Through this movie, I was impressed about two things. There are “conflicts” and “communities.”

-“Conflict”

Every time when I watch movies like this in class, I could find how many stereotypes there are about Asians. In this movie, there were also a lot of kinds of words used for stereotypes. Usually, they were used between people who had different backgrounds. For example, in the movie, the American girls at the party said “I have never eaten cats/dogs” to Ben. However, one thing I found in this movie was that stereotypes are also internalized. Ben’s father wanted Ben to be a doctor, and he talked about it in front of his relatives. I think that because his father cared about appearances, he protected the stereotype which is that Asian people were smart. Stereotypes exist not only between people having different backgrounds but also between the different generations. Ben was under his father’s pressure made by stereotype which is Asian people were smart, so he couldn’t seem to say his mind to his father. And more, he also couldn’t find who he is under the pressure. That reminded me of Thao in Gran Torino. Both of them were in conflict of “who they are” in America.

-“Community”

Since I came to America, I found that communities is very important to people with different backgrounds. America is a melting pot, so there are a lot of different kinds of communities. It took time for me getting used to this culture which people already have their own communities. This is because I had never cared about it when I was in Japan. In Japan, most of people there are Japanese, so I didn’t think about how important it was. I’m sure that it is comfortable for everyone to be in their community, even they have many friends having different backgrounds. In this movie, Ben and his friends went to the American party although his sister’s birthday party was happening at the same time. I think this is because he felt uncomfortable at the birthday party. He didn’t want to accept his home culture at that time, so he didn’t want to stay there. However, finally he went back to his sister’s party, because he was more uncomfortable at the American party. I don’t think everyone should have friends only who share the same community because having many friends from different backgrounds is good to exchange their cultures, but it is true that there were communities which we feel comfortable or uncomfortable in, and sometimes it made by races. I’m really enjoying my life here because I have friends and a lot of amazing experiences, but at the same time, I feel lonely. I think this is because I can’t find my community yet. America is a melting pot, but it does not always mixing well.

First off, I immediately recognized the main actor as Dante Basco just from his voice. I knew him better as the voice for Zuko and now General Iron on the Nickelodeon show series Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra respectively.

Anyways, watching The Debut reminded me of my life as a young teenager. The debut (in this case it’s pronounced de’bu, no “t” sound at the end) for Ruben’s sister reminded me of the debut my brother went to. Only my brother was invited to it, even though it’s traditional to invite friends’ whole families over. I knew the girl, Katrina, as an acquaintance at best. Still the same as depicted, just with more modern music and stuff. I don’t know about the traditional dance with the dresses and fans though. All I recall is that friends of the birthday girl have to say something about her and perform by themselves or with a group of friends for her. I personally never been to one, but now that I have a young sister, my mother says it’s inevitable.

Anyhow, most of the things that happened at the debut remind me of the countless Filipino parties I attended while growing up. There was always an abundance of food, people designated to host and direct the parties, and many Filipino people who kept showing up, even after halfway through party. I must confess that my family always tells me Filipinos are late to the party, but they always stay late too, so it balances out if you think about it. Then again, my family sometimes showed up early, but still decided to stay way late.

The way they depicted Filipino Americans in this movie seems accurate, to me at least. Dante reminds me of my younger brother in terms of behavior, always the one who just stands out from the rest of us. I won’t elaborate on it any further, but my mother likes to make fun of him, calling him out on it. I like how they addressed FOBs, or Fresh Off the Boat people. I learned about that term about two years ago and wasn’t aware of it until then. We always discussed how they had different accents and mannerisms, like the “porty pife” gun part, than us, but that’s because they have not lived in America.

When I saw the “cha cha” dance part, I couldn’t help but smile a bit. My mother continues to this day to teach me that dance every time I’m doing nothing at home. I guess it’s a dance I’m supposed to know and it looks simple, but there’s more moves than that, such as a twirl that you do for the partner. The part when everyone was doing the same dance on the dancefloor reminds me of the party my mother hosted for her co-workers. Very reminiscent of what I saw.

Oh, this popped up in my mind when I saw that part.

Finally the way Ben and his father argued over the future Ben would have throws me back to when I was starting off college. Initially I went with their suggestion to become a nurse. My parents always told me that job makes plenty of money. What they probably didn’t know at the time though was that there was much competition to get in to the program and plenty of per-requisite classes to take. I only made it as far as Anatomy and Physiology I and failed that, so I had to to tell them that nursing wasn’t for me. Even before that, I knew I really didn’t want to be a nurse. Just the sight of needles makes me uneasy and I’m no health nut.

In regards to the movie only, I liked it. The cast looked convincingly Filipino to me, so there’s that bit.  The exploration of a young Filipino American who chooses his own path is well done. At first his aspirations don’t agree with his father, causing tension and conflict that strains the relationship between father and son. Ruben is also accused of being a coconut, brown on the outside but white on the inside, since he only hangs out with his two best friends, who are white. Ruben’s friends actually show interest in Ben’s culture, but Ben doesn’t know what they see in it. During the debut, Ruben sees his father perform and realizes that his father made his own choices and sacrificed everything for Ruben and the family, which disappoints his dad, or Ruben’s grandfather. Knowing this, they kind of have an understanding at then end.

The film “The Debut” was a film that followed a young high school senior by the name Ruben (Ben) Mercado, and his struggles finding his identity. As a Filipino American you see Ruben go from rejecting his culture and in a sense being ashamed of his heritage, to seeing him realize he should take pride in the cultural traditions which he was observing during his sister Debutante birthday party.

However there was this connection I noticed within the film and the readings we were assigned from Ronald Takaki’s book, “Strangers From a Different Shore.” In Takaki’s book he explains how many Asian American students were often pushed towards college degrees in fields such as engineering, the medical field, and architecture. These careers were found to be prosperous and not a, “waste of time.” However many of these young men and women would possibly be more interested in earning degrees in the Arts or Social Sciences, but due to there parents ideals of seeing these career choices as unsatisfactory in terms of economic prosperity in the future, they are pressured away from other career fields that they may be passionate about. So what does this have to do with the film, “The Debut,” and the main character Ruben?

In the movie Ruben is being pressured by his father to take a scholarship to UCLA in order to pursue a career as a Doctor. However Ruben without telling his father decided to enroll in an art school, which his father believed was a pointless hobby. Later on Ruben found that his father also had a history as a musician and had to give up his music dreams due to Rubens birth. Furthermore his father was also seen as somewhat of a disappointment to his own father (Ruben’s Grandfather) because he had, “wasted his time” with music as a young man and now is a Postman, serving mail to others. His fathers job as a worker in a job providing a service can also be related to Takaki because a lot of first generation immigrants had to accept employment in jobs that were service related, such as in the restaurant industry or as janitors. This idea of the older generations in Asian American society, pushing their children towards careers as professionals, and away from careers that the child may be passionate about is perfectly depicted in this film.

However I feel for both sides, both the child and the parent. It would be hard to go through college and later moving into a career that you may have zero passion or interest towards in order to please your elders. There would always be this sense of what if? What if I had followed my dreams and became a musician, or a painter, or cartoonist? However I also understand the parent’s point of view. As first generation immigrants, in an American society with a long history of racial tension and unequal job opportunities. Where they had to work jobs that were, labor intensive, and service related, for the hopes of providing a better opportunity for the next generation. I can see why they would push their children towards an education and career where they had better chances of improving their economic standing, and position in society. Either way it is sad that these children are placed in this position especially because America is always described as a place where anyone can become anything. A place where one can follow their dreams, and pursue their interests, whatever they may be.

In the film at the very end, Ruben finally comes out and tells his father that he had already enrolled in Art school and had taken out all of his savings in order to pay the first years tuition. After showing his father his portfolio of  his artwork with which he had sent to art school and his acceptance was based upon, as well as showing him a picture he had created of his father, his grandfather, and of himself, we start to see acceptance of Ruben’s decision creep into the face of Ruben’s father.

Overall this film can be connected to may issues related to what we have learned in our A-Pop program and in Asian American studies in general. Such as the loss of language seen in the later generation of immigrants, such as the frustration depicted by Ruben’s grandfather in his not taking the time to learn Tagalog which is spoken in the Philippines. The racist stereotypes being depicted by a white girl at a high school party where she indicated Ruben and other Filipino’s, “ate dogs.” Throughout the film these connections of the struggles faced by immigrants and their children in, as Takaki would describe, “As being from a different shore,” are very apparent and eye opening.

Connections…….

This is the definitely the word of 2014, in my life anyways. (Thanks to Chico :])So let’s talk about connections.

This movie was a great illustration of the generational gap between the kids who were born in America, their parents, and their grandparents who didn’t move to America. Much like the experience of the Nisei, Ben was caught up in trying to find his true identity  and where he belongs in life. On one hand, he grew up in America and was very much a part of that culture. On the other hand, his family showed him the roots of his Filipino/a culture. This difference alone is enough to create tensions between the children and their parents. While the parents try to help instill their culture and beliefs in their children, the children are trying to fit in around their peers at school.

The scene where Ben left his sister’s party and went to the party that his friends invited him to brought another connection to light. A girl at the party started making racist jokes towards Ben and finally used a racial slur when he accidentally spilled her drink. This showed Ben that he would have difficulties fitting in even though he grew up in America. Ben also talked about when he was a kid and he tried to make his nose pointier to look more like a white person. These struggles were very similar to those of the Nisei growing up in a hostile America.

He also didn’t get along well with his grandpa who came to the party from the Philippines. Much like the Nisei felt like their home was in America, Ben could not relate with his grandpa. This made me think about the experience of the Nisei when they received the news about E.O. 9066. They had never been to Japan and those who did visit Japan did not feel at home there either.

All of this manifested the image of a cairn in my head. A cairn is a pile (or stack) of stones made by a human. One stone may be light, but many stones will become very heavy. And while the stones weigh down on each other, they have to be balanced or the cairn will teeter on the edge of breaking down. Thus was Ben’s situation, but he managed to keep his balance.

This film was really interesting because it showed the home life of a Filipino American family and how their Filipino culture affected their son named Ben. For example, Ben feels embarrassed about his Filipino culture. When Ben comes home with his two white friends, one of the friends has to use the bathroom. Ben comes up with excuse after excuse about why they cannot come inside. Finally they do go inside and are somewhat taken aback to the household’s Filipino decorations. Ben is even further embarrassed when his family warmly asks his friends to stay and try the food. Clearly Ben cares very much about how other people view him. It’s not until Augusto tells Ben that he’s a sellout does it finally click for Ben that he’s been acting distant/rude towards his family. Another turning point for Ben is when a girl at a party taunts him with racist slurs.

I think that the idea of a young adult/teenager being embarrassed or ashamed of their background, whether it’s to do with culture, race, generational differences, or class, is quite common. Last quarter we learned of how the Nisei felt embarrassed about their Japanese heritage. And it wasn’t usually until later in life did they become proud of their parents culture. Going off of that, it’s my opinion that class can also make a person feel embarrassed or ashamed. Like if someone comes from a lower-income background but attends a prestigious school there probably is going to be some shame or embarrassment down the line. Basically this film helped exemplify the connections to be made between class, race, gender, generational differences, and culture.