Hey everyone! I have a couple of discussion questions for you guys to write/think about. You don't need to necessarily answer all of them. Whatever we don't end up blogging about, we can always leave to discuss in class as well :]
Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed discusses the roles and characteristics of both the oppressed and the oppressors and mentions the two distinct stages of the pedagogy of the oppressed (Freire pg 54). Can you think of an experience of oppression you have encounted, one that you are comfortable with sharing, and how it either does/does not relate to Freire's two stages? Did you deal with the oppression, or did you just let it be? Let's say that you could be either the oppressed or the oppressor.
Kondo (Kondo pg 643) writes about a "white woman in the audience who proclaimed her shock that Asian Americans were raising issues of racism. She clearly viewed Asian Americans as model minorities, assuming that racism for [us] is no longer an issue." Now tying in oppression with Asian Americans, I think it'd be interesting to know everyone's background of not just Asian American history, but Asian American oppression. On a very general level, prior to taking this class, did you know that many Asian Americans today feel that they are oppressed in the US? If so, what are some ways that Asian Americans oppressed (both past and present)? If not, would you have believed it if someone told you? Why/why not?
Finally, Kondo describes many various instances of Asian American Art/Activism being tied together, from the fight for an Asian American Resource Center in the Claremont Colleges to the protests agains the mainstream book/film Rising Sun. How do you think Asian Americans are described in mainstream movies/books/music etc. etc. today? Are the images positive or negative? Do you agree/disagree with Kondo's perspective? And finally, is there anything can be done about the stereotypes of Asian Americans in current art/media?
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I went to Catholic school K-8, an east coast prep school for my first year of high school and a Californian public school for 10-12 grades. In these years of schooling I felt oppressed. I found myself (in each of these schools) in time-out, with a “demerit,” in the principal’s office, in lunch detention, after school detention, suspended from school and threatened to not be able to walk and expulsion. I was punished because I “talked back.” I questioned and challenged the teacher. I called some teachers names and yelled, cried and “made scenes” inappropriate for classroom behavior. I am a very sensitive person and before was very, very reactionary. I was so frustrated with what I was being taught, how the teachers treated me an especially upset by my submissive classmates who were rewarded with better grades and service awards. Feeling oppressed I would get so angry and act out and hated my peers. I haven’t kept friendships with my peers from the past because I felt so betrayed. I perpetuated the oppressed/oppressor dynamic by choosing to discontinue my friendship with people because I didn’t want to listen or waste my time with them. I gave up and continued to follow the ways toward an incomplete freedom and thus continued to break off friendships and keep hold of my resentments. What I have realized at Pitzer is that I am still frustrated with the american culture, institutions and my peers –but because I have to face my peers and hold myself accountable for my choices (I chose to go to college and have to remind myself what for ?) that I am working towards, I am in the process of liberating myself WITH my peers, my community. The professors here will let me question but I have to back up my argument with an articulation and evidence. I can’t get fed up and say f you to my peers because my peers are my family now. I have to work within the limits of this institution in order to be limitless, to be given the space to learn and grow . . . and “succeed.”
ReplyDeleteI am taking this class to learn more about Asian American culture. From the history I know and from my personal understanding than any one who is not a white, able bodied, prescriptive, star struck t.v. watching, heterosexual, submissive, complying, Christian may feel oppressed by the american cultural norm. Asian Americans are oppressed with media images and stereotypes. Oppressed by labels and inattention.
I think Asian Americans are depicted as – for men -gangster, corrupt businessmen, know martial arts, merciless, know-alls; for women – submissive, pretty, slutty, gold diggers, know martial arts . . . no much variation definitely like what Kondo says, “fleshing out a white man’s fantasy.” I agree with Kondo’s perspective:“the ineffable “foreigness of Asian Americans continues to bristle with life-determining significance”(636); “traditional casting give whites liscence to portray people of color, while people of colora cannot even play themselves”; “people of mixed race are often marginalized by members of all their constituent racial groups” & “critical discussion of race by people of color is racist. Such a view mistakes hurt feeling or individual convenience for systematic historical domination (638); in the name of empowerment through employment, Miss Saigon instead secures Asian American subordination” (640); an giving Asian Americans the OCCASION to grapple with critical issues and to make alliances . . . outcomes is as important as subverting the dominant.” (641) I think the only thing that can be done, agreeing with Kondo, is if Asian Americans write and tell their own stories and represent their own images.
I think revolution is not something that is created from nothing but from revolving issues. Society’s problems, human species’ problems have been around forever –thus revolutions are have been happening and continue to happen because a holistic sense of freedom or euphoria –“ heaven on earth” has not been sustained. There are too many ways to find the one way for everyone to live together, to understand we are all one.
Art is propaganda. Mainstream propaganda does not challenge, it does not stimulate the person - but stimulates a person’s appetite. Everything that is propaganda that is marketed is a strategy, is planned out. It take more will power to say no to propaganda or to read beyond what is presented than to say yes and buy. I think art is a representation of the artist’s soul. Art is not compromised but harder to find and to appreciate because there is so much junk out there, so much to deceive you.
Of modern Asian American oppression I knew very little. Granted, I also think most people in the US are oppressed, so it could be said that I assumed oppression upon Asian Americans, in any case. Most of my knowledge of Asian American oppression comes from WWII history. This is probably because it’s the most extreme and blatantly obvious oppression. I am, however, shocked that this woman just assumed that Asian Americans aren’t oppressed.
ReplyDeleteHonestly? Even without witnessing blatant oppression, I can tell it’s still there. Just from the fact that she thinks it’s gone (clearly without knowing anything) is one example. Other than that: it’s not just a fact that Asian Americans are all good at math/English and graduate from college at age 12. Expecting this is, again, a form of oppression.
As for descriptions and depictions of Asian Americans in film/books today…I don’t think it’s changed a whole lot or, in the cases where it has changed, it’s not much better. The Dragon Lady idea hasn’t vanished. I know 1994 seems like a long time ago, but it’s still fairly recent. The Crow (with Brandon Lee) has two Asian/Asian American characters: Eric Draven (Lee) and the crazy, creepy Asian Lady Myca (Ling Bai). I’m being generous, since the Draven character isn’t ever ‘advertised’ as being Asian in any way, shape, or form. But, since I’m being generous, I may as well continue.
Myca is the typical Dragon Lady. She’s a man-eater, loves power, definitely loves violence and bloodshed. She is also exoticized in that she has mystical powers.
Draven, though he’s the hero, is still a vengeful, murderous character. Very much into violence and fighting. Sure, not the ‘flaccid’ and ‘weak’ type of male Asian character, but still a sort of stereotype. (See Jet Li and Jackie Chan films.)
And, speaking of Chan films: the Rush Hour trilogy, when it has female Asian characters, portrays them, again, as the Dragon Lady. Violent, man-eating. Gee, what a surprise.
After all this, it occurs to me that I can’t think of very many films that portray many Asian/Asian American characters. Huh. I’m not sure if that’s disheartening (because of the lack of representation), or good (because of the lack of stereotypes).
Hmm.. A time during which I felt oppressed? It’s really hard for me to pick an event and call it “oppression”; perhaps because of the stigma which we put behind it. I suppose that I feel/ felt oppressed when I make a contribution to a conversation about race but my opinion is discounted. I am multiethnic and multiracial (Black, Spanish, Portuguese, Cherokee, Blackfoot, Irish, and Japanese), and so I am often told that I am not REALLY [insert race], or that I am not [insert race] enough. When people have these discussions and I am told that my input is not relevant because I’m “different”, or that my testimony is less valuable than that of another I feel so angry. As for the second stage, I always try to speak up and say how the oppressive action was disempowering, inconsiderate, or otherwise inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, before college I knew few struggles aside from the stereotypes of the dragon lady, Japanese business man, stone cold martial artist, and computer nerd. I knew that Asian Americans often felt pressure to be good at certain things, but I did not know about the Model Minority Myth until college. Prior to this class, I took Asian American Psychology. In addition, I am currently taking “Contemporary Asian American Drama” and “Identity Development in Minority Children”. Before that, I took a course of representation in the media. All of these things have helped to clarify things which I observed as a child but could never put words to. My grandmother is Asian American, as is my boyfriend. Once my boyfriend and I began dating, I immediately noticed the ways in which people unconsciously silenced him: he was called shy, introverted, and “Vulcan” despite his vibrant personality.
While reading Kondo, it struck me that it may be helpful to watch Rising Sun. I was shocked at how blatant the stereotypes were! I think that Kondo was right on. I think that in film, Asian Americans are generally portrayed as more Asian than Asian American. They are often exoticized; they are portrayed as secretive and exclusive; sneaky and manipulative. Asian Americans are portrayed as either completely evil and conniving or wholly good and pure, always referring to harmony and peace.
I believe that plenty of things are currently being done in an effort to help break down stereotypes of Asian Americans. For example, plays written by, about, and for Asian Americans (generally) make an effort to show Asian Americans as distinct from Asians, as complex people who do not follow the Hollywood formula of an Asian, and ho have interest in things aside from sex, computers, math, and business deals. The problem is that these things are outside of mainstream culture. The plays are put on, but they are viewed by people who already know that the stereotypes are not truth. These works need to get into the public eye, but the public has always been more interested in exotification than in truth and change… :(
I know this may be a silly example of oppression. When I was in elementary school I had a teacher that would continually teach us our math lessons wrong. My friend and I had noticed on more than one occasion but we didn’t really want to say anything. Finally we decided that we should talk to her about it. When she saw that she had taught us the lesson wrong she took us outside and told us to never do that again and that we would be getting a zero in class work for the day. This is on a much smaller scale than many other types of oppression but it was to some extent educational oppression that Freire was talking about. It was not fair, but she had set herself up as the mighty teacher and none of her thoughts were up for debate.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the Freire reading was very interesting because it pointed out things that after you read then feel obvious but it is weird to see the ideas actually written out. For example it makes sense that the oppressed have to be the ones to take a stand against their oppressors otherwise they will be stuck but it does not seem fair that they have to fix a situation that was very bad for them and they did nothing to help create.
This may sound very ignorant but before taking this class I didn’t really know about Asian American oppression in the United States. It seems obvious to me now just knowing a little bit but while growing up I had never really been confronted with it. I grew up in New Mexico and there the majority of the minorities are Hispanic so there was a lot of discussion about their stereotypes but not much talk about other minority stereotypes.
It seems like in the film world Asian American roles are still tied to certain stereotypes. The Rush Hour movies come to mind immediately. I definitely agree with Kondo’s perspective however I think that it is important to notice that almost all minorities are tied to playing their stereotypes in film. That doesn’t make it ok at all but it just shows what a problem it is. I think the only way to combat these stereotypes is to continue to put out positive images of Asian Americans and doing events like Kollaboration to show that Asian Americans are so much more than the stereotypes. It just bothers me that this work is necessary, it seems like we should be to a point where stereotypes don’t dictate how we interact with people.
Yes I believe that AA are oppressed. As minorities we are all oppressed in one way or another, consciously when it is right in front of our face, or unconsciously when it is institutionalized or engrained in history or a common way of thinking. Lynette brought up a good point about AA art. There are lots of examples of 'authentic' AA plays and films that are written about Asian Americans and by Asian Americans (as Houn likes it), but many of these examples are outside the mainstream arena and therefore are overlooked and underrated. This is a form of oppression: Asian Americans in the arts cannot break through to the mainstream mold in Hollywood or visual culture that revolves around a certain something that AA's just don't have.
ReplyDeleteFor example, the artists in Kollaboration are all Asian American, pursuing a singing or musical career. When I was talking to a friend about the show and showing him the promo video, he said, "good luck to them trying to make it." What he was inferring was that those artists will never "make it" in mainstream pop or mainstream music because they are Asian American. I think there is some fairness in a comment of this type. Why is it difficult for AA's to "make it" in mainstream music or art culture? Is there a niche market for these AA artists?
Also, in terms of AA stereotypes and oppression, I am often on the website AngryAsianMan.com
Some of his posts on there are about racial injustices that are serious (murders relating to racism), but other posts I think are rather comical i.e. racist AA t-shirts, racist AA restaurants slogans, etc. In other words, many of things AngryAsianMan thinks is racist and things that he is angry about, I think are just rather funny, and I don't take very seriously. This could be in some way relating to Kondo's discussion that some people think it's okay to oppress AA's because we are the model minority, or that we aren't oppressed because we are the model minority so these racist things on the website don't have to be taken seriously.
hmmm... I am not sure if I should be commenting on the blog posts as well. And I wonder how this plays in with the whole oppressor/instructor and the dismantling of traditional classroom power. Maybe we can discuss this? I don't want people to feel silenced or "intimidated" by my comments so I will keep it very light and only answer the personal questions about myself.
ReplyDeleteBefore coming into academia, I wanted to work in theatre, specifically musicals. In traditional musical theatre, here are not that many roles out there for Asian American women. In several musicals I would get the role of the understudy to the lead, mostly because I didn't "look" the part. During that time in my life, I had no exposure to the thriving world of arts and entertainment in the Asian American community and saw mainstream media as my only "choice". I finally became disgusted and tired of the discrimination I faced and decided to do something to change the "ideologies" that normalized such racism. This is a part of the reason why I entered graduate school and decided to teach. I love what I do because I feel like it helps me introduce a whole new generation to an arts world that many people don't even know about. I truly believe in the power of art as propaganda (good or bad) and feel like it can be such a powerful tool, especially in the type of educational system Freire envisions.
I grew up in a lower/middle income family and when my parents first immigrated to the states my father worked as a "secretary" in a huge office building in downtown Los Angeles. At night he would come home, help put my two sisters and me to sleep and then leave with my mom to work their second job as night janitors in the same office building. Throughout junior high and a bit of high school, my mother worked in sweatshops and sometimes brought the work home and we would help her sew little button holes into all hours of the night. But I never realized any of this was oppression or even a lack of privilege. I led a happy life and it seemed "normal" so I never questioned any of it. I don't know why I bring this up other than maybe to mention that I think a revolutionary spirit needs to be learned, nurtured and built. The messed-up, given state of our world is so natural to us, that I am almost not surprised when I read that the one woman didn't think Asian Americans were oppressed. Heck! I didn't even know it or feel it until I actually learned about it and found that another type of existence was possible! I mean, I saw Miss Saigon when I was in elementary school/junior high and at one point in my life dreamed of growing up and playing the role of Kim! lol.