Crisis plays a huge role in Saving Face, a story which examines the crisis of identity through the lens of Wil’s relationship with Vivian as well as her own mother. Wil is an Asian American woman who is portrayed in a very positive light – meaning she didn’t feel stereotypical at all. She’s independent, a damn good surgeon and is interested in people of her own gender, so automatically she crosses such boundaries that some would interpret as “wrong”. Her own mother does this as well – getting pregnant near fifty, unmarried etc – which again pushes beyond boundaries that may be too uncomfortable for some (her own father practically disowns her). I think that in terms of the evolution of relationship between Wil and her mother, I can see why her mother may be more accepting of Wil’s choice of love interest because of her own experience she has with her father, a man who desired greatly to control who she dated and was blind of her daughter’s true love.

This experience echoes Wil’s mother almost to a tee. She was constantly trying to set Wil up with men, but I think in the end (and also due to her daughter’s courage to help her mother be with the one she truly loved) she finally accepts and helps Wil reunite with Vivian. It really echoes the generational conflict we’ve read so much about in class. In the Debut, we saw a similar story but with father and son – the expectations, obedience, and the apparent choice between family and one’s self – which goes to show just how much this generational conflict is ingrained within Asian and Asian American cultures. It really speaks volumes when her mother finally accepts Wil’s sexuality. In one swoop, she becomes (in my opinion) a much braver and smarter person than her father, a man who is bitter to the very end. I think Wil hit the nail on the head when she finally says “fuck them” while dancing with Vivian – it is mindset that if you live by what people expect of you, are you really experiencing life for yourself?

Crisis street… Downtown Americaville….

Misrepresentation in the media. Misrepresentation at home. Skewed or distorted views can have a negative impact. However, to “tell all the truth, but tell it slant..” can be a “distorted” version of the truth without trying distort things into a negative light. Following the words of Emily Dickinson, staring directly at the sun can blind somebody much like telling somebody the dry truth. Truth hurts, at least some times it can, so easing into the truth and providing ways to help one’s mind connect and understand the truth can be a positive distortion.

Saving Face was a movie full of crisis. From Wil’s mom becoming pregnant and angering her father to Wil’s conflicts with Vivian and her mother, boundaries were tested and eventually crossed. As the characters dealt with their crises throughout the movie, it brings awareness to these boundary crises that exist in our lives. Whether you are in a similar position to Wilhelmina or not, there are plenty of crises that deal with periphery. Crossing those lines can often lead to growth or self-awareness but as the movie portrays, crossing those lines is not always an easy task. Of course the movie had a happy ending and we can all thank Hollywood for that. But the real lessons come from the struggle. The Slanted Screen brought other crises to light regarding Asian American males and their portrayal in film. These actors have been dealing with a whole other set of boundaries and they have yet to be completely broken or crossed. I liked that these two films challenged limits that have been put in place and in conjunction with our reading, it has been a fruitful week.

I thought of this classic arcade game series Time Crisis when we were given our prompt. In this arcade game, there is a pedal on the floor and a gun. You use the gun to shoot enemies and the pedal to take cover. This may be a cheesy connection, but this is somewhat related to the movie and the prompt. Crossing boundary lines can be dangerous, so it is essential that one must take cover during the “fire fight”. Timing is key but time can also be a boundary. Keeping all that in check can put one’s mind into a state of “crisis”. Dodging bullets and firing back at the right time can be seen as a metaphor for dealing with issues brought up due to these limitations and choosing when to push those limits. And with that, I end my lameness.

Saving Face,
Orientals 180 – 231,
& The Slanted Screen

The theme I found most common in the reading and films was the matter of identity, and the crisis dealt with while trying to realize ones own identity. Numerous times during The Slanted Screen, the actors talk about how lack of representation made them feel alienated. Even after they began to get a bit more representation in popular culture, their views of themselves and what was expected of them. I recall one man reminiscing on his memories of Bruce Lee, and how he wondered how he was supposed to fit this image into himself, because he really didn’t look  that way, and was this expected of him too? I was also surprised to find that Bruce Lee was the start of the martial arts stereotype. It’s always a little surreal when you find the origin of a stereotype that you’ve known about for years.

Likewise, the crisis of identity was a very common theme in Saving Face. Wil found it near impossible at first to reconcile with her sexuality, and though she was aware of it, she never went out of her way to try to find someone to date or care about, instead letting herself fall into her work. It isn’t until later and she’s approached by Vivian that she really starts to blossom and accept who she is and the people she cares about. Likewise, her mother has a similar crisis, too afraid of the social repercussions to admit to caring about a younger man, let alone to carrying his child.

In Orientals, we see the same issue with many Asian American youths. Lacking in positive role models in fiction, they get categorized into stereotypes and half-hearted associations, such as the model minority, while media portrays them more as the unfortunate terms gooks.

So I’m pretty sure that this is the only movie I have ever seen that has lesbian Chinese actress’s as the main characters. Probably the only movie with any gay Asian main characters period. They really played against the Asian stereotype in this movie. I think they were shined in a new and different light, because usually they are smart, quiet and reserved. It shows that they Asians are average people with the same problems as everyone else in this world. The only Asian stereotypes that were still used in this movie was that Wil was a doctor, and the movies that were in the “Chinese Section” of the video store, had pictures of very hyper-sexualized and half naked Asian women… like we learned about in Tuesdays movie ‘Slaying the Dragon’.

For our “theme” there was definitely crisis in this movie. Crisis is defined by dictionary.com as “a stage in  a sequence of events at which the trend of future events, especially for better or for worse, is determined; turning point”  The main crisis in this movie is when Wil didn’t prove her love to Vivian in time, and Vivian got on the plane to Paris. This was a turning point for Wil because she realizes she shouldn’t have been embarrassed to be with Vivian.

Overall I liked this movie, I thought it was pretty corny in the beginning but I liked that we were able to see something that is so out of the ordinary in most movies.

Crisis of stereotypes

-The Slanted Screen

It shows that Asian American male actors struggled against Hollywood’s ethnic stereotypical and discriminatory practices. Asian American male actors were portrayed as evil against White women and White society. For instance, Sessue Hayakawa had theaters full of women coming to see as Asian male overpower them. Also they played strange person who control White’s minds. Asian American male actors were really suited to a evil role because they look totally different from Caucasians and unusual on Hollywood films.

-Reading “Orientals”

In the book, there are explanations of a few films to see how Asian American were used as Gook in those films. Chinese Americans are described as a universal Oriental otherness in “Year of the Dragon”. It probably influences audiences to think Chinese or Asian communities are awful. The image makes people think Asian American are  distinct from norm.

-Saving Face

Wil’s mother uses ethnic slurs on Wil’s black friend many times. But she does not mean to hate and discriminate against him. I think that she uses them as stereotypical jokes.

Crisis of Identities

“Saving Face” portrays Chinese American lesbian couple and Wil’s  unwed mother’s pregnancy. As this film shows, lesbian couple and unwed mother’s pregnancy among the Chinese American community is not as acceptable as in the American society. Thus, Wil is afraid of telling her mother and Wil’s mother tries to find a man for her baby’s father. But, Wil finally kisses with Vivian in public in oder to identify as lesbian. Also, Wil’s mother admit the man she truthfully loves even though he is much younger than her. These examples express the difference between Asian American and American culture.

Additionally, Lee says in the book, ‘Orientals’ that “The myth presents Asian Americans as silent and disciplined; this is their secret to success. At the same time, this silence and discipline is used in constructing the Asian Americans as a new yellow peril.” (p.190) Yet, as ‘Saving face’, Asian Americans has begun to identify their true selves on their own terms.

What are some of the stereotypes that haunt and affect Asian Americans today? Well some of the most obvious are “the Dragon lady,” “the exotic Asian woman who lives to pamper her husband,” “the sexy but submissive Asian woman,” “evil, devious, and sneaky” Asian characters, “trustworthy Chinese peasants,” all Asian women are “passive and docile,” Asian women are “spoils of war,” the “Connie Chung” Asian American newscaster,” and most recently “the model minority.” Now with that reminder, where did all these stereotypes come from? This question can be slightly answered after one reads Lee and watches the films Slaying the Dragon and The Joy Luck Club.

Both Lee and Slaying the Dragon suggest that many of these stereotypes were invented by the American film and music industry in order to spread racism, oppress people of color, and yet at the same time make massive profits. So first lets look at the American film industry. As another reminder, the American film industry was born in the early 1900s, at a time when a dominantly white America felt threatened by the Chinese Americans and wanted them gone. And what’s one way America oppresses people of color? Trough spreading the word or in this case an image of why the group under attack is “bad,” “alien like,” and should leave. With Americans fascinated by the cinema, movies were one of the most recognizable ways to oppress the Asian/Asian American people and their cultures through stereotyping.  A quick list of films where Asian or Asian American characters are stereotyped include, The World of Suzie Wong, Flower Drum Song, early Anna May Wong movies, Flash Gordon, Walk Like A Dragon, and a handful of American films produced during the Vietnam War. To answer the question “Where did Asian American stereotypes come from?” in depth, we must now examine these films more closely and delve deeper into America’s history of racism.

To start, the first stereotype of Asian American women was “the Dragon Lady.” Anna May Wong, the first ever Chinese American actress, and first Asian American actress to gain international fame, was portrayed as “the Dragon Lady,” during the 1920′s “Yellow Peril.” “Six images- the pollutant, the coolie, the deviant, the yellow peril, the model minority, and the gook- portray the oriental as an alien body and a threat to the American national family” (Lee, p. 8).

Next, we have Flash Gordon from the 1930s, stereotyping Asian American men as “evil, devious, and sneaky.”

1937 (to 1945)- the Second Sino-Japanese War begins, transferring the Japanese and Chinese stereotypes. Instead of the Chinese being the bad guys, the Japanese now become the devious ones. This is when the stereotype of “Trustworthy Chinese peasants,” forms.

1949-  Communist takeover in China. Chinese and Japanese images are switched once again.  Japanese become good, Chinese bad.

Soon after geisha films are released, the stereotype that Asian women are “exotic,” and “only live  to please men,” can be seen.

1950s- With the Korean War, international relationships between Asian women and white men first take place on the screen.

This is when the dynamics between Asian women and white men started to change. It wasn’t until this time period could a white man and Asian woman be seen kissing on screen. And this is also when Asian women started to become objectified, when white men could have free sexual desires for women of color, and when white men were viewed as the “manly man; the white hero.”

1960- In the film, The World of Suzie Wong, actress Nancy Kwan unknowingly begins the “sexy but submissive Asian woman,” stereotype which still exists to this day.

Film industry uses “passive” Asian American stereotypes to counteract African American civil rights movement.

1970s-  Vietnamese women are “spoils of war,” in films like the Rambo series.

1980s- “The New Yellow Peril,” begins when Asian American women become newscasters. This started the “Connie Chung,” stereotypes that Asian American women newscasters need to have their hair a certain way and wear “exotic” makeup.

Film industry continues to use Asian Americans as scapegoats because they know any other minority group would rebel; according to Slaying the Dragon.

Clearly, everyone knows the film industry is a powerful machine that can easily manipulate and influence the minds of it’s audience. And because of this, it’s been used as the perfect tool to make immense profits and oppress different groups of people. So what’s the result of all these stereotypes? What impact does it have on American culture and it’s people? As can be seen in the film Slaying the Dragon, a quite popular assumption made by many white American men, is that they can get the perfect “submissive, pampering wife,” from an Asian American woman. Another troubling affect is, some Asian American women believe that white men are just like the ”white hero’s,” they see in the American films.

Ok, now strictly moving on to Orientals, Lee mentions how during the mid-late 1800s the American music industry spread and profited from racism towards the Chinese Americans. “Like California As It Was And Is,” a score of popular songs published between 1855 and 1882 portrayed the Chinese immigrant as an agent of economic decline and social disorder of free white working-men and their families” (Lee, p. 17).  And who wrote these songs? White American men who felt threatened by the Chinese Americans amidst the height of the gold rush. “Popular songs were not meant to be passively consumed in the listening, but were intended for singing around the campfire, in the boardinghouse parlor, in the saloon and music hall, and at the political rally” (Lee, p. 17). Not only was singing/songwriting one of fastest ways to spread discrimination, but it was also a conveniently good way to make money. Sort of disturbing? Yes, yes it is.

And lastly, let’s take a look at The Joy Luck Club. I honestly did not see that many connections to be made between this film, Lee or Slaying the Dragon. I did notice two things though. 1. One of the children sang “I enjoy being a girl,” which was also sang by Nancy Kwan’s character in Flower Drum Song. And 2. Nearly all of the women in the film did not want to talk about the bad things which had happened to them, similar to how the survivors of the Japanese American concentration camps did not want to talk about their experiences.