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Asian American in Film, Articles and Readings, Taking control over your…

- - - - The stalker/rapist/enslaver
        
        Throughout The Cheat, we get to see Sessue Hayakawa or Arakau in the film initially being very kind but almost in a very stalker way (~8:40 The Cheat) and his real self comes out when he makes the contract with Edith for the lost money in return for sexual favors (~21:10 The Cheat) Even after Edith tries to pay off the debt, Arakau forces himself on her and attempts to brand her, portraying him, an Asian man, as a rapist and enslaver (~32:00 The Cheat). We also see this kind of portrayal in the clip of the Birdes of Fu Manchu, where the villain, Fu Manchu, uses his powers to enslave the daughter to kill his father and enslaves other women and kills them (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV-TZnSwRQY) This same portrayal is shown in Daughter of the Dragon, which also has Fu Manchu using his powers to enslave others (9/19)
      - Inferior/Subservient to the white man
        
        In The Daughter of the Dragon, Ah Kee, a detective working with Scotland Yard, is in love with Ling Moy, the exotic dancer and the daughter of Fu Manchu, info that is unbeknownst to Ah Kee. However, even as Ah Kee continues to express his love for Ling Moy, like at ~30:05 and ~51:30, he is of no match for Ling Moy's love of Ronald, which she expresses at ~26:00 and at ~32:50 when she stops herself from killing Ronald out of her love for him. Even at the end of the movie, Ah Kee dies from his injuries, leaving all Asian people in the movie dead and all the white people in the movie still alive. Ah Kee throughout the whole movie is shown to be working for the Scotland Yard and not comparable to the white man. (9/19)
      - The Drug Lord/Enslaver
        
        (~5:00) We are introduced to Han, someone who perverted all the ideals of the Shaolin Temple. He selects attractive girls and uses drugs and them to move drugs (~12:00) Additionally, he has trafficked women to give out to the competitors in battle and use the women to capture the competitors and bring them to his own military (~42:00)
      - Strong and Powerful Martial Artist
        
        Righteous and Wise
        
        (~3:00) Lee's master talks to Lee about how he has reached spiritual mastery and Lee discusses his righteous ways. Additionally Lee learns and internalizes his master's teaching of destroying the image to defeat the enemy, which he uses at the end to defeat Han (~1:38:00)
        
        (~1:00) We start off the movie introducing ourselves to Lee, a massively talented martial artist and extremely strong person.
  - - - The "Lotus Flower"
        
        In the Toll of the Sea, Lotus Flower finds Allen Carver, an American, who is unconscious and laying near the seashore. After taking care of him (~4:15), they later fall in love (~7:10). But after Allen goes back to America, he is convinced by his friends that just because she is different from a white woman doesn't mean that she is for him (~13:00). This trope of an exotic yet temporary beauty and love is what drives the plot for Toll of the Sea as well as another theme shown in the Daughter of the Dragon. Ling Moy and Ronald Petrie, someone who is engaged to Joan Marshall, end up falling in love (~25:00-26:00), but with Ling Moy failing to kill Ronald due to their love (~32:30) + Ling Moy failing to seduce him especially after Ronald hears Joan's screaming from being tied up, the love between the two inevitably fail (~59:40-1:01:40). (11/16)
      - The "Dragon Lady"
        
        In the Daughter of the Dragon, Ling Moy portrays the idea of the Dragon Lady after being fully brainwashed to fulfill the wishes of her ancestors (~41:20). With this, she attempts to seduce Ah Kee but fails and instead ties him up, showing her deceitful side. On top of that, Ling Moy attempts to do the same with Ronald but subsequently also fails. Instead she leads him to Joan, reveals herself to be the Daughter of Fu Manchu, ties him up and prepares to disfigure Joan with acid and kill Ronald. (11/16)
      - Not Comparable to the white woman and not compatible with the white man
        
        In the Toll of the Sea, Allen's friends talk about the fact that just because Ling Moy is "different" (due to her being Asian) didn't mean that she could compare to a white woman (~13:00), thus Allen comes back to Ling Moy to tell her that they will not get married (~21:00). In the end, Ling Moy gives up custody of her own child with Allen to Allen's new wife. (~49:10) (11/16)
        
        Even though Ronald initially loved Ling Moy, he decides to stay with Joan, who he was already engaged to, and fights against Ling Moy, leading to Ling Moy being shot for deceiving Ronald and Ronald being with Joan in the end (~1:01:30 & ~1:05:00 & ~1:08:00). (11/16)
      - Exotic Beauties, One Time Fling, Sexually Available
        
        (~17:50) We get a scene showing Asian women as being prostitutes, flaunting their exotic beauty and showing tha tthey are sexually available.
      - Using Jealousy to their Advantage
      - Exotic Beauty
        
        Enslaved/Trafficked/Prostitutes
        
        (~42:00) We see Han's assistant going the rounds allowing for all the competitors to pick out a women of their choosing, making it seem as Asian women are an exotic beauty to obtain
        
        Covert Agent/Strong Independent Women
        
        (~16:00) Lee's Sister was also killed by forced suicide after fighting her way through several of Han's cronies, however, O'Harra corners her which leads to her death
        (~45:00) Mei Ling has infiltrated the island as a covert operative, allowing Lee to gain valuable information about Han's activities.
  - - - Upper Class
        
        White Men
        
        (~40:00) Most people in this party are all white and rich, enjoying a party and eating good food. (~52:00) We also get to see the rich white family dining, showcasing their upper class status
        
        Rich Asian Family/Women
      - Middle Class
        
        Working Class/Soldiers
      - Lower Class
        
        Prostitutes
        
        (~42:00) Forced to do a dirty job and instead makes up a story about being rich. Because Suzie was thrown out at such a young age, she was forced to purse a career in prostitution in order to make good money,
    - - (~8:00) When it comes to richer chinese families, women are meant to be virgin till marriage, only meeting their husband when they get married
    - - Women with other men
        
        (~1:17:00) Suzie utilizes Bob to make Robert jealous, flirting and saying that she will be with Bob because he will be kind to her, angering Robert and making it feel like what he has done is not enough to prove his love for her.
      - Women with other women
        
        (~54:00) Suzie uses her connection with Robert to make all her friends jealous about who she is with, showcasing all the things he has given to her + (~1:03:00) She uses her bleeding mouth to show off that she is being loved too hard
    - - (~47:00) Robert feels this need to help Suzie after she tells him about why she became a prostitute and that she feels that the love she experiences with Robert is different and prefers it, so Robert decides to support her
  - - - We begin to learn about Han's Massive empire, developing might in drug operations, gathering strong fighters to develop a massive and powerful military and using women to seduce and battle against unsuspecting men, allowing for him to develop a system that Lee will have to fight through to get to Han (~1:11:00)
  - - - Model Minority Stereotype
        
        Being forced into the mold
        
        Daric presents a version of Ben on the school news through the affirmative action lense, making it seem like Ben was the pity recruit for the basketball team. Because of this, people start looking at Ben as a part of the Model Minority and that he should get time because of that rather than it being because he was good at basketball, which Ben expresses in to Daric (~22:00)
      - Working Hard for the sake of:
        
        Success/Pride
        
        (3:50) (8:00) Ben describes that the only reason he does what he does is because it adds to his resume, and previous to this scene, we get to see Ben and Vergil talking about how they will go to college. This shows that the only reason for them to work hard is for getting out of their home and going to college
      - Ben consistently memorizing words for standardized testing (~5:00) and Stephanie taking 3 Honors classes and maintaining a 3.8 GPA (~18:00) show the amount of academic work they are taking on themselves
    - - Crashing Out
        
        As the group's activities continue to grow in criminality, Ben finds it harder and harder to maintain both his cyclical lifestyle and his criminal activities, which leads him to drugs and eventually crashing out after bleeding from his nose after blacking out during a conversation with Steve (~51:00) From there, he lets his group know that he is quitting his activities so that he can focus on himself and going back to his cyclical lifestyle
      - (4:50) We see how Ben is extremely consistent with his repetitive lifestyle of shooting, memorizing, and feeding his fish, and that is close to all that he does in order to achieve his goal of going to college
    - - Around the beginning of the film, (~14:00) we are introduced to Steve, Stephanie's Boyfriend, and throughout the film, we see Ben trying to win over Stephanie while Steve just doesn't really care and lets Ben take Stephanie out for a winter formal. Near the end, however, Steve, drunk, realizes the mistakes he has made and tells Ben that he realizes Stephanie is the one for him and thanks Ben for helping him out, making Ben feel like the stepping stone for their Steve and Stephanie's relationship (~1:15:00)
    - - Breaking out of the Mold
        
        (~12:00) Ben, after engaging in some petty crime, talks about how it feels good to do things that can't go on his college application. Addit
      - At the end of the film (~1:33:00) Ben soon realizes that there is controlling his life is just an illusion, with Stephanie saying "... you make decisions that lead to other decisions. Then you realize you don't remember why you made those decisions in the first place". And Ben states "For the first time in my life, I don't know what my future will hold. All I know is there is know turning back". He is finally free from his cycle of him trying to control his life and failing and now is in unknown territory
    - - Repressing emotions
        
        A lot of incidents that do happen is because the groups is forced to repress their own emotions in order to achieve their goals, and when they do release those emotions, things go completely wrong. Steve puts it clearly, talking about the batting cage, talking about having everything, being "so happy he can't stop" (~50:00) and that he must do everything to break the cycle
      - Everything starts going really bad when Vergil and Daric "lose their shit" when getting bullied by jocks at a party, with Ben getting punched, Daric pulling a gun on one of the jocks and Vergil kicking the jock. (~37:00). After the incident, Vergil tries to express what happens saying he is happy but ends up breaking into tears, almost as if the emotions he has been suppressing are coming out.
  - - - Resentment Increasing After Unacceptance
        
        (~24:00) After being sent for internment, Japanese people "prospered" in land no one wanted and made the white farmers mad, both before and after Pearl Harbor. However, the hatred was even more after.
      - Right after the bombing at Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were sent to be interned, even those who were working for the US government as a part of the military, showing how people accept "aliens" based on their perception (~9:00 and ~10:00)
    - - (~28:00) So much propaganda is used, in especially in movies, to portray the idea of the Japanese Internment through an all-white lense. One of the actors actually says the movie should be called "Come see the Paradise" showing not only how the general population wants to forget but also people in power want the general population to forget the pain.
  - - - Breaking out of the Mold
        
        Fighting for Rights
        
        (~46:00) Changing the image of passiveness to show that Asian Americans weren't afraid to stand up against being oppressed
      - (~13:00) The Educated Asian American population started growing around this time and many people said they should be quiet and just work hard to not stand out so that they had a shot at the American Dream
    - - Violence Due to Racism
      - Unfair Treatment Due to Racism
        
        (~40:00 and ~43:00) We see how the courts side with the defendants, saying that because they seemed like good people and had no prior criminal records they were given a fine and escaped a 15 year sentence. Meanwhile, no one decided to inform the family of Vincent Chin + The Court basically skipped all processes
      - Being Treated as a Monolith
        
        Vincent Chin was killed because Ebens and Nitz thought he was Japanese even though he was Chinese American
      - Resentment because of Race
        
        (~11:00) We see how people would react when they would see Asian Americans, treating them horrible with terrible gestures and death threats
    - - With Ethnic Groups
        
        Monolithic Representation and Protection
        
        (~47:00) As Asian Americans, the group as a whole are coming together to fight against the injustice that happened that had occurred instead of keeping quiet, something that goes against what they used to do. Instead, they are standing up and protesting in public, with several speeches and other communities coming in support
      - With Other Groups
        
        (~47:00) Black community came out in support after having experienced similar racial violence for so long
    - - Flawed System
        
        System Failing in the End
        
        (~1:14:00) Ebens and Nitz are found not guilty, wasting the efforts of all who sought Justice
        
        Ebens and Nitz appeals in a different part of the country, Cincinnati, Ohio (~1:13:00). Also (~39:00) we get to see how the courts basically failed to even mention the prosecuting side of Vincen Chin's Family, with no one calling the family or any witnesses
      - Going through the Legal system in order to bring justice against Ebens and Nitz, which the fight being at the Federal District court level. They succeed in getting Ebens and Nitz on 25 years. (~59:00 and ~1:10:00)
  - - - Talking about Personal Issues
        
        (~1:00) Sokly mentions how talking about personal issues is going to be difficult as it isn't part of their culture
      - Dysfunctional Family
        
        (~22:00) Sokyl, without his Mother, as she is away in Cambodia, struggles to maintain himself as he looks for someone to look up to for support. His older brother, who he would hope to get support from, doesn't interact with the family much as he has other priorities and Sokyl struggles to communicate with him. His brother on the other hand tells him to work hard to support the family.
        
        Family Responsibilities and Getting Together
        
        (~50:00) After Touch gets arrested, Sokyl talks about how the family is more together, and with this being after him graduating, Sokyl will now being going to college
    - - Being Forced to Immigrate to America
        
        (~4:00) Sokyl talks about the experience of having to escape the war in Cambodia with his family, which to him was an extremely terrifying experience but also necessary. His father, which he does not remember, sacrificed himself to help his family escape the Khmer Rouge.
      - Life as Lower Class in America
        
        (~5:00) No one is at home at 9:30 and Sokyl's brother has run away because of how scary it is. One of his nephews got shot and it scared the brother. You can also see that the living conditions are horrible. (~9:00) So many people living in the same houses and the cops are always outside due to some incident occurring all the time, making Sokyl too scared to go out.
        
        Forced to Adapt
        
        (~11:00) After the cops, which Sokyl called after stones were thrown at his place, did not show up, Sokyl talks about how much trouble gives to Asian Americans and that he would rather have a gun on him to help protect him, even if the people throwing the stones are 11 and 12
        
        Doing well in school for a better future
        
        Throughout the film, we see Sokyl struggling to maintain good grades, with him sleeping in classes and not asking questions, and him failing his exams that would allow him to graduate (~42:00). However he says if he passes a competition he will be able to graduate which he does in the end and finally graduates.
      - The Immigrant Experience
        
        Working for the US but not getting treated well in return
        
        Even though many of the Filipino Americans worked hard for the US as a part of the military, once they immigrated to the US, they are set to live in cheap areas as they are not able to secure higher paying jobs and get the help they need to live in nicer areas. On top of that, over the film, these places are torn down for more expensive corporate buildings by capitalist enterprises.
        
        Forming Tight Community Bonds
        
        Generational Connections
        
        The Younger Filipino Americans help out with the community and support them through kitchens and during the protests
        
        Forming Connections with other communities
        
        During the Protest against the demolishing of the I-Hotel, other communities, like activist groups and labor unions, came in support of the I-Hotel Community during the protest
        
        In the film, the elderly Filipino Americans form a community around the I-Hotel, where they help each other and have fun together, like when they play pool
        
        Fighting against the System
        
        Not Succeeding in the fight
        
        Even with all the protests and the community at large standing behind the I-Hotel community, the police storm the I-Hotel, kicking out all the members and allowing the Four Seas Group to move with their plans. This Inevitably shows that the system and the larger powers inevitably win against the Minority
        
        With the various exchanges of the I-Hotel, the community is forced to fight against the buyout of the hotel in order to keep their home, with them finally reaching a deal to buy back the hotel.
        
        Flawed System
        
        After a "fire" incident exposing a bunch of safety issues, the company is sold from Milton Meyer to the Four Seas Group and the Four Seas moves to demolish the I-Hotel.
    - - (~8:00) We get to see Sokyl hanging out with a bunch of his friends, them being Chinese, Vietnamese, and him being the only Cambodian. Regardless they are all comfortable with each other, enough to call each other slurs.
  - - - Leaving for a better life
        
        (~8:00) Leaving Vietnam for France, where the Vietnamese Diaspora thrives and tries to bring back Vietnamese culture to connect back with the motherland
      - Passing Down Culture
        
        (~9:00) Using Erie County Smile as a way to pass down tradition and connections to Vietnamese language and customs as a way as establishing culture for the next generations
      - Generational Differences
        
        Older Generation
        
        Younger Generation
        
        (~18:00) In order to pursue the American dream, the life of immigrants are very different, thus the first generation American Born Asian Americans have to take responsibilties in helping with the elder generation. Plus there are going to be differences in viewsets, with the elder generation wanting their kids to work and help with their business while the younger might be more interested in pursuing something else or have different interests that don't align or make sense with the older generation. Either way, we see that both the younger and older generation don't really see eye to eye on a lot of different things.
        
        Familial Ties
        
        (~23:00) At the end of the episode, we see how Van has to help her mom even though she is in the middle of her episode and goes through a long call while sinking in water to show how the responsibility to her family is literally drowning her.
    - - (~18:00) Throughout the Karaoke segment, we see Kevin gain more belief in himself and his abilities, with him getting a standing ovation at the end.
      - Breaking out of the Mold
        
        Finally standing out and not being shy
  - - - Maintaining Tradition
        
        Wai-Gung kicks Hwei-Lan out of the house for getting pregnant without being married, mentioning how the public will laugh at him for the shame she has brought. (~18:00) At the same time, (~1:12:00) Wil tells her mother that she is in love with Vivian and Hwei-Lan refuses to accept that, saying that if it were true, Wil wouldn't be her daughter
      - Breaking ties with Culture
        
        Homosexuality
        
        (~32:00) Wil and Vivian end up in love which, as mentioned in traditions, is something that Hwei-Lan does not accept.
    - - "Forbidden" Love
        
        Hwei-Lan had fallen in love with Little Yu and ended up getting pregnant with his child, even with the age gap (~1:20:00)
      - Love wins in the end i guess
    - - When it comes to maintaining tradition, we see the differences the generations have with that idea, with Hwei-Lan's father enforcing the idea of maintaining their culture and Hwei-Lan ending up breaking that tradition by getting pregnant. On the other hand, Wil is gay and loves Vivian, which doesn't maintain tradition and upsets Hwei-Lan. However, the situation is rather the same, with the elder generation disagreeing with the views of the younger. This kind of goes to show that there is a significant barrier to internal acceptance that comes with growing up with a culture enforced in your life, which we see with both Hwei-Lan and her father.
        
        Generational Similarities
        
        Because of their different experiences growing up, both Wil and Hwei-Lan end up having similar situations put in front of them where it is the older generation telling them what they are doing are have done is wrong. And it is from here we see similarities within generations
    - - Internal Acceptance over External Acceptance
        
        In the end, (~1:28:00) Wil and Vivian finally accept each other and their love while Hei-Lan and Little Yu publicly express their love. Wai Gung seems to have come to terms with the situation and a majority of the people in the crowd begin to accept that things are changing and that's okay.
      - (~6:00) Over the course of the party, we see how the people talk about others behind their backs, criticizing every aspect of an individual. This leads to everyone having to do everything right in order to "fit in". In addition, we see how everyone reacts when finding out Wil's mom is pregnant, saying its a scandal at etc. (~17:00). Finally, (~1:25:00) Wil's inability to kiss Vivian in public leads to Vivian leaving for Paris
  - - - Making a New Life in a Different Country
        
        Rejecting the Past and Accepting the Now
        
        (~20:00) Introduced to Motel Monte Cristo, a Motel owned by Indians who have come to America, as well as at (~40:00) where we see the Liquor store owned by Jay's family. Over the film, the Indian Americans of Mississippi have been able to establish a new life in America
      - Wanting to go Back
        
        Struggling to Balance
        
        (~30:00) Instead of sticking to the puja, Mina escapes to a party as she would rather be stick to American culture instead of Indian Culture. Meanwhile, Jay struggles to balance both his desire to go back to Uganda and his responsibilities to his family
        
        Coming to Terms with Change
        
        In the end, Jay realizes his mistakes, understanding that he has lost everything in return for going back home but because his new home has nothing of his old and new life. Home is where the heart is (~1:50:00) And Mina and Demetrius reject all their previous issues and decide to work together and live together as cleaners (~1:42:00)
        
        (~19:00) Starting at the beginning of the film, we see Jay desperately plead to return back to Uganda in his letter, with this not being the only appeal he has sent. It is like he isn't able to accept that he has a new present and wants to go back to a better past.
      - Forced out of Uganda due to a regime change, losing their house and valuables and even being threatened by the military. Hoping to for a better life and/or a chance to go back to their old life (~6:00)
    - - Community
        
        Acceptance
        
        Conditional Acceptance
        
        We end up finding out at the end that Jay did not leave mainly because of Idi Amin but because of what Okelo had said and his realization that things are accepted as the way they are till it comes down to the color of your skin. And this continues to hold true in the film, with everything being okay till the color of someone's skin causes a fissure between the two groups (~1:31:00)
        
        "Black Brown Yellow..... as long as you are not white, that means you are colored" (~44:00) Because they are "colored", the two groups support each other with Demetrius not suing and the business owner promoting the business
        
        Subtle Racism within Similar Backgrounds
        
        (~53:00) The aunt says that even after taking good care of Demetrius, things have a way of going wrong, subtly indicating that Mina was the wrong choice for Demetrius (most likely due to racist beliefs)
        
        Movie focuses on the interactions between the Indian and Black Community of Mississippi
      - Love
        
        We see how Demetrius and Mina end up falling in love, but their love isn't supported and because of this, they both end up in jail due to a scuffle (~1:17:00)
    - - Maintaining Tradition
        
        (~1:10:00) Demetrius talks about how racism has taken on a new form of "tradition" and that while it is passed down like a recipe, you have to decide what parts to accept and what to reject otherwise you will never be happy.
      - Breaking the Mold
        
        Escaping in Pursuit of Love
        
        In the end, Mina and Demetrius end up running away to pursue their love, breaking her family's heart. (~1:48:00)
        
        (~1:20:00) Even though her parents care for her, saying that at least they should know about the family of the person Mina loves, Mina tells them that this is America and that no one cares, saying that she is breaking out of the traditional stereotype of family first for her love for Demetrius
  - - - Working hard to Succeed
        
        (~16:00) Changez portrays quite a successful career while talking to Jim about his aspirations to win and succeed, pursuing that American Dream of starting at equal grounds and working to the top
      - Willingness to be Subject to Authorities
        
        (~1:20:00) Changez forces himself to say he loves the US
    - - Flawed System
        
        (~52:00) Right after arriving to an airport, Changez is forced to strip and be searched of his body, reminding him of the towers and making him feel as if this is his own towers. Additionally (~1:20:00) Changez is sent to jail because of a lunatic disturbing the peace and he is interrogated as if the police thought he might be a potential terrorist. Changez has to forced the words of him loving the US as his experiences have changed his views and struggles to find the love he once had as a part of the American Dream
      - The moment the towers were hit, everything changed for Changez. Soon people started looking at him differently, hanging up flags on their taxis, etc, all to show that they only accepted "real americans" (~56:00)
    - - Explicit
        
        (~1:01:00) This is the most explicit but one of the union workers after losing their jobs punctures Changez's tire and says "Fuck you Osama". While this does have to deal with resentment due to race, this is clearly targeted
      - Subtle
        
        (~1:15:00) Wainright tells that Changez's beard has got to go because it is scaring others, almost a subtle racist gesture of kindness as he does care for Changez but has to point out something that make Changez "look" like a terrorist to do so.
    - - Sticking to "Fundamentals"
        
        (~38:00) and (~1:10:00) are the two scenes that I think really send the message of sticking to the fundamentals. In this case, the fundamentals they refer to is the fundamentals of business, profit over cost. Both of these scenes show how these people stick to that fundamental, not thinking about the human cost the actions have, which is removing the jobs of the workers, both at the manufacturing line and as a server. They are reducing humans to cost, destroying the lives all for the sake of profits.
      - Stopping the "Labeling"
        
        (~1:49:00) Changez realizes the truth about how these people of authority are, they are engaging in the evaluation of humans for their own profit, labeling them and putting them into their places so that the labeled people can play the roles the people of authority want them too.
  - - - Wanting to Fit In
        
        (~9:00) After helping someone with their homework, the girl talks about how weird Tamira is and that its ok if it is a cultural thing (also Ross was asking about Sam in health)
        (~17:00) after talking with Tamira, Sam decides that Tamira is just psychotic and destroys the jar
        These two sets of scenes really show Sam desperately trying to stay away from Tamira and fit in with the others so that she can be free from the burdens that her culture bring onto her
        
        (~41:00) Sam is confronted by her mother about how she did not accept her culture in the context of giving prayers for Tamira and instead of just not showing up and starts to question why Sam wants to be like "them" (Americans). I think this scene tries to depict that the goal of fitting in just doesn't coincide with accepting your culture
      - Unable to Fit In
        
        (~7:00) The moment Tamira arrives on scene, she brings a vibe where she just isn't able to fit in with the rest of the class
      - Model Minority Stereotype
    - - Not Accepting your Culture
        
        Less of a reference to a scene but after watching this film, you get a sense that this ghost is just a metaphor for culture. Sam is unwilling to accept her culture and therefore the ghost chases after her.
      - Accepting your culture
        
        In the end, Sam starts speaking Hindi, accepting both her culture and the ghost so that everyone can be saved.
        
        What the film ends up saying is that you basically cannot accept your culture and also fit in at the same time, with the ending scene showing how difficult it is for Sam to maintain the ghost inside her, almost as if it is difficult to accept your culture and fit in and live a happy life (~1:34:00)
  - - - This film realistically has nothing to do with Asian Americans and yet has everything to do with Asian Americans. After watching this film, you start to realize that the filmmaker was trying to express how regardless of race, you are still human. They use robots as a mirror to the human psyche, portraying our beliefs, our passions, our traumas through the mirrored view of Robots and advanced technology. Lets start with My Robot baby. At the start, we see Marcia hiding in the closet due to a fight and then her mother coming to her to not get married (~3:00). We see Marcia struggle to live with the child and tries to change the baby's machinery, which only leads to it going crazy and rampaging in the house (~18:30). In the end however, the baby ends up in the closet, just like Marcia at the beginning of the film. Marcia ends up breaking down realized the folly of her ways and understands how generational trauma has led her down her path. However, the baby reconciles with Marcia and she is able to find closure (~22:00).
        This isn't an Asian American story. Its a human story.
        We see the same with the Robot Fixer, with Bernice, after her son Wilson fell into a coma, reminiscing over her time ignoring her own son's passions of robots while also trying to "wake him up" and talk about her son and try to talk to her son. Basically, she goes through the stages of grief. She denies his accident of going into coma, asking him to wake up (~24:00), (~30:00) bargaining with Wilson to wake up by building his robots, (~32:00) getting upset at someone who knew Wilson while also getting upset at the fact that Wilson could have been better, getting a PHD, (~39:00) going into a depressive rage after realizing she made a mistake while vacuuming, which in turn leads to her stealing a wing, and finally accepting everything and moving on (~41:00)
        Again, not an Asian American Story, this is a human story.
        Finally, we see Clay. This is through and through a story about what it means to human. A sculptor, close to death, grappling with the world on what it means to be truly human. Does it mean uploading yourself to a virtual world before dying to be with your loved ones like his wife (~1:02:00) and helping out with the business with his son (~1:08:00)? Or does it means to stay alive and die like any human would, doing what they love most and feeling the world around them (~1:17:00)? Either way, this ain't about Asian Americans, its about what it means to be human so IDK what it has to do with Asian American in Film outside the fact that most actors were played by Asian Americans and that Asian Americans are human as well.
      - Robot Stories is interesting. I think this essentially crosses the boundary of robots mirroring humans and instead imagines if robots were human. These robots adapted to their environment, filled with workplace sexual harassment and the small spark of an idea of living a little, setting off what we see at the end, a sexual interaction between two robots. And I don't know if this is an Asian American Story of if this is a human story or neither. So I am going to leave this here.
  - - - Working Hard for the sake of a better life
        
        (~1:00) From the start we see Evelyn going through receipts and making sure everything in the house and in her family is in order. We also see that she runs a laundromat, making sure that everything is running fine and she continues making money, even while people do strange things and while Joy and Becky are over for dinner(~6:30)
      - Struggling to live in the US
        
        (~16:00) This essentially shows both how Evelyn struggles to live in the US and the beginning of her "nightmare". At this point, Evelyn is going through an audit with the IRS, having to explain all the receipts and why she does what she does with the help of Waymond, even while Evelyn's nagging father Gong Gong continues to trouble her. On top of that, Dierdre, the IRS officer, continues to give her a hard time, using big words and acting sarcasting. With all this puts Evelyn under a lot of pressure and worries that she might not be able to make it in the US.
    - - Homosexuality
        
        (~3:20) Evelyn grapples with the idea of her daughter Joy being gay and liking Becky, talking about how difficult it is for her to keep track of pronouns. Additionally, she ends up blaming Jobu Tupaki for turning her daughter gay. (~56:30)
      - Communication
        
        (~11:00) We see how there is an issue with communication between generations, specifically between Evelyn and Joy, where Evelyn tries to say what she wants but isn't able to do so, either out of inability from word knowledge or just previous trauma. Meanwhile, Joy has struggles communicating with her mother simply because she believes it is hard for her mother to understand her own wishes. And we see this come to conclusion at (~2:04:00) Where Evelyn and Joy come face to face to discuss and they actually for the first time express their true emotions to each other
    - - Accepting Others
        
        (~1:51:00) Experiencing all the universes, Evelyn soon begins to realize that kindness and acceptance of people's flaws and passions will allow everyone to be happy again, and so she uses her powers to understand people and accept them for who they are and make their lives better
      - Accepting Yourselves
        
        (~1:48:00) With accepting others, specifically Waymond, Evelyn accepts that she is a flawed person and tries to do better for everyone instead of hurt people
    - - Married Life
        
        Divorce
        
        Waymond's use of the Divorce paper to ignite a conversation allows for both of them to put their life back into perspective and understand what has gone wrong. The moment Evelyn signs the paper, we see her mind splinter and go insane, but regardless of that, Waymond still continues to support her by dealing with the IRS agents (~1:36:00)
        
        We see this back and forth happening between Evelyn's views and Waymond's views, with Evelyn having a very practical and almost nihilistic view of things, (~1:37:00) which leads her to ruin everything with everyone on all words as her mind goes through all verses. However, Waymond maintains almost always positive and kindness-oriented attitude, (~1:45:00) requesting people to stop fighting and trying to spread kindness no matter what. In the end, Waymond's attitude changes Evelyn for the better as she begins to accept everyone for who they are
      - Parental Relationship
        
        Elder Generation
        
        (~2:00:00) We see how Evelyn reflects from what happened to her due to the traumatic events of her father rejecting her after she decides to get married to Waymond, stating that she cannot carry on this generational trauma and will not put this onto Joy.
        
        Younger Generation
        
        In the Alphaverse, we see how Evelyn pushes Joy to her absolute limits and ends up creating Jobu Tupaki (~50:00) With this in mind, it seems that Evelyn did initially care for Joy but got carried away due to trauma and pushed Joy over the edge. And nearing the end of the movie, during the confrontation, (~2:06:00) we start to get an understanding that all Evelyn ever wanted is for Joy to be with her family
- - - - Yellowface/Brownface
        
        Yellowface
        
        In the Daughter of the Dragon, Fu Manchu, instead of being portrayed by someone of Asian Descent, is instead played by a white person
        
        Brownface
      - Loyalty (Familial and Cultural)
        
        Culture
        
        In the Daughter of the Dragon, we see Ah Kee learn that Ling Moy is the daughter of Fu Manchu, and even though Ah Kee still loved her and begged her to cut ties with the Fu Manchu family, he stayed loyal to his culture, stating him being with her would bring dishonor (~56:00) (9/19)
        
        Family
        
        In the Daughter of the Dragon, we see that Ling Moy, someone who had never seen her father before, become extremely loyal to her father Fu Manchu the moment he announces that he is and that he needs her to kill the Petrie family (~20:00 area). It's portraying Asians as people who are loyal to their family. (9/19)
      - Asian Mysticism
        
        In Toll of the Sea, we see the idea of Asian Mysticism be portrayed through the idea of the sea giving and taking, with the sea "giving" Lotus Flower Allen Carver (~2:30) and the sea "taking" her life and her child at the end (~53:30). (11/16)
        
        In The Daughter of the Dragon, Asian Mysticism is depicted in numerous ways, with Fu Manchu using his powers to kill John Petrie (~13:10) to the henchman using his brainwashing powers on Ling Moy to put aside her love for Ronald (~40:50). (11/16)