The reading from this week jumped around a bit but the core idea of globalization and a global culture expansion was a recurring theme.

Beyond all the boring book talk there were a few points that I found particularly intriguing. specifically the processes and troubles the American film industry went through in cooperation with China to make Enter the Dragon. That being how the Chinese would refuse to use actors to portray prostitutes unless they were actually prostitutes since it devalued their image. So satisfy their needs the film team had to hire actual prostitutes to play the roles in the movie.

To me this was a clear message of how actors are seen in the public eye, at least in China. They are more than just a person pretending to be some one else. They must play roles within their character as a person retaining dignity and other such feelings. This contrasts with Asians appearing the American film throughout history where they play lesser roles in most mainstream films, even Bruce Lee was shown as being nothing more than an attack dog when the white guy wanted him to beat up the bad guys. Though Bruce Lee was an inspiring person inside and outside the film industry he was still restricted to the capabilities of what he could do in the current state of minorities in film.

Comparing the psychedelic drugs to the psy-trance movement in addition to voodooism from Jimmy Hendrix was interesting to say the least. All branching from the core idea of awareness of self, cosmic ideologies etc.

There exists a potent force that reverberates throughout the extreme sessions of mastery over the martial arts. Disregarding the typical annoying American tourist style of thinking in the first movie with the Catholic wife and the Texas rich man it was quite enlightening to the world of martial arts, Buddhism and kung-fu.

The expansion of the Buddhist martial arts from China, to Japan to America has shown that it is more than a purely cultural identity but a beneficial way of life that transcend any idea of race ethnicity or sex. This idea is further strengthened with the showing of the second movie which goes into detail the spread of kung-fu into the black community.

The kung-fu movement in America has demonstrated the rich and intricate culture of its Chinese origins but additionally shows the raw usefulness and help it can have on anyone of any origin. The cross cultural exchange not only allows America to learn of an art form that can greatly assist in ones peace and way of living but allows other countries to learn of all that encompasses American living. One of the monks in the movie mentioned America as an “immigrant country” which further shows the ease and effectiveness the mixing of cultures can achieve.

When black kung-fu users went to China they no longer had to deal with the racism to the extent in which they dealt with in America but they were treated like a specialty, an outsider who has accepted their teaching and way of life. The choice for some of the black kung-fu masters to live in China for extended periods seemed to be a more comforting and accepting environment at the time.

Overall both movies showed the potential for growth and the interest of the American people in the Buddhist originated martial arts. Which promotes more open mindedness and a better understanding of other cultures.

On the reading of Cibo Matto I appreciated the uniqueness of their band and the fact that they didn’t identify as a “female band” but instead as just a band. However in their regards to complaining about fans and riding on the feminist train I failed to see why they were bothered with fans asking them about food, favorite food, etc. When in reality the fans were most likely asking about their favorite food because they were singing about food, not because they were women. Beyond that their music was really peculiar and I personally did not enjoy listening to it though their music videos were really cool. To me the songs lacked some depth, then again most popular songs never have any.

Regardless their angry yelling and  such made it highly unappealing and the only redeemable quality I have about them is that it’s a unique style of song topics. I want to say 90% of all songs in general are about love or heartbreak so a new kind of cultural expression is one that is welcomed. I just feel like their style could be more refined to be more pleasurable to listen to or have another layer of depth to the lyrics. Or maybe I’m just not thinking hard enough about the songs that we listened to. Music is such a potent force for humanity to express their thoughts and ideals so it is one we can be very critical of at the same time.

The biggest portion of reading that stood out to me from Tuesday was about Asian Americans and their association with the Online world. The section mainly covered alllooksame.com which involved categorizing Asians into either Korean, Chinese or Japanese based on one facial picture. Our seminar group discussed how even with race coinciding with geological factors that play into physical aesthetics, it is impossible to be certain of someone’s ethnicity based on a picture. The book further delved into this topic with race mixing of Asian population such as a Japanese-Korean or some one that is Chinese born in Japan etc etc.

With the general topic of internet culture at hand we talked about the anonymity of cyberspace and how people can choose to portray any kind of person they want without repercussions. Which could be a reason why the Asian population has the highest Internet usage of any other group, including whites. Any kind of societal pressure of stereotypes and model minority can be abolished in the online world where one’s identity is masked in order to have discussion with others based on content alone rather than race/sex.

The reading further provides examples of minorities who could point out which Asian race is which (That’s a Korean. That’s a Chinese. etc.) Though I agree that those involved with a group more so than others will notice things such as attire and style the pure physical aesthetics cannot be just tied to a race. Personally I scored an 11 out of 18 on the test which apparently is a high score which I found ironic due to my stance on the idea of racial categorization.

There was quite a few connections between Lee’s book and the film Slaying the Dragon. The big points being that minorities and minority women suffer a variety of media attention that stereotype them into categories of people vs people being individuals. Some of those stereotypes being the dragon-lady who was a cunning, evil, conniving, sexually empowered, and sneaky in which they are always a Japanese woman.

Another being the lack of masculinity for Asian men in traditional media. Comparing the western ideas of sexuality contrasting with things such as Chinese queues, “women’s work” and other tropes of Asian behavior that contradict the white American idea of sexuality. While both men and women in the minority both had to deal with stereotyping in movies the women were particularly impacted due to the societal views of all types of women at the time. It wasn’t until the feminist movements and the like did some forms of change start to occur and even today there persists these stereotypes, Dragon Lady in 47 Ronin anyone? Or even the model minority martial arts master Japanese pilot in Pacific Rim.

With 8 different stories, the Joyluck Club shows the audience 4 mothers were forced into their lifestyle with a powerlessness that prevented them from achieving their desires, they transcribed their experiences onto their daughters who they put hope into that they would leave a life in which they wanted. The mothers all came from China and the daughters came from America, all having similarities but will suffer the typically generational differences.

Even with the introduction of female Asian newscasters there was still a very prevalent stereotype of how one should look. The women in film are shown to be either sexy/naughty/sneaky or a variation of docile/quiet/loving housewife. These ideas of what Japanese women were was transcribed onto the real world where women would have to deal with men being legitimately surprised that a woman that has slanted eyes won’t have a personality that matches the cinema.

Breaking stereotypes with the introduction of lesbian Chinese Americans, Saving Face shows how people are always individuals regardless of which group they belong to. Beyond the unique lesbian story of Wil and Vivian. There was still plenty of other stereotypes scattered throughout the movie. One being the “funny black friend”. There was additional racist moments that occurred ranging from the dislike of black Americans by Wil’s mother with other similar off handed comments of her blind dates “He’s not white is he?” “No don’t worry he’s Chinese”

The multiple crises happening throughout the movie varied from Wil’s mother being 48 and getting pregnant without being married, the father is an a crisis being a very young man not able to show his true love for her, Wil dealing with being lesbian and having her mother understand in addition to having a successful relationship with Vivian.

Another point being how important family legacy and honor is in the Chinese ideology. Wil’s mother was a “good daughter marrying at a young age, and always put her families reputation in high regard, especially in regards to what her father wanted. Again she would be forced on a path by marrying Cho, a nice man but not one Wil’s mother loved. It isn’t until the intervention of Wil did her mother finally get to see Little Yu confess his love for her and they could become happier, it is also after this powerful moment Wil’s mother is more understanding of Wil being a lesbian.

Linking this to the reading and the movies we’ve been watching this week in regards to film and its portrayal of Asian women and men’s sexuality it was a contrasting point in which the Asian women are lesbian but nonetheless both attractive young people. In addition the two daughters Wil and Vivian are both in the stereotype of being brilliant surgeons/graceful dancers. In addition all of the potential suitors to Wil were either successful businessmen or comfortably employed, there was no group in the movie to contrast the model minority.

If there is a stereotype of doing something well such as Asians being good at math, get straight As, etc, does that discourage them from striving to do great things? The general stereotype of Asians having higher family values and wanted to strive to be the best it seems to put a pressure on the whole group in terms of achievement.

I really disliked several moments in the movie where they forced drama excessively and unrealistic within the film’s universe. One being the marriage cancel and everyone fighting/unleashing their true emotions all at once like in a soap opera, which i understand they might of done on purpose given how much Wil’s and her mother watched soap operas it was still done in a way that wasn’t convincing or enjoyable.

As a whole however the movie had a lot of redeemable qualities involving following your true intentions and being true to  yourself. All the different people dealing with their own demons and moving forward gave one a feeling of satisfaction. Beyond cheesy acting and stereotypes in the “anti-stereotype” movie I liked the movie overall.

ch10

Reasons for beauty pageants starting in the Japanese American communities?

Problems in promoting the ideal feminine image of beauty queens?

Why did beauty pageants continue even after the feminist movement in the 70s? Problems with the feminists?

Stigma of the beauty pageants? Intelligence?

Problems with “racial purity” and cultural integrity with the introduction of mixed raced candidates?

ch11

Black citizenship in the modern day? p225

Combining stereotypes? Black and Asian?

Racial categories becoming retrogressive and dangerous? P227

Importance of group recognition? Minority racial mixing? What group does he represent?

Foreign mothers bear the burden of miscegenation while their country is forcibly occupied? p240

ch14

Importance of celebrities playing significant roles not “looking Asian”?276

Asian men portraying “cool macho hero roles” ? p284

Lex and Clark relationship, obsession with finding more about the “foreign alien”?