My Video: https://www.wevideo.com/view/2689845946
Reflection:
- What are the two most influential ideas you learned from your research? Why did these ideas impact you so much? Be specific.
One of the first ideas that really shifted my perspective towards my topic is that Asian and Asian-American artists can contribute, either knowingly or unwittingly, to stereotypes of the Asian community. This was explored in an article I researched written by Lee Kyoo. Although I did not use this specific source in my video, it helped to build the angle that I started looking at my topic with. Lee essentially argued that Asian-Americans can unknowingly contribute to negative roles and stereotypes in media. This is important as it implies that we should scrutinize Asian-American content in addition to supporting it, and that there is no “free pass” to uplifting the community. I looked at my choice novel in that type of light, because although it was well-written and spoke from Amy Tan’s personal experiences with her family, many elements of the book like Waverly’s status as a child prodigy or the stringent and distant relationships between each daughter and their mother. While this reflects much of Tan’s actual childhood and is therefore authentic, it does also contribute to stereotypes of the Chinese community.
Another idea that had a strong impact on me is the sheer amount of progress left to go. With current movements and growth for Asian media, it’s important to understand that there is still a lot of work to do. This was specifically shown through the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Study. The films they examined were all pretty modern, released within the last 20 years up to 2019, and while a lot of new films with more Asian representation were released these past couple ofyears, it’s unacceptable for us to simply settle with the growth we’ve just recently gained. Similar to Lee’s source that I looked into, this encourages us to scrutinize and examine current representation of Asian-Americans as it selectively highilghts heterosexual, young, male, able-bodied voices. Thus, an intersectional approach towards Asian-American representation is necessary for actually substantial change to be made.
- What do you hope people will learn from your project?
The real core of my project that I hope people will understand is to look beyond the tropes that are perpetuated by media. Even if Chinese characters are put into a movie, or Chinese actors are cast, that does not mean that the actual substance of the media is necessarily representative of the Chinese community. I mentioned a few big examples of this in my video, like Bunk’d or Mulan. Although there are Chinese characters and cast members, they both show incredibly false representations of Chinese culture and people. Audiences need to look beyond the face value of a piece of media into the actual significance of what each piece of media has.
- What is the most important thing you learned about yourself, your community, and your world during your time at NNHS?
The most important thing I think I learned is that everything is worth a shot. Giving a chance on yourself, people in your community, and experiences in the world is one of the best things you can do. It’s much harder to actually keep an open mind in the face of something completely new or seemingly odd than it is to say that, but keeping a level and open head is genuinely one of the best ways to grow as a person and connect with the world.
- What advice would you give future NNHS seniors?
I’m not actually sure if I’m qualified to say this but I think that the best but most overused thing I could say is to value your time. Beyond the common advice of starting on college applications early, it’s also important to value the rest of your high school career and your time with friends and family. At the end of the day, colleges and future education is very important, but spending time with the people you love is even more so. As someone who wasn’t super into school pride and spent most of my time working, I did my best this year to spend time with the people I love and it was definitely worth it.
So this is the end! It’s weird to think this year of blogs is actually over so I’ll end my run as I began it.
With Seventeen : )
Hi Claire!
Your video was so engaging! I loved all the points you brought up in both your video and the blog itself about the 1 track narrative that Chinese children are portrayed as especially in TV and film. I saw that you included Bunk’d in your video essay and that totally brought me back to my childhood when I was watching Jesse. I didn’t have the vocabulary as a child, but I remember so distinctly seeing Ravi, the adopted Indian son on screen and remembering that something felt off. He was often the butt end of jokes, was bad at sports and good at math, basically all the stereotypes rolled into one. I totally agree that the current representation is lacking at best. There have been some really good strides made though! I saw that you included “The Farewell” and “Crazy Rich Asians” which are 2 movies I absolutely love, as well as “Raya and the Last Dragon”. I would definitely like to see more LGBTQ representation with Asian characters as well like the study from your video highlighted there was a strong lack of. Overall amazing job, HAVE SO MUCH FUN AT HARVARD!
Willow
Hi Claire!
I remember being really interested by your research question when I first read it on the discussion board, and I think you did a great job exploring it in your video! I definitely agree that Chinese families have been portrayed in a certain light in the media (usually with the parents being extremely strict, constantly pushing their children to achieve, almost with the children being victims of their parents). Although I think that this image does have some root in reality (devotion to the family is an important value in Chinese culture, as you mentioned), I agree that it does tend to be one-note and doesn’t necessarily align with a lot of experiences in actual Chinese-American families. I personally don’t feel that my parents had this sort of authoritarian relationship with me, so I understand why people might be frustrated with the dominance of just one story. I think that a lot of this issue can be traced back to the fact that Asian people often aren’t allowed to tell their own stories. Without Chinese people giving their own experiences, simplified narratives can take over, spreading the impression that all Chinese families follow this image. Great video!
Hi Claire! First off, what a great video! Thank you for putting the effort to put together such a great video essay! As a person who read Joy Luck Club for this project, I certainly agree with the Asian-American stereotypes you brought up in your research.
In my project, I specifically investigated the Asian-American stereotypes with respect to the mother-daughter relationships and parenting, and believe it or not, I have had similar observations as to how you have observed from a media standpoint. It is surely interesting to see the similarities between how Asian-American stereotypes might be conveyed, and I totally agree with the fact that we should look beyond the Asian-American stereotypes viewed in media. Clearly, some of us are trying to do that, but more emphasis needs to be provided, explaining the large amount of progress left to go.
Thanks for sharing!