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AAST 335- Asian Americans in Films Anoushka Belgi, Model Minority Myth,…

- - - - Arakaus character is a physical manifestation of the Western anxieties about "sex" and their fears of the "alien" Asian people
        
        Movie Connection: The Cheat and Daughter of the Dragon both construct Asianness as a racial threat, using the threat of sexual danger and criminal masterminding to justify fear and containment.
    - - Arakau's lack of dialogue also lends to a less sympathetic reading of his character as the audience are not privy to his thoughts in the same way they are to Edith and Richards. Thus the interpretation of his character is heavily reliant on the way he is treated and interacts with the white characters
      - The short and scarce lines of dialogue give the impression that Arakau is not fully fluent in English and does not fully blend into the "higher" society around him despite having the wealth and status required. This draws a distinct line between him, the white characters, and the rest of white society within the film, painting him as an infiltrator into American society.
  - - - The Oriental iconography found throughout the film is a mishmash of different Asian cultures. Arakau is Burmese but sports Japanese cultural wear, while his home contains a Chinese altar and Indian statues.
        
        this brings forth the idea of the "monolithtic Asian" further grouping all Asian Americans and Asian people under the umbrella of the made up "Orient"
    - - Eastern and Western culture and ideals being incompatible with one another
  - - - This reaffirms the righteousness of White masculinity vs. the conniving nature of the Oriental man
- - - - The cultural practices of the Orient are seen as illegitimate and incompatible with the more refined and legitimate practices of the Occident.
  - - - Lotus Flowers son does not have broken english and is additionally white presenting making him more acceptable to be integrated into western society.
        
        When being handed over to Mr.Allens white wife the child is no longer dressed in the chinese traditional wear. Instead the child is now dressed in white sailor outfit, a contrast from the traditional and colorful eastern clothes he was in before, these new clothes favor his “whiteness”. 44:39
        
        Reading Connection: The changing of wardrobe is used to signify the difference between the Exotic Oriental and the more put together and Civilized West, similar to what was described by Peng in "Color as a Hue"
      - "Clever american language" glorification of american intellectualism vs. the "barbaric" nature of Eastern language (11:02)
    - - Does the construction of Asian masculinity as predatory allow for asian femininity to be docile, submissive, sexually available?
    - - Lotus Flower is portrayed as rather naive in her belief that Mr.Allen will return to her, with many of her friends snickering at the thought when she brings it up.
    - - Her killing herself also reinforces assimilationist logic which required Lotus Blossom as an Asian woman’s to erase herself and her identity for the restoration of white domestic order
- - - - film can be utilized to both expose or amplify stereotypes and understandings of certain demographics
      - Citizenship is achieved through more than just documentation, it also required the presence of community and social acceptance. This is something Asian Americans began fighting for during the third world/Asian American movement. Part of this cultural acceptance is found through media and representation in media such as film.
  - - - Reading connection: Desai’s argument that representation is neither inherently positive nor negative echoes Bhabha’s theory of the stereotype, which insists that stereotypes must be analyzed for how they function within power rather than dismissed outright.
- - - - On the flip side can terms such as Asian American which came about due to liberation movements as a an identifier of solidarity between groups (often those all grouped under the term oriental) be liberatory rather than a blanket term.
        
        Freng argues that there is room for understanding of diversity within the term “Asian American” that is not present when just using Asian as a indentifier.
- - - - Reading Connection: Films play a role in reforming the way we think about the world and in turn the way we interact with it and the people within it, thus as Desai posited films play a role in the formation of cultural citizenship
  - - - Cinema instead has a pedagogical role within society and ignoring that role is a means of distortion of film and ignorance to its impact
        
        "yet it is this very notion of visual purity that is a distortion" (8)
        
        films have the ability to reproduce and influence ideologies, and to shape how people think and interact with the world.
- - - - If the Orient is mystical, then in contrast Europe is proper and refined.
    - - The "Orient" as a concept made up by the western world to represent a mash up of Asiatic cultures, as an attempt to create a distinct other and more easily define the "West" as an entirely seperate and superior entity. (the Orient as a direct opposition to the West)
      - Reading Connection: Peng’s discussion of how color and aesthetics mark the Orient as exotic parallels Bui’s argument that technology now performs a similar function, racializing Asians as simultaneously advanced and dehumanized through techno-orientalist logics.
- - - - Reading Connection: Similar to what Lee describes in "Made Up Asians" and how the use of Yellow face helped lead to the construction of the Asian "other" and informed the treatment of Asian people in real life.
  - - - By identifying with the perverse instead of solely criticizing it, it is possible to expand the horizons of racial identities beyond stereotyping. In turn solely viewing such representation as negative may have the effect of establishing a normal and a dominant culture that must be abided to
        
        Reading Connection: Shimizu’s insistence on reclaiming Asian female desire aligns with hooks’ argument that film can reimagine subjectivity, suggesting that cinematic fantasy can be used to undo the straitjacket imposed on racialized sexuality.
- - - - 2:15 Wongs character is an exotic dancer dressed in gaudy clothes all contributing to her depiction as "dangerously promiscuous"
    - - This underscores the idea that Asian women are unable to be properly and entirely feminine in the way that White western society demands.
      - Does this allude to a fluidity within the eastern concepts of gender? I would assume that was viewed as bad back then
  - - - Ling Moy is wears intricate clothes adorned with many necklaces and flashy tassels, while Joan is seen in a very plain white dress with no accessories. (26:10)
      - The film's soundtrack is full of music that would be considered "Asian" featuring gongs and flutes.
      - Ronald describes Ling Moy as “exotic and intriguing” (6:00)
      - The Asian characters are seen participating in"weird" and unexplained cultural practices and rituals (18:47)
  - - - Movie Connection: The idea of miscegenation ending in peril is similar to what we see in "The Cheat" and "Toll of the Sea"
- - - - When Suzie's baby passes away it severs her ties to Hong Kong, and any other man or family she has in China. This makes her a blank slate and distances her from the "Orient" in turn making her a more viable and acceptable love interest. (2:02:30)
    - - Reflective of Asian American women in the eyes of Western society even when the film takes place in Asia
  - - - "Hongkong full of hungry people" once again the framing of China as poor which could be true but it implies that the West does not similarly struggle with things such as hunger and homelessness (42:19)
        
        By portraying China like this it allows America and the West to be positioned as a far more "evolved" country and a positive colonial force which can potentially save the "Orient" from their own cultures and practices.
    - - Roberts western morality is what allows suzie to be saved from prostitution and poverty and the "degeneracy" of her Eastern lifestyle.
        
        Robert embodies the savior/guide throughout the film embodying rationality, morality, and. Reinforces colonial worldview: West as savior, East as Victim (Colonialism)civilization
      - Suzie Wong is a sexualized and submissive Asian woman fated for suffering or loss and her main purpose is to push forward the narratives of the white characters around her
  - - - (Rupture) Robert gives a seemingly very sympathetic and realistic description of how the West views Asian Women as nothing more than commodities to be used and then tossed aside. 1:24:55
  - - - When breaking up with Suzie, Ben doesn’t even confront her himself having a lack of respect for her as a person. he does not take into account her feelings and instead disposes of her when it best suits him. (1:17:20, 1:24:00)
        
        Ben and Robert treat Suzie like an object that can be given and taken and passed between the two of them, having no regard for her opinions and desires.
- - - - The stereotype is the major “discursive strategy” often used to organize racial meaning
  - - - Bhabha argues that instead we should engage with its "effectivity" by analyzing its function and the "repertoire of positions of power and resistance, domination and dependence" it creates/reinforces. Through analyzing the stereotype and learning how it works we may be able to better understand why it exists and is able to persist and thus be able to start deconstructing and and unlearning it
- - - - The movies' soundtrack is punctuated by stereotypical "asian" music including "exotic" instruments like gongs and flutes. Scenes with Lee and other Asian characters, as well as the sweeping scenes of Asian landscape and infrastructure have these songs in the background (0:53)
        
        Reading Connection: Despite Lee being American these sounds still punctuate his scenes playing into the idea of his "foreignness" and his "exoticness" and the notion that he too is a perpetual foreigner that is just temporarily being utilized by the United States. This use of sounds is similar to what Lee describes as a method of Yellow face and an exclusionary practice in "Made Up Asians".
        
        Scenes with Williams instead contain Jazz music a genre created by Black Americans such as the character (25:59)
      - Hans island is characterized by its "Asian-ness". The extravagant palace full of random asian memorabilia, Asian women and men in traditional clothing, and exotic asian foods draws parallels with portrayals of the "orient" in past films and constructs the orient as something excotic, mysterious, and potentially dangerous. (36:42)
        
        Reading Connection: Reminiscent of the way Peng described how different techniques were utilized to further position the Orient as an exotic and almost dangerous land
  - - - This potentially perpetuated the stereotype of all Asian people being able to do Kungfu
    - - Conversely the movie also pushed the narrative of the hypersexual Black male with Williams being the only man to engage with multiple women throughout the movie. (51:35)
- - - - Ben is showcased as being into sports and being athletic, Stephanie is a cheerleader, Virgil is the typical "loser" but is also shown to be into skating, and Han is described as stereotypically cool. The representation of Asians outside of solely the nerd and comedic role is different than most early 2000's films and gives the characters more personality and dimension outside of what is perceived as typically "Asian" . (4:15)
  - - - Virgil pulls a gun on the sex worker they invited (1:07:00)
        
        In an attempt to asset their dominance and prove their masculinity they resort to using violence which effectively removes them from being boxed in as "weak asians" but then once again constrains them into the box of stereotypical "masculinity". Mirrors what Shimizu says in "Straightjacket Sexualities"
    - - Reading Connection: In choosing to kill Steve, Ben and his friends chose power and competition as a method of belonging rather than love which is a failure for them to liberate themselves from the "straightjacket" sexualities that confine them. (1:17:08)
        
        the facade of ‘masculinity’ led to the characters being broken inside (yearbook scene 1:31:00)
- - - - PolyCulturalism
        
        Polyculturalism by contrast views culture as constantly changing evolving and overlapping (54)
        
        Cultures are dynamic, interconnected, and shaped by the historical and ongoing exchange of ideas and practices between groups. Differs from multiculturalism which often on distinct and static cultures.
        
        Reading connection: Pena’s rejection of a singular Asian American identity aligns with polyculturalism’s insistence that cultures are impure, overlapping, and historically intertwined, rather than discrete or authentic.
        
        Cultures are all "impure" and interconnected mutual influencing each other through shared history
      - Multiculturalism today boxes cultures into distinct untouchables entities rather than things that already intertwine and overlap (53)
  - - - Bruce Lee rejected this notion of the emotionless model asian character by largely only acting in role where his characters were emotional, strong, and rebellious
  - - - This idea of cultural purity makes it difficult for those who are inherently multicultural to find belonging within either. The only way to achieve anti-racism and belonging is through embracing polyculturalism
- - - - The people captured in third cinema films often also participate in film making in order to improve historical accuracy and cultural credibility of the work (32)
- - - - Reminds me of how people are always commenting "oxford study" under interracial couples where the woman is an Asian
      - Reading connection: Shimizu’s concept of “straitjacket sexualities,” which constrains Asian women into hypersexual or desexualized roles, parallels Bui’s model machine myth by showing how Asian bodies are disciplined not only as laboring machines but also as sexualized objects whose humanity is tightly regulated.
- - - - reminds me of the way that the cops within fall of i-Hotel were also largely unhelpful and worked against the people rather than with them, almost as if they were not citizens worth protecting.
  - - - The audience only sees and experiences what Ny wants us to
        
        In this scene, Sokly is having a personal moment with the audience as he becomes emotional about the safety of his living situation after being robbed. The first person, cam-corder style filming allowed Sokly to be comfortable expressing his emotions, allowing the audience a deeper understanding of his situation (13:22)
        
        "I miss my brother even right now I am crying" (28:43) This was probably my favorite scene in the film. It was such a show of raw emotion and feeling from Ny that he could have easily withheld from us but instead he decided to share it. I think it is also interesting to see the impacts that immigration and assimilation has on family dynamics, and the sacrifices that have to be made in order to be successful as a non-White person living within the united states.
        
        This reminds me of the film "New Wave" and the way in which Elizabeths mother became largely absent from her life due to the fact that she was always working and had the burden of supporting her entire family on her shoulders. Interesting that both families are rooted in LA
      - Reading Connection: The filmmaking style & methods are very raw & uncensored - he is often just holding the camera in his hand, videoing his daily life. This helps create a more personal connection to Ny so the viewer can better empathize with his struggles. This is also done through interviews, which give a voice to their community. This style encapsulates Third Cinema and becomes a form of activism that tells the truth, which otherwise would have been lost in history.
- - - - Hwei-Lan decides to get married to Cho to please her father even though she doesn’t love him. Is that how you speak to your ma who worked nights so you could eat? Who stayed in labor without painkillers? (16:15). Wil’s guilt from her mother scares her into letting Vivian go/not being public with her relationship.
        
        “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 (18:45) Hwei-Lan decides to get married to Cho to please her father even though she doesn’t love him.
        
        “If she doesn't get this job in Paris, she may never realize her greatness” (1:06:31) Vivian chooses to take her job in Paris to make her father proud even though she is more interested in modern dance than ballet.
      - This also links to the concept of filial piety, where elders expect respect from their children even at the risk of them becoming too controlling or involved in their children's lives
        
        “Do you know what kind of Karmic hell I'd pay as a Chinese daughter who didn't take in her own mom?” (21:25) Showcases the idea of filial piety and the way that the needs of Wils family comes before what she actually desires in life
        
        Throughout the movie, the children are changing their lives and going against their own desires to please their parents and live up to their parents’ expectations of what a good child is supposed to be, which carries into why Wil is so hesitant to actually embrace her queerness and her relationship with Vivian
  - - - Characters constantly navigate the tension between being true to themselves and upholding cultural expectations.
      - 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
        
        “She can throw her own reputation away but it still comes back to me” (19:27)
  - - - 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. 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
        
        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
        
        1:12:40 → “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
        
        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
  - - - Hwei-Lan being being pregnant and not married is another subversion of the stereotype
- - - - “You call this love? When all you’ve done is bring such shame on our heads.” (1:19:48) Minas relationship with Demetrius does not fall into a “respectable” form of South Asian identity or relationships, it is almost as if by dating him she is tainting both her, her family, and her communities perception.
        
        Movie Connection: Similar to the way in which Wil and Hwei-Lans relationships are seen as bringing shame to their families reputations within saving face. Interesting to see how ideas of filial piety and familial reputation are upheld within different cultures
        
        Minas parents do not seem to disapprove of demetrius as a person but rather seem to fear the social repercussions that Mina would face due to dating him. In this way Nair does not paint them as the villains of the story, rather they are also victims of the social and racial constructs within their communities.
      - The Indian community is willing to interact with the black community only through business seeing that as a way of economic advancement
    - - “You can be dark and have money, or you can be fair and have no money, but you can’t be dark and have no money,” (28:24) Skin color works as a status symbol in the same way that wealth does.
        
        This is largely connected to the caste system and dark skin being associated with both lower caste people and dalit people, both undesirable identities within Indian culture. Though I think it is funny because Mina is not that dark.
  - - - Reading connection: Reminds me of how Shimizu talks about the perception of interracial dating and how it is often portrayed or viewed as a betrayal of one’s own race. By dating each other both Mina and Demetrius are seen as almost betraying their own races.
      - Brings back themes from earlier films that warn against miscegenation.
    - - "Well, Miss Masala, racism or as they say nowadays, tradition, gets passed down like recipes. Now, the trick is, you gotta know what to eat and what to leave on your plate. Otherwise, you'll be mad forever" (1:08:50 - 1:09:58) Food throughout the film serves as a metaphor for cultural identity, hybridity, and the transmission of social boundaries, particularly concerning race and tradition.
  - - - Movie Connection: This reminds me of the animosity felt towards Japanese people during the 80's which we see in "Who killed Vincent Chin". Both groups are viewed as taking away labor and money from the "native" populations and are made into scapegoats and targets of animosity rather than the systems and corporations that allowed it to be possible.
    - - After living in uganda for 34 years he is still viewed as an outsider in the end being kicked out simply for his race and identity. This parallels the treatment of POC in America within the movie and is also interesting because Jay then uses this same type of prejudice to judge Demetrius.
  - - - Reading connection: This is an example of what Sashigiri argued was a reduction of Minas character to an “exotic spectacle” though I think we as the audience are lead to believe that viewing Mina in this way is not right leaving us to instead side with Demetrius
    - - Reminds me of when I go to India and am immediately bombarded by ads for brightening creams and billboards where the women are edited to be shades lighter than they actually are. Even to this day to be fair skinned is to be beautiful within Indian society, and that notion effects beauty standards even within the diaspora.
  - - - Movie connection: Reminds me of Vivian and Wil from Saving Face and the way they were living solely to please their parents and the only way for them to actually achieve happiness and contentment was by defying the cultural expectations place upon them by loving each other openly.
- - - - The white couple feel comfortable kissing in front of Archie because they dont see him as a human and therefore he is not capable of understanding what they are doing or getting the in trouble. (47:19-47:50)
      - The scene cuts from a Archie sitting stoically and showing no emotion to a man crying with his emotions on full display. The juxtaposition works to frame Archie as non-feeling and inhuman in comparison to his counterpart (44:17)
      - Archies character is punctuated by his stoic nature and the machine noises that emit from him as he moves. Both of these things work to paint him as a robotic entity, his lack of emotion specifically paints him as unfeeling and therefore inhuman. (45:05)
      - Sexualization of Asian Women
        
        The men grope the female robot. This scene made me rather uncomfortable but it showcases the way in which women specifically Asian women are fetishized and commodified (51:40)
    - - "Life isn't just about work Archie, sometimes you have to live a little" (52:40) I thought this line was particularly cruel seeing as Archie is seemingly only capable of doing work, he is reprimanded when he stops and no one wants to interact with him so all he can do is work.
    - - Also reminiscent of the way Orientalism paints Asians as a monolith in this case the monolithic nature would be roboticism. Maybe the idea of Asians being robotic is also a way to cultivate fear around Asian people and further position them as the enemy of proper American society.
- - - - "East Asia writ large is designed as a prop illustrating how a lechno Orientalist future is not necessarily all neon and dark alleyways. Instead, it is much like the world we live in today." (Kimberly Mckee, "Chinese Commodities: Adoption in After Yang", p. 58)
        
        After Yang's backdrop is full of warm colors, lush greens, and soft and gentle music
    - - Although Yang eventually decomposes, Jake and Kyra come to realize that they actually had two adopted children, Mika and Yang. Like Yang said every ending is just a new beginning and for him his death ushers in a new beginning for his family and also a new existence for him as someone who existed as more than just a "robot" (1:11:11)
        
        Yangs memories and experiences belonged to no one other than himself which is why it was so important that they were not put up for display at the museum. The film ending with Jack and Mika singing the song from Yang's memories, showcases the way in which much like a real person he will continue to live on through the being remembered by his family. (1:29:48)
      - By giving Yang his own memories he allows Yang do become a character with depth rather than a plot device used to push forward the other characters around him
      - Text Connection: Yangs character originally falls in line with the idea of Bui's Model Machine Myth as he seemingly is never even afforded personhood existing as only an automaton from conception never being able to progress farther than that. But Kogonada challenges this by showcasing the humanity within Yang as the film progresses and we get to see his experiences and emotions throughout his life. Yang is able to be liberated from the Model Machine myth and reclaim his humanity
    - - " We have always known that some bots were equipped with spyware, and now we have proof" There is a fear around the existence of technology such as Yang within the film, seemingly because of some type of conflict between China and the US. Some of the characters fear that Yang is spyware simply because he happens to be chinese. (23:20)
        
        The mechanic's shop is adorned in posters and clippings talking about how "there ain't no Yellow in Red White and Blue" and propaganda about yellow peril (14:51)
        
        Reminds me of some of the propaganda and fear mongering surrounding the current Chinese government (5G being a way to spy on the american people, or the banning of tiktok and huawei phones) Which then feeds into the treatment of Asian people (ie. Asian hate crimes during Covid)
        
        In this way, the idea that East Asians pose both a biological and technological threat to America
        
        At the start of the film Yang is the physical manifestation of the perpetual foreigner, he is a replaceable presence, whose difference is tolerated but never fully integrated into the family’s sense of permanence.
        
        Even as a robot Yang is still viewed a s perpetual outsider who poses a threat to proper American society.
- - - - Movie Connection: Reminds me of the discussions of filial piety in both mississippi masala and in saving face where the character all seem to be overly concerned with societal perception and familial reputation.
    - - In order uphold her families values Joy would have to compromise and undermine her identity as a queer woman (similar to Wils struggles in saving face)
  - - - Reading Connection: Similar to what Pena states about Asian American identity being a multiverse and how we exist as many multiple things at once.
- - - - Seeing Chins mother crying at the end recontextualizes the film, reminding you that this was a real person with a real life and family who passed away tragically. It re-sensitizes the viewer after watching Ebens talk so casually about his actions.
  - - - Both of these things directly lead to Nitz and Ebens' acquittals and point to the fact that the legal system is largely set up in way that does not favor POC
- - - - Queer movements though spearheaded by POC are often and historically have not been intersectional and often only serve to progress the liberation of white queer people
    - - Reading Connection: “While these changes portend the possibility of new forms of kinship and family, the legal realm can only offer so much support for the maintenance and construction of novel social formations” (pg. 5)
        Similar to Desai’s Film where he argues that citizenship is not just legally recognized but gauged through social belonging.
    - - The queer Asian North American is lucky to survive and typically that survival is dependent on non-familial communities that they build which give them refuge from the "forces of social death and threat of material violence"
    - - Movie Connection: similar to what we see Wil do in the movie, she attempts to be the model chinese daughter but is her true self when she is with Vivian; she is forced to "compromise the multiplicity” of her identity in order to upkeep her family reputation and not disappoint her mother
    - - 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
    - - -the idea of the “model minority” also includes that they participate in structures such as the nuclear family that are inherently american
  - - - Movie Connection: reminds me of the end of the film in which Wil and Vivian are now set to get married but are still expected to carry out heteronormative dynamics such as having children. So they haven’t been truly liberated from cultural norms
- - - - "In the contemporary Western imagination, Asian people are frequently described as automatons, a symbolic union that assumes they are (un)natu-
        rally fitted to the exacting demands of modern capitalism, while typifying a primitive form of economic life that is also precapitalist." (2)
        
        Asian minds and bodies in contemporary culture are almost synonymous with the idea of technology leading to their perception as automatons
        
        Asian people are viewed solely as laborers constructed to fit the needs to capitalistic societies but outside of their existence as laborers they are still viewed as hailing from a "land" that is deemed primitive and beneath that of the Western world, hence there is a fear of the Asian automaton taking over and causing the demise of western civilization
- - - - Before this film, there was pressure to define a single “Asian American soul” this movie rejected this idea of the Asian American monolith and instead portraying Asian American identity as a hybrid (messy, multilingual, eclectic, etc.) (32-33)
        
        Pena emphasizes the idea that the multicultural and "mixed" existence is what constitutes the identity of Asian American
      - Pena states that after years of caricatures, Chan is Missing allowed her to finally see herself reflected honestly upon the big screen. It was a movie by Asians for Asians and one of the first times
        Asian Americans weren’t being explained to white audiences.
  - - - Pena states that Asian American Identity in and of itself is a multiverse. She claims that the film visually represents the experience of Asian American-ness and the contradictions and chaos that accompany it. (33-34)
      - Reading Connection: Peña’s description of how Asian American identity is a multiverse directly challenges the model machine myth described by Bui. By rejecting efficiency, singularity, and utility as the multiverse can participate in and revel in contradiction, chaos, and emotional excess. In a sense the portrayal of Asian American identity within EEAAO is a form of liberation from Asian Roboticism and the Model Machine myth
- - - - Cultural citizenship moves beyond legal rights to focus on the right to belong, recognition, and meaningful participation in a society's cultural life
        
        "In order for individuals to feel like their cultural practices are accepted and that people like them are included within the nation, they must see themselves and their specific communities represented within the media."(13)
    - - "This perspective on the way that Asian Americans are responding to media representations also serves to challenge a ubiquitous postracial media discourse that insists upon race as merely an individual quality." (5) This helps push back on the notion that both citizenship and race being individual qualities rather than being defined by the group
      - Asian American Media Activists believe that cultural citizenship can be claimed through media representation and is shaped and influenced through that same representation (4)
        
        "Asian American media consumers and producers deploy specific understandings of citizenship as a directive for shaping representation in mainstream entertainment media" (4)
  - - - "Through media activism, Asian Americans demonstrate their ability to perform cultural citizenship while working to achieve a broader movement toward cultural citizenship for others:"(15)
    - - Movie Connection: This idea reminds me of the way Japanese Americans utilized protest to change their representation within The Cheat having Arakau changed from a Japanese man to a Burmese man. Though it was a small step it is an example of the power that protest yeilds in Activism especially when trying to gain cultural citizenship.
    - - Activism should extend beyond just critique branding mobilization and action if we desire to see into material change. How can we do this?
      - Reading Connection: "media analyses should not rest upon simple categorizations of stereotypical or
        oppositional, celebrated or condemned; rather, she reads the visibility and invisibility of multiracial bodies in the media for what they reflect about the continued significance of racial hierarchies and power-laden systems of value." (7) This is similar to what Bhabha says about the stereotype and how we need to engage with these "negative" representations in the same way we do with "positive" representations because they not only give us an understanding of our own cultural standings but by analyzing and engaging with all types of representation we can better understand why they exists and thus be able to start deconstructing them
  - - - Reading Connection: Echoes Desai's point that representation itself is neither positive nor negative but it is dependent on how the representation came about and who controls the narrative of said representation that makes it either empowering or not
      - Movie connection: For example are movies such as the Cheat and Toll of the Sea which reproduce and contribute to the stereotyping of asian americans considered representation and even if they are would they be considered empowering representation. Is it enough to just see ourselves onscreen or should we strive for more?
      - "even when images of minority communities succeed in gaining visibility there can be disagreement about what political gains have really been achieved" (3)
- - - - “they actively brought forth new reality with every application of makeup, every donning of costume, every rehearsal of gestures and sounds” (pg 13) Yellow face was used as a tool of the perpetual foreigner stereotype,
    - - “made up Asians took the place of excluded Asians in the popular imagination” (pg 8)
    - - gestures and sounds are also employed to evoke feelings of otherness and paint Asians as distinctly foreign entities despite where they may be from
      - Reading connection: This connects to the way that Peng describes how the portrayal of Asians shifted after the use of technicolor in film was introduced, with yellow face expanding from just the use of yellow face paint.
- - - - Connects the Model Minority Myth (Asians as hardworking, obedient, successful) and the
        Perpetual foreigner stereotype (Asians as always alien, never fully American)
      - Asians are valued solely for their productiveness like a machine would be, but are not viewed or recognized as humans
    - - "Disdain or preference for Asian humanities supported the generalized associations of Asianness with degeneration (morality), drudgery (labor), and despotism (civilization). As laborers simply doing things with nary a sense of joie de vivre (exuberance of life), Asians posed a sizable
        danger to white human being and making. This paradox in thinking about Asians—harmful for being too handy—ensured that they would never be completely free agents." (4)
        
        Asians were considered dangerous because they were too useful making White society fear that the Asian Automaton would outperform the "real" humans and undermine white creativity and dominance and would eventually replace their "human" labor. Thus, Asians were never allowed full freedom or agency, even when praised.
    - - Reading connection: Bui’s argument that Asians were never fully recognized as human complements Desai’s claim that citizenship is not only legal but cultural. If Asians are imagined as machines rather than people, then cultural citizenship through film becomes a necessary site for reclaiming personhood, not just visibility.