Japanese Women seen as better or "mysterious/different"

Halloween costumes fetishizing japanese women and their culture

Themes of betrayal and fidelity as Japanese women

Scene of the streets has some stereotypical and maybe racist sentiments at the time. Depicts them as dirty and maybe inferior to the white man which was a thought at the time where there was a lot of racism towards Asian Americans

Plays to the fact that maybe Americans were better than everyone else including the British. Showed as better and also more understanding. Compared to the main British character as Ben he is way better put together and his love life is less messy.

Depict Asian Women as helpless and in need of saving. This has been seen in multiple other movies we have watched as well. This depicts some stereotypes of Asian Women being very quiet and shy and also white males wanting to control others views and opinions

Robert is saving suzie from her work and doesn't even consider it to be an option for her to go back to work as shown in the scene in the film

American Imperialism is shown throughout. This is a large idea at the time and the thought of controlling and expanding is prominent and would have appealed to the audience of watchers at the time

Hypersexilization of Suzie as well as Roberts assault on Suzie are some of the most important scenes that demonstrate the dynamics between the White man and Asian women

The ending to me summarizes exactly how the movie has gone. Suzie says I will be with you until you tell me to go away. Again showing she is inferior to him and that Robert has all the power in the relationship. Almost makes it seem like she knows she isn't worthy and one day he may leave her.

All Asian women are prostitutes. Shows the difference in how they are viewed at the time compared to white men and women

Demonstrate a theme of breaking the model minority stereotype. Ben is an upstanding good student but behind this front he is in criminal activity

Shows how power and control is a very strong force on peoples decisions. Ben and his group all want power and control. They enjoy this feeling and enjoy the reputation they get from the community

The theme of hypermasculinity through virgil is shown throughout the film. We also see how steve does not see Ben as a threat to Stephanie. He lets him take her to the dance and there is a constant battle between Steve and Ben as Ben tries to prove himself and Steve puts him back down.

The violent Asian American man is a stereotype we have seen before and it makes me question wether breaking this stereotype of being smart good students actually puts them in a better light or not. I think it is good to go against stereotypes but it is interesting which stereotypes they do and do not break.

In the final scene we see Ben murder Steve. I think this is the culmination of the power trip Ben has against Steve. It also demonstrates the end of their truggle for Stephanie as Ben is seen driving away with Stephanie showing he is potentially "moving on" from his past life.

Is similar to other films where they show the men as wanting power and control and also being more violent. However, it is in a different way and I think definitely crossed a line compared to some of the other films we have seen

Overall the film deals with a lot of "breaking stereotypes". However, breaking these stereotypes is not necessarily a good thing. It almost seems as though these broken stereotypes put the characters in another binary category that isn't necessarily better than the previous binary category.

Throughout the entire film the theme of strength is shown. Bruce Lee is demonstrated to use his violence and strength for good and to try and help others.

Some stereotypes in this film of martial arts and also violence and masculinity in Asian Men, but I feel as though it is shown for good and does not portray it in a bad way.

Many Chinese symbols and symbols of Orientalism are shown throughout the film. The islamd itself is shown as exotic and super different from everywhere else.

There is definitely some exaggeration of martial arts and potentially unnecessary use of Chinese symbols such as dragons caligraphy and some weapons. i think all of this is used as a dramatic effect for the audience.

Han demonstrates a lack of morality with the way he treats women and uses drugs. I also think that Lee has some personal trauma with Han due to Han killing his sister in the past.

There is certainly a lack of sexuality in the film. Bruce Lee is not sexualized at all in the film and almost plays into the role of Asian men not being sexualixed. This kind of relates to better luck tomorrow and how Ben is portrayed at time. The main difference is Ben has desires where as Bruce Lee is not portrayed like that.

This documentary showed the economic decline that occurred in the automobile industry. Specifically due to the influx of Japanese cars. Vincent Chan worked in this industry which is why he was targeted

There are themes of white privilege and racism throughout the film. Also, we get a look into the accuracy of the immigrant experience and the difficulty that was faced by many. Even Vincent who was able to adjust well, still faced racism and was eventually killed simply for being Asian

The white men who killed Vincent tried to say they did nothing wrong and others excused their behavior. Another example of racism and this white privilege

The I-hotel allowed for cheap accomodations and was primairly occupied by Asian Americans and other marginalized groups

I think the demolition of this hotel really showed the desire of people to eliminate marginalized groups especially Asian Americans from their society and culture. As shown in the documentary I think it was a rally point for Asian Americans.

Cultural Identity also I think is a theme in this documentary. I think the I-hotel was a piece of their identity and it being torn down stripped away and almost erased their identity or showed that their identity did not matter

Overall, themes of racism and prejudice are mainly portrayed by walt. I find it interesting that Clint Eastwood directed this film and cast himself as a racist prejudice character

Walt does work on himself and is able to cope with his own trauma. There is definitely a character change in my opinion. We see this at the end when Walt protects Thao

Walt depicts themes of hypermasculinity with both his words and actions. I think he shows more of the negative sides of masculinity but also acts as a father figure to Sue and Thao showing the more positive aspect of masculinity

Film depicts the empowerment of women specifically Vietnamese women and how they have often been silenced by other men. This film allows for them to have a voice

Identity of Vietnamese women and how colonial history has impacted them and their identity. Definitely themes of tradition that our passed down and language barriers certainly have an impact on this as well.

Will can be seen seemingly to struggle with a balance between her own individual desires while also considering the traditional values especially of her own mother

There is a clear clash in the film between the older and younger generation. Will's sexuality presents as an issue to this older generation as she is challenging normal cultural "family definitions". Great scene where "Children are a must to be considered a normal family".

Past Will we can see that with Simon wills cousin has to hide his own relationship for racial reasons. There is a clear theme of what a "traditional relationship" means to this family

Disowning your own family due to the dishonor they bring. Is this really dishonor or just how the family is seeing it through their own eyes and the way they believe the community may judge them?

These characters are judged and asked to be sorry for being in these interracial relationships

These relationships cause a lot of conflict throughout the film. Definite racial and cultural bias present

White superiority definitely shows its face in this film especially when Mina and Demtrius are arrested.

Mina gives up her cultural ties in a lot of ways to Uganda after having to leave. This change to the United States is a conflict in of itself

Mina has to give up her family to be with Demetrius. We saw similar themes in earlier films we watched this year.

FIlm also depicts the challenges with immigrating to the USA not only in terms of culture as seen in Minas family but also in wealth and building status

Not only is Rachel poor in comparison, but she is also from a totally different class and culture

Nick does not see the issue with Rachel. However, Eleanor takes out her disapproval on Rachel rather than on her son who chose to be with her.

Interesting to learn that Eleanor was similar to Rachel and yet does not have much compassion for the situation that she is in.

Rachel has to prove herself time and time again. I think the two major scenes where this shows up is in the scene where they are making dumplings and then more than anything in the Mahjong scene. This proves Rachel to Eleanor and she becomes more accepting

I think Eleanor's disapproval really will hurt Nick more than anyone. Her eventual accepting of Rachel allows her to not lose her son and allow him to be happy. Where is the line between allowing children to be happy and following culture norms?

Interesting scene at the start of the film. The young family is experiencing racism checking into the hotel. Then it seems as though money solves all problems. Is this a good thing? What does this say about our society?

Tradition is shown throughout the film. Rachel not being a part of this tradition is treated differently by many members of the young family. How important is tradition? Does this depend on the specific family or culture?

Film shows a different form of racism towards darker skinned Asians. Changez grows a beard and is treated differently. Stemming from the 9/11 attacks and the American Sentiment at the time.

Changez's relationship also is a reflection I believe of differences in culture. We see this in the different ways they handle situations.

Constant difficulty due to racism and getting the same opportunity as others simply because of looks

Power and control are evident throughout the film. Power and control over Changez seen in many scenes including at the airport, in his job and in just day to day life.

"Beth is Joys Very Good Friend". Evelyn does not want to tell Gong Gong that joy has a girlfriend. later in the film she explains it is because he is from a different generation and would not understand.

In the multiverse Evelyn discovers how much she cares for Joy and her willingness to try and make her happy. She decides to change her ways and accept Joy as this will only help her

Generational Trauma is seen throughout the film with Evelyn struggling with things she experienced and now passing that down to joy

Wayman shows masculinity in an interesting way. He seems to flip a switch between an ultra aggressive and completely submissive depending on the multiverse he is in. I found this an interesting display of masculinity

Discusses the sexuality of Asian American women. They are seen as mysterious and almost as objects.

False representation potentially rooted in historic ideologies. Asian characters seem to fit into a binary

Asian Americans are repesented culturally through film and this allows for advocation of themselves and other minority groups

Sense of belonging through media. What is shown is what is represented and accepted

Idea that Asians especially Asian Women are held in this binary of either being hypersexualized or hypo. Also goes for Asian men as well

Analyzes Better Luck Tommorow and the masculinity shown by both Ben and Virgil. I think we see the hypermasculinity and the desire to claim back masculinity as well

Discusses third cinema and the importance. Discusses the changes in society and almost asks the audience to consider these changes in their own ways. Almost activism shown through the lens of film

Served as a cultural idenity piece and almost represents the stripping of Asian American culture in the US

With no real plan the hotel was destroyed. Showing the de-culturilization wanted by Americans in that area and the removal of Asian Culture

Protests occured but eventually all people were evicted and basically told good luck on finding another place to live

Focus on the Hmong people and the issues faced specifically by women at this time attempting to obtain US Citizenship

Overall feelings of Americans towards Asian Americans at the time.

The racial divide in the film causes difficulty in idenitity and also famileal realtionships and tradition/ culture.

Multicultural characters and the power they have on one another. Potentially even some underlying racist behavior is explored in this reading in regards to the film

The levels of the classes and how this is manifested in power status and racism/ prejudice

How do Asians achieve this class? How does skin color and wealth play a role in this? How about education?

White employees vs minority employees. Topic recently with affirmative action. Balance between diversity and fairness sometimes

The judging of darker skin Asians based on 9/11 attacks. How does this bias become eliminated from society? How long before it is wiped away?

Society has changed since 9/11 but the impact has been felt by groups who were not responsible at all. People are upset and taking this out on the wrong people

Asians depicted as "non-human" or robots. Potentially due to stereotypes of ebing very smart or that they are simply mysterious and judged by some

Asia in general seen as very tech savvy. Depictions of Asian cities as huge billboards and lights

Japans economic importance and specifically its technology advancement. Similarities to USA and large cities

Learning about technology and being fascinated by it.

Media allows for coverage on specific cultures and identities but certainly doesn't spread the wealth. Media focuses on specific identitites

Asian Americans are viewed as different even in America today. Still representation is not even and few blockbuster films feature prominent Asian Characters. Many Asian cultures are barely represented at all in film and media with the primary larger Asian identities making it to the big stage way more often

How does this problem get solved? Why are there not more films?

Explores difficulties with coming out in Asian families and how this can impact the family as well as the child

Lack of accepting and desire to change their child