Chapter 10 – Miss Cherry Blossom Meets Mainstream America
Interesting chapter in that these Japanese American beauty pageants started out as a way to show they’re just as American as everyone else, yet later on it develops into its own kind of pageant by only allowing those with Japanese ancestry to participate and removing some aspects of the typical American beauty pageant, such as the swimsuit portion and the question and answer bit. The fact that these pageants were criticized by feminists must mean they’re American enough to be targeted. One thing I’ve been wondering about the chapter is what happens to the winners. Are they inspired or urged on to participate in mainstream American pageants?
Chapter 11 – How to Rehabilitate a Mulatto: The Iconography of Tiger Woods
The chapter focused on Tiger Wood’s claim of being a “Cablinasian”, a mix of Caucasian, black, Indian, and Asian. In regards to his ethnicity, Nike used him to advertise a commercial where children said “I am Tiger Woods” rather than say they want to be like him. Children featured in this commercial were of different races and in different areas, some where it looked like it was poverty stricken. It’s interesting that Tiger Woods has gained this type of iconography, rather than other multi-ethnic stars like Mariah Carey. It probably has to do with his career as a professional golf player because when most people envision pro golfers, it’s mostly wealthy Caucasian people that come to mind. Also the term Mulatto is for someone born from a white parent and a black parent, but that’s not really the case with Tiger Woods.
Chapter 14 – Guilty Pleasures: Keanu Reeves, Superman, and Racial Outing
Did not know that Keanu Reeves was part Asian until last quarter in Asian American History in the Pacific Northwest, where I saw his picture at the Wing Luke Museum in a section dedicated to famous people of Asian descent. I liked how they used Smallville to depict a person of two worlds trying to survive in one. I’ve heard of Smallville, but I have never watched it because live-action series are not usually my thing. Even the use of the infamous Kryptonite, both red and green, played a role in “depicting” the different reactions of Clark and how they relate to an “alien” trying to fit into a culture that would probably hate and fear him if they found out his truth.
Chapter 9 – Whose Paradise? Hawai’i, Desire, and the Global-Local Tensions of Popular Culture
This one was kind of a disorienting read. I can’t believe that the media, and probably the people on the U.S. mainland, want Hawai’i to keep up this false image of a paradise with “white sands and swaying palmtrees”. The one thing I remember the most from this chapter is the short-lived series The Byrds. It talked about a family that moves to Hawai’i after the mother died and tries to establish a new life there, learning about the true people living there and the traditions they still hold dear. The Byrds did what no other media series has done at the time and depicted Hawai’i as it really was, no “paradise” image but a place where people lived and worked hard, often relying on pidgin in most of their tasks. Despite this realistic view, the show had low ratings due to no depiction of paradise, but in Hawai’i it was popular.
Chapter 16 – Apu’s Brown Voice: Cultural Inflection and South Asian Accents
The fact that Apu from The Simpsons is voiced by a white man reminds me of Cleveland Brown from another adult cartoon called Family Guy, where a white man voices for a black male. The section talked about how the voice actor, Hank Azaria, established this “South Asian accent” that is now affliated with South Asian Americans. The show even took the character Apu and developed him along the way, resulting in exploration of his culture and lifestyle. Apu is probably the most famous South Asian American character in the media, or at least animated media, so far.
Chapter 17 – Secret Asian Man: Angry Asians and the Politics of Cultural Visibility
I’ll admit, when I first saw this title I kept hearing “Secret Agent Man” playing in my head. Anyways, it seems I can’t stop hearing about Abercrombie and Fitch. First I hear about the CEO having an issue against overweight people and now the whole marketing towards Asian Americans via shirts like “Two Wongs can make it white”. The reading also tells how anger and grief from Asians are used to finally have a voice for once. It was also depicted in some media, for example the scene from Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story showed a young Bruce Lee go to a theater with his future wife Linda and they watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s, up to the part where the movie depicts a Japanese man via yellowface. Disgusted, Lee doesn’t laugh with everyone else in the theater and Linda finally understands and prompts them to leave. Also from this reading I found Tak Toyoshima’s satirical comics quite entertaining and educational. They point out all the things that I’ve seen happen at least once before, with the last one being true as we watched Better Luck Tomorrow a few weeks ago. One thing that made me laugh a bit was the comic strip “Hollywood Thanks” where everyone but the Asian male gets the lady at the end. That’s such a downer to young Asian viewers when they see this kind of thing. I hope it’s not the reason behind why events like this happened.
