A tale for the time being was a book that definitely sent me through a loop, I had a lot of scenarios form in my head throughout the book but it also drew me in and didn’t throw me off as much as i’d think something like this would. With so many characters having different connections and communicating in such ways that seem somewhat impossible and mixed up like the relationship between ruth and nao. I really loved the idea of ‘ghosts’ in this book, i’m not sure why but my friends and I formed a bit of an obsessions with ghosts back in high school and up until now I truly believe in them, to an extent. One idea that came up with me was the situation with Kayla and her completely blocking off Ruth. As she is IMing her but can’t figure out if she’s ignoring her, hates or, blocked her etc. but it feels how I feel with my culture as an Asian-American or half, I feel like a ghost or that my ancestors and culture is a ghost to me or even that being an asian-american I am a ghost to the Japanese culture as well as being white, but I also feel like its the one thing that allows me to see my own identity. I don’t have a 100% connection with either one of these pieces of myself and overall it makes me feel hidden, shied away from, stereotyped with unformed stereotypes as i’m just another ‘multicultural’ person. I had a very personal feeling when all these ideas of ghosts were going on. Another thing in this book that really put me through a loop was Ozekis control between so many characters and making their characters seem so distinct with strong, opposite personalities even in different pieces of time, as the reader if felt like she was pulling me into the book, allowing me to go inside the mind of these characters, feeling like a part of their stories, and for some characters I felt like I formed a relationship where others like Nao, I didn’t really care for. Another connection for me and Ozeki’s was the movie we watched after reading when Oseki is able to bring all her grandmothers things to her mother and speak to her about those things, asking questions, bringing up old memories and just connecting with her mother. Throughout the past two quarters my grandmothers health conditions have gone a bit down hill and I personally believe its a sign to take advantage of this time with her, theres so many things I want an need to know and i’ve opened up and finally have things I can relate to her with. Ozeki does this in the movie by sort of making up some scenarios with her, making up stories with the artifacts and going in to the past of her moms experiences. It also let me connect this to the book with if I truly believed some of the situations that were portrayed in the book, the stories Ozeki had with her mother, and some of the feelings I feel as  half.

Also can I just point out the whole time that I read this book and heard Ozeki it made me think of Sake because Ozeki is a brand that makes it that my uncle buys. (Random thought)

My name is Khan is now my all time favorite movie! Since we watched it last week, I have been telling everyone to watch it! I swear I cried every few minutes while watching this movie! Khan and Merida were so cute together! I am such a sap for cheesy romantic scenes in movies! There were quite a few things in this movie that I was able to connect back to my life.

The first one was that Khan had Aspergers Syndrome, which is a form of autism. My 13 year old nephew is also autistic, but he is able to communicate with us well like any other person can. Something we do worry about though is that sometimes he doesn’t realize when we are being serious. This can be dangerous because if he is ever in a bad situation with a cop, he might think they are joking around with him when they are really being serious, which can lead to violence. Something I realized is that he should carry a card in his wallet that says he is autistic like Khan did, or something similar in case of a situation like this.

The second thing that I am able to connect with, which absolutely breaks my heart to talk about is… when Merida was in the middle of the soccer field where her son died, and she went absolutely crazy. In April 2010, my 3 year old niece was hit by a car and she died. I remember being in the waiting room at the hospital, and the doctor came in and sat down next to my sister, who was already crying, and he told her “She didn’t make it.” My sister went crazy. This was her second child that had died. It is so heartbreaking to not only have lost my niece, but also seeing my sister in so much pain. She had to be admitted to the hospital that night and was sent to the 13th floor of Tacoma General. ‘Where the crazy people go.’ Now, she is a lot better, but she will never be the woman she once was.

R,I.P. Saniah, I love you.

My name is Khan was a very heart felt and emotional film that was something easy for me to relate to as I was alive during this time period. As the incident of 2001 one happened the  views and actions towards the people of middle eastern decent was a quick run around. I clearly remember through school all the comments I heard regarding ‘rag heads’, comments about plans and being unsafe even if you saw someone that looked remotely close to that stereotype etc. (need I remind you I was from a smaller town that was more so closed off to this type of thing and it sadly was a predominately white town). My Name is Khan gives you the connection all these feelings felt every since the sad day of september 11th, 2001. In this movie on top of someone dealing with these stereotypes and they end up being question by authorities who take his disability of Aspergers syndrome which makes it hard for him to act socially ‘normal’ (what is normal?) and leads to them believing he has suspicious behavior. This leads to so many events throughout the ultimately the goal of him meeting Mr. Bush so that he can convey his name and prove that he is not a terrorist. Throughout this movie so many so many stereotypes, assumptions and distinctions are made and this is quoted as well as discussed in an article in the NY times “The message of “My Name Is Khan,” an effective exercise in Bollywood high emotionalism, is less political than movie-ish: there are two kinds of people in the world, good and bad, a distinction more important than any other differences, like those between Hindus and Muslims.” I truly believe this, its sad to see how much media can affect people and their thoughts on an individual, as well as how much of a appearance based generation is formed..if you ‘don’t look the part’ that an individual would normally ‘clique’ with than people usually shut you down, i’ve struggle with this constantly and its sadly true, unfair and and truly wish their was more of an understanding, open minded and realization upon people today.

Before the film: -possible speaking point for posting.

-”Clouse confesses yet another episode during the shooting of enter the dragon,in which close himself became the colonial attitude displayed by the American “foreman.”

“The story of his sisters death, caused by Hans gang, if we are to follow an established kung fu narrative, is a plot for the story of vengeance that seeks rebuttal of the violence, destruction, and loss inflicted on the protagonists family.”

“The contradiction in the production process, which instigated the explosion of real-life kung fu, is embedded in a larger social, historical, and political context. The legacy of colonialism that constitutes the foundation of the transnational production is a vital part of the unconsciousness.”

Honestly Enter the Dragon was one of the first Bruce Lee movies i’ve watched thoroughly. I absolutely loved it. I found it interesting that all the girls in the movie are asian except for on of the ‘top’ girls or ‘main’ girl always found next to the bad guys side who was white. I’m not sure what idea that was trying to give, but it was interesting.

“Senior Monk: I see your talents have gone beyond a mere physical level. Your skills are now at the point of spiritual insight. I have several questions. What is the highest technique you hope to achieve?

Lee: To have no technique.

Senior Monk: Very good. What are your thoughts when facing an opponent?

Lee: There is no opponent.

Senior Monk: Why is that?

Lee: Because the word ‘I’ does not exist.

Senior Monk: So. Continue.

Lee: A good fight should be like a swordplay but played seriously. A good martial artist does not become tense but ready. Not thinking, yet dreaming; ready for whatever to come. When your opponent expands, I contract. When there is an opportunity, i don’t hit; it hits all by itself.”

When I first read this little section, it made me laugh a little because it sounds like Lee is being a smart ass! But as I kept on reading, it made a lot if sense. Just to be ready for whatever comes, without even thinking about it. It seems like that would be the perfect goal to achieve for any martial artist. It was interesting reading this then watching the movie, and getting to see how Lee was ready for anything!

Earlier chapters of Kato talked about kung fu as a ‘resistance art,’ or an art that was used to resist colonialism and reclaim their culture. One of the antidotes mentioned in this chapter is of a very open resistance during the filming of Enter the Dragon on page 117. “I yelled, “Goddamn Chinese!” I Didn’t know what happened next, but I was told later.” The Chinese script writer, who understood Chinese, was right there, and had to be stopped from angrily pushing the man off the roof of the building that they were filming from. This shows some of the frustration the Chinese crew faced in the face of having white members of the crew, many of which were extremely racist even while filming a movie with a lot of Chinese cultural context.

As for the movie, I think that the largest form of resistance that comes to mind is when there’s a white man who is harassing the Chinese boat on the way to Han’s tournament. He asks for a fight with Lee, and Lee tells him to get into a boat so that they can fight on a more open terrain – a neighboring island. Instead of following, he lets the man out and hands the rope that’s towing him behind the boat to the Chinese people he was tormenting before in a more literal form of resistance.

It’s also stated in the book that when Lee kicks Ohara, the force of it is real, and the spectators in white and yellow shirts break their role, rejoicing in the retribution that Lee gave to Wall after he failed to drop the glass bottles, hurting Bruce Lee in the process. This break in character for the entire crowd shows the inspiration that the art of resistance can cause, even if it means breaking character on a film set.

From Kung Fu to Hip Hop, pg. 171 – 207

On pg. 184 of Kato, you learn about a man who calls himself the “King of Kowloon”.  The full name of Tsang Tsou Choi, Tsang is a street artist that writes his claim to Kowloon on anything he comes across that might be reminiscent of the colonial era, over and over again, which has earned him a name as a street artist over the years. His art became such a common part of Hong Kong that it was often featured in many photos that tourists took, and in his younger days he was so determined with his art that he often took to repainting whatever had been painted over the moment that the paint was dry once more. By 1997′ he was restricted to using crutches, but this only seemed to fuel his drive; he could often be seen with bags of ink and brushes tied to the handles so that he could more easily carry what he needed for his work.

Unfortunately, he was never recognized for his title. No one could ever back up his claim, even though Tsang said he had discovered it in his genealogy and family records. Tragically Tsang died of a heart attack in 2007, his claim never verified. However, as with many artists, his work was properly recognized after he had died. In 2011 roughly 300 pieces of his collected works were put on display in a tower in Hong Kong, and it’s estimated that over the years he made at least 55,000 pieces, most of which were destroyed and repainted time and time again.

I found it interesting that this movie incorporated racial and religious differences, as well as mental illness. While I don’t know for sure if it was portrayed correctly, it added a certain touch to the movie that was unexpected. While the idea of overcoming obstacles was a theme throughout, the obstacles felt larger and more difficult from the point of view from a character with autism. But then the fact that he had autism is also what made the movie work the way it did.

Khan was a character that could easily have been seen as trivial because of the way that he interacted with other people. Yet it was his setbacks that made him such a loveable character. He was socially awkward, but he also loved people no matter their race or religion. He saw people for who they really were, instead of the caricature that society might place on them.

All in all I enjoyed the movie.

The song “We Shall Over Come” has represented  the African American struggle for equality. We have seen and heard this song sung in the Gossip version but never in a different language (well at least me). I thought it was a powerful message that this movie showed. It brought two cultures together that has hard times feeling as they belong in the United States. It really made us remember the times of Hurricane Katrina and how our government wasn’t doing as much as they could when the hurricane damaged many areas of minority housing. I believe that having Shah Khan going back to Georgia was a “corny” moment in the movie but it brought a message. It showed the audience that it doesn’t matter who you are, what form you come in that we can all care for each other. We Shall Over Come isn’t only a song representing the struggle for equality for Blacks but for everyone that is oppressed. It brought a great message regardless of how corny the scene was.

Black, White, Muslim, Hindu, or disabled. This movie wasn’t only showing the hatred towards Muslims but it showed the hatred and uncomfortableness of people with disabilities. I believe that this movie could have been just as good with a man without disabilities but the fact that they made a man have absorbers syndrome was very moving. We were able to see how a man with disabilities is able to belong in a society where he makes a difference. Shah Khan felt bad that he wasn’t able to cry and to feel as others did but he was able to make a difference in how Muslims reacted to situations where people tried to blame them for being terrorist.

This movie had me at aww when the mother wasn’t welling to give up on her child. The mother told Shah that people are one of two ways and thats good and bad and everything else is a waste of time to look at. I loved when the mother drew him that picture and said whats different? I believe that we all need to be taught by her.  My Name Is Khan was so emotional but had my attention from the first scene to the last.

I found the context of taking one medium and making it your own in Thursday’s lessons fascinating. In the chapter it’s mentioned that Hollywood was oppressive during World War II, the “Jimi Hendriz Experience, and their use of the antiestabilishment. Film went from a format that was used to try and push corporate agenda to a “thematic pattern of endorsement of the rebelliousness of the youth culture within a contained framework.” So while it was contained, it was also allowed to show counterculture. Bruce Lee also found his way into the film industry, even though it was mostly because consumers were so enthralled by martial arts. He wasn’t given a lot of options because he didn’t want to portray a stereotype, but his act gave pieces of his culture to consumers, and even if they saw it as mere entertainment, it was a way to share what he had to offer with America.

Something else that was interesting to me was the Black Kungfu Experience, and how these men used a culture that wasn’t theirs in order to bring peace to their life, and to excel in something where they previously weren’t allowed to. They adopted a lifestyle and an art in order to feel at peace in a place where they were discriminated against and even abused because of their color. They were able to excel in this art from a different shore to the point where they forced others to respect them, even winning competitions and becoming teachers.