“And if you’re wondering whether or not to take offense, remember:alllooksame is not a statement. It’s a question.” p. 265

I thought this was powerful because first of all, the phrase “alllooksame” is controversial because of the way that it is written. This reminded me of the book Orientals by Lee and how it was discussing the stereotype of the way Asians pronounce certain words and phrases. As opposed to placing the alllookTHEsame and inserting “the” in the website name was done purposely and could also be looked at as a way of embracing ones identity. Furthermore, this reminded me of the film “The Slanted Screen: Asian Men in Film and Television” and how one of the actors talked about how to effectively create change, and if that means to play the stereotype for the time being to pass through then so be it. Secondly, the fact that the emphasis is placed on stating that it is a question is powerful because it makes you think one: about the statement and two: about the question itself.

Another emotional part of the film was how there was a huge change up in the Khan’s lives. The September 11 attack on the twin towers created post 9-11 prejudice in their community. I had so much empathy for Rizwan because it was difficult for him and his family to be treated like terrorists. This alone proves why there was so much tension throughout the film. It was extremely sad yet powerful when Mandira blamed Rizwan for Sam’s death stating, “He died only because his name was Khan.” I know this had to have created such a strong feeling of blame and humiliation for him. I felt that the schoolyard fight was a representation of true racism and unfairness.

Another powerful part of the film that grabbed my attention was that Rizwan asked Mandira what he needed to do in order to be apart of her life, and he basically had to tell the people of the United States, and the President that, “his name is Khan and that he is not a terrorist.” This part of the film was emotional because I could feel that Rizwan was trying to take the load of representing his Muslim heritage meanwhile creating this journey to regain respect and trust that was broken and held by discrimination against them from the US after the 9-11 attack. It was also sad when Rizwan was arrested because he joined a crowd to meet President Bush and kept repeating, “My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist.” It was cruel to see that he was tortured because he was a terrorist suspect. During this time of the film it was upsetting to see that he was misinterpreted and misunderstood. The FBI treated him as if he was inferior; it was very degrading to watch. He was clearly discriminated against and already a target with just being a Muslim, damn…where’s the justice?

Although, so many unfortunate events happened throughout the film, I did feel at peace near the end when Rizwan finally meets President Barack Obama when he says, “Your name is Khan and you are not a terrorist.”  This was very heartwarming because it was finally known that Rizwan accomplished his goal, when he very well could have lost hope because of everything that he had been through. This definitely illustrated the type of person he was throughout the film. He went through many trials and tribulations that were difficult for him to overcome, yet he still complies. His autism was just a part of the journey while he went through the rose bushes. Although, he dealt with so much discrimination and racism, he kept his faith in order to accomplish his goal. I feel that he made a huge global impact for not only his culture, but for Americans as well. He was able to finally meet President Obama, and that alone was a very heartfelt part of the film. It was very inspiring that Rizwan was able to overcome all of what he did.

After watching the film, it re-iterated the same issues we still deal with today when traveling in the airport. Although, 9/11 happened in 2001, about 13 years ago, the pre-construed racism we carry as Americans is still clear. For instance, when a Muslim walks into the airport and has to go through security, just as an outside view, I notice that people stare a lot and start to pay closer attention, even the security as well. How can we change this if it is so deep embedded within our nation? This goes for racism towards blacks, Asians, and other minorities as well when we look back in time; the history is too deep rooted so we can never get past the issues we have dealt with in the past for a better future.

Another point that caught my attention is the cultural movement between Jimmy Hendrix and Bruce Lee. For example: the cultural movement from Hendrix. A quote states, “Part of Hendrix’s ambivalence with the Black Panthers and Black Power movement may be due to his strong identification with his Cherokee heritage, which was nurtured through his close relationship with his grandmother in the reservation. The Native American’s struggle for decolonization developed side by side with the civil rights and the Black Power movements,” (p. 90). Hendrix created such a huge cultural impact on the United States at this time; he incorporated the struggles between his African heritage and native heritage to represent them both in his music in a positive movement. Moreover, “His engagement with the social and historical context of being Cherokee and African seems to be done most effectively through poetic and shamanic or transcendental means, rather than through a direct social political commentary. As Hendrix himself admits, his engagement is not through protest but through seeking a solution,” (p. 90). This quote was very powerful because Hendrix was able to combine pieces from his Native and African culture to make a great impact within the society. He gained so much publicity and representation for his heritage and incorporated an alternative idea of seeking a solution through his music rather than protesting. This also reminded me of last quarter and the beginning of this quarter when we discussed the meaning of the program’s title “Asian/American: Pop Culture Crosscurrents” and how the slash between Asian and American could be taken. Furthermore, thinking about how two different cultures can be combined together to make another third culture. In addition, last quarter when we watched the film doubles could also be related to the impact of having a double identity because you are mixed with two different cultures, it was uniting rather than divisive.

An example of the cultural movement created by Bruce Lee comes from his efforts of gaining publicity for the rise of kung Fu movies. A quote from the book states, “Specifically, the rise of kung Fu movies in the international market unequivocally meant an influx of a rebel culture born out of the reality of global capitalist contradiction in the Third World, (p. 101). Bruce Lee created a cultural movement that helped gained representation for his heritage as well. He was able to expand kung Fu movies internationally in a more global impact.

Another concept that grabbed my attention was the theme of stylistics evolution between Lee’s Jeet Kune Do and hip hop aesthetic. The quote, “In both Jeet Kune Do and hip hop culture, creativity arises from the autonomy of self-expression…Hip hop comes from funk, rock, r&b, or reggae, but its free from any genre boundaries. So is Jeet Kune Do: it incorporates different styles into an open-ended system that is not institutionalized by any styles,” (p. 177). The quote represents how both are able to utilize self-expression, and that there are no boundaries. In Jeet Kune Do and hip hop culture, they are both able to signify creativity and innovation to allow people to express individualism. Another quote states, “The theme of stylistics evolution through flexible adaptation of other styles is a fresh concept in the paradigm of the kung Fu cultural revolution, which tends to conserve stylistic boundaries. In hip hop aesthetics, however, the stylistic forum in a competitive milieu comprise with the foundation of the collective stylistic innovation,” (p. 197). Furthermore, it was interesting to read about how the kung Fu culture also relates to the hip hop culture because of how both of them draw from other styles to create a, “collective stylistic innovation” to motivate others and create a bigger impact during this time. I definitely thought this is impressive because both cultures express that there are no limitations, and creativity is also encouraged for others.

“Throughout history, we Japanese have always appreciated suicide. For us it is a beautiful thing that gives meaning and shape and honor to our lives forever. It is a method to make our feeling of alive most real. For many thousands of years this is our tradition.” p. 87

Initially, after reading the beginning of the book and how Nao was so quick to talk about exiting her life, I was surprised and didn’t realize the difference between American and Japanese culture and how the two culture’s views on suicide are very different. American’s view suicide as very shameful because you would rather take away your life rather than dealing with what life has presented you with. Suicide is also looked down upon within certain religious views. It is looked at as a sin within the Bible. Meanwhile, suicide within the Japanese culture is viewed as an honor. Furthermore, It wasn’t until after I read over this quote where I made the connection thinking back to the beginning of this quarter when we saw 47 Ronin and the end scene in the graveyard, the Samurai were forced to commit “seppuku”, an honorable form of death.

Moreover, the quote “Death is certain. Life is always changing, like a puff of wind in the air, or a wave in the sea, or even a thought in the mind. So making a suicide is finding the edge of life. It stops life in time, so we can grasp what shape it is and feel it is real, at least or just a moment. It is trying to make some real solid thing from the flow of life that is always changing.” p. 87 This made me think to myself, since death is certain, why are some people so quick to leave, when at some point you will die anyways…at the end of the day, it is your life, so no one should really stand in the way of what decision you make on whether to end your life or not…but are we just living to to live and go through the motions, or are we just waiting to die? As the famous Hip Hop artist Tupac stated in his song Runnin ft. Biggie Smalls “Why am I dying to live, if I’m just living to die?”

There’s so many connections within this book that can be related back to what we are studying this quarter: Pop culture. Branching off of that, we can fill in the Asian American experience and connections as well, which I think is what makes pop culture so powerful because it really is always around us and it will always be around our lives.

Chapter 1:Goa trance is inspired by ignorant appropriation of Indian culture by hippie-tourists.

Chapter 2: The arrival and immigration of the Vietnamese to the US after the influence by exile and anticommunism has initiated the production of Viet Kieu, which has now formed and evolved in multiple ways. With the enthusiastic individuals of Vietnam and the advances in all different forms of technology the Vietnamese have formed a “special blend of nostalgia that appeals not only to the members of the diasporic communities but also to the residents of Vietnam, ultimately evolving Viet Kieu over time.

Chapter 5: Due to colonization, Languages have affected one anthers meaning and created new words and meanings for existing words. It has led to a sense of privilege in some cases due to education and has influenced popular music by being able to have double meanings and be interchangeable in language.

Kato: Hollywood has a desire for the kine-aesthetic and per formative narrative in the forms of Samurai and Kung Fu films, which the art is born of reclamation of culture from post-colonialism.

An article that I have read from the Pacific Islander News Association’s website was based on the sports section called, “Supporting Education in Samoa.” This article was written on October 3, 2014. The article discusses how an 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck south-west of Samoa on September 29, 2009. A village called Poutasi, on the southeast coast of Upolu island was destroyed following the earthquake. The ocean had receded before rushing back to land as a tsunami wave that reached six metres. Many people in the village were fisherman that lost their lives with their boats.

After this devastation, a Bachelor of Environmental student named Taylor Callaghan, led a group of Trinity College residents on a 2013 project to improve the education on the island. The group raised $8,000 for the village to help the development of an undergraduate scholarship to assist one local student per year to attend a university. Taylor states, “We want the kids to be educated and to bring those skills back to their community so they can be useful there. Education is one of the most important things to give because it helps people help themselves.” I found this quote very inspiring because Taylor was able to make such a huge impact for this community and help the students by raising money for their education, but also teaching the students to utilize their education to give back to their community. This is an amazing concept that Taylor has used that could really help rebuild this village.

The article stated that Taylor is half-Samoan, but was raised and educated in New Zealand. The article stated, “Project Poutasi allowed him to reconnect with his heritage. He says the trip also benefited the Trinity College students.” I felt that this project was amazing for Taylor and his colleagues. He was able to reconnect and give back to his heritage, along with building this community. Another quote from Taylor states, “It was a big eye-opener for a lot of the kids who had just grown up in our society, but we weren’t there on holiday or to enjoy ourselves, we were there to build relationships with the local people. As much as we gave to the community, we gained ourselves.” I felt that this whole project was an example of reciprocal learning. Taylor and his colleagues were able to learn and give back to the community, and the community was able build their relationships back up to create more a hopeful environment for the future.

http://www.pina.com.fj/index.php?p=pacnews&m=read&o=1485940665531d36514981cbcba140

An article that I have read from the Pacific Islander News Association’s website was based on the sports section called, “Alex Leapai ready to hook biggest fish of all.” The article was written on January 3, 2014. Leapai was born in Samoa and raised in Brisbane and is known to be an underdog in his heavyweight class. He has won 51 of his 64 fights by KO and won the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Not only that Leapai is very successful in the ring, he also holds a PHD of Sports Science.

Before all of the success, Leapai, a thirty four year old father of six kids from Brisbane’s working class worked as a delivery truck driver before landing his, “multi-million dollar shot.” He said he was ready to, “rock the Ukrainian-and the world-courtesy of his secret weapon, ‘the Samoan bowler.’

Leapai was trained under Noel Thornberry for the past nine years. He relates his rise to the number one contender for the WBO crown to all the great boxing stores such as, “Rocky, The Cinderella Man and any other tale of redemption.” Amazingly, I was intrigued to read that Leapai has overcome drug and alcohol dependency, he also spent time in prison, but found religion to help overcome the struggles. A quote from the article stated, “[Leapai] is proof to the downtrodden and desperate that anyone from anywhere can make it if they work hard, set goals and get a lucky break.” Another key point that stood out to me in the article was how Leapai kept reiterating the importance of never giving up and that anything is possible. A quote from the article states, “I have a message for the kids, don’t give up and anything is possible. I believe that the man upstairs gave me this gift.” This quote is very inspirational, and also reveals how Leapai represents his Pacific Islander culture in a successful manner.

http://www.pina.com.fj/index.php?p=pacnews&m=read&o=732052412532108cd7d096461b5931

“It made me sad when I caught myself pretending that everybody out there in cyberspace cared about what I thought, when really nobody gives a shit. And when I multiplied that sad feeling by all the millions of people in their lonely little rooms, furiously writing and posting to their lonely little pages that nobody has time to read because they’re all so busy writing and posting, it kind of broke my heart.” I thought this was a good quote because it showed how negative she was and lingered on letting this effect her by her thinking that she is not cared about. Her loss of hope is obvious because she let all of this take such a huge toll on her and she lacked so much confidence and drive for more of a positive life.

The loss of hope can be related back to last quarter’s program after Japanese American’s were forced to leave and were forced into the interment camps, just remembering back to the readings we read and how many of them had loss a tremendous amount of hope because they were now considered the enemy. Not just the loss of hope, but even the loss of everything that they were accustomed to, their culture, traditions, and their homes.

Communication through her dreams is one example: “Am I crazy?” she asked. “I feel like I am sometimes.”"Maybe,” he said, rubbing her forehead. “But don’t worry about it. You need to be a little bit crazy. Crazy is the price you pay for having an imagination. It’s your superpower. Tapping into the dream. It’s a good thing not a bad thing.”

Nao recollected so many memories such as “Sometimes when she told stories about the past her eyes would get teary from all the memories she had, but they weren’t tears. She wasn’t crying. They were just the memories, leaking out.” This was another form of communication her feelings through her past experiences. The way she communicates with recollecting her memories reminded me of last quarter’s program one of the issues we discussed was important.  The notion of memory is essential especially within the Japanese culture because a lot of their memories had been lost considering the trauma they had dealt with.