Please feel free to post your response to the question I posed in class:
Do you think some of the ideas in SLAYING THE DRAGON are still relevant today? What are some images that contradict that idea, and what are some images that perpetuate the same stereotypes seen in the film?
4 comments:
Certain stereotypes such as the geisha girl and the dragon lady seen in Slaying the Dragon are still portrayed in some Hollywood films these days. A great example of this is seen in Memoirs of a Geisha. Mother (proprietress of the geisha house) definitely portrays the typical dragon lady stereotype. She’s very strong, evil and deceitful. The main character, Chiyo, obviously represents the typical geisha girl. An interesting fact about this movie is that Zhang Zhi Yi who played Chiyo is actually a Chinese. Non-Asians tend to just lump all Asians into one category/nationality, thus reinforcing this concept of Pan-Asianism. Sadly, this idea of Pan-Asianism doesn’t only apply to women. In the movie The Hangover, this idea was once again reinforced when Ken Jeong played the role of Mr. Chow. Ken Jeong is actually from Korea, however in the movie he was portrayed as a Chinese through his name and accent. An interesting fact about this movie is that when he said certain words such as “cachik!” And “camong!” (which sounded like come on in the movie), he was actually speaking in Vietnamese saying “chicken die” and “thank you”. Unfortunately most viewers of this movie probably just assumed that he was speaking Chinese. Seeing these types of portrayals on big time Hollywood movies definitely emphasize this concept of Pan-Asianism, which leads others to lump all Asians into just one category, resulting in Asians and Asian-Americans to lose their true identities in the western world.
Hi everyone, this is Jake from AAS 365. I was thinking about our brief discussions on "Orientalism" and what that means in modern context. My parents own and operate a local grocery store called, "Lee's Oriental Market." Growing up, I never thought of the word "Oriental" to mean anything other than Asian, or being from Asia. I have a memory of when I was younger: I was talking with my older sister and I referred to us as being "Orientals." She was quick to tell me that in her opinion, "Oriental" is not a word that we should use. People may call rugs, ornaments, or things that you buy Oriental. But, People are never to be called that..
There are times when I hear my mother, who operates and manages Lee's Oriental Market, use the word Oriental. However, she uses it even when referring to my family! This thought is troubling, but then again, I think that it should be viewed in a more accurate context.
My mother and father are both Korean Immigrants. They moved to the United States when my older siblings were very young. Their perceptions of race are defined by how it was constructed when they are arrived in America(which I think was maybe the 70's..).
I think the fact that my mother uses that word, and even more, in a non-derogatory sense symbolizes how her identity was shaped and portrayed as an Immigrant. To her, I think that the word indexes more so how it may have been applied to her, rather than the more-recent notions of "Orientalism."
Jake, thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. I really appreciate your candid response to the word, "Oriental," in the context of your parents' work. My parents are also Korean immigrants, and they used to say "Orientals" all the time. I might have also used the word when I was younger; it wasn't until I went to college that I learned why the word was problematic. After that, I corrected my parents also, and though it took a while, they no longer use the word either.
When I can, when the context seems appropriate, I try to correct people who use the word without intending anything bad. Sometimes this brings about a lot of awkwardness for everyone involved, but I guess change isn't easy to come by.
Thanks, Jean, for this comment. I don't know how factual this is, but in KIMS OF COMEDY, Ken Jeong talks about having a Vietnamese American wife. So maybe there was a little inside joke intended in The Hangover that only a few people would have gotten. I guess it's these moments of discrepancies between the larger intended meaning and the marginal unintended meaning that are very interesting to me as someone who engages in Asian Americanist critiques of culture. In addition to critiquing these portrayals as false representations, we could also see how the reception of these representations isn't uniform for every viewer. In other words, I think your response to these films is a really rich and productive beginning for talking about inadequacies and incompleteness of representations and the role of the audience in highlighting then.
Post a Comment