Post 1 – Introduction

This media project is about how Asian Americans have changed from being a foreign threat to a favorite model minority over the decades and the media’s role in that change. Historically, the interactions between Asia and America suggest that Asia is a threat to America. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Vietnam won the Vietnam War. China is a challenging America as the leading global power.

However in spite of these interactions, Asian Americans are now America’s favorite model minority. When and how did these change happen? This media project will study how the representation of Asian Americans in the media have changed over time and the role of the media in assisting those changes.

Post 2

This media project will be review a series of movies and documentaries starting from oldest to most recent. The first piece to be reviewed is the silent movie Broken Blossoms, released in 1919. Broken Blossom was directed by a non-Asian director and has a non-Asian perspective of Asians Americans.

Although Broken Blossoms does not portray Asian Americans in a positive light, the way the ending portrays Asian Americans is ambiguous. One way of viewing the ending is that the main danger to the heroine is not the Asian man who cares for her, but her father who kills her. The Yellow Man can be viewed as a unexpected hero who avenges her. Another way viewing the ending is that the Yellow Man is the cause of everyone’s problems. If they Yellow Man did not come to America, the heroine, her father and the Yellow Man would all be alive. If viewed in this way, the movie is suggesting that it would be in everyone’s best interest if foreigners stayed in their own countries.

The movie Broken Blossoms suggest that White Americans see Asians as inferior and dangerous, but aren’t completely certain. The movie suggest that Asians Americans may not be the yellow peril they feared, but it may still be in everyone’s best interest if they remained in their own countries.

Post 3

The second piece to be reviewed is the movie Flower Drum Song, released in 1961. Flower Drum Song, like Broken Blossom, was directed by a non-Asian director and has a non-Asian perspective of Asians Americans.

In the movie, many different kinds of representations of Asian Americans can be seen. For example, Linda Low, Master Wang and Wang Ta. Linda Low is an Asian American showgirl who has been completely assimilated into American culture. On the other hand, Master Wang has almost not assimilated at all and strong supports Chinese culture. His son, Wang Ta, supports both Chinese and American culture. Most characters in the movie is like Wang Ta, and supports both Chinese and American culture.

Despite the diverse number of character types in the movie, these character types are an orientalist stereotype. When a non-Asian decides what it means to be Asian and has Asians play these roles, it is an example of implicit yellowface. For instance, Master Wang plays the stereotype of an old Chinese man who refuses to assimilate. Despite living in the U.S. for many years, he has almost no ability to speak English.

Although the movie Flower Drum Song presents Asians as foreigners, they are foreigners who are becoming more like natives. The characters are presented not as a foreign threat, but as everyday immigrants who are caught between their native culture and American culture. This is an experience that many European immigrants also experienced. The movie shows Asian Americans losing some of their foreignness but gaining mainstream acceptance in exchange.

Post 4

The third piece to be reviewed is the documentary Forbidden City, USA, released in 1989. Forbidden City, USA breaks the trend and was directed by an Asian Director. It has an Asian perspective of Asians and non-Asian relationship.

In the documentary, Asian entertainers were able to shock the dominant media and society by breaking the model minority stereotypes. Asian males were not being quiet and studying, but singing, dancing and playing musical instruments. Asian females were not being modest and submissive, but singing, dancing and wearing skimpy dresses.

In the documentary Forbidden City, USA, the newer generation of Asian Americans are trying to end structural embeddedness created from the previous generation. By using dances, songs attires and mannerism uncharacteristic for Asian Americans, they attack the model minority stereotype that keeps structural embeddedness alive. The documentary shows Asian Americans gaining equality with mainstream society by controlling their own representation and destroying stereotypes that oppresses them.

Post 5

The fourth piece to be reviewed is the documentary Maya Lin, released in 1994. Maya Lin, like Forbidden City, USA, was directed by an Asian Director and has an Asian perspective of Asians and non-Asian relationship.

In the documentary, a number of people are outraged that an Asian American was designing an American memorial. This was because they felt that Asian Americans were not real Americans. This is an example of forever foreigner. Many Asian Americans was born in the U.S. and has spent their entire lives in the U.S. but is still considered a foreigner.

The documentary Maya Lin shows how Asian Americans are still facing racist treatment despite living in America for over a hundred years. However the documentary also shows that with enough persistence, Asian Americans are capable of being accepted. The Vietnam memorial that was designed by an Asian American is one of the most loved landmarks in the United States. This documentary shows that Asian Americans standing up for their beliefs and facing opposition, but eventually becoming accepted by the dominant majority.

Post 6

The fifth piece to be reviewed is the documentary AKA Don Bonus, released in 1995. AKA Don Bonus was directed by an Asian Director and has an Asian perspective of Asians and non-Asian relationship.

The most remarkable feature of AKA Don Bonus is about how it destroys typical Asian American stereotypes. Bonus and his family are Asian Americans, but are poor, uneducated, and discriminated against. Their family doesn’t have a father figure, and Don’s youngest brother ends up in prison. Don is bad at math and is doing poorly in school. His family is discriminated against and harassed by the other residents and police.

AKA Don Bonus is a realistic representation of an under-represented Asian American group. This was made possible through the use of media independence. Media independence is important because it allows Asians Americans to produce media according to their own logic, interest and perspective. This allows Asian Americans to control their representation in the media, and therefore change discriminatory stereotypes in society.

Post 7

The sixth piece to be reviewed is the movie The Debut, released in 2000. The Debut was directed by an Asian Director and has an Asian perspective of Asians and non-Asian relationship.

An important feature of The Debut is that it was made without support from the mainstream media. Gene Cajayon, a Filipino American, was able to produce the movie thanks to support from National Asian American Telecommunications Association, a community-based media organizations for AAPIs. The Debut is an example of independent media, and this independence allowed it to have a more authentic Asian perspective.

The overall theme of The Debut is that the older generation should let the younger generation decide their own future. This can be seen in the ending. The grandfather decides the future of Ben’s father, but Ben’s father allows Ben to decide his own future. This theme can be applied to general society. Old Asian stereotypes, such as Yellow Peril and model minority created by the past generation, should be let go and the new generation of Asian Americans should be allowed to control their own representation.

Post 8

The final piece to be reviewed is the movie Better Luck Tomorrow, released in 2002. Like many other pieces reviewed, Better Luck Tomorrow was directed by an Asian Director and has an Asian perspective of Asians and non-Asian relationship.

A noticeable feature of the movie Better Luck Tomorrow is that it shows Asian Americans in a negative light. The movie shows a side of Asian Americans that many people are not familiar with. On the surface, the characters in Better Luck Tomorrow are stereotypical teens. They fulfil the model minority stereotype by having good grades, working hard to get into college and being involved in many school clubs. However underneath they are in involved in a number of illegal activities which range from miniscule such as cheating and petty theft to serious such as trading drugs and murder.

The movie Better Luck Tomorrow suggest that the model minority representations are a façade, that Asian Americans are not a stereotype and can be anything, both good and bad. This self-evident truth helps destroy society’s long standing orientalism, and results in Asian Americans being treated as people instead of stereotypes.

Post 9 – Conclusion

Asian Americans were able to become American’s favorite minority group by following three steps. The first step is to remove or decrease harmful Asian representation in the media. This will reduce the amount of prejudice that Asian Americans receive. The second step is to introduce or reinforce helpful Asian representation in the media. This will make it easier for Asian Americans to gain representation in fields that traditionally excludes them. The third step is to seek media independence. This will allow Asian Americans to control and to ensure continued helpful Asian American representation.

In today’s media Asian American representation is rare and any representation of Asian Americans in the media can have long lasting effects on the society’s conceptual maps. By removing harmful representation and ensuring continued helpful representation, Asian Americans were able to improve their image. This eventually resulted in Asian Americans becoming American’s favorite minority group.