What Asian-American Is Missing

836 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How movies sterortypes ethnic groups

“The Puddle” Asian-Americans entering into a society such as the one in the United States must experience a variety of emotions towards this place. To compare, it would be hard for white Americans to imagine going to a place like Korea or Iraq. It is even harder to imagine trying to assimilate smoothly into such a place when everyone around the newcomer already has preconceived opinions about them. Asian-Americans are often overlooked when it comes to cultural hardships and racism. Chan is Missing (Wang 1981) makes an attempt to identify these hardships while without consequence, creating not only a form of entertainment but one that takes the viewer on an intellectual journey of self-realization and reflection. Let’s not forget that this …show more content…

For example, the cook in the chinese restaurant talks about his degree he got for aeronautical engineering right after they showed him slaving over a stove cooking the same fake chinese food for Americans. Multiple times, the film addresses the issues amongst the different cultures in the Asian community. From the flag waving incident to the cook thinking Chen Hung went back to China because he was tired of being identified as a different “Asian” (Chan is Missing 1981). I found these scenes very interesting because they all pointed out issues that are not very widely known about the Asian community. More often than not, their hardships are overlooked while other ethnicities that face hardships are highlighted above the others. This was most likely an important goal for director Wayne …show more content…

I found myself getting increasingly frustrated when the story kept getting nowhere, and the characters just continued searching place after place. In the end, I thought surely it was ridiculous that there was no closure, no ending, just a shady unclear photo of Chan is shown. None of the questions are answered about Chan and the story is left wide open. I realized this was to highlight the issues that every Asian American goes through. So many people had input on who Chan was, where he might be, how he felt and what he believed in (Chan is Missing 1981). In an article written by Peter Fang, this observation is also noted when talking about “the puddle” that Jo is told to look at to find the answers he needs. Fang states: “..everyone who offers an opinion of Chan first looks in the puddle- defines his or her own identity -and then depicts Chan as he compliments that identity”(165). Each character Jo and Steve interviewed had their own bias and I noticed as I viewed the film, I was subconsciously making assumptions and inferences about who Chan was too. What is surprising about this is that I had literally no background information on this man, no image, nothing; except the fact that he was Asian and a character in the movie. I’m guessing I was not the only viewer who might have done the same. The motive behind the puddle and the unidentified Chan was to show

Show More
Related

  • Richard Aoki and The Black Power Movements

    1521 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tachiki, Amy; Wong, Eddie; Odo, Franklin, eds. (1971). Roots: An Asian American Reader. University of California, Los Angeles Press.

    Read More

  • Asian Americans as Model Minorities

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    For 20 years, Asian Americans have been portrayed by the press and the media as a successful minority. Asian Americans are believed to benefit from astounding achievements in education, rising occupational statuses, increasing income, and are problem-fee in mental health and crime. The idea of Asian Americans as a model minority has become the central theme in media portrayal of Asian Americans since the middle 1960s. The term model minority is given to a minority group that exhibits middle class characteristics, and attains some measure of success on its own without special programs or welfare. Asian Americans are seen as a model minority because even though they have faced prejudice and discrimination by other racial groups, they have succeeded socially, economically, and educationally without resorting to political or violent disagreements with the majority race. The “success” of the minority is offered as proof that the American dream of equal opportunity is capable to those who conform and who are willing to work hard. Therefore, the term ...

    Read More

  • How Eric Liu Presents His Life As A Native Immigrant To Asian Americans?

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this article, Eric Liu presents his life as a native immigrant to an Asian American individual. He shares his experience through his reflection of ideas and emotions. Along with his story, it relates to the ideas of people’s journey from adolescence to adulthood. Eric’s inspirational experience is directed towards minority groups who try to adapt to the American culture and lifestyle. His parents emigrated from China to America, before he was born which he later became exposed to the freedom and diverse society. This results in beneficial effects for his individuality, career opportunities, and lifestyle. Although his parents have lived in a different culture than him, his life in America has made him assimilated into the American society

    Read More

  • The Emergence of Yellow Power

    2165 Words  | 5 Pages

    Described by journalist Amy Uyematsu as “victims--with less visible scars--of the white institutionalized racism”, Asian Americans faced similar, if not more brutal xenophobia and racism than African Americans especially given the circumstances and historical context. The post-WWII era unified blacks and whites against a common enemy and created an assimilated group that triggered the path towards racial equality--or in other words: the makings of a more equal and integrated society for blacks and whites. However, with post WWII Japanese resentment, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War, impressions of Asian Americans in the United States declined as those for African Americans rose. Moreover, the voice of Asian Americans often went unheard as they assimilated into a “White democracy”. As a result, the emergence of the “Yellow Power” movement began as a direct influence from...

    Read More

  • Chinese and American Cultures

    4366 Words  | 9 Pages

    Chinese-Americans authors Amy Tan and Gish Jen have both grappled with the idea of mixed identity in America. For them, a generational problem develops over time, and cultural displacement occurs as family lines expand. While this is not the problem in and of itself, indeed, it is natural for current culture to gain foothold over distant culture, it serves as the backdrop for the disorientation that occurs between generations. In their novels, Tan and Jen pinpoint the cause of this unbalance in the active dismissal of Chinese mothers by their Chinese-American children.

    Read More

  • Asian American Stereotypes in Film

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the film Gung Ho filmed in the year 1986, the story is told of the plight of the people working in the region known as the Rust Belt. The group that is the focal point of this story is the relation between Asian men in an American town and the differences they share are played out in this movie. The stereotypes enlisted in this movie are both that of a villainous nature and a comedic relief with some of the characters. Throughout the film it is how the clever, white working class people of this hard working town have to overcome the maniacal working environment these Asian men have. Common stereotypes of the Asian man lay throughout the entire course of the movie, stereotypes that have been portrayed by the film industry of Asian men since its inception.

    Read More

  • Americanization in The Joy Luck Club

    1951 Words  | 4 Pages

    Oftentimes the children of immigrants to the United States lose the sense of cultural background in which their parents had tried so desperately to instill within them. According to Walter Shear, “It is an unseen terror that runs through both the distinct social spectrum experienced by the mothers in China and the lack of such social definition in the daughters’ lives.” This “unseen terror” is portrayed in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club as four Chinese women and their American-born daughters struggle to understand one another’s culture and values. The second-generation women in The Joy Luck Club prove to lose their sense of Chinese values, becoming Americanized.

    Read More

  • Sterotypes and Misconceptions of Asian Americans

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chinks, bad drivers, math and science nerds, F.O.Bs and ect. There are so many stereotypes and misconception for one specific ethnic group: Asian. But perhaps the most popular image of Asian Americans presented in society is being the “model minority.” If you were to ask any random person to pick a specific minority group that was more academically, economically and socially successful compared to the others, chances are 90% of them would answer: Asians. “Asians makes more money than any other race.” “Asians have the highest grades compared to other races, especially in math and science subjects.” But contrary to these popular stereotypes, the misrepresentation of Asian Americans as the model minority are false and simply just a myth. Furthermore, this misleading comparison may actually lead to harmful consequences in Asian American students.

    Read More

  • Mother Daughter Relationships - The Mother-daughter Relationship in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    The second and third sections are about the daughters' lives, and the vignettes in each section trace their personality growth and development. Through the eyes of the daughters, we can also see the continuation of the mothers' stories, how they learned to cope in America. In these sections, Amy Tan explores the difficulties in growing up as a Chinese-American and the problems assimilating into modern society. The Chinese-American daughters try their best to become "Americanized," at the same time casting off their heritage while their mothers watch on, dismayed. Social pressures to become like everyone else, and not to be different are what motivate the daughters to resent their nationality. This was a greater problem for Chinese-American daughters that grew up in the 50's, when it was not well accepted to be of an "ethnic" background.

    Read More

  • My Asian-American Experience

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this paper I will be sharing information I had gathered involving two students that were interviewed regarding education and their racial status of being an Asian-American. I will examine these subjects’ experiences as an Asian-American through the education they had experienced throughout their entire lives. I will also be relating and analyzing their experiences through the various concepts we had learned and discussed in class so far. Both of these individuals have experiences regarding their education that have similarities and differences.

    Read More

  • Racism, Sexism, and Sexuality Shown Through M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang

    1797 Words  | 4 Pages

    Eng, David L. Hom, Alice Y.. Q & A: queer in Asian America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998. Print.

    Read More

  • An Asian Growing Up in America

    1896 Words  | 4 Pages

    The air would always be humid and stuffy while riding the bus to school, and the slightest bump in the road would result in tossing up the kids like salad. The backseat would provide carriage for all the popular and tough kids shouting out at pedestrians on the street or flipping off a middle finger to the bus driver that would shout for them to calm down. I despised those kids in the back. They were the same people that made my life a living hell, while growing up and attending an American school.

    Read More

  • Influences Of Asian American Literature

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a result, literature has to follow certain guidelines to be classified as Asian American; being placed in a box limits many great pieces of work to gain the recognition they deserve. As Wong and Sumida state, Asian American Literature is a presentation of American culture within Asian American history and culture, rather than a representation of the entire culture. “Asian Americans” is a large and complex, pan-ethnic group of people making it difficult to classify them all under the same stereotypes. Many Asian American works portray Asian Americans as “perpetual aliens or castaways whose cultures tumble nicely and helplessly” (4). This is because Asian Americans create their own culture, a hybrid of Asian culture and American culture, they don’t fully fit in with American culture just as they don’t fully fit in with Asian culture. Asian American Literature is a reflection of just that, it doesn’t fit into specific guidelines, breaking away from the labels that others create and making its own impact by culturing its readers on being Asian American. Whether the author is Asian American or is solely writing about Asian American culture, it still classifies as Asian American Literature

    Read More

  • The Model Minority Myth Of Asian Americans

    2319 Words  | 5 Pages

    In 1970, the term “model minority” was popularized by journalists, social commentators and some academics to refer to Asian Americans. The stereotype suggests that Asian Americans are more academically, economically and socially successful than any other racial minority groups, and it was achieved by overcoming disadvantages through hard work, thrift, strong family ties, and emphasizing children’s education. Contrary to this popular belief by Americans, the exaggerated praising of Asian Americans as the model minority is false. This positive image of Asian Americans as a model minority has a sinister core of believe about Asian Americans and other racial minorities in America: a view of Asian American as foreign. Since most studies on Asian children centered on their success stories and the realization of the invisible crisis that many Asian American children face is fairly recent, few studies have addressed the diverse and complex experiences of Asian American children, especially those who do not fit the model minority stereotype. This paper revisits the model minority myth and examines the impact of model minority myth on underachieving student who are failing schools. I will first present a contextualized understanding of the “model minority myth,” what is it and what does it mean to be model minority. Secondly, I will demonstrate that the myth has been inaccurate and invalid representation for many Asian American students. Then, I discuss the impact of the model minority stereotype on underachieving Asian American student schooling. I argue that the stereotype has pose a threat to the students’ advancement on school and society. In order to illustrate the impact of the model minority stereotypes on individual experiences, I r...

    Read More

  • Asian American Literature

    499 Words  | 1 Pages

    For those Asian Americans who make known their discontent with the injustice and discrimination that they feel, in the white culture, this translates to attacking American superiority and initiating insecurities. For Mura, a writer who dared to question why an Asian American was not allowed to audition for an Asian American role, his punishment was “the ostracism and demonization that ensued. In essence, he was shunned” (Hongo 4) by the white people who could not believe that he would attack their superior American ways. According to writers such as Frank Chin and the rest of the “Aiiieeeee!” group, the Americans have dictated Asian culture and created a perception as “nice and quiet” (Chin 1972, 18), “mama’s boys and crybabies” without “a man in all [the] males.” (Chin 1972, 24). This has become the belief of the proceeding generations of Asian Americans and therefore manifested these stereotypes.

    Read More

More about What Asian-American Is Missing

Open Document