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AAST355, family dynamics and home life - Coggle Diagram

- - - - “’Asian’ is not used in Asia—it is only used in the West” p32
        
        Interesting how something as simple as location can change perspective
        
        I was surprised to learn that even within the West the label of "Asian" means very different things (England: South Asian, US: East Asian)
      - There is also debate about if Canada counts within the realm of "Asia America"
        
        This was also a thought that I had while watching the show, Kim's Convenience. Kim’s Convenience illustrates that many of the challenges, stereotypes, and negotiations of identity faced by Asian Americans in the U.S. are also present for Asian Canadians, even if the political, social, and historical contexts differ.
        
        This debate reveals that Asian American identity is less about geography and more about power, migration, and media circulation ("What is America, anyway?")
        
        "fluidity of representation within the Asian diaspora" p34
      - All the questions surrounding what can even be considered "Asian American" culture/cinema distracts from the main goal of uplifting Asian stories
      - “as long as Asian Americans continue to question who we are… there will be no easy answers” p35
        
        identity is fluid, and too complex to the confined to a single definition/type of cinema
    - - the label Asian American is born from political struggle/movement - it emphasizes solidarity due to the shared struggle while denoting the diversity under the umbrella of Asian
      - Some films that are Asian are labelled as Asian American International
    - - However, we need more than just Asian faces - there is a need for Asian American voices behind the screen as well ("the problem is, it's a market that looks for Asian faces and looks no further" pg33)
        
        visibility without narrative control reinforces superficial understandings of Asian American identity: representation is not just surface level, must be authentic and not just using Asian actors as a prop to push a certain narrative
        
        Seen in a lot of the earlier films we covered in this class: Asian characters were used as a catalyst for white heroism (Haka in The Cheat attacked Edith which gave Richard the opportunity to step in and save her/selflessly take the fall for her, Lotus Flower giving her baby up to Elise which gives Elise the chance to give the child a "better life" than Lotus Flower could have)
  - - - Political: the legality of your citizenship
        
        I think Asian American political citizenship always has a chance of being at risk for being taken away: japanese americans being sent to internment camps, south asian americans having their citizenship taken away, even now with birthright citizenship being debated
      - Cultural: the feeling of belonging and being seen
        
        "Hence understanding, interrogating, and claiming political citizenship has been accompanied by attempts at seeking self-representation in film and video as a modality of cultural citizenship" p92
    - - In this context, the second prong (representing ourselves) becomes essential, as it resists the commodification of Asian identity and pushes back against an industry that values appearance over lived experience.
        
        Reminds me of AKA Don Bonus: he represents his real lived experience, doesn't try to change things for the sake of appearance, and shows viewers a raw, emotional representation of the Asian American experience
    - - "Representation itself is neither positive nor negative, but is always produced through and in relation to power. Moreover, representation, like race, has very real effects within social hierarchies of power" p94
        
        representation has material effects on Asian American lives
        
        Media does not simply reflect identity; it actively shapes reality and the identities of certain groups of people by normalizing certain narratives while marginalizing others.
        
        Thinking about representation in terms of power, rather than positive/negative, will help viewers be more open to different representations of Asian Americans and view it in a more critical light - rather than jumping straight to placing it in a category of right or wrong
  - - - the power of being able to be seen on screen -> visibility is not a small thing, while it may seem basic, it really is meaningful to be able to be represented authentically in media
        
        links to desai's ideas on belonging/citizenship as well as Oh's thoughts on how whitewashing implying asians are not worthy of being represented on screen
        
        That is why films and media that represent Asian American stories are important
      - reflects the evolution of films we watched in class => started off with yellowface, racist representations, but ended with complex, layered flims that captured the essence of the asian american experience and history
    - - breaking away from the model minority stereotype and the expectation of asian americans to be perfect/robotic
        
        highlights the humanity within the asian american community --> not a monolith, but a diverse group of cultures and experiences
      - i felt like the movie captured what it meant to be asian american without relying too heavily on their "asianness" --> the characters were human first --> i think this was also true of Better Luck Tmrw (the characters' ethnicities were not the focus, but rather their unique experiences)
  - - - If it were truly fixed/natural, why does it need to be reasserted endlessly?
        
        Asian American identity is never truly fixed, always fluid
    - - implies that a stereotype is neither true or false ⇒ cannot be proven or logically construed
        
        a little hard to wrap my head around at first, but i think that it is smth important to remember that all these stereotypes often come from such subjective things
      - "must be anxiously repeated" p95
        
        seems to contradict, what's supposedly fixed must be constantly re-fixed
      - "productive ambivalence of the object of colonial discourse - that "otherness" which is at once an object of desire and derision, an articulation of difference contained within the fantasy of origin and identity" p96
        
        Bhabha shows that racist stereotypes need the Other to be both attractive and inferior at the same time.
        
        The stereotype reveals more about the colonizer's anxieties than about the people being stereotyped
        
        links to Yellowface in a way: they want to have asian faces but still keep them inferior and prioritize white actors
  - - - Allows people to have experiences that differ from their everyday lives => "journeying into and beyond the world of the other"
      - People get drawn into movies ("they have a power over us" pg3) => that's what makes movies "magic" (watching as a viewer instead of a critic)
        
        thinking critically about a movie =/= not enjoying it
    - - Movies can make topics like "race, sex and class" easier to digest as people may find them more enjoyable than reading theory based papers
        
        i think recently there have even been kid friendly movies that touch on topics like these (eg: zootopia tackling racism/stereotypes in a very kid sensitive way)
      - Critical discussions don't have to be formal - they can be everyday conversations people have when discussing films
        
        i think the internet makes it really easy nowadays to engage in this kind of discourse and get to learn from different people's opinions
    - - presence of a certain race does not equal "progressive and/or revolutionary cinematic representation" of that race
      - It is not enough to simply just be a person of a certain race in a movie => also have to think about cultural politics
        
        what is crucial is the perspective, standpoint, and politics of the person making the film (p7)
        
        extends into the discussion of what constitutes as Asian American film, who gets to create Asian American film, and so on
  - - - Definition: theatrical convention of using makeup, costumes, and visual technology to transform someone to look East Asian
      - inspires orientalist fantasies of the exotic East
      - persisted into the 21st century => more normalized than blackface
      - Casting and Makeup
        
        Some argue that it is history/tradition
        
        Some argue that it takes opportunity from Asian actors, is the same level as blackface
      - not present in archival databases as a keyword
      - nonwhite actors used yellowface as a way to be taken seriously as actors and raise their status
        
        I think this interesting to note, I didn't know that black actors would use yellowface to benefit their social standing in the acting industry like that. This links to the model minority myth and how these two races are often compared and pit against each other. Even if Asians are being protrayed as suspicious and undesirable, they still have a greater proximity to whiteness than african americans.
    - - Exclusion Era (1862 - 1940) : there was a broad exclusion of Asians, Chinese immigrants were prevented from becoming naturalized citizens
        
        Yellowface became most present during this time as it was a tool for exclusion
        
        "made-up Asians took the place of excluded Asians in popular imagination" p8
      - Around WW2, the restrictions against Asians eased up
      - yellowface cannot be called mirroring bc Asians were not included in most of US history (no representation to mirror)
        
        "actively brought-forth a new reality" p13
        
        created unrealistic misconceptions about Asians
      - perpetual foreigner
        
        "yellowface performances dramatized Asians as suspicious and undesirable, and thus deserving of exclusion" p8
        
        shows how interconnected reality and media representation are and how they influence each other
        
        links to Bell Hook's idea of film teaching us things: in this case, film is teaching viewers who deserves to belong and who doesn't
        
        Link's to Desai's idea that representation has material effects on cultural citizenship
    - - art/skill/craft
        
        using discrimination of Asians as a means of gaining technical achievement/praise as an "artist"
        
        It would have been much easier to just find an Asian actor, but people were taking pride in the effort/skill it took to create yellowface
        
        prioritizing white achievement over Asian humanity by reframing racism as artistic expression
      - yellowface required a lot of techne: perfecting eye makeup, creating costumes, altering facial features
        
        reminds me of how nowadays there are people who get cosmetic surgery to look more Asian
        
        Asian features are desirable but Asian American people are not
  - - - There was a lack of South Asian portrayal in US film before the 2000s ("Prior to 200, the most recognizable South Asian character on American network television was the animated character Apu" p19)
        
        Most depictions came from
        
        British & Canadian producers
        
        Indian/South Asian media outlets
        
        Independent filmmakers
        
        "Although scholars of race and ethnicity in American film have devoted more studies to Asian Americans in film, most of them have neglected South Asians as a racialized group outside of British or Indian film history." p20
        
        I agree that South Asians have not had the same attention as other asian groups in terms of film/studies, which is why I appreciate that this class provides opportunities to analyze the representations of a wide variety of Asian Americans, including South Asians
        
        Perhaps linking to the idea of racism against South Asians not being taken seriously due to the "comedic" factor
    - - Rooted in orientalist roles from British colonial narratives
      - Portrays South Asians as comic, harmless, and non-threatening
        
        exaggerated accent, physical comedy, cultural awkardness
        
        i think that the "comedy" associated with this makes it seem like a harmless joke instead of a type of racism => even within the Asian community, i have noticed that people tend to make south asians the butt of the joke
        
        "notion of equality is diminished when the exaggeration emphasizes a complete dissimilarity to what is perceived as normal and renders the stituation humorous" p21
        
        You cannot build equality on a foundation that requires treating someone as fundamentally, laughably other
        
        The humor isn't neutral. It's actively teaching us who counts as "normal human" and who counts as "exotic curiosity to laugh at"
        
        reminds me of Bell Hook's idea of film being pedagogical
        
        model minority
        
        link to bell hooks: a way to portray the exotic but you don't engage with them
        
        "cultural artifacts that were mass produced for an American audience who could play at being exotic without necessarily meeting with Indian people" p29
        
        reminds me of a time in around 2016/2017 (?) where a lot of music videos would have very south asian themes (set in India, have south asian fashion/jewelry, south asian dancing, colors and patterns associated with South asia) - pop artists liked interacting with the culture of South Asia but not the people
      - accent = racial marker and reinforces the outsider status
        
        thinking about the difference between acceptable and unacceptable accent work, and the factors to consider (respectful, authentic, dignity or exaggerated, comedic, caricature)
    - - Historically portrayed through colonial lens
      - Themes: mysical India, land of contrasts, rebels and loyal natives
      - Stereotypes: snake charmer, loyal servant, religious fanatic, orphaned waif
        
        link to Bhaba's idea of productive ambivalence
      - 1960s - 70s
        
        Hart-Cellar Act in 1965 led to a new wave of South Asian students and professionals in US from India and Pakistan
        
        Themes: South Asians were depicted as cultural artifacts rather than individuals, comic relief, avoiding contemporary immigrant realities
      - Seller's Brownface
        
        became the template for brownface (lyrical speech, smiling, cultural exclamations, deferential phrases, broken english)
    - - India post independence: framed a democracy with "western values"
      - still emphasized colonial past and exoticism ("characteristics of brown-voice and brownface performances are rooted in early film narratives that emphasize the history of British imperialism and colonialism in India" p20)
        
        I find this interesting because usually when we think about asian american representation and the racist stereotypes that are put on screen, we think of the American interactions with Asians throughout history, rather than British
        
        impacts of imperialism run deep and can even carry over when you immigrate to another country
  - - - two-color processes emphasizes red/orange and green => this often favored white skin tones
        
        the idea that racism permeates through even the technological aspect of film, not just the script, links to Peng's discussion of yellowface in Made Up Asians
        
        Asian American actors had to battle explicit racism and the implicit racist technologies as well: it is already hard for Asian Americans in the film industry to even get in, and when they are in, they are faced with the system fighting against them
      - "East Asians became yellow in the Western imagination" p16
        
        shaped racial representation by deciding what skin tones seemed natural
        
        flim decides what is and what is not "normal" and sets the tone for how society views certain groups of people (eg: are they alien, foreign, normal)
        
        visually reflects how Western imagination similarly distorts and flattens East Asian identities into a single chromatic stereotype
      - early color film prioritized reproducing white skin tones: "a beautiful redhead model [was used] as the subject for photographic tests" p8
    - - in The Toll of the Sea, Anna May Wong's skin color was applied similarly to all the characters => racial difference wasn't shown purely by color
        
        costumes and setting emphasized racial difference more
        
        Example of this being noticeable is when Lotus Blossom's baby is washed and changed out of his colorful, cultural clothes into crisp, white sailor outfit
        
        can link it to biracial identity and the desire for assimilation: out of his two races, Lotus Flower thinks that his white side is better and will lead to him having a better life overall, so she wants him to look the part/be fully embraced by white society
        
        Having lotus blossom blend in with her environment serves to objectify her, position her (and as an extension, Asian character) as visually ornamental, and emphasize that she is a "flower" (gentle, submissive)
        
        I think having her blend in with the background also visually represented her status in the film: she is quiet and makes herself not seen/not causing a fuss, instead she just serves as a pretty backdrop for the white characters (provides Alan with pleasure, gives his new wife a child) => form of whitewashing (centering white stories while asian stories take the backseat)
  - - - dismantling stereotypes
        
        says that Anna May Wong is a symbol of "exoticism, cruelty, and Asian despotism, and as the female embodiment of masochism"
      - refunctioning representation
    - - "the screen's foremost Oriental villainess"
      - Anna May Wong goes from playing the villainess to the victim
        
        dragon lady
        
        "cloaks an almost masculine racial pride and anti-white race hatred in the mutually reinforcing "duplicity" of being Asian and being a woman" (p 24)
        
        really clear in her role as Ling Moy in Daughter of The Dragon
        
        lotus blossom or butterfly
        
        their storylines often end in suicide => keeps white/Western audience happy, establishes that Asians are lower in the social hierarchy (balance in their social order) => also prevents validation of interracial relationships
      - Asian romantic relationships on screen were never satisfactorily resolved
        
        There has been a lot of improvement of that now in modern day film, so it is good to see how film has evolved from not letting Asian characters find happy romantic relationships to having these kinds of relationships normalized on screen
        
        trying to move past the idea of the asexual Asian male
      - flaw in interpreting movies like this is assuming that the primary task of films is to "reproduce the world faithfully"
        
        links to Hook's piece on how movies are meant to create a new reality
    - - being multilingual helped Anna May Wong extend her film career
      - She was tired of always having to "scheme, rob, kill" in movie roles
      - she found a lot more opportunity in China, no longer had to be a supporting role for white actors in yellowface
        
        Reminds me of Feng's idea that in Asia they don't have the label of "Asian" => she would have simply been perceived as an actress
    - - 1920s Hays Office Code
        
        in her films, no one white ever kissed her => those who did were punished or the relationship did not have a happy ending
  - - - Dragon Lady: uses sex to physically corrupt white men and others
      - Lotus Blossom: reabsorbs the Asian women as the extension of the white man's fantasy
        
        AA women are trapped on both ends of the spectrum, but still sexualized either way
      - I think nowadays we have begun to move past these stereotypes, there are a lot more developed/fleshed out depictions of AA women in film (everything everywhere all at once) but there are also new stereotypes (smart asian girl) that stem from these two root tropes
        
        Better Luck Tomorrow has an example of this (somewhat) as Stephanie is shown to be a smart student who tries hard to achieve her best in school, but she still manages to be sexualized by her peers
    - - bondage of hypersexuality: the perverse interiority and vulnerability to oppressive sexual representation
      - moral scopophilia: to simply shut down bad or negative images resists reading them for their political potential
      - Passionate Attachment
        
        desire one's own suboordination to persist as a subject
        
        Asian women on screen may embody hypersexual roles, but in doing so they sometimes reframe or resist them ("If the Asian/American woman cannot be imaged outside of sex, her self-formation must occur in terms of redefining sex" p20)
    - - always some form of sexuality tied to Asian women in US cinema: they often play the concubine, slave girl, femme fatale, exotic figure
        
        these representations of women are not just confined to the screen, they have real world impacts on women and how they are treated => eg: atlanta shooting in nail salon, fetishization of asian women on the internet, men seeking relationships with asian women purely due to "yellow fever"
      - traditional stereotype analysis can be limited
      - representation is an apparatus of power
        
        produces a "ghostly" status which leads to Asian American women's identity being erased and replaced by stereotype
        
        link to Kido Lopez's discussion of how media representation and activism reflect on the power of being accurately represented/cultural citizenship
    - - Anna May Wong: plays submissive roles but resists in public discourse
      - Film roles can also be sites of negotiation
      - resistance also emerges through sex by embracing, exxagerating, or reimagining hypersexual tropes, actresses can disrupt them
  - - - Media impacts the reality that people face: if there are characters like Suzie Wong on screen (sexualized, submissive, "exotic") then Asian women in real life can be subject to this kind of stereotyping
        
        links to Kido Lopez reading and the idea of media activism being a way for people to use media to influence real life perceptions
    - - All the Chinese women are prostitutes: pushes the idea that Asian women are sexually available, may carry STDs, links to the rhetoric behind the Page Act
        
        "The specatator is simultaneously reassured that Asian women want to be beaten and allowed to displace revulsion onto the "Orient""p42
        
        by implying that Asian women want to be beaten => accompanied with Suzie's profession being seen as immoral, the movie implies that Asians have bad morals and that Asian women are submissive => makes them more suspectible to danger
        
        "As long as Suzie is in her cheongsam or her lingerie, Robert is able to see her as Oriental first, prostitute second or not at all"p43
        
        as if by being an asian woman is inherently even more sexual than prostitute
      - The few Chinese men are asexual: reduces competition for white men looking for Asian women, promotes the idea that Asian men are not attractive, weak, etc
        
        comes back to the centering of whiteness and the idea that white men are superior
    - - links to the Hypersexuality reading in how actors can resist the hypersexuality of their roles
  - - - Whitewashing is when you replace, displace, or erase Asian American identities with white actors or characters
        
        Yellowface: white actors assumer Asian identities
        
        Replacement: Asian stories replaced with white characters
        
        Centering whiteness in Asian worlds: makes Asian culture like the backdrop for white moral growth and heroism (reinforces white savior trope)
        
        I wasn't aware of the different levels of whitewashing that existed within film - i would have only considered the first 2 to be types of whitewashing, but i can see how decentering asians highlights the invisibility of AA and therefore acts as a form of whitewashing
        
        can raise the question of what is acceptable: can AA not simply just be side characters if the story doesn't call for AA lead?
      - Activism to call out this behavior emerged online
      - cases of whitewashing highlight a tension between having performative inclusion of Asian Americans and meaningful representation
    - - There have been many cases of yellowface - they often rely on caricature
        
        links to yellowface reading in the sense that by relying on the caricature, it creates a loop of reinforcing the stereotype and having that take up more space than actual representation
      - symbolic of centering white perspectives and erasing asian american subjectivity
        
        it highlights the invisibility of asians, implies that they are unworthy/incapable of self-representation
      - whitewashing vs appropriation
        
        appropriation borrows culture and using it to enhance white experiences, while whitewashing replaces it
        
        both of them show how asian american characters act as tools for white self actualization
    - - Industry
        
        White men are usually the ones in the casting rooms and making the decisions
        
        White actors are considered flexible to play "raceless" roles
        
        even if they didn't mean harm, there are still structural and narrative effects on Asian Americans (they may feel like their stories are not important)
      - Studying whitewashing is important
        
        exposes systemic racism by showing how "neutral" narratives promote global racial hierarchies
  - - - poly = sharing things between cultures
        
        separates origins and authenticity of cultures
        
        ones bg should not affect how authentic they seems to be from a culture's viewpoint
        
        one cannot claim a culture as their own or say someone else is inauthentic in the way they practice acts from that culture
        
        personally, i don't know how comfortable i am with claiming to be a part of a culture that i have a small connection to/some ancestry
      - multi = hierarchical, everything is separate
        
        ignores that different cultural histories overlap
      - “Culture cannot be bounded and people cannot be asked to respect ‘culture’ as if it were a thing without history and complexity. Social interaction and struggle produce cultural worlds, and these are in constant, fraught, formation. Our cultures are linked in more ways than we can catalogue, and it is from the linkages that we hope our politics be energized.”
    - - reflects Anna May Wong's experience too
      - Neither option is true success because the system is designed to prevent Asian American heroism and push for white superiority
      - He was born in the US, spoke good english and lived there for a good amount of his life, but still seen as a perpetual foreigner
  - - - Saving Face shows us stories of non traditional love and expands the audience's viewpoint on what constitutes a loving relationship
        
        perhaps this film can be a way for queer asian americans to feel seen and feel like they can share their identity with their parents
        
        film can be a vehicle for conversation and help make these tough topics easier to approach
      - connects to Hook's idea that film can influence the way we see the world
    - - there are cultural barriers to feeling comfortable existing as queer => as seen in Saving Face, you often feel like you need to choose between your family or your identity
        
        similar to the themes explored in everything everywhere all at once
      - connects to Desai's idea that citizenship is not just legally recognised but also influenced by social belonging
    - - esp. true to queer AA women => hypersexuality stereotype could lead to any "queerness" being written off as a symptom of this stereotype
      - Queer Asian North Americans are given a survivalist plot: "two patterns became most evident: queer Asian North American protagonists are lucky simply to survive, and their survival depends on a community of other characters (including nonliving entitites) who do not come from the protagonists' biological families"
        
        However, Saving Face avoids this trope through the rom com genre
  - - - creates a need to exhibit more masculinity => shown in Better Luck Tmrw where the male leads are taking part in hypermasculine behaviour which leads to violence
        
        "The young men in this movie seek a viable manhood for themselves beyond their Ivy League–bound futures and the daily experience with racism and gendered racism." p156
        
        Is "viable manhood" even possible under current conditions/expectations placed on asian american men? why does the quote specify "viable"?
        
        Have to deal with both the pressures that come with being asian american and the pressure to conform to society's expectations of masculinity, which is already quite eurocentric/favoring white males
        
        "n the competition for the woman,
        the clash between two forms of masculinity, one passive and the other aggressive, is resolved through violence when Ben kills Steve." p157
        
        Idea of enunch vs womanizer, possession of women is equated to manhood
    - - critique attempts to compensate for racialized emasculation through violent patriarchial masculinity
        
        only leads to harming of others and self => dangers of the partriarchy
  - - - "it felt dangerous to have an asian face"
        
        reminds me of covid era attitude towards asian americans (people were mad at chinese, but attacked any asian resembling chinese)
    - - sparked outrage and uprising among the community
        
        led to some form of organizing
        
        vincent became like a martyr/person that the community could see themselves in, which led to people feeling strongly about his death
        
        he came to represent smth much bigger than himself, was almost like the symbol for the asian american experience
        
        links to the overarching idea of the fruition of the Asian American identity from political struggle/fighting against injustice
  - - - the essay critiques the fact that mina and demetrius's happy ending came at the cost of their connection to their family => is it really a happy ending if their relationship cannot exist happily in a public space?
        
        i agree that a happier ending would have been with them existing as a couple while not being exiled from their respective communities, but at the same time, I think having choose each other emphasizes their love and it also may not have been realistic to have the families accept them after being so adamant against the relationship before
        
        contrasts with saving face and everything everywhere all at once => lgbtq relationships are eventually accepted by the families (saving face was a relationship between two asian women though)
    - - "To be American in this film—as in so many other
        Asian American narratives—is to put one’s own economic well-being above family and community, and to value individual happiness above the continuance of group identity" pp190
        
        the individual is important to the west, while community is important within asian culture => links to filial piety, and existing/making decisions for the sake of your family rather than your own happiness
        
        i think this idea is still prevalent within the asian american community today, especially within the realm of relationships and education/career choices
        
        do you fight against your parents' wishes and make the choice you want (but you know is doomed to fail and not meet their expectations) or not ever try at all? -> personally, i feel like it is emotionally tolling to go against the group identity, in the end, while I do get to make the decision i wanted, i still have to shoulder burden of upsetting my loved ones
      - interesting how this reading and the film point out the psuedo solidarity exhibited --> their refusal to let this interracial relationship happen kind of resembles the adamant rejection of interracial relationships in early 1920s (like in the cheat)
        
        result of anti-blackness within asian community, still relatively prevalent nowadays too -> could link to colorism as well (?) as asian communities often look down upon those with darker skin tone
  - - - battles about who counts as American, who gets to tell stories, and what forms of cultural citizenship are possible in a nation built on Asian exclusion.
    - - eg: bollywood, kpop, anime -> allows as to maintain cultural ties to asian media -> transnational forms of belonging
      - aa identity is diasporic -> hollywood representation should exist alongside participation in asian media cultures
    - - personally, i think that if the creator wants to reclaim that phrase then it should be okay, but i understand people'e concerns about spreading harmful language to audiences who may lack the context to use it appropriately
    - - aa film should not have to carry the weight of representing a whole diaspora on their shoulders
        
        I think its fair to feel this way and only want to focus on the creative aspect of the film industry, but i also understand that when representation is already limited it is important to be mindful about the content you are sharing to the world
    - - what parts of asian american culture are "desirable" and what parts are not, and why are certain people able to make that decision?
        
        reminds me of how Bhabha suggests " that "otherness" which is at once an object of desire and derision"
        
        people love asian culture (asian food, clothing, music) but deny AA cultural citizenship
- - - - Edith
        
        treated as an innocent/represents the "white woman"
        
        often wearing white -> symbolic of purity
        
        any threats or attacks made at her therefore represent a threat to white women in US in general, so the stereotype of Asian men being predatory and a threat to white women is further cemented in the audience's mind
        
        She is the cheat - she cheats the Red Cross and her husband of the money
      - Haka
        
        acting style is more subtle than the others which makes him seem more stoic, harder to read, and more sinister -> creates this fear that you can't trust or know what Asians are thinking or what their intentions are
        
        wears suits and dresses nicely ⇒ only in “cultural” clothing when he is violent (32:16) ⇒ subconciously making the connection that anything remotely asian is a danger
        
        Can also be thought of as "the cheat" - he lies and says Richard shot him, he tries to steal the innocence of a white woman
        
        his study is full of stereotypical asian props ⇒ seems “exotic”, allure of the east
        
        this in turn put added empahsis on the racial otherness of Haka
        
        Originally Japanese but then became Burmese after protest from Japanese Americans
        
        “not enough Burmese in the country to raise a credible protest.” => i feel like this says something about how SouthEast Asians are seen as lacking in power or an easier target for stereotyping when compared to other Asian groups
      - Richard
        
        making him the “good” guy compared to Haka just serves to further draw a line between how asians are evil and untrustworthy and white men are the saviors
        
        he takes the blame for edith even though she cheated him
    - - lighting
        
        33:19 Branding scene: the scene is dimly lit with the only light being on Haka and Edith so the audience's attention is drawn to the attack
        
        41:31 => shadows of the jail cell bars on Richard's face, harsh bright lighting on Edith
      - Music
        
        The music tenses up when conflicts arise => creates stress and worry in the audience
        
        16:26 when Red Cross say that they will send the funds to the Belgians after Edith had already spent it
        
        12:46 ⇒ the music became a bit more tense when Richard came towards Edith and Haka talking about how he could help give her money
    - - yellow peril
        
        Haka is portrayed as lustful, violent, and deceitful
        
        reinforces the stereotype of Asian men being predatory sexual deviants who are a threat to white women
        
        Even though Haka is rich, dresses well, and fits into high brow society, he is still a threat => implies that no matter the education level/status, Asians can never be trusted
        
        Us vs. Them mentality
        
        52:43 ⇒ court goes into a frenzy at the thought of Haka (asian man) harming Edith (white woman) but is calm when it was thought that Richard shot Haka
      - fear of miscegenation
        
        43:29 ⇒ “East is East and West is West and never the Twain shall meet”
      - white savior
        
        41:31 Richard came to save the day and protect Edith from going to jail
        
        In the end, Richard and Edith got their happy ending and things fell back into the "right" social order
  - - - 2:20 ⇒ “far away China…beauty and the treachery”
        
        allure of the East, orientalism, the asian mystique
      - Chinese text is translated into english with a different font
        
        looks like brush strokes ⇒ just serves to remind about the differences between “us” and “them”
        
        similar examples of stereotypography found in mississippi masala
        
        It was like a proverb/saying
      - 10:50 ⇒ talking about how American men have forgotten them ⇒ raises the idea that Asians are fungible, and how white men just go through asian women quickly
      - 13:08 ⇒ “That’s just it, Allen; she is different” ⇒ miscegenation is taboo
        
        links to the message that is pushed in The Cheat about how miscegenation is something that is looked down upon in society
      - They have a son together - implies that he basically just had sex with her and left her ⇒ stereotype that asian women = sex objects
        
        44:38 => son is switched from colorful chinese clothes to white sailor outfit
        
        Reflects her internalized desire to assimilate and her acceptance of white superiority over Asians.
      - Music
        
        40:37 ⇒ music becomes dramatic when he tells her that he is not her honorable husband
        
        33:46 ⇒ music becomes faster when the news that her husband came back is announced
      - 3:17 ⇒ in this scene, it is kind of a role reversal, instead of male white saviour it is an asian female saviour
        
        “little chinese girl” ⇒ infantilization of asian women
        
        “gift” ⇒ the white man is called this which has positive connotations, places white people as the standard/what you should strive towards
    - - she doesn’t have a “real” name ⇒ objectifying Asians, already casting them as stereotypes (fragile, pretty, innocent)
      - speaks in broken, not grammatically correct English in the subtitle cards ⇒ paints her as exotic, naive, infantilizes her
      - 43:21 ⇒ even though it is a heartbreaking situation, she still says oh theres nothing to forgive and she seems very accomodating even though she was wronged
        
        she even hosts them and drinks tea with them ⇒ acting like she is here to serve/accomodate their needs, stereotype of the submissive Asian
        
        Allen pets her and then it cuts to Elise petting a peacock => parallel between their power dynamics and implies that Lotus Flower is exotic, subservient, and obedient - she exists to please the white male
      - In the end, she gives herself back to the Sea: suggests that Asian women have no value beyond their romantic relationships and their purpose is the please their male counterparts - once they no longer fit that role, they are disposed of
      - her outfit patterns and colors serve to make her blend into the background of flowers in the garden, the colorfulness of them also other her from her white male counterpart
  - - - they described her as exotic (6:10) => the man who called her that seems to be interested in her but seems almost like yellow fever/interested in her bc shes asian
      - wears very different, very dramatic cultural clothes => sets her apart from the rest
        
        links to the theme of exoticism, also to "Color as Hue..." with how costumes are used to other certain characters and make racial differences more prominent
      - Speaks in a mixture of broken english and good english (24:10 - refers to herself in the third person)
        
        Her broken English marks difference, while her moments of fluent English hint at cunning => is she masking her evil side to try and seem like less of a threat?
    - - When he first enters the movie, he is very polite ("May I sit down") which is unusual for someone who is meant to be an evil mastermind
      - has unusual and inexplainable powers (mind control) => makes him frightening bc it is a magic that we cannot understand => makes asians seem mysterious and dangerous
        
        18:05 => he is praying to the "great spirits beyond"
      - played by a white actor in yellowface
    - - contrasts with Ling Moy because he blends in with the west by wearing western attire
    - - 9:12 => the letters from Fu Manchu are very stereotypical (font is like the typical asian style font, message is cryptic like a proverb)
        
        exoticizing asians and making them mysterious/evil
        
        example of stereotypography
      - 19:14 => "if only thou had granted me another son" => illustrates early gender roles as it shows how boys are given priority in Asian cultures
        
        19:23 => "I will be your son" => links to the Liu reading where it says how Dragon ladies have an almost masculine racial pride
        
        her fate at the end of the movie is death = this is a punishment for defying gender roles as well as entertaining the idea of an interracial relationship
        
        masculine racial pride but she acts as the feminized version of yellow peril and utilizes her sex appeal throughout the movie to manipulate men (falling directly under the dragon lady stereotype)
        
        idea of asian women being "flowers"/delicate/expected to stay on the sidelines
      - 25:38 => "it's only a passing fascination" when talking about how this man likes her hair and eyes => implies that being interested in Asian women and their unique features is a phase (links to the Toll of the Sea where Allen is only interested in Lotus Flower for a bit but then moves on to a white woman)
      - There is consistent use of the gong sound, this was also a common theme in other Fu Manchu movies, makes subconscious connection between Asianness/orientalism and danger
  - - - the men in this movie talk down to her and can be unpredictably violent with her
        
        Robert treats Suzie as his model/an object that he owns => he only wants her to wear certain things, is bossy and reprimanding (telling her to be quiet/not move when he's painting her)
        
        Robert gets outraged and rips off her dress when she is revealed in a western dress
        
        this takes away the mystique and fantasy that Robert associates with her (he was attracted to her "Orientalness") => she just looks like a "European" prostitute now which brings him back to reality almost
        
        higlights the importance of costume in film and how it can symbolize deeper things such as desire, exoticism, cultural difference, and power dynamics
      - 47:02 => Suzie is begging Robert and her behavior creates this idea that asian women are desperate, submissive, and subservient
      - Ben doesn't want to break things off with Suzie in person, instead he asks Robert to do it => shows that he doesn't respect Suzie as a person
      - Suzie is hypersexualized and treated as an object that is paraded around by the men
        
        21:40 => she is in a red dress which makes her stand out, red is a color associated with sex appeal
        
        31:21 => she is dancing with the sailor and being paraded around like a trophy
    - - Suzie tries to become more westernized for Robert after becoming his permanent girlfriend
        
        This is shown through her costume and her behavior
        
        wears pants for the first time in the movie, tries on the western dress
        
        refuses to stay with him after the first night
      - Suzie is often pitted against Kay for the affection of Robert
        
        Asian woman vs white woman
        
        Kay represents purity and status
        
        women of both races are made to feel like their worth is dependent on the male gaze
      - Robert asks Suzie to marry him after her baby dies
        
        with her baby's passing, all connections she has to her past, her ties to another man and HK are erased
        
        she is like a blank slate for Robert
    - - Robert embodies rationality, morality, and civilization
        
        helps Suzie when she is beat by sailors
        
        hires her and provides for her
        
        helps her save her son
        
        even though as a white man in HK he should be the outsider, Suzie seems more like the "other"
        
        links to the whitewashing reading as it touches on the type of whitewashing that centers white stories
      - Suzie is naive, sexualized, and meant to satisfy the male gaze
        
        she is revealed to have been abandoned at 10 years old, forced into sex work, and raising a child on her own
        
        her suffering serves to magnify Robert's morality and make him look like a hero
        
        she is dependent on his approval and seems desperate to be with him
  - - - The movie still retains the classic plot of the Asian villain preying on attractive White women, reminiscent of The Mask of Fu Manchu, where much of Fu Manchu’s villainy came from terrorizing vulnerable White women, and The Cheat, where Haka preys on Edith
        
        However, Bruce Lee breaks the stereotype of a White man coming to rescue the women
      - The diversity and racial barriers crossed in this film were revolutionary for its time
      - Creating New Stereotypes
        
        From a critical lens, it’s easy to see how Bruce Lee became a new kind of stereotype (inadvertently set unrealistic expectations)
        
        While Enter the Dragon was the first film to portray an Asian man as strong and heroic, it created another burden (the idea that all Asian men should live up to Bruce Lee’s image, all asian men should know martial arts)
        
        His stoic, emotionless portrayal still shows how Asian masculinity is flattened, reflecting aspects of the model minority stereotype
    - - While Enter the Dragon broke barriers in representation, it still operates within Orientalist frameworks
        
        Han’s island is portrayed as exotic and mystical, with traditional music, sexualized women, and monk-like Asian characters
        
        This plays into Western fantasies of the “mysterious East,” where Asian culture is presented as strange or otherworldly
        
        36:20 => they arrive to the island, "oriental" music is played, the architecture of the buildings resembles east asian buildings, there is sumo wresting and lion dancing
        
        a mix of different east asian cultural practices, but it doesn't really matter to the directors because in their eyes all Asian cultures blend together
    - - Some of the male characters show romantic or sexual interest in the women on the island, but Bruce Lee does not
        
        This can be seen as reinforcing the stereotype of Asian men as desexualized in Western media
        
        44:58 => he refuses the prostitutes and asks for meiling instead, is very rational/focused and asks her questions (no nonsense)
      - Even though Lee’s character is strong and central, his lack of romantic engagement subtly reflects Hollywood’s tendency to strip Asian men of sexual identity
  - - - I found this documentary deeply moving
        
        i felt like this documentary was authentic and i appreciated the emotional rawness and vulnerability that Ny exhibited
      - the shaky, home video style and camera quality evoked a sense of nostalgia in me for a time that i never even personally experienced - but it just reminded me of my own family and their struggles with immigrating to the US/being refugees
    - - there are some scenes that are formatted like confessionals, some that show us his first person pov
        
        creates a sense of intimacy between us (the audience) and him => we feel more involved in his life and get more emotionally invested
      - the tone is realistic and raw, there is a lack of polish in the editing (since he is still a hs senior and learning about film editing)
        
        reflective of everyday struggles of refugee families, makes him seem honest, vulnerable and relatable
        
        example of third cinema
    - - 3:00 => he talks about how he had to retake english because he failed it, he is struggling academically
      - 14:00
        there are a lot of barriers to his education (the cops came late at night so he overslept, he has to take two buses to work so he was late to class)
        
        it is difficult for him to pursue his education and establish himself; reflects the troubles refugees have when they don't have a support system
        
        47:53/49:53 => confessional about his graduation
        
        he is only able to share this momentus occassion with us (the imaginary audience)
        
        symbolizes the isolation of refugee youth => they often have to navigate their educational journeys on their own => eg: now with the visa ban, burmese international students who are attending college in the US cannot have their families come for their graduations, have to choose between pursuing a better education abroad and possibly never seeing their families again or staying with their families but being stuck in a place where they have even more limited opportunitiy
      - 5:20 => introduces how they do not live in a safe neighborhood (people get shot, stabbed, robbed), his brother ran away because he felt it was unsafe, also introduces their family dynamic (far from what a nuclear family is) => disrupts the idea of stereotypical upper middle class asian american household
      - 38:52 => their story of coming to america differs from the typical asian american dream => came to this country to escape war and get a better life, instead they are faced with poverty and met with racism
        
        difference between being an immigrant and a refugee
    - - the dangerous situation they live in along with the lack of support from the appropriate authorities leads to:
        
        13:00 => fear and desire to carry a weapon, he feels like he is a 'bad guy'
        
        hanging around the wrong crowd (gamblers, gangs)
      - 37:51
        
        the family is blaming the system for kids being troubled
        
        shows how war and mass weapons being sold and the greed/violence of countries impacts everyday families ⇒ forces them to live in unsafe places, poverty, and hard for them to get an education, leads to them running into the wrong crowd/getting into trouble
        
        even as he is talking about these tough realities, there is a lightness/happiness in his voice ⇒ he is still happy and joking about never being satisfied with his haircut, having that first person pov/informal documentary style really brings the stories down to earth (in their eyes, this is just reality/their everyday life and its not very serious(?)
        
        shows their resilience
      - 11:00
        
        asians scared to call the police or cops because they might get in trouble and the police would come back and get them in more trouble
        
        Fear of deportation, language barriers, and being targeted
        
        Reflects broader immigrant distrust in law enforcement and the idea that they worked hard to get to the position they have rn so they don't want to be put at risk by stirring up trouble with authorities
  - - - demonstration of AA breaking the stereotypes made for them => group of AA kids who, while still doing good in school, turn to crime and drugs in an attempt to seek experiences outside of school/grades
        
        12:00 => ben says that "it felt good to do things that weren't on [his] college application"
      - monetary success from their drug and cheat sheet business instead of the typical asian american route of gaining money from academic fields
      - movie doesn't really talk about the characters specific cultures; the main guys did not really demonstrate any cultural differences from a typical "American" high schooler
        
        drew attention away from their asianess and focused on them being teenagers making mistakes/navigating the teenage experience of school, relationships, friendship
      - didn't have the main guys fall into the stereotype of the "undesirable asian nerd" => even though the guys were doing academically well, they were still partying and doing "cool" things
    - - glorification of violence with the repeated gun use, fight scenes, and ben killing steve
      - ties back to The Cheat and how AA men were seen as threats
    - - eunuch vs womanizer
        
        masculinity = possession of women
        
        steve ends up being killed bc of his phallic power
        
        stephanie = love interest and asian => ends up being sexualized
        
        the guys only really attracted the romantic attention of asian women
      - toxic masculinity
        
        there is a big fear of looking unmasculine
        
        this threat of losing his masculinity is what convinces ben to continue his life of crime and eventually kill steve
        
        the guys end up having a power trip over many things (virgil using a gun with the prostitute, the car ride after they started a fight at the party)
        
        alludes to the repression of emotions that is expected of both men and AA => AA are expected to maintain a perfect image and men are expected to be stoic so these suppressed feelings end up coming out in these overwhelming displays of power
      - brotherhood
        
        despite their troubles and arguments, they are there for one another
  - - - not in chronological order
        
        strays from the format of a traditional documentary
        
        reflects how her grandmother's memories of the experience wasn't clear => form of blocking out memories due to emotions/trauma ??
      - jarring, sounds and images flashing through the scene, reflects the experience of trying to dredge up suppressed memories
    - - mix of documentary style but not exactly a typical one (seems more experimental)
      - shows the variety in which third cinema can take shape: it doesn't have to be a stereotypica documentary, it can take a more experimental route and still get the message across
        
        exemplifies the creative abilities of asian americans and how when given the opportunity they can create really unique pieces => emphasizes that these stories are ones that should be shared
  - - - I thought it was important how this documentary highlighted the communities that often go unnoticed (middle-lower class asian americans, south east asian americans, elderly community)
        
        similar to AKA Don Bonus
    - - hard to watch some scenes where they were being very violent (beating protesters, using horses, breaking down doors, dragging protestors)
      - Even though they went through all that, the manong that was interviewed at the end said that he couldn’t blame america → there is this idealization of America and the idea that american culture is superior to asian culture (seen a lot in immigrant communities → the desire to assimilate)
    - - 19:12 "This land is too valuable to permit poor people to park on it" => illustrates how these kind of ridiculous beliefs justified reasons for gentrification
      - different people from different backgrounds brought together by higher ups treating the common person poorly
    - - lots of clips of police violence against protesters ⇒ screaming, chanting, chaotic crowd
      - The movie transitioned from the loud chaotic protests to quiet, empty streets after the eviction happened => Sucked the life out of the community
      - Third cinema shown through the stance against politics and through objective videos.
        
        similar to Prashad's emphasis on different groups working together to fight against a common problem
        
        disrupts model minority stereotype of AA being apolitical - reminds viewers of the chaotic advocacy that had to take place for AA to currently be in the comfortable position they have and to afford to have the option of being apolitical/staying silent on issues such as immigration/deportation
        
        Nowadays, i think the asian american community has generally strayed from these political roots (at least in the eyes of public stereotypes) and a lot of them don't think current issues like ICE raids apply to them (since AA are considered the model minority/"good immigrant") but in fact there are several cases where AA communities are affected by this, and even if they weren’t, that doesn’t absolve the AA community of the responsibility to advocate for those who are impacted - we should aim for cross cultural solidarity as it makes us stronger and helps make change, as seen in this film
    - - montage of all the manongs smiling and spending time tgt with the music in the background created an emotional atmosphere => emphasizes how the i hotel was not only affordarble but also provided them with a sense of community that was lost after moving to america
        
        reflects the emphasis that asian americans place on community and the collective
        
        relates to Kido Lopez's idea that “Asian American media activists view cultural citizenship as a collective endeavour that cannot be accomplished at the level of the individual”
      - lots of personal testimonies and interviews which creates a sense of intimacy between viewer and the community
  - - - guilt dictates the decisions that the characters made => they are forced to make choices that please their family and not themselves
        
        links to the concept of filial piety (elders expect respect from their children but can risk them becoming too controlling)
      - 1:30:15 => mise en scene: filmmaker makes Planet China the place where Wil first becomes public with Vivian and her mother becomes public with younger boyfriend. Planet China was originally a place where social constructs were enforced, but became the place where they were broken.
        
        They don’t want to save face anymore - realizing that there is no point in saving face that is not truly your own
        
        links to ideas also explored in EEAAO (with evelyn accepting joy and sharing joy's relationship to gong gong)
        
        lot of asian american film has this theme of the struggle between the collective and the self
      - 18:45 => "When I think of all we sacrificed in the old country to give you kids a better life in the new one. Had I known I would have left you behind in the mainland"
        
        This scene showcases the guilt and shame that was put onto Hwei-Lan because she chose not to conform to cultural norms
        
        Hwei-Lan later decides to get married to Cho to please her father even though she doesn’t love him but rather out of a sense of duty to her father because of all the sacrifices he made to get her there
    - - The film shows how identity is not viewed as an individual matter, instead, a person’s actions are seen as a reflection of their entire family and community.
        
        The Asian-American principle of "saving face" is a primary theme pervading most of the film, and it is the focal point where Wil's queerness and culture begin to clash
      - In this context, saving face means protecting not just your own honor, but also your family’s. Characters constantly navigate the tension between being true to themselves and upholding cultural expectations
      - 19:27 => “She can throw her own reputation away but it still comes back to me”
        
        Hwei-lan’s father says this to her while scolding her for getting pregnant out of wedlock => shows that reputation is cultural and social currency, and also a legacy
        
        evokes images of social vindictiveness and avoidance, and more literally refers to avoiding social humiliation or ostracization → but only ends up with the characters sacrificing their own desires and happiness
    - - one of the first intersections between queerness and Asian-American culture in modern-day film
        
        highlights how asian american queerness is often overlooked, denied, or treated as a betrayal of cultural and familial values and expectations
        
        This tension is seen through Wil, who constantly struggles to balance these two identities: being a good chinese american daughter while also embracing her sexuality and her relationship with vivian
        
        The film pits the individual against the collective, asking the question of whether it is important to be true to yourself in the face of overwhelming odds, and by doing so presents queer identities as directly opposed to traditional Chinese familial values.
        
        Her journey reflects the pressure many queer asian americans feel to hide their authentic selves in order to maintain family honor and fulfil traditional intergenerational values
      - 1:12:40 “I love you and I am gay”
        
        This is a pivotal moment where she refuses to choose between love and identity
        
        Her queerness is viewed as shameful and not compatible with family duty as her mother reacts with hurt and denial
        
        Both of these scenes show how the film dramatizes the emotional conflict between cultural expectation and queer identity; visibility becomes an act of courage and self affirmation
      - 1:24:59 “Kiss me. Right here in front of all these people.”
        
        This moment forces Wil to confront her fear and decide whether she will live openly or continue hiding for her family’s approval
    - - The idea of the “model minority” is partially based on the idea that Asian people have inherent cultural values that put emphasis on things such as strong family bonds which allows them to better adhere to American cultural structures such as the nuclear family
      - The queer identity is something that inherently does not fit within the model minority myth which Sohn states leads to queer Asians suffering from “ghostliness” the social notion that they are not even an entity that exists
        
        But by showcasing Vivian and Wils relationship and having them pursue a relationship outside of the “ constructs of the nuclear family and heterosexual, monogamous marriage” the film is able to subvert the idea of this homogenous Asian Model Minority and give identity and existence back to queer asians
      - Hwei-Lan being being pregnant and not married is another subversion of the stereotype
    - - While Saving Face highlights a serious struggle within the queer Asian American community, it uses comedy and a happy ending to leave the viewers with a sense of hope and optimism. Thus Saving Face avoids the common survival narrative talked about in Inscrutable Belongings.
        
        contrasts between the ending of mississipi masala: mina and demetrius were not accepted by their community and while they could pursue their relationship, it was only in isolation from their communities that they can be free to be together, while vivian and wil are able to be together publicly in the chinese community
        
        suggests that even though lgbtq+ relationships are generally taboo within the Asian community, interracial relationships (especially with african americans) may be considered worse
      - Post credit scenes of the family all together (Vivian with Wil and Hwei-Lan with Little Yu) (1:31:27)
        Mise en scene: All four sitting together in frame providing a sense of togetherness
  - - - trial showed how White American status can ensure white people could get away with anything such as murder, and just led to injustices for minorities such as AA.
      - forces viewers to confront uncomfortable truths: Justice in America has never been race-blind, and Asian Americans are not immune from the same types of racist violence that affect other communities of color. Asian Americans historically have been excluded from the narrative of racial justice, often viewed as “perpetual foreigners” who don’t “belong” in American society, even when born and raised here.
        
        . It also shows how Vincent Chin’s case helped spark a pan-Asian American civil rights movement, uniting diverse groups that historically hadn’t always worked together.
        
        reminds me of how groups of people came together to protest the forced removal of the manongs from I Hotel (cements the idea of the Asian American identity being born from shared political struggle)
      - Racial violence is not just individual but systemic (Chin’s murder wasn’t an isolated incident, it was the result of economic anxieties, racist scapegoating, and legal systems that minimized the value of an Asian American life)
    - - Vincent's mother's grief: she is struggling to find the words to express her anger and outrage (clenched fist, cry for justice) (1:18:22)
        
        humanizes vc beyond the crime => shows the actual people who were hurt because of the crime
      - they seem emotionless/not sensitive to the severity of the crime
        
        complaining about missing father's day, while vc's whole life was ahead of him and was ripped away from him
        
        28:36 "That's first time I've ever been on a jail so hopefully it will be the last time I've ever been to jail, so that was not a good experience for anyone, especially when there is no blankets, there is no mattress, there is no pillows, there is nothing there but a steel cot and that's what you get through the night on. I remember next day was Father's Day, I remember that and I feel like a real jerk being in jail and knowing next day was Father's Day. "
        
        white denial of racism, reveals how perpetrators reconstruct narratives of innocence
        
        "Being asked if justice failed somewhere in this case, I don't see anywhere it did fail. I… I think the system worked the way it should have worked right down the line." (01:17:45)
  - - - masala means mix of spices, so in the context of this film it is a metaphor for the mixing of cultures
      - concept of "home" is explored throughout the film
        
        not something that can be tied to geography, but to memory, belonging and identity
        
        film shows that for diasporic communities, “home” can be a place of exclusion as much as comfort
        
        memory and loss
        
        for mina's family, Uganda is their true home
        
        memories of uganda are filled with nostalgia
        
        idealized version of home is lost in time
        
        11:50 => tape lyrics says their hearts are indian but in reality their hearts lie with uganda
        
        displacement
        
        mina's family has faced lots of displacement (from India, generations back, from Uganda, and even now when they live in mississippi they are seen as foreigners/not belonging)
        
        reflects the idea of the Asian American being trapped as a perpetual foreigner
        
        emotional connection
        
        mina's home is not a place, but the feeling of love and acceptance => seen in the end, as she runs away to be with demetrius
        
        racial boundaries
        
        In Uganda, Jay and his family are seen as outsiders despite generations of living there
        
        1:30:40 => Jay calls himself Ugandan first and Indian second because he was born and raised there. He is not even fully accepted in his community in Mississippi
        
        In Mississippi, Mina faces racism from both white and Indian communities for her relationship with Demetrius.
    - - despite the antiblackness, mina and demetrius connect over their shared histories of racism and displacement
        
        their relationship symbolizes cross cultural solidarity => shows how love and understanding can bridge divides between communities
        
        both groups demonstrate a disliking for the other (telling mina and demetrius to stay away from the other's group), sad to see that even though both have experienced this kind of hate themselves, they still project it onto others
      - 43:45 "Black, brown, mexican, all the same. As long as you are not white, means you're colored"
        
        They are all under the same umbrella as people of color, but still discriminate against each other
        
        even though different groups experience marginalization differently, they all share a position outside white dominance
        
        highlights the need for cross-cultural understanding and solidarity
    - - 18:59 => Jay’s obsession with returning to Uganda is symbolic of his ties to tradition
      - 1:21:00 "You call this love? When all its done is brought shame on our heads."
        
        she broke tradition by pursuing this mixed race relationship, and going against cultural norms brought shame to the family (similar to ideas explored in Saving Face with LGBTQ+ relationships and nontraditional forms of love)
    - - string leitmotif by the classical Indian violinist L.
        Subramaniam is played when the movie cuts to Kampala, but in the end the music being played is a harmonic blues => shows the shift in what home means to Jay
    - - mina and her family's scenes are filled with warm, vibrant colors to represent memory, warmth, and emotion
        
        orange is often used to symbolize warmth, comfort, and nostalgia, which is fitting for mina's family as they would have provided her with these feelings. but it also can represent a time of transition (as it is like a transition between red and yellow, reminiscent of the sunset which indicates a change), which can hint at mina transitioning into a new stage of her life, where she is free to follow her heart and pursue her relationship with demetrius
  - - - personally, i found the dance sequence a bit jarring and that even though it was a fun activity (dance), they all seemed a bit robotic when performing it => lack of warmth/family connection ?
    - - Kyra wants to replace him/throw him out => AA are disposable/easily replaced bc they are all the same
    - - he brings goodness/warmth to the family
        
        he seems to be the only one teaching mika about her heritage (20:46 grafting trees scene) => idea about how white families will adopt asian children but not take any care into incorporating the child's heritage into their upbringing - leading to adoptees feeling disconnected/confused about their identity
        
        his malfunction provides the family a chance to become more involved in mika's life => end scene: Jake and mika are tgt and she asks him to help her get water, when earlier in the movie that is what she would do with yang
        
        circular narrative, creates a sense of closure
        
        both him and mika question what it means to be asian => they are both disconnected from their "culture" (Yang doesn't really have a culture but has all the knowledge about it)
        
        on a broader note, the film asks the viewer to ask what it means to be human
        
        links to bell hook's idea that film forces people to learn and view the world in a different way
        
        51:53 "I wish I had a real memory of tea in china. of a place. of a time"
        
        they bought him so that he could do this for them: objectifies asian americans as a tool to make white lives easier, reflecting a broader historical pattern of Asian American labor being exploited while Asian Americans are dehumanized or treated as invisible
    - - centers Jake's life and his journey with fixing Yang, even yang's memories are viewed through the perspective of Jake
        
        film focuses on the family's reaction to the loss of yang and their coming to terms with their grief
      - also focuses on yang's experiences, memories, reflections => despite being a "robot", he has the most life/humanity of all the characters in the movie