complex histories and relations with the third world"
First Cinema: where movies are made to ensure profit for the company
Hollywood and bollywood
: