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Strangers From A Different Shore Chapters 10-13

In light of the flexibility of this week’s seminar assignment, I’ve chosen to present some of my favorite quotes and analysis from chapters 10-13.

Chapter 10 – The Watershed of World War II

“The war abroad required reform at home” (376)

During World War II, the United States was forced to confront many of its discriminatory laws and practices. They couldn’t fight Nazism overseas while maintaing racist immigration and naturalization policies back at home. Consequently, although Japanese Americans suffered in internment camps, many other Asian Americans made headway in gaining acceptance and legal rights.

World War II brought sweeping changes for all Asian Americans. For Filipino Americans it brought the invasion of their homeland and the opportunity to prove themselves to white Americans by joining the military. Filipinos were allowed to obtain citizenship after serving in the armed forces, and they profited from Japanese internment by taking over interned Japanese homes and farms. The war was welcome news to Korean Americans as Korea was under Japanese occupation. While most Koreans were technically classified as enemy aliens because of the Japanese occupation, they still gained greater acceptance during the war and helped free their homeland. Asian Indian Americans gained an immigration quota and naturalization rights. China and the U.S. were allies in WWII, opening up new employment for Chinese Americas and signaling an end to the Chinese Exclusion Act.

 

Chapter 11 – “Strangers” at the Gates Again

“These workers belong to a colonized labor force” (426).
“They did not come here voluntarily, seeking Gam Saan or fortunes in American. In fact they are not immigrants” (470). 

The 1965 immigration law brought a second wave of Asian immigrants to the United States. New immigrants from China, the Philippines, and India arrived in the United States under very different circumstances than there predecessors of the first wave. Unlike previous Asian immigrants, many were college educated and from urban areas. They came to the U.S. seeking professional employment opportunities that weren’t available back in their home countries. Unfortunately, many of these new immigrants faced barriers in working in their fields of study due to workplace discrimination, licensing requirements, and challenges as ESL speakers. Within the new Chinese immigrant community, there is an emerging “colonized labor force” (426) of Chinese Americans who lack the English skills necessary to work outside of the ethnic ghettos of Chinatown.

Among the second wave are a significant number of people from Southeast-Asia. The Hmong, Mien, Vietnamese, and Cambodians do not come to the United States as immigrants — they arrive here as refugees. Unlike many immigrants, they do not come here seeking there fortune in a new land, they are here out of necessity, fleeing violence and political turmoil. They have a very different experience than other Asian immigrants, often having trouble adjusting the American culture and facing dire poverty. Unlike Chinese, Japanese and other Asian immigrants, they cannot return home.

Chapter 12 — Breaking Silences

“Asian Americans know they must remember the past and break its silence” (484). 

Young Asian/Americans are seeking out their roots, and finding power in the stories of their ancestors. They are interrogating questions of authenticity and identity. Instead of being ashamed of their parents “otherness”, they are embracing and questioning the limits of what is means to be American.

Chapter 13 – One-Tenth of the Nation

“There are no Asians in Asia” (502).

The identity of Asian, and Asian/American were forged from a shared struggle and necessity among many different ethnic groups. This identity did not evolve in a vacuum, it is bound by its historical and social context. It is not static, rather it is always “being” and “becoming”. Asian/American identity is panethnic, reaching across various national identities to create a new community and a new history of shared liberation. “As Asian Americans, we celebrate being not one or the other but both” (505). Perhaps we are entering a time when an individual may hold many different identities, when multiplicity is valued and pieces of ourselves are not seen as inherently “contradictory” or at odds with each other. These are the contact zones: Asian/American, hapa, both/neither.

Strangers from a different shore

- Chapters 10&11 -

Although World War II was tragic event for Japanese American, it was also good opportunities for another Asian American such as Filipino American, Chinese American, Korean American, and so on to show their loyalty toward the US and get better economic power.

“Filipinos wanted to get back to the Philippines to fight for the liberation of their homeland.” (Takaki, p360)

“But many Filipino-American soldiers were also fighting for their freedom on the home front.” (Takaki, p360)

According to these quotations, Filipino-American soldiers not only wanted to offer allegiance toward the US but also protect their homeland, Philippines. The latter reason is different from Japanese American soldiers.

 

” And so, when it came time to strike in 1946, the workers themselves knew they had to have what they called an ‘all race strike.’” (Takaki, p411)

Such as Japanese, Filipino, and Portuguese knew each other that they were under similar situations and the treatments by American. As that quotation, they realized that they need to cooperate not only with same races but also with different races as the minority groups in the USA.

 

 

- Chapters 12&13 -

” Today Asian Americans are celebrated as America’s ‘model minority.’”  (Takaki, p474)

It’s strange for me to hear like that because I learned Japanese immigrants’  many struggles in the US last quarter. And now, Asian Americans are ‘model minority’ in the US… Americans emphasize on only the success of Asian Americans that work so hard.  Asian Americans are stereotyped as passive, shy and so on by Americans. In the films we watched in class, there are many stereotypical words.

 

The 1992 Los Angels Riot is interethnic conflict between African Americans and Korean Americans. I did not know that those two races had battle in the US and was surprised that Korean American looked African American down. In chapter 11, different ethnic groups cooperated each other to happen strike, but there are also discriminations among them.

“Stereotypes influenced their perceptions of each other. ” (Takaki, p494)

According to the book, they had negative images toward each other. It is dangerous to be stereotyped without knowing.

Takaki Chapters 10-13

“A year later, Chinese-Communist intervention in the Korean War set off hysterical anti-Chinese reactions in the United States. The new peril was seen as yellow in race and red in ideology.” p. 415.

When this happened the Chinese Americans once again had to prove to the American government they were not a threat. This time it was because of Communism.  If the Chinese Americans were not careful they could also be thrown into concentration camps, just like how the Japanese Americans were during World War Two. Near the end of the year 1950, the McCarran International Security Act was passed by Congress, which provided for the imprisonment  during a national emergency. The Chinese Americans then began their quest to prove they were anti-Communist. One way they did this was through forming anti-Communist campaigns, such as the Anti-Communist Committee for Free China, and the All- American  Overseas Chinese Anti-Communist League. But then unfortunately in 1955, the American Consul in Hong Kong said that Chinese Communist parties spies “could use fraudulent citizenship papers to secure American passports and enter the United States” (p. 416). As a result, the secret Chinese American paper families were forced to come clean to the American government . Luckily, in return for a confession the government would give the confessor legal status  if they were not involved in subversive activates. 99% of the confessors were allowed to stay in the United States.

I felt this section and quote from Takaki was important because it shows how even up until the 1950′s the Chinese Americans were being discriminated against. The American government would always find a reason to exclude them and some people might even argue that the government does to this day. This passage is also interesting because just a few years earlier during World War Two the American government had declared the Chinese Americans to be loyal and should be considered friends to “white America.”

 

Better Luck Tomorrow Impressions

This film detailed the exploits of Ben and his group of friends while they participated in some questionable activity while in high school. His gang involved all Orientals that put on the ruse of a model minority. They all had good grades, played sports, or participated heavily in the school activities. However outside of this “perfect student” display held notorious activities involving drugs, violence, stealing, cheating and murder.

The movie played on multiple minority tropes openly such as the token Asian on the basketball team, or that all the Asian students are extremely intelligent and are generally good students. While all of these stereotypes were true throughout the movie the extremely unscholarly activity that occurred beyond the school hours made it readily apparent what the students wanted was to break the mold of model minority and just do what they really desired, of course those desires changed throughout the movie as well.

The movie had powerful usage of camera angle, music, and silence. In addition the vocabulary SAT words Ben memorized each night related the the movie each time a new word was mentioned.  ”Punctilious-Marked by or concerned about precise exact accordance with the details of codes or conventions.” Is just one example where it mixes perfectly with the idea of model minority. However it was more than just that, words that described being trapped or extremely complicated situations were mentioned and all had a powerful message in accordance to the film.

Ben had a crush on a fellow classmate named Stephanie, however she was already dating a graduated Asian named Steve.  It was readily apparent Ben didn’t wholeheartedly enjoy his company since Steve’s involvement prevents any further advances onto Steph. In the end Ben and his friends want to teach Steve a lesson and end up killing him somewhat unintentionally.

Ben on his 17th birthday received a handgun from all of his friends which was timed right when Ben wanted to stop all the madness and return to at least some form of normalcy. Things eventually did return to normal until Steve wanted to involve Ben’s gang in one last activity which eventually lead to Steve’s death. The film ends with uncertainty as Stephanie kisses Ben as they drive away, Steph being angry at Steve for not showing up for the New Year’s party. Unfortunately Steve had a date 6 feet under in a local backyard.

The film was overall extremely enjoyable and there was a constant interest in what would happen next. The director knew what they were doing with their message and I am curious in seeing more of their work. Definitely a better movie than 47 Ronin.

Better Luck Tomorrow

“I don’t know what my future will hold. I don’t even know what the other guys are going to do.  All I know is that there’s no turning back. “

The first thought that popped into my head was that the title fit the movie perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, there was not one point in time that I wanted to move my head or even blink my eye because I was so eager to find out what was going to happen next. The movie was pretty harsh. I’m wondering how Ben truly felt after the murder and how was he able to even kiss or look at Stephanie without feeling any sort of remorse or guilt about the situation? But I guess regardless…there is no turning back… ha

Moral of the story: Whatever decisions you make in life are the ones you will have to live with. So you make a decision without looking back on it and feeling regretful. Regardless, the world stays moving, and there is no time to dwell on the past whether it was a good decision or a bad decision.

Basketball as a way to cope with stress- It was cool to be able to relate to Ben in the film with myself being a basketball player as well. It was clear basketball was his serenity as it has always been for myself too.

“If you repeat something enough times it becomes part of you.”

Book Review: Strangers From A Different Shore (pt1)

Ronald Takaki’s anthology of Asian Americans covers A LOT of ground, including full chapters dedicated to each group. As you know, I don’t care for traditional reviews. In every book I’ve read, there is always something that sticks with me, and it is those somethings that I like to write about.

“Watershed of WWII” was the standout chapter for me. Many have said World War II was the turning point of the worlds modern age. Prior to the war the US was not the world power it is today, and a country’s strength was expressed through its Navy. Everything changed after the war. Airpower reigned supreme after the war. The US and USSR became the dominant forces. The nuclear age was born. Change was not lost on Takaki as he quotes Carlos Bulosan a Filipino American, “If I met him again,” says Carlos as he watches his brother leave for the Army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, “I would not be the same. He would not be the same either. Our world was this one, but a new one was being born.” The weight of those words was heavier than anyone could have imagined.

The way “white America” would see these Strangers From A Different Shore was being forced to change. Thats not to say everything changed for the better–the myth of “military necessity” for Japanese internment camps is just one example. but people were forced to see, view… perceive Asian Americans differently. Quoting Filipino American Manuel Buaken, “No longer on the streetcar do I feel myself in the presence of my enemies. We Filipinos are the same– it is Americans that have changed in their recognition of us.” The battle for Batan earned the respect of America with Eleanor Roosevelt’s tribute to those who fought, “Fighting in Batan has been an excellent example of what happens when two different races respect each other. Men of different races and backgrounds have fought side by side and praised each other’s heroism and courage.”

So why, several days after reading so many different stories of troubles and triumphs Takaki presents did this particular section stick with me? Perhaps its because of my military background, seeing first hand the effects of war on peoples lives on both sides of a conflict. Experiencing the effects repeated deployments has on people and the way they are disregarded by the government of the country they were fighting for begins to change ones perspective; you see things differently. Either way time marches on and you do what you have to do to get by and help others do the same.

Lives of Asian Americans changed after the war. Lives of Americans changed after the war.

 

 

Takaki CH. 10-13

Ch. 10

For me this chapter was a bit of a review because I had already studied last quarter about WWII and the internment of Japanese Americans. I was happy to learn, however, some new things about the experience from the perspective of other Asian Americans.

For instance, the Filipinos were ready to fight next to American soldiers. I was very surprised to read that 40% of the Filipino Americans in California registered for the first draft (359) and I was happy to read that they were able to receive citizenship because of how bravely they fought.

As for Korean Americans, it came as no surprise to me that they celebrated Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor, as this was an opportunity for the United States to take down Japan especially after Korea’s brutal history with Japan. I also understood why the Korean National Association produced a set of ‘rules’ and that one of the rules was to wear a badge that identified them as Korean and not Japanese. I feel as though more frequently, it is the Japanese and Koreans who get mixed up when people are trying to figure out which ‘one’ they are. My mother frequently gets mistaken for Korean when she is actually Japanese or sometimes she mistakes someone whose Korean for Japanese and I have seen the frustration on both of their faces when this mix up occurs. It also makes a lot of sense when Koreans would get mistaken as a Japanese that they would be furious and even more so that the Alien Registration Act classified Korean immigrants as subjects of Japan (365) . I also found it very interesting that 109 Koreans organized a Korean Unit for the national guard and called themselves the Tiger Brigade and that Koreans gained greater acceptance for their work within the unit.

As for the Chinese Americans go, with the events of WWII and the internment of the Japanese Americans they found it as an opportunity to take back some jobs that they felt was taken from them from Japanese Americans, even going as far as stating that “WWII was the most important historic event of our times. For the first time we felt we could make it in American society (373).” and it seems that this was mostly due to the fact that TIME magazine released an article that “helped” Americans tell apart the Japanese and Chinese even though it was still blatantly racist, it still wanted to show that there was a difference.

With this chapter however, my anger had reawakened from the slumber that was winter break and I was reminded yet again of the unfair treatment of Japanese Americans and the reasoning for their internment. It was very frightening to read that a Congressmen (John Ford) could say such cruel words  like “…stop fucking around. I gave them twenty-four hours notice that unless they would issue a mass evacuation, I would drag the whole matter on the floor of the House and of the Senate and give the bastards everything we could with both barrels.” (391) This excerpt has probably been of the most blunt statements I have read in regards of White Americans in a position of power that bred such hateful words towards Japanese Americans.

Ch. 11

Throughout this chapter and within the book, I have really appreciated topics of struggle and racism through the perspective of other Asian Americans. However, what I noticed the most about this chapter is that earlier in the chapter, Takaki discusses the second wave of immigrants from the country first started with “having dreams of success in America” and then eventually leading up to heartbreaking stories of escaping war and  the memories they retained of watching  those close to them suffer or even fall to their death, Takaki painted a vivid picture of the loneliness that the recent immigrated Asian Americans felt lost and uncomfortable not being in their home country. Takaki writes about the Hmong experience and quotes the experiences of a Hmong refugee: “Here, maybe the American Indians believe in spirits, but those (pointing int the direction of the nearby Laguna range) are their mountains, not ours.” (468).

A quote that really spoke to me in this chapter was “No matter how long you are here in America, you will always be an Asian, always an outsider, not an American.”(461). It makes me sad that to this day, that that statement is still so very true. Especially with the semi-recent interests in Japanese culture. With the rising popularity of Japanese culture, and the lack of Japanese Americans in Olympia, I have found that even though I was raised in the United States, people still approach me with obscure questions about Japan and expect me to know that answer because I am Japanese. With incidences like this, I feel as though I will truly never be an American here so long as I have yellow skin.

Ch. 12

I began reading this chapter in the place of my work, where I have spent many days from last quarter in a quiet section of the restaurant, reading the books that were assigned to us as I silently cried as the carpet that had hard truths about Japanese American history tucked underneath it was revealing itself to me. I thought that perhaps since I was already aware of the hard truths from last quarter that maybe I wouldn’t experience this again but it was with this chapter that my feelings of defeat overwhelmed me yet again and the tears welled up in my eyes.

Now I really appreciate reading about the Model Minority Myth because it is very important to discuss especially in a class that focuses on Asian American pop culture and how the people and the media has a tendency to view us. It was something that I dabbled in a little bit last quarter for my final research project, yet, this chapter painted this picture for me that no matter how hard I try in school, no matter how well I do, there is a chance that whatever career I go into with my life, that I will not be able to acheive higher positions and that if you were to put me side by side with someone who had the same qualifications as me but they were of European descent then they automatically have the upper hand and that I would be left struggling to find a job all because of the color of my skin, something that I will never be able to control.

As a Japanese American, I also agreed with this statement: “Asian Americans blame the education system for not including their history in the curricula and for not teaching about U.S. society in all of its racial and cultural diversity.” (482) I was amazed by the things that I learned last quarter in regards to what the U.S. did to Japanese Americans because while I remember briefly learning about WWII, I do not recall any time in my life when someone has sat me down and told me that Japanese Americans were put into concentration camps and that is upsetting to me because I feel like this country doesn’t want to discuss a part of their history that they are ashamed of yet as a Japanese American that was in the school system from 1st to 12th grade, it’s kind of a big deal to me that the school district decided to utterly skip this huge part of history!

Ch. 13

I am really happy that even though I am half white, I am still able to claim my Asian pride. I am happy to see that there are more and more people everyday whether I meet them or not, are beginning to look more like me. It makes me feel like I have more people to relate to whether it’s about our celebrations or about our struggles. My life has been so interesting because of the two different cultures that I have in me and that I have the freedom to celebrate both parts.

I love living in a time now where I can date someone who is white and neither of us will face the sort of discrimination that people in the 1940′s faced for being in an interracial relationship. I’m not saying it’s perfect and previous partners and I have faced the obstacles of people despising our relationship because I am Japanese or making very strange assumptions about our relationship. At the end of the day though, I get to share with my partners, a different part of myself, and invite them into my mothers home that smells like tonkatsu, gohan and takuan and share with them a taste of a distant home and my partner graciously accepts my invitation with love and respect.

you got a hole in your head

Strangers From a Different Shore: 10 – 13

“Most second-wave Asian Indians have found economic opportunities here to be much greater than in their home country.” (pg. 446)

In reading this quote, I had to go back and double check when this book was originally written. 1989, if I read the dates correctly, with updates and revisions in the version released in 1998, which I can only assume is the copy that I have.

I may be interpreting this incorrectly, but as I was reading, it seemed like the book was glorifying the “opportunities” that Asian Indians, which included “travel agency work, sari shops, and luncheonettes”. It goes on to say that you don’t really need capital to start off that way, but before that’s state it also says that many of them are college trained and educated. It seems rather hypocritical, doesn’t it? What is the point of being college educated if you can’t make use of your degree, and all the training you’ve been through? Why should they be expected to work jobs with awful hours, with very little gratitude ever given to them? The book is excellent, but I found myself a little disappointed in this aspect of it.  The most desirable thing that’s mentioned is that Asian Indians have quite the influence in the hotel/motel business, which could be quite lucrative if you were a stock holder or an owner.

Impressions with Better Luck Tomorrow

Better

Stu·pe·fac·tion

[stoo-puh-fak-shuhn, styoo-]

Noun

1. The state of being stupefied; stupor.
2. Overwhelming amazement.
This describes the feeling that ran after the movie concluded. I will explain.

Before watching the movie Better Luck Tomorrow, I read over the plot on Wikipedia to get a general idea of what occurs in the movie. If there’s one thing that I can admit, it’s that seeing the movie is more in-depth than just reading the events. Aside from that, I thought the movie was very entertaining. Each character in the movie had a different lifestyle. Ben was a hard-working student, Virgil was the loose cannon, Daric was the brains and manipulator, Han acted as the transporter and extreme renegade, and finally Jesus was the supplier and kind of like a Zoidberg. It depicts modern Asian Americans who use their skills and talents to take advantage of the system around them to bring themselves fortune and power. Eventually it starts overpowering their lives and causes them to do harmful things, such as drugs. Seeing that this is not the way to live anymore, they “break their cycle” with only Virgil and Han still in the business.  Steve inquires them for one more job, but it only ends with Ben and the gang murdering Steve when the plan falls apart. The movie concludes with Ben not telling Steve’s girlfriend that they killed Steve, only announcing that “there’s no turning back” after all the actions they did.

Overall, the movie was highly entertaining. There was plenty of tense moments like Virgil pulling a gun on everyone he associates with, but the mix of humorous moments made it more enjoyable. It seemed like Virgil was mostly the comedic relief for much of the film, but also the most vulnerable mentally as he breaks down after tense moments in the movie. I was amazed that Ben did not confess to his involvement to Steve’s “disappearance”. Usually we would expect a “good guy” like him to confess, but amazingly he played the clueless game so well and just decided to live with it. The aftermath of that film was left to the audience’s imagination, leaving to some of my friends voicing realistic to hilarious conclusions that involve Ben confessing to Steve’s girlfriend about his involvement.

One connection I’ve noticed between 47 Ronin, The Beautiful Country, and Better Luck Tomorrow is that the protagonist is always accompanied by a person of wisdom or greater knowledge. Kai has Oishi to guide and support him, Binh has Ling who helps him survive, and Ben has Daric who helps lead him through his schemes. One connection between 47 Ronin and The Beautiful Country is that both protagonists are mixed-race. Finally all the protagonists faced criticism based on their race. Kai and Binh for being mixed-race Asians while Ben was targeted by white jocks because he was an intelligent Asian American student.

Better Luck Tomorrow

emas·cu·late \i-ˈmas-kyə-ˌlāt\

: to make (a man) feel less masculine : to deprive (a man) of his male strength, role, etc.
: to make (something) weaker or less effective

Justin Lin challenges the emasculated stereotypes of Asian men. He presents a picture of 4 bored suburban youth. All Asian/American, they are high achievers and perfectionists — unusual suspects for murder and crime. Adolescent male posturing ends in violence when under the immense pressure of racism.

“It’s just a game. People like you and me don’t have to play by the rules” — Daric

The main characters tease and one-up each other. Both internalizing, and playing with anti-Asian remarks. They teeter on the edge, taking out their aggression on each other. Things shift when Daric pulls a gun on a white class mate while being ridiculed at a party. Suddenly they have have the respect of their high school. The power is addictive, and culminates in the murder of a private school student.
What was most interesting to me about this movie was seeing how deeply the characters internalized racism. The student they killed was not a white student, he was a wealthy Asian student. Their anger at the “model minority stereotype” and experiences of oppression were turned against each other.

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