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AAST355 - Asian Americans in Film - Coggle Diagram
AAST355 - Asian Americans in Film
The World of Suzie Wong (1960)
Environmental racism in the market scene: Assumes white people are clean, and non-white people are not, fundamental to concepts of white purity and anti race mixing
White Savior Trope:
Robert, and American, avengers Suzie after she is beaten by a British sailor
Suzie's baby: implies absent father; last tie to her background, after he dies she then marries Robert
The baby is named after Winston Churchill, who was white and a vocal racist.
All things considered, I feel the movie did not portray Asian culture in a negative light, at least not purposefully, although it is clear that there are implicit biases here at work as described in the other points
Hypersexuality and race: every Asian woman in the film was a sex worker
The Cheat (1915)
Edith using Arakau for money in exchange for favors demonstrates the idea of Asians getting in the way of pre-existing white relationships
Arakau branding Edith can be seen as barbaric and would definitely create lasting bad impressions on the audience during this time period
Arakau was originally supposed to be Japanese but after facing backlash from the Japanese government he was changed to Burmese. However, this doesn't change the clear yellow peril that is being portrayed here. Additionally, Arakau being an ivory trader also isn't a good look because ivory is acquired through poaching
Mob mentality at the end where the crowd threatens to lynch Arakau is reminiscent of the lynchings of minorities, Asians included in previous history of the U.S.
Daughter of The Dragon (1931)
Ling Moy being an exotic dancer is another example of the exotification of Asian culture and the hypersexualization of Asian women in particular
Ronnie falling for Ling Moy depicts another example of Asians interfering with pre-existing white relationships, and suggesting that Asians are a 'forbidden love'
This also contributes to the emasculation of Asian men as Ak Kee could not win over Ling Moy, conveying the idea that Asian men are not desirable by Asian women, contributing the former's emasculation which we see very frequently in movies during this time period.
Ling Moy and Fu Manchu being the ruthless antagonists in the movie doing evil things (stabbing, face disfiguration) to white people furthers the idea of yellow peril.
Additionally, some Asian characters in the movie are played by white actors such as Fu Manchu and Lu Chung, known as 'yellow face.'
Fu Manchu's clear favoritism for a son rather than a daughter shows the blatant sexism during the time, however Ling Moy was able to get close enough to Ron to kill him because she was an 'exotic' Asian women who are desired by white men
Toll of The Sea (1922)
Interesting how they chose to literally name her 'Lotus Flower' instead of a Chinese name
Allen and Lotus Flower's relationship demonstrates another instance of Asians interfering with white relationships. This time, the Lotus Flower got involved after Allen got married to another white woman
Lotus Flower ultimately ends up drowning herself after giving up her child to Allen and his new wife. The movie makes it seem like the white couple deserved the child more than she did, suggesting ideas of Asian disposability and white superiority. It's also worth noting that Lotus Flower had four American husbands before which supports the previous point of disposability.
The broken English of Lotus Flower even though all the words are displayed and the difference in font of subtitling work sets her even farther apart from the white people in the movie.
When Lotus Flower visits American she insists that she can fit in with the other white women which seems to make Allen almost uncomfortable, suggesting that Asians should not be assimilated into the general American population
My Geisha (1962)
Yellow face is strongly present throughout the entire movie with Lucy dressing up as a geisha and pretending to be Japanese.
Paul choosing his wife among all the geishas when she is yellowfaced suggests the idea that white women are still more desirable than Asian women.
Lucy speaking fake Japanese to the sumo wrestler makes the Japanese language and culture seem comical, exacerbated by the fact that this is a comedy film centered around aspects of Japanese culture. Lucy's comedic behavior also attempts to diminish the severity of her use of yellowface
Bob's sexual advances on Yoko despite her trying to refuse highlights the sexualization and objectification of Asian femininity
Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)
This film breaks common Asian stereotypes and their stance as the 'model minority' by painting Asian masculinity in a way that has never been seen before in cinema.
Shows Asian males engaging in criminal activity that gradually escalates in severity, culminating with the murder of another individual
Provides an alternative perspective of the model minority by showing the characters running a cheating ring in school, implying this could be a reason for high Asian academic achievement
Shows Asian males doing hard drugs such as cocaine and seeking prostitutes which is quite contradictory to the model minority narrative and also has never been seen before
The characters view pornographic content and attribute the person in the video to an Asian girl they know in real life, again touching on hypersexualization of Asian women but also breaking the previous eunuch-ism of Asian men
Now some could argue that this kind of depiction of Asian males isn't productive as it just shows that they are thugs despite being the 'model minority.'
However, I think this film is actually quite groundbreaking in the sense that it liberates Asians from the previous model minority stereotype and shows that they have personalities and types just like any other race/minority. This is symbolic of the Asian male to break from previous stereotypical restraints and better explore their own masculinity for themselves, rather than let society define it for them.
When the director, Justin Lin, was asked why he chose to portray Asians in this 'bad' way, he responded with "I can portray them however I want," which highlights the idea that this portrayal goes beyond the current stereotypes of what an Asian 'should be' and explores what they can be
In other words, the question itself presumes that Asian Americans should be 'good' and again, the model minority. But this portrayal allows them to break free of such.
When Dragon Ladies Die, Do They Come Back As Butterflies (Liu)
"Why should we [Chinese] always scheme, rob, kill? I got so weary of it all - of the scenarist's concept of Chinese characters"
The casting of Asian characters always portrayed the race in a bad light, furthering notions of yellow peril
"Unlike the racist image of the threatening Asian rapist, white males are generally provided the necessary romantic conditions and masculine attributes with which to attract the Asian females passion"
White men were always seen in company of Asian women, contributing to their fetishization and exotification along with emasculating Asian males
Straitjacket Sexualities (Shimizu)
Better Luck Tomorrow
breaks the traditional 'straitjacket' portrayal of Asian men sexuality and masculinity, which Shimizu praises
We see Asian male characters actively pursue Asian women and also succeed in their endeavors unlike previous portrayals in film which depict the opposite of both of these things
"For Asian American men deprived of the romantic hero role in representation, the forming of subjectivity that does more than keep in thrall to self becomes an important goal in terms of what kind of manhood they can form"
Because Asian American men do not see themselves depicted in traditional romantic hero roles, it is up to them to define their own sense of manhood for themselves
This is pretty well exemplified in BLT where we see a very non traditional depiction of the Asian male, and we see these characters 'break bad' and explore their masculinity and desires for themselves
Saving Face (2004)
Filial Piety
Career aspirations gone/put on hold, saving face, shame on family, are all examples that seek to please parents and prevent family shame/dishonor, at the cost of the individual
The grandfather shaming the mom for getting pregnant without a husband and ends up getting banished from the family, representing cultural exile and loss of support from the parents
Nuclear family tends to place the burden of upholding on women. They must get married early, have kids, and if the marriage falls apart then it is their fault. In Asian culture, women are highly dependent on men, they cannot raise a child alone and they have little support from the family if they don't have a husband
Wil's mother blames herself for Wil being lesbian claiming it was the way she raised her but ironically someone's sexuality is not related to how they were brought up.
However in the end, both Wil and Vivian are accepted by their mothers despite everyone around them showing disgust. Shows hope for acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals by their family.
This movie also presents a cultural vs personal identity struggle. In the Asian community, queer people are frowned upon and are seen as going against tradition, which is a heterosexual relationship. Wil struggles to explore her own queer identity while trying to balance her cultural identity of being a first generation Asian.
At first, Wil tries to remove herself from situations where her real identity is revealed ex. kissing Vivian in public, but then at the end, becomes comfortable with expressing her real identity with everyone around.
Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989)
Foreign women were preferred over Vietnamese women by Vietnamese men and the Vietnamese women were constantly being degraded by their own husbands for it.
Vietnamese women were taught to be submissive to any male figure in their life. Whether it be their father, son, or husband.
Vietnamese women were also told to be soft spoken, modest, and always abiding by their principles. Overall, they were conditioned to be servants to others with little autonomy to make their own decisions.
Additionally, they were forbidden from telling others about mistreatment from Vietnamese men in their lives, ex. their husbands
Technologizing
Orientalism (Roh, Huang, Niu)
"In its wake, Western nations vying for cultural and economic dominance with Asian nations find in techno- Orientalism an expressive vehicle for their aspirations and fear.."
Japan and China were both portrayed as threats to Western domination of technology and economy. Japan was a threat in the technological innovation sector and China was a threat in the labor and production sector.
"Japan is the future, and it is a future that seems to be transcending and displacing Western modernity"
Techno-orientalism is a more modern subset of yellow peril, this time with fear mongering that Asia will take over the Western economy and eventually the West through its technological advdances.
The Hypersexuality of Race (Shimizu)
Asian women are very often portrayed in roles of sex work or some kind of sexual object, and are put in a lower position than white women who are portrayed as deserving of real relationships, while Asian women are just sex objects
These representations of Asian women were also rooted in history: Japanese "picture brides" and Chinese prostitutes on the streets
This kind of portrayal inherently objectifies and fetishizes Asian women to an extent where they can only be seen in sexual contexts and conversely, all sexual contexts involve Asian women exclusively
"Because the Asian woman cannot be imagined outside of sex, her resistance is also found in sex"
Enter the Dragon (1973)
We see more examples of the fetishization of Asian women when Lee's sister is advanced upon by other men on the street despite her refusing
The sex workers are almost all Asian, perpetuating the idea that Asian women are all prostitutes and sexual figures in general
Lee is portrayed as having little interest in sex compared to all the other men, perpetuating the idea of Asian men as asexual
The film offers a fresh take on Asian masculinity and intersecting this with classic Asian cultural elements such as martial arts, but still portrays Asian men as asexual figures
However we can see that the Asian male is clearly depicted in a more traditional heroic role which has historically been denied in the past
Gran Torino (2008)
Perpetuated anti-Asian sentiment and the idea that Asian Americans should just brush off the racism that they experience. Also brings up the idea that they should be happy that they are represented at all.
Hints at U.S. militarism and empty promises that the U.S. government made when Grandma talks about how the U.S. promised to take care of the Hmong people if they fought in the Vietnam war but ultimately abandoned then when they withdrew. The U.S. war in Vietnam is the reason why these Hmong people are living in Detroit now. This dialogue, which is said by Grandma is left untranslated!
The symbolism of the Gran Torino and the stealing of such by the Hmong gang hints at yellow peril and the idea that Asian immigrants are corrupting the American purity and culture
While Walt eventually comes around and learns to accept/befriend his Asian neighbors, the portrayal of the latter during the beginning of the movie still lingers
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)
Conveys the idea that no matter how high you climb the social ladder as an immigrant/minority, you can never be free of racial prejudice that stems from events that are out of your control (ex. Muslim Americans during 9/11)
Demonstrates the relatively new concept of 'brown peril' which significantly ramped up after the events of 9/11. There was a part in the film where when Changez is growing his beard there were comments that he could end up looking like a terrorist.
There is a clear conflict here between Changez's culture and identity as an American. When returning home he is embraced and feels comfortable with his Pakistani culture but America is where his job is and where he makes the most money. His attempts to assimilate into American culture are essentially nullified after the 9/11 attacks
His relationship with Erica also displays how one race can be completely oblivious and ignorant to another race's struggles, exemplified when Erica speaks to Changez about 9/11
I could be reaching here but you can't spell 'America' without 'Erica,' potential symbolism here?
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
There is another familiar theme here of cultural conflict with Rachel representing American culture and Nick having to choose between the latter and his culture at home in Singapore. The fact that Nick was ready to run away from his family to be with Rachel symbolizes the American values of individuality and freedom.
In Asian culture, the family is often the smallest unit and generally acts autonomously while in America, the individual is the smallest unit.
The clear distinction between income class is also strongly demonstrated in this movie through Eleanor disapproving of Rachel because of her background. Rich people tend to not want to associate with people from poorer backgrounds.
This is also exacerbated by the fact that Nick intends to marry Rachel which the extreme case of association between rich and poor.
This movie also had problems with South Asian representation as we see them in the movie without any lines (ex. guards at the party) and they are mocked. This represents how people only think of 'Asians' as East Asians and also how East Asians treat darker skinned Asians different than their own.
This movie also brings up the theme of emasculation through Astrid's husband, who feels emasculated because of how much richer Astrid is than him which eventually leads to have an affair. Overall it shows that money is a source of masculinity and the lack of money can lead to some men feeling emasculated.
Who Killed Vincent Chin (1987)
Globalization and Race
"We are being shot at and shot up by the Japanese who have the most protectionist economy in the world. [...] We are already in the middle of such a war, but only the Japanese are shooting" (33:53)
Representatives framed American auto industry shortcomings as the Japanese auto industry taking over America, using Japan as a scapegoat, which further fueled racial tensions
Racism in the Justice System
Ebens just stopped paying court ordered payments to Mrs. Chin but faced no repercussions from the courts.
Police and court record was incomplete. Failure to interview witnesses. Initial charges were very low. They actually took the case to another trial which also did not yield significant results in terms of justice.
This was the first criminal civil rights case involving anyone of Asian descent, and the verdict sets a bad precedent
Both defendants were convicted of manslaughter rather than murder: they only got probation, fines, and community service. The judge remarked that "these don't look like people who should go to jail"
The "passive Asian" stereotype allows for more lenient sentencing for Ebens, overall downplaying the crime that was committed, and lack of repercussions for Ebens and the Justice system
Detroit Blues (Zia)
"The jury that was eventually seated looked remarkably like the defendant, Ronald Ebens-mostly white, male, and blue-collar
Judge Charles Kauffman said "These aren't the kind of men you send to jail... You fit the punishment to the criminal, not the crime"
"As a result of the Chin case, Asian Americans today are much more willing to speak out on the issue of anti-Asianism; they are also much better organized than they were at the time of Chin's death... Besides combating anti-Asian violence, these pan-Asian organizations provide a social setting for building pan-Asian unity"
The idea that all Asians look the same is extremely harmful to the point where it got an Asian man killed even though he wasn't Japanese and most of the negative rhetoric during the time was aimed towards Japan
History On The Run (Vang)
Refugee archive - "stories that get left behind or carried with refugees" and "fugitive knowledge" can take the form of embodied memory and even silence. This is exemplified in Gran Torino when the grandma speaks to Walt about her refugee story but it is left untranslated in the film.
"I examine the way that silence in the archive and the silencing of Hmong histories is a gendered process, which obscures the familial narratives that suture Hmong histories about war, leaving, and the remaking of shattered lives"
This reading also discusses Vincent Chin in Detroit which is another example of the racism that is directed at Asian Americans on a daily basis as we see in Gran Torino. Walt's feelings towards his Asian neighbors in the beginning of the film is an example of this.
Walt finds some kind of redemption in helping Thao and his family for his actions in war. Eventually, he makes the ultimate sacrifice for them, which kind of makes up for all the people he killed during the war.
Mississipi Masala (1991)
We see yet another cultural struggle in Mina where she has difficulty balancing her identity at home with her American identity.
Overall, freedom and individuality are key aspects of American culture, which Mina embraces at the end when she runs away and chooses her new culture over her old culture and her family.
I feel like Demetrius represents American culture and identity and his forbidden relationship with Mina symbolizes her internal struggle of assimilating both of her identities together
Both Demetrius and Mina receive disapproval from their respective communities, highlighting the racism during the time and this eventually leads to them just running away from their families as there is no other solution. But I'm still unsure of the message behind this plot choice, is the director trying to convey that sometimes racial tensions cannot be resolved?
The identity struggle is not just limited to Mina but also extends to Jay who despite loving Uganda was forcibly removed and thus felt betrayed. However, he is still of Indian descent and could never really fully assimilate into Uganda regardless, leading to a feeling of being lost. This is emphasized when Jay returns to Uganda at the end and doesn't really feel like it is his home anymore.
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Joy experiences the struggles of many Asian Americans whose parents are immigrants, trying to balance their culture at home with American culture that they experience every day. Her Chinese gets really bad to the point where she can't properly communicate with her relatives and she struggles with her queer identity as this is frowned upon in her culture at home.
This is also exacerbated by the fact that immigrant parents tend to have trouble communicating their feelings with their children, resulting in Evelyn just calling Joy fat instead of actually expressing how she feels about Joy and her girlfriend
Overall, this represents the difficulty in a parent letting their child be who they were meant to be, whether that meant breaking away from traditions or exploring their sexuality. Especially with the added pressure of filial piety that we often see in Asian culture.
Generational trauma is also very present throughout the whole film, starting with Evelyn's parents' treatment of her, basically disowning her for running away to America with Waymond. This leads Evelyn to be more critical of how Joy lives her life because she does not want Joy to end up like her and is also afraid of how Joy will be perceived by her (Evelyn's) parents. This starts a snowball effect of Joy becoming more disconnected from her family and culture.
This movie's characterization of Waymond and Asian masculinity was particularly unique as it showed how men can be masculine through kindness and love which has seldom been seen in film. It offers another take on Asian masculinity which is quite groundbreaking similar to BLT's depiction of Asian masculinity.
The immigrant experience is really captured in this film through the Wang family's messy house and self run laundromat business which shows the stress and chaos that immigrant families feel every day.
Model Minority Terrorist (Sohn)
The reading mentions the "racial blurring of brown people," citing how Filipinos experienced discrimination at airports because of their darker Asian skin even though they are not from the middle east. Goes back to the misconception that all Asians looks the same to the West and how all Asians are grouped together even though they are very diverse.
Often times, assimilating into Western culture for a minority means giving up their own culture which chips away at the individuality of a minority. In other words, becoming the 'model minority' means giving up the culture of the minority in which one belongs to
In some ways, America creates model minorities through their highly selective immigration process where only the top achievers from other countries are admitted into the country. This basically constructs the model minority stereotype as only those 'model' individuals are allowed to immigrate.
Asian American Media Representation (Besna et al)
Asian Americans will always be labeled as 'foreigners' even if they were born in the United States. It doesn't matter if one's family has been here for many generations, they will subconsciously be perceived as foreigners by others.
Familiar themes of Asian women being hypersexualized and objectified while Asian men are portrayed as non-masculine.
There are still many Asian groups who are underrepresented in media as the media mainly only shows East Asians but other groups such as Southeast Asians or Middle East Asians etc. don't have their story told.
The creation of the model minority stereotype can add immense pressure to Asian American teens to accomplish at a high level, creating mental health issues and also identity issues as they feel that they cannot fit the stereotype that society puts upon them.
In Search of Asian Americans in Cinema (Feng)
Asians have been historically negatively represented in film which has harmful ripple effects on how the rest of society perceives Asian people.
In reality, the Asian American experience is much different than what is portrayed in media and film often times.
Along with being negatively represented, Asians also are underrepresented in film in proportion to the Asian population.
Recuperating Suzie Wong (Feng)
This movie is a "classic racist, sexist text" with all the Asian women in the movie being prostitutes and all the Asian men being asexual.
When Suzie visits Robert wearing a Western style dress, he then assaults her and tears the dress off. As long as Suzie is in her lingerie, Robert is able to see her as Oriental first. By wearing Western clothing, Suzie is able to break out of this Asian image but that attempt was quickly shut down by Robert.
This movie had a scheming white woman for a change instead of a scheming Asian woman (ex. Ling Moy in Daughter of the Dragon) and chose to emobdy all the feminine traits in Suzie, the Asian woman, rather than a white woman.
At Crossroads of Two Empires (Seshagiri)
Participating in the American Dream, i.e. valuing one's individual happiness above all, whether it be in personal relationships or in the capitalist business world, often means that one must exclude themselves from home if they are a minority.
Assimilation into one world produces exile from another
Oppressed peoples with differences tend to subjugate one another to obtain economic and social mobility under the ruling regime. Jay's rueful comment highlights Indians’ willingness to purchase economic mobility by participating in the subjection of black Ugandans.
Indian people have mediated between a white ruling class and a black underclass
Modern Boys and Mobile Girls
Highlights the cultural dislocation and transformation Japan underwent during industrialization, World War II, and the American occupation, resulting in a unique and futuristic society
The description of a Japanese girl as a 'mobile girl'
is kind of uncanny. Makes them seem almost like robots and not really people due to the technology that they use.
Same with the usage of "modern boy"
Gibson explains that Japan is the global imagination's future default setting. Gibson attributes this to the Japanese people's early adoption of technology, particularly evident in the phenomenon of 'Mobile Girls' in contemporary Tokyo
Made Up Asians (Lee)
Racism against Asians started during the construction of the first transcontinental railroad in the 1850s. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exlcusion Act which prohibited Chinese immigrants from becoming laborers among other things. Thousands of Chinese people were displaced, lynched, or forcibly deported during the late 1800s.
Many instances of yellow face and 'made up Asians' were different from each other and obviously did not reflect real Asian culture.
Each yellow face performer brought forth a new reality with every application of makeup, every costume, and every gesture and sound.
The practice of yellowface was quite advanced in nature. It was not just simply painting one's face but a manifestation of acting, lighting, staging, cameras, costume, and music.
Habal's San Francisco's International Hotel
Many elderly Filipinos were displaced and forced to live in this hotel due to new developments which destroyed their homes.
The destruction of the hotel showed that big corporations had no care for the residents of the hotel whatsoever and were driven by money only.
There were no plans to help the people that would be displaced by the destruction of the hotel likely because they were Filipino and not white
The discrimination against Southeast Asians such as Filipinos is not talked about as much as discrimination against East Asians. This is unfortunate because all Asians who are facing discrimination should have their story told.
Bruce Lee and the Anti-Imperialism of Kung Fu (Prashad)
Distinguishes between multiculturalism and polyculturalism.
Multiculturalism is a more static view of history, where cultures have already formed and people tend to stick to their own culture but also tolerate other cultures.
Polyculturalism is a more dynamic view of cultural interactions, where different cultures can learn from one another and mix with each other but also coexist at the same time.
Bruce Lee's polycultural world puts forward an antiracist ethos that challenges the pretense of superiority put in place by white supremacy
On the topic of polyculturalism, kung fu, which is attributed with Chinese culture, may have actually originated in Africa.