YORK UNIVERSITY YORK
UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY
ASIAN NORTH AMERICAN FILM: IMAGES, REACTIONS AND CRITICISMS
KEVIN LIM
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF ARTS
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Examination Committee members: 1. Sharon Hayashi 2. Scott MacKenzie 3. Wendy Wong 4. Ted Goossen Abstract
Key histories in Asian/North American interactions provided the foundation for
Asian representations in dominant motion pictures. Although blatant racist representations have arguably subsided, these once overtly racist images have shifted in form and today diey continue to subversively perpetuate racist ideological beliefs. It is within Asian North American cinema that counter hegemonic images provide a space to react. A look at history, image production and Asian North American film will reveal how processes of Asian identity, community and culture are formed.
iv Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my family for their love and encouragement, my supervisor,
Dr. Sharon Hayashi for her care and direction and my undergraduate thesis supervisor Dr. Suzie Young for her continual support. I am grateful to the staff at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and my loving partner Rei
Nakanishi. Finally, I would like to thank the Asian North American filmmakers and authors whose movies and books have influenced and provoked this research.
v Contents
Abstract iv Acknowledgement v Contents vi Preface 1
Chapter 1: A Brief History of Asian and Western Interaction 6 1.1 Head Tax and Internment 6 1.2 Killing Asian Men and Saving Asian Women 9
Chapter 2: Asians on North American Screens 13 2.1 Asian Women on Television and Asian Men not on Television 14 2.2 Asian Women in Pornography and Asian men not in Pornography 27 2.3 Pornographic Reactions and Shortcomings 34 2.4 Miscegenation and Sex Crime 38 2.5 Race as Performance 42
Chapter 3: Asian North American Films 46 3.1 Alternative Cinema 48 3.2 Justin Lin and Angry Asian Man/Men and Bruce Lee 50 3.3 Michael Kang's The Motel 62 3.4 Criticisms from Within 66 3.5 Asian North American Feature Length Narratives at SFIAAFF 2008 72 3.6 The Asian North American Film Festival 76
Conclusion 81 Epilogue 84 Work Cited 86 Appendix 92
VI Preface
A pornographic website titled, Me Fuck you Long Time, sells memberships to a collection of pictures and videos of exclusively Asian women.1 The website's banner is a collage of images: on the right side is a picture of the Statue of
Liberty, the American Flag and an army tank. On the opposite side there is an image of a White man receiving fellatio from an Asian woman wearing a cheongsam.l The text below reads, "Asian babes getting their pussies pounded by American Cock. Petite Asian Girls Take Big Cocks in their Tiny Holes!!!"
This website's sexual, racial and political cues serve as a starting point for my research. I have chosen to explore the state of Asian North American representations in motion picture.2 lam concerned with the (lack of) progress representations have made on both film and television screens. Although arguably there have been improvements in terms of frequency of exposure, representations of Asia and Asians are in need of critical analysis. Images of rice hate wearing, opium smoking coolies and seductive dragon lady temptresses are perhaps gone but these caricatures have been reinvented on today's screens. The second half of my research looks at the Asian North American film industry as a site that reacts to dominant motion picture. It is here that Asian North American
1 A cheongsam is a Chinese one-piece dress traditionally made of silk. 21 use the term Asian North Americans to refer to people of East Asian origin born or living in Canada or the United States. Some critics would call attention to my exclusion of South Asians. However, I feel in terms of North American media representation, South Asians are subject to a different process of othering and thus a different set of studies.
1 filmmakers and audiences produce counter hegemonic images and often attempt to reconcile social, racial and sexual anxieties and fears, all of which I contend are a direct result of a history of racism and sustained racism through dominant motion pictures. An analysis of key contemporary Asian North American films will reveal how and why these anxieties are manifested.
It is necessary to understand racism on screens as a result of early interactions with Asians in North American history. I begin with a select overview of early
Asian immigration and examine how racist laws policed and restricted processes of settlement and adaptation. In the late 1800s, the Chinese were subject to a racially targeted head tax to enter Canada. The tax worked to curb Chinese immigration, financially cripple generations of Chinese immigrants and cause a debilitating gender imbalance that stunted population growth. During World War
II, Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians were forced to live in internment camps because they were seen as a threat to American and Canadian national security. Despite their American and Canadian citizenships, these individuals were viewed as perpetual foreigners. American anti-miscegenation laws were created to suppress the marriage of Asians men and Whites women. Additionally, in instances when an Asian American woman married an Asian man, the government revoked her citizenship (Koshy, 2004: 7). Racist laws such as these were compounded with gender biases and consequently promoted the union of
2 Asian women with American men.3 U.S. military campaigns in Japan, Vietnam and South Korea, led to the killing of hundreds of thousands of Asian men.
Through American military and government propaganda, Asian men were demonized and Asian women were viewed as innocent victims. Finally, postwar
Asia experienced "the transformation of former military rest and recreation centers...into popular sex tourist destinations [and] the emergence of a burgeoning mail-order bride industry" (Koshy, 2004:12). A combination of the aforementioned histories became the foundation for producing images of Asia(ns) in North America.
The second chapter explores how American television programming instills racial norms that under the guise of easy viewing, subversively program both
White and non-White audiences with racial expectations and prejudices. Darrell
Hamamoto heeds, "Even the most seemingly benign TV programs articulate the relationship between race and power, either explicitly or through persuasion"
(Hamamoto, 1994:2). I uncover these processes of persuasion and suggest that representations created by the dominant hegemony act as a new means to exclude and subjugate Asians and Asian North Americans. Popular examples of Asian female fetishization and Asian male emasculinization will demonstrate how historical conceptions of Asians extend onto screens today. Asian festishized
3 The term 'American' is used synonymously for White.
3 American pornography is a contentious but important site to specifically explore this. Hyperbolic in terms of racist representations, American pornography provide a means to analyze sexual desire and pleasure that lead into my study of
Race as commodity and constructed performance.
The final chapter looks at how Asian North American filmmakers have reacted to dominant images and "engaged in an intertextual dialogue with
Hollywood films" (Xing, 1998:53). By analyzing key films it is evident that
Asian North American male filmmakers in particular use film to react to and counteract racial stereotypes in dominant motion pictures. One such instance where this is clear is the the Angry Asian Man phenomenon. An article published by the CBC reported a frequent occurrence of young Asian men (in film, theatre, music and literature) who act out 'Angry' personalities. These Angry Asian Men challenge stereotypical images of Asian men as weak, quiet, foreign and passive with images of Asian men as violent, lewd, reckless, hypersexual, homophobic and misogynist. In the pursuit of an alternative and positive representation, the results are arguably counterproductive. Finally, I will address Asian North
American film festivals and the criticisms, politics and complexity of their function in the production of identity and culture.
Asian North American representation continues to change with each new film,
TV program and commercial. With this research I seek to contextualize recent
4 images of representation with both old and new discourses. It is my concern that in order for progress to be made in terms of racial equality in North American, changes must be made in terms of racial representations. By disseminating my findings and opinions on how Asian representations are produced both in the mainstream and in the Asian North American industry, I hope both readers and filmmakers may develop a better understanding on the importance of racial representation in motion picture and how they may have serious consequences on
Asian North American identity.
5 Chapter 1 A Brief History of Asian and North American Interaction
"Our sexuality is embedded in history; our history is embedded in the sexuality we see on screen" (Shimizu, 2007: 17).
In the early years of Asian immigration to North America there were numerous conflicts that made settlement and adaptation especially difficult. Early immigrants faced labour exploitation, racist immigration and marriage laws and violations of human and civil rights. By charting these racially based conflicts, it will be clear how governments played a key role in producing the first ideas of
Asianess in North America and unknowingly laid the foundation for racist dominant motion picture.
1.1 Head Tax and Internment
Enticed with the prospect of striking gold in California, thousands of Chinese men travelled to California for the gold rush. When the rush subsided in the late
1800s, large populations of Chinese men on the west coast found work on the
American transcontinental railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway. These workers were subject to very low wages and were seen as a threat to the employment of non Chinese workers.4 This created animosity between Chinese and non-Chinese workers and segregated the Chinese population. In addition to
Construction companies preferred employing Chinese men to save on costs.
6 low pay, Chinese workers were subject to unsafe working conditions. They were often ordered to set and detonate volatile explosives without proper safety procedure. A Canadian heritage commercial claims that the death toll of Chinese men during the construction of the CPR was so high that there is "one dead
Chinese worker for every mile of track that was laid".
When the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885 it unified the country stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. After its completion, Chinese immigration was still rising and there was a concern that this would destabilize the economy and create higher unemployment. Concerned for the economic welfare of the country, the Canadian government passed the
Chinese Immigration Act of 1885. The act implemented a $50 head tax to be paid by all Chinese entering the country in hopes that it would curb their flow of immigrantion. Despite expensive tax, the Chinese continued to pay. By the turn of the century, the head tax had been raised twice and eventually to an incredible
$500.5 By 1920, the Canadian government collected head tax from over 81,000
Chinese, totalling $23,000,000.6 By imposing this tax, in conjunction with anti- miscegenation laws, the Canadian government effectively discouraged the immigration of Chinese women and children and ultimately controlled the lives of thousands of Chinese men for decades. It was recorded, "until 1906, Chinese
5 $500 in 1900 was equivalent to two years salary. 6 $23,000,000 in 1930 was equivalent to $262,009,155 in 2006.
7 women never constituted more than 5% of the [Chinese] population" (Koshy,
2004:8) and the "imbalance in gender ratio...was not fully corrected until long
after World War II" (Hamamoto, 1994:6). Despite the hardship, Chinese men
were still willing to pay the tax. Eventually the Canadian government passed the
Chinese Exclusion Act in 1923 and stopped all Chinese immigration for the next
20 years.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt
signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942 which provided the American military and government instructions to displace Japanese and Japanese
Americans in the name of national security. The Canadian government soon
followed suit and passed the War Measures Act on February 24, 1942. Both
governments sold the land of Japanese American and Japanese Canadians without permission at often lower than market value prices. The majority of these funds were not transferred to the internees and were instead absorbed by realtors,
auctioneers and handlers. Japanese acculturation into North American society was regarded as a security weakness. Susan Koshy notes, "Japanese family formation was [thought to be an] imperialist strategy to conquer the United States through reproductive power and weaken American racial stock" (Koshy, 2004:8).
Even the idea of the Japanese family unit was regarded as a security risk that
8 needed to be contained. The Japanese were viewed as perpetual foreigners with allegiances to the Japanese army.
1.2 Killing Asian Men and Saving Asian Women
U.S. military conflicts with Japan during World War II (1941-1945), Korea
(1950-1953) and Vietnam (1959-1975) resulted in the killing of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Through this period of almost 40 years, the U.S military and American propaganda popularized the yellow enemy; the 'gooks', the
'chinks' and the 'japs', as not only a threat to American freedom but also the freedom of Asian women and children." There was a popular belief that "rescuing
Oriental women from Oriental men...[was] the white man's burden" (Feng,
2002:40). Although statistical data was not well maintained it has been estimated for instance that from the 1950s to the mid-1990s "some 90,000 Korean women...immigrated to America as wives of U.S. soldiers" (Reimers, 2008).
During the 1950s, 80% of 45,000 Japanese immigrants and almost all of the
16,000 Filipinos who immigrated to the U.S. (From 1950 to 1964) were wives of
U.S. servicemen. In many cases fatherless Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese children were adopted by American soldiers. Just as economics and politics had an influence in the United States' war agenda, notions of White racial superiority played a strong role in defining American freedom and independence. Thus, in
9 saving the women and children, Americans could impart their notions of freedom and independence onto others.
North America's history with early Chinese immigrants and the long and bloody history of violence with Japan, Vietnam and Korean, entrenched the
Yellow man as the enemy in the American psyche. These anxieties "[combined] racist terror of alien cultures, sexual anxieties, and the belief that the West will be overpowered and enveloped by the irresistible, dark, occult forces of the east"
(Marchetti, 1993: 2). It later became the Canadian and the United States government's agenda to protect its White citizens at home. The 1922 Cable Act was an American law that reversed former immigration laws regarding marriage to foreigners. 7 Before the act, an American woman would lose her U.S citizenship if she married a foreign man. The government recognized this as unfair and amended the law. However, the amendment only guaranteed citizenship to women who were married to aliens eligible of naturalization. Asian men at the time were not considered eligible. This exclusion "worked to impede...[their] incorporation in America [and]...subsequent generation of
American-born citizens" (Koshy, 2004:6-7). Despite the eventual abolishment of this act, the resulting gender population disproportion stunted Asian American communities. These laws were effective in promoting the coupling of Asian
7 United States Federal Law: "Married Women's Independent Nationality Act." Ch. 411,42 Stat. 1021.
10 women with "white men [who] had free sexual access to nonwhite women"
(Koshy, 2004:4). This disparity in racial couplings both past and present is seen
by Hamamoto as result of continual racial oppression.
During the Vietnam War, the sex tourism industry in Asia grew quickly. U.S.
soldiers at sea or on military bases could take shore leave in cities like Saigon or
Bangkok and solicit sex from prostitutes. After tensions in East Asia subsided
and the U.S. military withdrew their primary forces, mese sex tourist destinations
became a popular vacation spot for American men and "entrenched the eroticism
and femininity associated with Asian American women" (Koshy, 2004:12). Laxer
laws in Vietnam and Thailand led to the development of large underground child
prostitution industries and the emergence of a successful mail-order bride practice.
Returning to my observations of the porn site "Me Fuck you Long Time", we
can see how notions of American superiority and dominance work their way into
Q
the sexual conquering of Asian women. The American flag is an icon of claim
and ownership, the tank embodies notions of force, violence and death and the
Statue of Liberty acts as a symbol of acculturation and liberty - an icon of
The website's title is a phrase that most likely found its origin from Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). In a scene that happens on a patio a Saigon, a Vietnamese prostitute offers to have sex with Private Joker and his colleague. While they work out the details, a pair of Vietnamese men steal Joker's camera and disrupt the (sexual) transaction.
11 Whiteness and Americaness that is both desired and forced.9 This juxtaposition of images next to images of a White man having sex with an Asian woman proposes that the White man can impart the aforementioned elements onto the
Asian woman and her "domination or sexual possession [by] the master race becomes an additional means of enforcing unequal power relation" (Hamamoto,
1994:46). This domination has an effect on Asian men in that his, "inability to provide for and protect female family members from men of the master race...reduces him to impotence, self-loathing and resignation" (Hamamoto,
1994:46). The complexity of Asianness in American porn and the notion of the self-loathing Asian man will be further explored in Chapter 2 and 3.
9 In April of 2003, when American troops moved into Baghdad, a solider covered a statue of Saddam Hussein with the American flag. The flag was ordered to be removed since the operation in Iraq was supposedly a mission of liberation and not a claim.
12 Chapter 2 Asians on North American Screens
"Representations attempt to make visible what reside in the psyche" (Shimzu, 2007:99).
The first 100 years of North American interaction with Asians in terms of immigration and settlement were met with "economic rivalry and sexual jealousy"
(Takaki, 1989: 327). Asia was feared for its potential to biologically corrupt the
West and there was a fear of a sexual threat to America's Whiteness/purity. In recent years, the 'Asia threat' has changed from a biological/genetic concern to an anxiety over cultural and economic contamination. Today, American news agencies report on the immense economical and cultural expansion that Asian is currently going through and how this new growth threatens the U.S. The popularity of the Mandarin language, China's booming economy, Korea's flourishing film industry and the rising Japanese Yen are examples of pressures that destabilize notions of American prosperity and dominance. Historically, the
American and Canadian governments used immigration, marriage and homeland security laws to defend against the Asian threat. Today, North American dominant ideology is preserved and perpetuated through the subtle control of motion picture. Through the control of what is seen, how it seen and how often
10 BBC News. Mandarin learning soars outside China. Published January 9, 2007, NPR.org. A Booming China Spells Trouble for America. Published May 23, 2007, BBC News. S Korea trades film rights with US. Published February 12, 2004, The Economist. The yen also rises.Publishe d Marchl9, 2008.
13 (or not) it is seen, North American values are (re)invented and disseminated.
Historically, Asian women on screen have been positioned in a sexual binary;
either as hypersexual or as submissive and demure. Laura Kang underlines this
construction, writing, "There are two basic types [of Asian women]: the Lotus
Blossom baby (a.k.a China Doll, Geisha Girl, shy Polynesian beauty), and the
Dragon Lady (Fu Manchu's various female relations, prostitutes, devious
madams)" (Kang, 2002: 77). Asian men are typically portrayed as Kung Fu
Masters, Servants, Nerds, Scientists or Doctors who are feminized or asexual.
Although these stereotypical caricatures are for the most part a thing of the past,
today these images have been reinvented and continue to serve a similar agenda.
2.1 Asian Women on Screen and Asian Men not on Screen
North American representation of Asian/Asian American men and women
are not exclusively sexist or racist. The stereotype of the hypersexual and
sexually accessible Asian/Asian American woman is a result of a double
subjugation - being both Asian and a woman. She is from the East (the past) and
she needs to be civilized and brought to the West (the present). Her innate hypersexuality and seductiveness is complimentarily paired with Western/White notions of masculinity and dominance and it is through her the West/White is defined as the dominant center. Additionally, as a woman she is ideally
14 submissive, she is an object sought, obtained and owned. Her idealized femininity strengthens and defines notions of masculine superiority. Her racialized and feminized submissiveness work together. Images of Black women and arguably other non-white women share the same construction on screen.
They carry the burden as both objects to be racially conquer and objects to be sexually dominated.
Popular television shows like Seinfeld (1989-1998), and Friends (1994-2004) are presented in a medium that under the guise of easy viewing have the potential to subtly program audiences. Despite the arguably lowbrow nature of the primetime sitcom format, Seinfeld and Friends are particularly effective forums to
"provide ideological legitimacy for an unstable, crisis-ridden advanced capitalist social order" (Hamamoto, 1994:207). Examples of how Asianess is presented on these two shows will provide an insight into how older histories of race construction are in some ways continued and in many ways reinvented.
The popular sitcom, Seinfeld, revolves around the neurosis of four friends living in New York City. Loosely based on the stand up comedy of Jerry
Seinfeld, the show offers commentaries on sex, political correctness and social etiquette. In season 4, episode 15 (1993), George (Jason Alexander) meets a
Chinese woman at the local coffee shop. She introduces herself as Cheryl (an
Anglicized name) and tells George that she is a lawyer.1" Later in the episode, it
15 is revealed that the Chinese food delivery 'boy', Ping (a Chinese name) that
Elaine hit with her car is the cousin of Cheryl.lv Because Elaine is George's friend, Cheryl convinces Ping to drop his lawsuit against Elaine. After George and Cheryl have an inevitable falling out at the end of the episode, Ping informs
Elaine that the lawsuit is 'back on'.
Cheryl speaks English without an accent. She is well dressed, educated, her career is ambitious, presumably high paying and she appears to be successful.
She also appears to be immediately accessible to George. The episode opens with
Cheryl laughing hysterically at George's jokes. The image of George (a White man) and Cheryl on screen proposes an assumed pairing as if "the accessibility of women of color to White males appears to be a given fact" (Donaldson, 2006:
167). In contrast to Cheryl, her cousin Ping, is a meagre delivery boy for a
Chinese take-away. He is short, of comparable height to Elaine (Julia Louise
Dreffaus), he speaks with a discernable Chinese accent and his small frame is emphasized by a winter jacket that seems two or three sizes too big for him.
David Eng comments on the common construction of Asian men as meagre characters in motion picture. He notes, "Popular stereotypes connecting past and present Asian American male labourers to these types of professions are succinct and compelling illustrations of the ways in which economically driven modes of feminization cling to bodies not only sexually but also racially" (Eng, 2001:17).
16 At the end of the episode, Ping delivers Chinese food to Jerry's apartment and informs Elaine that he has resumed his lawsuit. As Ping stands in the doorway he flips through the money he just received for the Chinese food, emphasizing his pettiness and greed. Ping leaves the apartment commenting in broken English,
"You think she (referring to his cousin, Cheryl) nice girl? Wait till you see her in court. She's a shark! They call her the Terminator."
This final statement regarding Cheryl's tenacity demonstrates a common
Asian female stereotype which proposes that if an Asian woman is not an attractive, demure, seductive temptress, she is a mean, cold-hearted, sadistic monster or 'shark' in this case. The character construction also speaks to the common belief that Asian women maintain an ability to transcend geographic and cultural borders more easily. Cheryl has adjusted to North America, Ping has not.
Her name, her language, her profession, her social life, and her personality are in tune with Jerry and his White friends where as Ping is an outsider. Unlike his predecessors, like Fu Man Chu and evil Oriental warlords, Ping does not perform the stereotypical sexual threat to female Whiteness. Ping has, "neither the interest seemingly nor the opportunity to be involved with white women" (Donaldson,
2006: 167). Instead has been stripped of any sexuality and now threatens the
White woman's financial being.
17 Next to Seinfeld, Friends was perhaps the most watched television comedy sitcom on American television sets in the late 90s. It's cultural influences in terms of fashion, colloquial speech and commentaries on dating resonates even today as the show's reruns are still in high rotation. The program follows the social and professional lives of six friends in Manhattan. In the first season finale
(Episode 24, 1995), Ross (David Schwimer) travels to China on business. He returns to New York City with a Chinese woman, Julie (Laura Tom). Rachel
(Jenifer Aniston) is heartbroken when she discovers Ross's girlfriend from "the orient." In Julie's first scene the following dialogue is spoken:
RACHEL Enough about me, enough about me, Mr. Back from the Orient. I wanna hear everything!
ROSS Well, where do I start? This is Julie. Julie, this is Rachel.
RACHEL ... Welcome to our country.
JULIE Thank you. I'm from New York.
Here is another example of an Asian woman presented simultaneously as both domestic and foreign. Julie is Chinese but the idea that she was born in New
York is reasonable to the audience and her Asianess is never again directly addressed. Yet, her foreignness is indirectly established through her character's
18 function in the show's narrative. Julie is viewed as an intruder to the group of all
White friends. She stands between Rachel and Ross, the quintessential White couple of the 90s. Julie fits the model of the "Asian femme [fatale who's] sexuality is framed in a rivalry with... white [women]" (Shimizu, 2007: 65). In the following episode, Rachel tries to disrupt Julie's sexual advances by misleading Ross into thinking Julie does not want to have sex. Of course this idea is absurd since not only are all couples sexually active on Friends but Julie is
Asian and as stereotypes suggest she is presumed to be sexually accessible to the
White man. In another episode (Season 2, Episode 2, 1995), Rachel tries to befriend Julie in the coffee shop. Julie tells Rachel that she really wants to be friends to which Rachel mutters under her breath, "What a manipulative bitch."
Here we see the innocent, demure, lotus blossom stereotype is compounded with the sadistic lady dragon myth as Julie "attracts with her soft, unthreatening, and servile femininity while concealing her hard, dangerous, and domineering nature"
(Shimizu, 2007: 61). Eventually, Rachel breaks up Julie and Ross and after a brief moment a face of color is on screen, Whiteness is restored.
During the show's ten-year run, interracial dating only occurred between the central male characters and minor female characters (who typically appear in only one episode). In season 7, episode 17 (2001), Joey and Ross fight over a Black woman (Gabrielle Union) and in season 6, episode 22 (2000), Joey sleeps with a
19 Korean woman (Susie Park) who is married to a White man. The other three
female characters, Rachel, Phoebe and Monica never have relationships with non-
white men. Throughout the variety of other popular shows on North American
television, there seems to be a general lack of Asian men. This is due to an
apparent difference in desirability of Asian women versus Asian men. n
The only all-Asian casted sitcom on American television to date was All
American Girl (1994) starring standup comedian Margaret Cho. Cho plays
Margaret Kim, a Korean American young woman growing up in San Francisco.
The show was loosely based on Cho's standup comedy, particularly regarding
Cho/Kim's traditional Korean mother and father. In the series short run of only 18 episodes, each half hour episode presents Margaret as a wild and rebellious teenager. Her attitude clashes with her 'traditional' parents and specifically her mom's desire for Margaret to settle down and marry a 'traditional' Korean man; one who is a doctor, lawyer or accountant. Margaret's father takes a passive role in parenting and often leaves the parenting up to his wife.
ABC cancelled All American Girl after only one season. From its debut, the show was subject to heavy scrutiny by Asian Americans and even ABC network executives and writers who constantly tried to reformat the show. Asian
111 understand that even in the White context, the sexual desirability of Women vs. Men operate differently. However, both genders hold at least some level of sexual desire. However, it does seem in the case of Asian women and men, that there clearly is a desirability of women and not of men.
20 Americans did not think the show offered a positive representation of
Korean/Asian Americans. Kim's mom is oppressive and her father is passive.
Additionally, critics noted that the show was sanitized and lacked the serious race issues that Cho addresses in her stand up. Producers constantly pressured Cho to check her Asianess. In Cho's concert film, I'm The One That I Want (2000), she divulges what was happening behind the scenes at ABC. Cho reports that she was told she was not "acting Asian enough". ABC allegedly hired an "Asian
Consultant" who tried to teach Cho to "be more Asian." When different writers came onto the show they made drastic format changing, at one point replacing the entire family with Caucasian characters. Cho also said executives requested Cho to lose weight which seemed absurd to Cho since she was playing a character based on herself. Pressures to lose weight and the show's impending failure had a serious effect on Cho who would later develop serious health problems including drug and alcohol addiction. In the commentary of the show's DVD, Cho says,
"This is NOT based on my stand-up" when the disclaimer "Based on the stand-up of Margaret Cho" appears at the end of every episode. Ultimately, the show failed because it was too Asian for White audiences (as thought by the ABC executives) and too White for Asian audiences. The project's failure was not necessarily the fault of Cho or ABC but rather it seemed the demands and expectations of Asian
21 Americans were incongruent with the viewing habits of White dominated audiences.
As an ethnic performer and particularly an Asian one, there is an expectation and pressure from the performer's community to represent accurately the feelings and opinions of that community. This burden of representation puts pressure on a performer to satisfy both the dominant desires and the community's desires.
Typically, if crossover and mainstream success is the performer's ultimate goal, he or she must satisfy the immediate critics, the ones who hold financially stake in the performance. This often leads to the compromising of artistic and in this case cultural integrity. As a general rule, ethnically based TV shows "tends to portray a world relatively free of ethnic, racial, gender, and class conflict. As the public relations arm of corporate America, network television is wont to minimize if not discount the positive results of sustained popular opposition to racism, economic exploitation, and sexism" (Hamamoto, 1994:61). Based on this unwritten policy it explains why in the 14 years since Ail-American Girl was taken off the air there has yet to be another all-Asian American sitcom.
Chinese American Lucy Liu is perhaps the highest paid and most recognized
Asian American actress in Hollywood right now. Liu's recent projects seem progressive in terms of dispelling Asian stereotypes. She often plays an
'American' woman, without an accent and is typically casted as a main or
22 important supporting character who maintains a strong presence both physically
and vocally. Liu is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Alex Munday in
Charlie's Angels (2000) and Charlie's Angels II (2003). Alex is one third of a
crime fighting trio who through elaborate disguise, espionage and martial arts, foil
the plans of villains bent on world domination. In both films, Alex's character
appears to be racially ambiguous. Her last name is Munday, her father (John
Cleese) is a White man and the original cast of Charlie's Angels (1976-1981) was
played by all White American actresses. In Charlie's Angels II, writers make a
point to indirectly address Liu/Munday's ethnicity. Escaping an explosion on top
of a skyscraper, Dylan (Drew Berrymore), Natalie (Cameron Diaz) and Alex fly
to safety swinging on an electrical wire. As the trio and debris fall from above,
their colleague, Bossley (Bernie Mac) exclaims, "It's raining White women!"
Liu's transnational ability as an actress is explored in both films. Liu plays the
part of an international secret agent, who masquerades as a carwash attendant, fast
food server, cabaret performer, rock band guitarist, dirt bike racer, scantily clad
Swedish woman (in 'Swedish national costume'), Oriental masseuse (chopsticks
in hair and wearing a cheongsam), bikini waxer, dominatrix human resources consultant and French maid. The former examples seem reasonable for a film
about undercover espionage but the latter examples raises questions about the
23 construction of Liu as a hyper sexualized figure. Celine Shimizu's text, The
Hypersexuality of Race, addresses this concern but instead of focusing on how
these performances limit or reduce Asian American women or Liu's as an actress,
Shimizu takes on the challenging task of trying to understand how these
constructions may be employed as empowering opportunities/ According to
Shimizu, Liu prioritizes her own personal agenda over the burden of
representation and concentrates on proving box office worth and uses that power
to "afford more opportunities for herself (Shimizu, 2007:93). Liu expresses in
interview, "When you don't have options...you create options that will ultimately create new opportunities" (Shimizu, 2007:93)
There seems to be a large imbalance of Asian women versus Asian men on
North American screen. One particular area of television where this is most evident is in the North American news broadcast. There is a clear preference for
"female Asian American anchorpersons and [a] near-total absence of their male counterparts" (Hamamoto, 1994:245). Hamamoto refers to this as "the Connie
Chung syndrome" and calls this occurrence a "material outcome of a complementary system of racism and sexism." Peter Feng supports Hamamoto's theory, citing, "Asian American women have achieved greater visibility on
In Lucky Number Slevin (2006), Domino (2005) and Payback (2006), Liu also plays aggressive hypersexual masochistic characters.
24 television (in fiction programming as well as broadcast news) and in mainstream
American movies" (Feng, 2002:40).
Throughout North American television and film there seems to be a popular trend of transnational Asian female characters. Like Liu's characters, these women have adapted and assimilated into North American society while the
Asian men, if they are lucky enough to even be on screen, remain irrevocably foreign. Looking at the recent films of popular Asian North American actresses, there seems to be a trend in character naming that speaks to this transnationalism.
Lucy Liu played Sadie Blake in Rise (2006), Taryn Miles in Domino (2005),
Lauren Beck on the sitcom Joey (2004-2006) and Alex Munday in Charlie's
Angle I (2000) and Charlie's Angle II (2003). Korean Canadian actress Sandra
Oh played Bernice Schimmel in Bean (1997), Mrs. Phyllis Caldwel in Big Fat
Liar (2002), Carol French in Wilby Wonderful (2004), Sister Mary John in 3
Needles (2005) and Phyllis Maclntyre in Sorry, Haters (2005) and Chinese
American Kelly Hu played Sharon Crandall in Mayday (2005), Lisa Brooks in
Underclass (2005), Dr. Julia Hoffman in Dark Shadows (2004) and Rachel
Dureell in Boomtown (2003). The aforementioned characters all have non Asian last names. This suggests three possibilities. These Asian women are mixed
Asian and took their father's last names, are married to non Asian men or their characters are not racially specific. In any case, it supports the idea that Asian
25 women (both the characters and the actresses) have the ability to transcend
geographic and cultural borders. This is certainly not the case with Asian North
American male actors like B.D Wong, Daniel Dae Kim, Dustin Nguyen, Sung
Kan and Byron Mann who are usually casted as explicitly Asian characters.
Hamamoto discusses the ease in which Asian women may assimilate into White
culture. He extends this double standard into economics claiming, "White, male
hiring establishment feels more comfortable seeing a White male sitting next to a
minority female...than the reverse" (Hamamoto, 1994:245). Laura Hyun-Yi Kang
notes that this is, "in contrast to the gender hierarchy of male/female in the
West...the gender non-equivalence of the East [is] reversed, positioning the
oriental female as aesthetically superiors to the oriental male" (Kang, 2002: 75).
Color-blind casting has been praised by some as a sign that society is
somehow progressing beyond the conceptions of race. However, in these so-
called instances of progressiveness it is interesting to note that color-blind casting
often is the inclusion of ethnic actresses and not ethnic men. Looking locally at
the Southern Ontario theatre industry this is clear. In the 2007, Forward Theatre
production of Romeo and Juliet, Filipino Canadian Arlene Paculan played Juliet.
In the same year, Filipino Canadian Elena Juatco played Snow White in the Ross
Petty production of Snow White. In the 2008 Stratford production of Romeo and
26 Juliet, Juliet will be played by African Canadian Nikki M. James. These are examples of a racial/gender preference that extend outside motion picture.
2.2 Asian Women in Pornography and Asian Men not in Pornography
This same race/gender bias operates in American pornography. Surveying adult video stores, pornographic websites and tracing the history of success of
Asian oriented episodic DVDs, it is apparent that Asian (American) women appear in a significantly and disturbingly large portion of American pornography.
Interestingly, there are essentially no Asian men in heterosexual American pornography. Using very crude statistical extrapolation, it is interesting to note how the popularity of Asian women in pornography is in contrast to the Asian male spectatorship in America. In 2000, 3.6% of the United States population identified themselves as being of an Asian background.13 Approximately half of the Asian American population is male; 2%. Approximately half of that 2% are of an age range that may view pornographic content; 1%. Finally by dividing in half, it can be approximated that 0.5% of the U.S population is male, of Asian descent and may engage in pornographic viewing. The accuracy of these statistics is approximate but it remains evident that Asian male spectatorship is
"Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin Census 2000 Brief." Accessed April 2008.
27 still marginal. With this in consideration, how does this explain or inform the rampant popularity of Asian women in American pornography?
Searching 'Asian porn' in the www.google.com yields approximately
8,000,000 results. The top results of this query are an assortment of free and pay websites that maintain picture and video databases of exclusively Asian porn.14
Searching through the extensive network of Asian porn links and TGPs, several websites appeared repeatedly.15 These websites were unique in that they did not simply present Asian pornographic images and videos but their
(photo/video/textual) narratives were similar in theme.
Asian Baby Makers presents Asia as a place to conduct reckless and irresponsible sexual acts.vl The producers/filmmakers take pleasure in the fantasy of impregnating women and promote sexual intercourse without the use of condoms in exchange for money. The site insinuates that Asia maintains an association between religion and deviant sexual behaviour. The site's text reads,
"We are traveling across Asia.. .filming our adventures in this holy land." Above the text, there is a banner image of the famous Cambodian Buddhist temple,
Angkor Wat. Superimposed behind the images of the sacred temple are pictures of a woman with her legs spread and semen dripping out of her vagina. The text
141 use the term 'Asian porn' to refer to pornography with Asians in the images as opposed to pornography made or produced by or from Asia. 5 TGP is an industry acronym meaning Thumbnail Gallery Post. Pictures and videos are indexed into pages of thumbnail previews allowing users to preview content.
28 beside the video clips reads, "We fucked [this girl] on Buddha's birthday...without a condom". Marchetti notes that this kind of disregard of responsibility and ethics reflects one of the intrinsic qualities Asia is thought to possess; associated with "moral laxity, sensuality, cultural decadence, and exotic beauty" (Marchetti, 1993: 67) and a regard to life as "cheap, or less valuable than
American life" (Xing, 1998: 67).
Fob Fuckers' videos maintain similar plots for all their videos.vu The filmmakers claim that the Asian women in their videos are recent immigrants to the United States and that they, "love American men". Beside screenshots of an
Asian woman performing fellatio on a White man, the text reads, "China sends us another hot Asian...She just loves American men." This text suggests what audience the web page may be geared towards.
Asian Chicks White Dicks' rhyming grammar suggests that 'White cocks' and
'Asian twats' and 'White meat' and 'Asian treat' are meant to be paired.™1 The filmmakers/producers ask the user whether he has ever had sex with an Asian woman and that if he has not, that he is "missing out." The language implies that the users may watch these videos and fantasize about being the "White guy drilling Asian ass" and afterwards may consider finding his own Asian ass to act out these fantasies. The text on this page reads:
29 "The White cocks sure love banging those tight Asian twats" "Ready for Some White meat and Asian Treat Action?" "Ever fucked an Asian chick? If you haven't, you are missing out"
Mr.Chew's Asian Beaver claims to recruit Asian women from Asia to perform in their videos. The assumingly fictional Mr. Chew is never seen or heard but his
White male associates (the filmmakers and the actor) are ever-present. On one particular page the text reads,
"Kalyssa has been dating Asian dudes ever since she hit puberty and honestly she's been itching to taste an American cock for the first time. Just like all chicks from the Orient this beaver has great skin tone and lovely perky tits that made me want to bust her pussy with my thick cock. Her ex-boyfriends are missing a lot especially with the way she sucks my cock with her delicate mouth. See Kalyssa riding me like a cowgirl!"16
The language suggests that once reaching sexual maturity, Kalyssa upgraded her sexuality by becoming interested in American cock (the term 'American' stands in for White). The text insinuates that women from the Orient maintain similar physical features and these features make the filmmaker what to 'bust' them with his 'thick cock'. The notion of sexual arousal through violence is perhaps not exclusive to Asian fetishized pornography but in terms of the added historical and political implication of race, these fantasies of 'busting' an Asian woman with a 'thick cock' resonant along ideas of American militaristic
"Mr Chew's Asian Beaver Kalyssa Kye Picture :: MrChewsAsianBeaver.com Kalyssa Kye Picture :: www.MrChewsAsianBeaver.com Kalyssa Kye." Accessed April 2008.
30 dominance and superiority. The video clips on Asian 1 on 1 maintain a relatively
complex story setup.lx The Asian woman, 'Tia', tells her boyfriend that she will
be traveling to Korea with her mother. Tia's White boyfriend expresses a concern
that Tia's mom may 'find a Korean guy' and force her to marry him. Tia assures
her boyfriend that this will not happen and proceeds to have sex with him in order
reaffirm her allegiances to him and not to her mother, her country or her Korean
male counterparts. The narrative embodies fears of the Asian man's oppressive patriarchy. The text reads, "Tia Ling is packing for a trip to Korea with her mom, but her boyfriend doesn't want her to go...It's not like her mom's taking her to
get married. Or is she?" 17 Similar sites like FOB Fucker and Asian Chicks White
Dicks, highlight miscegenation as a selling point for their sites. This common theme suggests that through sexual submission comes acceptance and assimilation into North America. It normalizes the idea of Asian women as sexual object and their implicit sexual availability (Lim 2007, 6). Particularly with this video, it reaffirms the White male's identity as the hero who will save the Asian woman from her own people. Marchetti writes that in interracial romance, the "Hero's attempt[s] to define the heroin's "true nature"...and, in so doing, defines his own racial, gender and national role" (Marchetti, 1993: 118).
17 Tia Ling appears in a video for another website called Mr. Chew's Asian Beavers. During the assumed to be unscripted interview, the voice behind the camera claims, "All the Korean girls I know are horny freaks." Ling, replies, 'That's because we all are."
31 On another page from the same website, the filmmakers/producers claim to
understand the stereotypes that Asian women are subject to.x The text reads, "The
stereotype of the Asian female is that she is docile and submissive, always aiming
to please. Gianna Lynn smashes that stereotype by taking on a dominant persona, begging for cock, barking orders and giving direction as to how exactly she needs to be fucked!" The producers/filmmakers take the credit of bringing this new
stereotype of Asian woman to its viewers. However, the new stereotype clearly fits the sadistic, mysterious Dragon Lady caricature. Contradicting themselves, the webpage's text suggests the validity of a stereotype claiming, "All the sexy
Asian fantasies you've heard are true." These racial fantasies appear to be the primary selling point for these websites.
The process and workings of Race as a device to encourage consumerism is the one of the main focuses of Anne McClintock's text Imperial Leather.
McClintock's text explores the function of consumerism and commodity as they took over for racist scientific discourses in Western Europe. McClinktock focuses primarily on the positioning of soap as an icon that embodied, "monogamy
("clean" sex, which has value), industrial capital ("clean" money, which has value), Christianity ("being washed in the blood of the lamb"), class control
("cleansing the great unwashed") and the imperial civilizing mission ("washing and clothing the savage")" (McClintock, 1995: 208). McClintock cites several
32 ads for Pears soap that both create and suggest racist ideologies and reinforce
British (White) superiority. In one ad, an implicitly racialized (Black) coal miner holds a gleaming bar of white soap. In another ad, a white boy bathes a black boy in a tub, magically transforming the black boy into a white boy (though the black boy's face remains irrevocably black). There is an embedded desire formed for particularly those of color to seek cleanliness and thus whiteness.
Additionally there is an inherent warning or threat to those already white, to stay white. The advertisers fantasize that with their help (through their soap, and implicitly, their language, religion, customs and laws) the 'savage' may become civil. It is conceivable that the same kind of colonialistic agenda may be in operation in American pornography.
The 'money shot' in pornography shows the ejaculation of semen into/on a woman. This sequence signifies the completion of sexual intercourse (for the man). What is interesting is that the money shot shares several similarities to the aforementioned donning of soap from the colonizer to the colonized. On a material level semen and soap (suds) are of a similar viscosity; they are both white and haves a direct association with bare skin and the body. Socially constructed, semen (in the context of Asian festishized porn) and soap (in the context of McClintock's references) are produced, brought to and imparted on the colored body by the white man. Semen and soap are only possible through the
33 White man and are used as a marker of acceptance and assimilation into North
America. In both cases, they are "offered [as] a promise of spiritual salvation and generation through commodity [and] consumption" (McClintock, 1995: 211).
2.3 Pornographic Reactions and Shortcomings
The lack of representations of Asian men in American pornography has meant that Asian American men cannot identify with bodies or faces that are similar to their own. Instead, "the Asian American male spectator is confronted with the knowledge that this text has not been constructed with him in mind" (Feng,
2002:41) and he is left to identify with a White or Black body. This discrimination and exclusion has implications on Asian male identity. As previously stated, Asian male sexuality has been historically controlled and policed by the White male hegemony through immigration laws and anti miscegenation legislation. Although these same powers do not exist today, pornography and motion picture have in a sense taken over for them. Asian men do not "occupy the centre of the screen [and are] situated in the background or completely absent from the scene" (Diawara, 1993: 11).
Hamamoto feels that an effective means to create change in regards to Asian male representation is to independently produce pornographic movies.
Hamamoto claims, "A Yellow porno practice can help recuperate a sexuality that
34 has been distorted by the internalization of core racist values and beliefs that
reach into the depths of the individual psychology" (Hamamoto, 2000: 82).
Dragon Ladies & Kung-Fu Masters: Re-Constructing Asian American Sexuality
(2004) documents Hamamoto's project of making a pornographic film. The
documentary was screened at several Asian American film festivals but was not
well received. Critics felt his approach was ineffectual and counterproductive.
Hamamoto seems to simply substitute the White man for the Asian man and did
not bother to address any of the gender/racial complexities of this switch. His
writings also have been met with strong criticisms. In interview, his attitudes
towards Asian American women seem misogynistic and malicious. In interview
with Audrey, an Asian American Woman's magazine, Hamamoto said, "Asian
American women get hit on or propositioned by white men, but they don't realize
what lies beneath; that they're coming onto you as a prostitute or massage woman, because that's what they see, first and foremost, regardless of educational level.
Conversely, an Asian American woman in white supremacist America will value anything white. I won't say it's instinctual, but almost at the preconscious level"
(Sung, 2005).
It is certainly problematic to assert pornography as a reflection or indication of trends in a society. The transmission of fetish and desire into social phenomenon such as dating, marriage and sex crimes still remains strongly debated. Author
35 Phoebe Eng writes, "Not all of us, for instance, agree that the current trend of
"Asian fetish" is bad. In fact, for some of us, the new visibility of Asian women,
even though stereotyped, can actually be liberating" (Eng, 2000: 9). Tracy Quan
supports the same outlook writing that personal attraction is a complex result of
several factors "some of which are too mysterious for words"(Quan, 2007). But
certainly it is valuable to study possibly "where desire comes from, how desire is produced and how we human beings [may] internalize it." (Sung, 2005). The
sheer volume of Asian pornography in terms of DVD rentals, sales and Website
subscriptions alone, underscores the importance of trying to understand what is being shown and to who is it intended for. It should be noted that "with pornographic fantasy a "crucial political space" is created wherein "different possibilities for individual, bodily, and collective fulfillment" can be imagined and perhaps even realized in the future" (Kipnis, 1996). It is this potential for
'future realizations' of fetishized fantasy that is disconcerting.
When asked by one of her fans how she felt about the 'racist' portrayals of
Asian women in pornography, porn star Mika Tan wrote a lengthy response defending criticisms of her and fellow Asian women in the industry. 18 She claimed that her work provided her with a sense of power and that allegations of racism in pornography were unfounded. Shimizu challenges the idea that
18 See Mika Tan Discusses the Porn Industry, Racism & Prostitution.
36 pornography or even Orientalism in general is inherently racist or oppressive.
Shimizu contests that in fact, in the porno images of Tan and even the films of
Anna May Wong, Lucy Liu and Nancy Kwan, there is room for an empowering reading. Shimizu writes, "If we limit understanding of racial sexuality within good or bad, abnormal and normal, or right and wrong we may also limit how to enjoy, appreciate, and more fully understand our own sexuality as
Asian/American women" (Shimizu, 2007:5).
In analyzing racial representation in motion picture it is important to consider how depictions fit into the social and ideological structure of race and gender
(Xing, 1997:68). Considering the high prevalence of Asian women/White men pairing and the subsequent exclusion of Asian men across the porn industry, film, television and the news broadcast, it is natural to note how the North American interracial (Asian/White) marriage statistic seemed to reflect the same disproportionate. Xing takes this observation further writing these racial fantasies, "[have] actually spawned an entire marriage industry" (Xing, 1997:69).
Hamamoto agrees with this reading and adds that intermarriage between White men and minority women maintain a unique aspect of power dynamic. He writes,
"it is conceivable that the high rate of out marriage (particularly for females) is indicative of the favourable opportunity cost it represents for the Japanese
American spouse who is marrying "up" (and therefore "out of) the racial/gender
37 hierarchy. [They] might indeed be marrying out of "love," but that very concept is historically constructed" (Hamamoto, 1994: 46). This resonates along colonial histories; the idea of saving, enlightening, civilizing, conquering and penetrating geographic bodies.
2.4 Miscegenation and Sex Crime
A U.S. census reported interracial marriage statistics among Asian
Americans."1 In instances of Americans of Korean, Chinese and Japanese descent, women were at least two times more likely to marry outside their race than their male counterparts. Korean American women lead this statistic, being four times more likely than Korean men to marry a non-Asian spouse. Koshy notes that during World War II conflicts with Japan, there was a belief that "American institutions of law and marriage may liberate Japanese women from the Tyranny of Japanese customary law, while Japanese pre-modern aestheticism and simplicity may counterbalance the negative influences of American modernity"
(Koshy, 2004:35). The act of marriage and simultaneously, sex, acted as "a prerequisite for immigration and assimilation" (Koshy, 2004:11).
Due to their representation on screens as "submissive, physically unaggressive, and politically docile" (Xing, 1997:69), both Asian American
Women and Asian American men are predisposed to be physically and/or
38 sexually dominated. In terms of Asian women, it is possible that their
representations invoke a nostalgic that some heterosexual men may find
attractive. These stereotypical Asian women are a reminder of a pre-feminist era
when Men could and did exert control over them. Richard Fung notes in his
essay, Looking for my Penis: The Eroticised Asian in Gay Video Porn, it is often
the Asian male purpose to "serve White male pleasure" (Fung, 1991) in
pornography with his "feminized bottom" (Browning, 1994) and to some are
arguably the ones being dominated.19 This may explain why Asian Americans
experience a "higher per capita rate of hate crimes than any other racial minority"
(Xing, 1997: 69).20
Asian American author Helen Zia propose that in addition to these racist histories, contemporary media stereotypes surrounding Asian women may also be responsible for racially based sex crimes. In interview, Zia posits, "It's this image of Asian American women being exotic and passive and won't fight back and speak up. Predators think they have free rein with Asian American women."
Queer theorist would contest that it debatable whether the act of being penetrated is inherently a subordinate role. However, in terms of the sexist thinking that to be feminine is to be weaker than masculine, being penetrate like a woman does conjure the same kind of power operation. The penetrator also obtains a material pleasure and gratification (ejaculation) that is arguably less pronounced than the penetree. 0 "Women learn to protect themselves from Beacon Hill groper."
39 In recent years there have been several high profile cases of sex crimes
involving Asian women. In 2000, two female Japanese college students in
Spokane, Washington, were abducted, raped, videotaped and told the footage
would be sent to (specifically) their fathers. After their apprehension, the offenders admitted to targeting Japanese women believing they were
submissiveness and that cultural stigma regarding sexual assault would prevent the women from reporting crime.22 In March of 2005, Princeton University Ph.D. student Michael Lohman confessed to police that he had sprayed his bottled urine and semen on unsuspecting Asian women and in some cases contaminated their drinks. Lohman confessed this happened nearly 50 times over three years and all incidents involved Asian victims. In July of 2005, Tyreese Lamar Reed was arrested in a connection with a series of sexual assaults and robberies in the
Koreatown, Los Angeles area. All of the sexual assaults (18 counts) involved
Asian women, between the ages of 17 and 47.24 Former Oakland police officer
Richard Valerga was charged in August 2005 for two counts of false imprisonment and five counts of interference with civil rights. Valerga allegedly
Tizon, Alex. "Rapists bet on victims' silence - and lose." Seattle Times. Published May 31, 2001. 23 Um, Gladys. "Lohman case more than perversion." The Daily Princetonian. Published April 22, 2005. 24 "Korea town Rapist Caught." Canyon News-Greater Los Angeles. Published August 8, 2005.
40 made unwarranted traffic stops and reportedly tried to kiss and caress his almost exclusively Asian victims.
There appears to be an ongoing problem of sex crimes involving Asian female victims. However, statistics suggest that the incidents are small in comparison to other demographics. For instances, the U.S. Bureau of Justices reports, "In 1998,
110 American Indians, 43 blacks, 38 whites and 22 Asians were victims of violence per 1,000 persons." 26 However, what the statistics do not consider is whether the perpetrator of the crime were of same race/ethnicity of the victim.
This particular detail would be helpful in determining whether in fact interracial sex crimes are higher with Asian victims than other demographics.27
Incidents of interracial sex crimes are not limited to within the United States.
In February 2008, a U.S. Marine based in Okinawa was arrested in connection with the rape of a 14-year-old Japanese girl. The incident was not the first of its kind. In 1995 a 12-year-old Okinawan child was abducted and rape of by three
U.S. marines. In a similar instance, in 2002, U.S. Marine Corps Major Michael
Brown sexually assaulted bartender, Victoria Nakamine, in Okinawa. It has been
25 MacDonald, Heather. "Women suing Oakland over cop." Oakland Tribune, Published November 21,2006. 26 Violent Victimization and Race, 1993-98
41 reported that from 1952 to 2004 there have been approximately 200,000 accidents
and crimes committed by the U.S. soldiers in Japan, resulting in 1,076 Japanese civilian death. The history of U.S. military violence in Okinawa is an ongoing
concern both in Japan and abroad.
2.4 Race as Performance
The notion of Race has shifted from a biological and anthropological concept to cultural and/or society influenced construction. In light of increased transnationalism and globalization, one's racial identification has become more so mixture of religion, language, birthplace and cultural practices. It is the negotiation of these overlapping identities that form what is racial identity. Yet within the realm of American pornography, it is apparent that there is a kind of fetishizing and obsession with an imaginary Asianess. This Asianess maintains a specificity that is fixed both geographically and temporally to an imaginary Asia; a place of sexual mystery, secret pleasures and erotic adventure (Lim, 2007:4).
Exploiting this Asian fetish is something Asian porn stars capitalize on through their performances.
Asian porn stars often appear in their films dressed in 'Asian' garb: Japanese kimonos and Chinese silk dresses. Their makeup is often applied in a way to accentuate 'Asian eyes'. Body tattoos of Chinese or Japanese characters work to
42 convince the viewer that these women are literally and figuratively marked as
'Asian'. In the interview portion of several Asian oriented pornographic films,
actresses (verbally) claim Asian identities. However, along with their fake names,
it is assumed they also claim false ethnicities as well. Some Asian American porn
stars are given access to acting coaches to help them fake 'Asian' accents. Koshy
writes, "exotic means you know how to use your foreignness" (Koshy, 133:2004).
These actresses play with stereotypes by faking foreignness to raise sexual desire.
There appears to be a trend among Asian females both in motion picture and in
society obscuring Asian physical traits by adopting Caucasian ones. Asian
American Porn star like Nautica Thome and Avena Lee, have been known to wears blue contact lenses in their films,"11 Internet celebrity/exhibitionist Tila
Tequila dyes her hair blonde X1U and a surgical procedure called Asian blepharoplast that reshapes eyelids to look more Caucasian is becoming more popular among young Asian American women.X1V When Japanese American
Kristi Yamaguchi won two gold medals at the World Championships, Yamaguchi was not offered any endorsements from American advertisers because according to Jun Xing, she was not "blue-eyed and blond-haired" (Xing, 1998:71)28. These destabilizing pressures cause an internalizing of not only gender ideology but racial ideology that associates "natural features with negative connotations"
28 Despite missing the closing ceremonies at the 1996 Olympics, White American Nancy Kerrigan was bombarded with endorsement deals and contracts for her single silver medal win.
43 (Xing, 1999:71). The augmentations of these features are not an attempt to
appear white but rather to act out "the dominant scripts of exotic otherness as an
avenue to the American Dream" (Koshy, 2004:133). These women never shed
their Asian physical features but rather it is the hint at exotic otherness that is
sought and performed. Expectations of exoticness become internalized. Lynn Lu
notes, "Asian women... response has often been to counter negative
representations...with equally simplistic images that buy into and reproduce the
messages of the dominant culture we inhabit...we can't help but internalize even
as we struggle to escape their influence" (Lu, 1997: 19).
London-based Korean multimedia artist Dorothy Yoon's latest show 13 of
Blondes was recently unveiled at the Andrew James Art Gallery in Shanghai.
Yoon's photographs depict a series of Asian woman with dyed hair and blue contact lenses mimicking iconic Western women. Yoon's artistic statement reads: "[I] challenges stereotypes of Western and Asian beauty and also addresses
[my] childhood desire to have blonde hair and blue eyes." xv Yoon's art and her statement challenge the conventional model that Western notions of beauty have negatively affected Asian women and that skin whitening creams, peroxide bleaching and color contacts are a result of this. However, Yoon's work questions the value in assigning negative or positive feelings towards this and
44 suggests that the process of mimicry may be desirable to some Asian/Asian
American women and a project of pleasure.29 XV1
It is important to note that racial performances and commodification of race are not always simply a result of oppression and suppression from the dominant hegemonic but they are in some cases welcomed and enjoyed. In fact, it has become the project of some new Asian North American artists to play with racial stereotypes in order to produce ironic commentaries on racism. This will be further discussed in Chapter 3 with the musical band Notorious MSG.
Interestingly, there also appears to be a race performance among White women. It has become fashionable for White women to darken one's skin tone and invoke racial performance, doming store H&M sells a silk bathrobe that is called, "Kimono". Unlike traditional Kimono's that cost at on average $10,000, the H&M Kimono sells for $29.99. Beauty accessory stores sell chopstick-like hair garments and temporary Chinese/Japanese character tattoos. Lu would describe these tokens of Asianess as a resulting "desire to incorporate the essence of the other without being transformed, without losing one's dominance over it" (Lu, 1997: 23). What is important to note is that these markers of Asianess are temporary and can be removed or discarded with each passing trend.
45 Chapter 3 Asian North American Film
"[Independentfilm] doesn't seem to come about naturally, all by itself. Rather, it is generally a reaction to the political/cultural/formal/aesthetic restraints of the Status Quo" (Araki, 1991:68).
In discourses of community and identity, terms like Culture and Race are problematic in that they are not only continuously evolving but they also tend to differ in meaning depending on who is speaking and to whom these words are attempting to address. Early expressions of Culture and Race were legitimized through discourses of Science. These notions of Race and Culture were once useful in a time when populations were studied as homogenous demographic spaces. Race, culture, language, religion were studied and recorded in terms of specific spaces. Colonialism breached those spaces. Development of contemporary trade and advancements in technologies of transportation and communication marked the beginning of large scale waves of immigration which lead to population diversity. This diversity challenged the relevance of rigid definitions of Culture, Race and Identity.
Today, the term Asian North American is also changing and continues to be both accepted and rejected both internally and externally. Early usage of the term brought together multiple national identities into one group. It grouped individuals from different religious, languages and unique histories into a
46 convenient and manageable demographic. In some regards, the term can be seen as a simplification and disregard for individual uniqueness. Today, there is an added distinction made within the Asian North American population between
Asian immigrants in North America and multigenerational Asian North
Americans. Although it seems the term Asian North American may restrict and limit the complexity of such a large and diverse group, it is important to consider that this label is not simply imposed from outside or above by Non-Asians but interestingly, a large portion of Asians North Americans to some extent have embraced its function. The Asian North American film festival is the obvious instance where this is true.
Mobilizing multiple identities under one title, allows minority groups to rally together and create a stronger collective presence that individually, they may not have been able to do. This is evident in the case of early Asian diasporic communities. For example, Toronto's Chinatown is a mix of Chinese,
Vietnamese and Thai establishments. In a typical restaurant in Toronto's
Chinatown, a menu will have in addition to Chinese dishes, Korean, Japanese and
Taiwanese food fare as well. Canada's Asian heritage month, York Universities
Asian Studies department and the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival are all additional examples where the consolidation of variety of cultures under the
47 broader term Asian, provides an opportunity for smaller distinct communities to
obtain representation.
Of course this grouping of Asianess is not without its problems.
"Asianess" may refer to that which has been derived or influenced from
continental Asia. However, North American conceptions of Asianess are more so
popular cultural related than geographic. In his seminal text, Orientalism, Edward
Said explores the ways in which Western discourses define and create a people
and a place. In North America, Asia has been constructed around things such as:
Asian art (Chinese calligraphy and Japanese Origami), Asian food (Japanese
Sushi and Chinese Dim Sum), Asian film (Taiwanese Ang Lee and Japanese
Akira Kurosawa), Asian music (Chinese Mandolins and Japanese Taiko drums),
Asian technology (Korean Samsung and Japanese Sony), and Asian porn
(Japanese Asia Carrera and Taiwanese Kobe Tai).30 Through North American
media and consumer culture, it is these limited tokens of Asia that populate the
social consciousness and stand in for any 'real' elements of Asia.
3.1 Alternative Cinema
Asian North American film festivals provide an alternative space for Asian
North Americans to question and challenges concepts of identity and community.
30 North American notions of Asia and Asianess are generally associated with East Asian countries like Korea, China and Japan and seldom with countries other Asian countries like Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia or Indonesia.
48 It is here that minority filmmakers are able to showcase projects that would
normally not see the time or funding of large network companies or studio
production houses. Hamid Naficy defines "Independent transnational cinema[;] a
genre that cuts across previously defined geographic, national, cultural, cinematic,
and meta-cinematic boundaries." (Naficy, 2003: 204). He writes of independent
cinema as an effect or consequence of globalization and divides the genre into
two areas of study: the director/author and the forces or pressures that lead to the
creation of such works. Naficy continues, "By and large [independent]
filmmakers...operate...outside the studio systems and the mainstream film
industries of the host countries. As a result, they are presumed to be more prone
to tensions of exile, acculturation, and transnationalism, and their films should
and do encode these tensions" (Naficy, 2003: 205). Due to the way in which
North American television and film has historically portrayed Asians, it is understandable that the pressures and anxieties of those images may influence
Asian North American cinema. Hamamoto writes, "the psychosocial form of control is subtly effective in that subordinate groups internalize the set of dominant racial meanings that cause them to "reject their own individual and group identity'" (Hamamoto, 1994:8).
Over the last five years, three Asian North American male directors have stood out in the film festival circuits. Justin Lin, Eric Byler and Michael Kang
49 have had repeat critical success in the feature dramatic narrative format. By analyzing some of their recent films it will be evident how pressures from both internal and external sources shape and influences their films.
3.2 Justin Lin, Angry Asian Man/Men and Bruce Lee
Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) is a keystone film in Asian North American cinema. The film received widespread theatrical release as well as distribution by
MTV films. Directed by Taiwanese American Justin Lin, Better Luck Tomorrow follows Ben (Perry Shen) and four fellow overachieving high school students in
California. In their final year of high school and facing the prospect of College, the group finds their academic lives bland and unfulfilling. With the help of their friend Han, the group begins a spree of petty crime. Their illegal activities escalate, garnering them the popularity and excitement they thought they wanted.
However, when Ben tries to leave the group, their new lives begin to spiral out of control, culminating into a violent murder of a local teenager. Better Luck
Tomorrow was nominated in 2002 for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film
Festival and was praised by film critic Roger Ebert. Ebert wrote, "Lin ... reveals himself as a skilled and sure director, a rising star. His film looks as glossy and expensive as a mega million studio production" (Ebert, 2003).
50 Better Luck Tomorrow directly addresses the issue of race and the model minority. 31 Ben demonstrates his ambition for academic achievement by completing future homework assignment before they are assigned. Ben also tries out for the school Basketball team even though he knows he will not see any playing time. When Ben and his friend arrive at a backyard party, an inebriated
White jock taunts them, saying, "Hey, bible study's next door!" The jocks comments refer to the common occurrence of Christian practicing Asian students in California.32 Later in the film, at a party held by the Ben and his friends, a
White female student asks, "So are you guys like a club or something...like a math club?" Her comments refer to the stereotype that Asian students excel in mathematics.
As the plot develops, Ben and his friends digress from the model minority image and adopt a 'gangster' persona. They use fake IDs to buy alcohol, steal computer equipment, purchase guns, use cocaine, take turns having sex with a prostitute and beat a student at gun point at a house party. These rebellious,
31 The model minority myth is a belief that members of a certain racial minority are predisposed to achieve a higher degree of success than the average individual. In the 1980s, the college acceptance proportion among Asian American students seem to statistically support this myth. In 2006, University of California Berkeley reported mat 46% of its undergraduate population were of an Asian background (Egan, 2007). The myth is thought to be the result of strict cultural pressures to succeed; however, some scientists have even proposed that the difference in performance and success may be linked to a genetic source (Lynn, 2002). 32 "Young, Asian American, and Christian" Accessed April,2008.
51 destructive, over ambitious and reckless young men are now a common archetype
in Asian American film. It can be seen that Lin's story of overachieving, highly
academic law abiding citizens choosing to diverge from social expectations is a
kind of cathartic escape for Asians who identify with the psycho social pressures
of their cultural baggage. Hamamoto continues, "The dominant society and its
institutions have exerted extraordinary destabilizing pressures against the diverse
Asian Pacific American communities" (Hamamoto, 1994:30).
However, the 'thug-life' mentality of Ben and his friends is by no means a
new kind or for that matter, positive image. In an article on the CBC website,
Kevin Chong cites the increasing popular trend of film and theatre that depict young Asian American men as impulsive, violent, and ambitious individuals.
These depictions are the result of unfavorable representation in mainstream media and an indication of the seriousness of the situation. Chong questions, "Is this resentment helping to replace the colonialist image of the weak Asian man with an equally unpleasant stereotype — namely, the bitter Asian man?" (Chong,
2007). The Asian gangster as portrayed by White filmmakers is an all too familiar image in Hollywood. Lin's character construction unfortunately perpetuate another dichotomy that Asian men are either model minorities or gun tooting gangsters. In his essay, Coming Out into the Global System, Mark Chiang's adds to the subject of counter hegemonic image creation and notes that often films
52 involving Asian Americans that address cultural issues tend to construct images
that are highly exaggerated. He writes these kinds of films present, ".. .excessive
signifiers of Westernisations...sexual aggressiveness and...violent, abstract expressionist-style..." (Chiang, 2002: 278). These aggressions are in conflict
with the popular belief that Asian men in society have achieved some kind of comfort in academic and economic accomplishment.
As the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre passes it seems like the media has increased their coverage of crimes involving young Asian males.33 Thai Tranh Dang, 22 of Sacramento, California was taken into police custody after making threats that he would be the next school shooter (Repard,
2008). At around the same time, Calin Chi Wong, 20 of Miami was arrested after making 'Virginia Tech-style' threats at his school (Kennedy, 2008). On April 19th,
2008, the University of Texas Police arrested 20-year-old Jason Liao for bringing a gun onto campus. Police report Liao said he was, "on a mission." His friends and roommates issued a statement saying Liao is not a threat and just "a harmless, gangster wannabe who got caught up in Chinese movies depicting gangs" (Liao,
2008). It is possible that this increase in crimes among young Asian males could be explained by Hamamoto comments: "Contrary to the myth of Asian American hyper normality and psychosocial adjustment, racial prejudice and social
33 On April 16th, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho of Blacksburg Virginia killed 32 students and wounded 25 others in class at Virginia Tech before taking his own life.
53 discrimination take a measurable toll on Asian and Pacific Americans"
(Hamamoto, 1994:30). Coincidentally, the closing night film at the 2007 San
Francisco International Asian American Film Festival was Dark Matter (2007), a film adapted from the true story of a Chinese physics graduate student who shot and killed his thesis supervisor and review committee. The film premiered just one month before the Virginia Tech massacre.
Images of hypersexual, hyperviolent Asian men compensate and retaliate against a history of desmasculinzation and exclusion from mainstream images.
However, this (overcompensation in some regards appears both misogynist and homophobic. In Better Luck Tomorrow, Asian women and White women are framed as objects of a measure of status. Ben's desire for Steve's White girlfriend ('Barbie'), his 'turn' with a White prostitute and his infatuation with
Steve's Asian girlfriend demonstrates what Feng refers to as, "The exchange of women in a sexual economy" (Feng, 2002: 163). He calls attention to the ease women have in assimilating into a culture. This is done through being sexual possessed and thus absorbed into U.S society (Feng, 2002: 163). These women represent an award of both sexual accomplishment and assimilation.
Early in the film, when Ben is asked by Steve to help him out by taking his girlfriend to the prom, Ben questions Steve motives and inquires, "What are you a fag or something (scoffs)?" Ben's aggressive and homophobic question stems
54 from a history of Asian men portrayed as "womanly, effeminate, devoid of all
traditional masculine qualities [and] physical courage" (Chin and Chan, 1972:68).
While certainly Asian homosexuals should have representations on screen, it is
apparent homosexuals males in general are often presented for comical reasons.34
When Asian men presented as homosexual there is a double subjugation and
mockery. It is from this fear that homophobic tendencies and masculine
confusion are manifested. These aggressions are the result of a desire to 'catch up' with a dated White masculine status quo; to become "heterosexual, working class, American born, and English speaking" (Eng, 2001:209). Eng warns, "We must ask whether feminization and homosexuality inevitably signify racial subordination and loss of agency for the [Asian] male" (Eng, 2001:98). It becomes apparent that Asian males are oppressed on two fronts. They are oppressed and excluded from White screens and forced to answer to a dominant center on their own screens.
The idea of producing positive images is complicated. Filmmaker and author
Richard Fung writes, "To the extent to which positive images are response to negative stereotypes, it is a limited strategy in that it takes its cue from what the
34 On the latest season of Beauty and the Geek (2007), Greg, an Asian male contestant said he was a self proclaimed, "Gaysian". The show is based on heterosexual couplings, making one wonder why producers casted a gay man. In the last season of Canada's Worst Driver (2005) David Chau appeared on the show with his White male partner. In the third season of American Idol (2003), the asexual William Hung made a mockery of himself by becoming famous for singing and dancing poorly.
55 white man or what the straight man thinks. Reaching out with alternative images
for a mainstream is valuable but we can become so obsessed with how others
might interpret what we have to say that we can cast our own Asian or gay
audiences into passivity" (Fung, 1991:67). Although Fung's thoughts are
reasonable, as long as stereotypical masculine norms remain the signifier of
equality in North America, these images of hyper masculine males are something
still of value. What is perhaps needed is a more nuanced approach to performing
these norms, one that questions and at the same time invents diverse ideas of
masculinity.
Coming off the success of Better Luck Tomorrow, Lin was offered to work on
several Hollywood projects. However, after only four years away, Lin returned to
Asian American film in 2007 with Finishing the Game (2008). Finishing the
Game is a mockumentary that follows the attempts to find a replacement for the
legendary Bruce Lee. Incredibly, the film was selected as the opening night film at the following film festivals: the San Francisco International Asian American
Film Festival, the VC FilmFest in Los Angeles, the Asian American International
Film Festival in New York, the DisOrient Film Festival in Oregon, the Asian Film
Festival in Dallas, the D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival, the Vancouver
Asian Film Festival, the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and was also an Official Selection at Sundance.
56 The Bruce Lee icon has changed significantly since his death in 1973. At the height of his career Lee was respected for his physical form and his filmic performances. His teachings in Jeet Kune Do and his brief but popular film career ushered in an era of kung fu/karate films, carving out a niche in Hollywood and changing the action film genre immensely. Lee inspired and influenced the popularity of White American action stars like Chuck Norris, Steven Segal and
Jean Claude Van Dam. However, over the last decade, the Bruce Lee icon has changed into something different. Instead of an icon of strength and reverence,
Lee has become a figure of parody.35 Films like Kung Fu (2004), Beverly Hills
Ninja (1993) and Wayne's World (1997) mock Lee's signature moves, fighting style, mannerism and verbal exertions. Coincidentally, in the last 10 years, the popularity of action star Jackie Chan has seemed to add to the mockery of the
Asian male martial artists. Feng comments on the West's fascination and enjoyment of watching Chinese men on screen in the Thomas Edison film,
Dancing Chinamen (1898). The Chinese man appears "strangely multijoined...a body that is definitely "foreign" - coded as "Chinese." Such a mobile body, whose limbs seem to be able to perform physically impossible feats, reveals a strange fascination with precisely this kind of "strange" body and, at the same time, a considerable aggression" (Feng, 2002: 21). Feng emphasizes that the
35 Balls of Fury (2007), Kill Bill I and II (2003/2004), Kung Phoey (2003), Kung Pow (2002), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), Wayne's World (1993)
57 pleasure in viewing these images may be mixed with a kind of racialized aggression towards the Asian body. Coupled with the idea that in controlling images one exercises the power to bring into existence, limit and exclude, it is interesting to consider the recent trend of Western producers and filmmakers associating themselves with Asian projects. Recently, Hollywood producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein announced they would start a $285 million dollar initiative to invest in "Asian themed" movies. In 1996, Quentin Tarantino purchased the
North American distribution rights to Wong Kar Wei's Chung King Express
(1994) and eight years after its release, Tarantino bought the North American theatrical rights for Iron Monkey (1993). These acquisitions may be interpreted as the American establishment exercising control and reappropriating ownership over Asianness.
Internet personality Phil Yu created a blog seven years ago called Angry Asian
Man.™1 Yu chose to use Bruce Lee's image as a figure head of his webpage. On his front page, an action figure stands in for the 'Real' Bruce Lee. Feng's reading of Chinese men in early cinema as mobile puppets are reconstituted into a flexible and changing new icon that Yu and Angry Asian Men alike see as a symbol of a new masculinity. Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles times writes, "Bruce is like a one-man rescue mission for Asian manhood; he gleefully overthrows the bucktoothed wimp caricature..." (Rainer, 1993)
58 In his website mandate, Yu recounts the genesis of his project:
"My purpose was to acknowledge and encourage our yellow struggle against The Man...I wasn't going to stand by and watch idly as my people were unknowingly subjugated...I took the liberty of calling attention to the surrounding Racism for all to see! The picture of the Asian in this magazine ad? Racist. The word 'Chinese' on page 862 in Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov? Racist. The yellow traffic signal light? Racist.. .The rest of the world was unaware, but Angry Asian Man had been given the power to see!"
Yu's last sentence casually addresses the 'power to see'. Yu's reference
although delivered somewhat comically is significant in regards to his project of
media awareness. His claim to power is possible through the mobilization of
technologies. Activists like Yu, now have a power that historically was wheeled
exclusively by White elitist; to bring into existence, highlight and disseminate
images, text and video.
The Angry Asian Man website has become so popular in the Asian North
American community that several similar projects have emerged following Yu's
mandate of race and media awareness. However, what is unique and perhaps most interesting about the AAM website is not critical commentary or analysis but rather Yu's arduous task of providing (almost) daily updates of examples of racism in North America. Over the website's seven years of operation, Yu has collected an impressive database of material. Yu posts casting calls,
"Secret Asian Man." Accessed April 2008.
59 advertisements, video clips and images that he cites as racist with his catch phrase,
"That's Racist!" His catch phrase usually concludes short commentaries and ultimately do not prompt any discussion. The AAM website is effective in hoarding racist materials but other than simply presenting the materials, there is a lack of critical discourse. It is here that Yu could expand his project. By implementing a comments function on his website, Yu could precipitate discussion regarding the material. From here, the exchanging of different opinions and perspective may not only inform Yu of alternative readings but also his readership. Due to its incredible popularity and influence in the Asian North
American community, it is important for the AAM website to be progressive in this sense and emphasize an understanding of how and why things may be racist instead of simply citing things as racist.
A project that demonstrates arguably a deeper level of critical discourse is
Notorious MSG, a rap parody band from New York City.37 Their lyrics speak of prostitutes, drugs, guns and murder but what sets Notorious MSG apart from traditional gangster rap, is that the group infuses predictable imagery with humors ethnic undertones.XV1" The band's first album includes track titles such as:
Straight out of Canton, Hong Kong Heartbreak, Dim Sum Girl, Chinese Funk,
Buddha Time, Egg Rollin', No Good Muthabitch, and Chinatown Hustler. The
37 The name Notorious MSG is a parody of Notorious B.I.G, a famous Black rapper who was murdered in 1997.
60 band juxtaposes the stereotypical vulgar, brute gangster rap persona with what is conceivably the opposite, Chinese culture.
The opening lyrics of their most recent single, Chinatown Hustler read:
Mother fucker we're back MSG with the hot Track Lyrical ginsue cutting off your nut Sack I Feel No Pain I'm Insane Smoke Your Ass And Eat a bowl of Chow Mein I'm a genuine Chinatown OG Original Recipe KFC A new day A new game Sell you baking soda and say its cocaine China White bitch I'm a pimp Never stick pick my nose with a pair of chopsticks I'm roundin' them hoes just to pay the rent (Uhh) I'll turn out your girl for a dolla fifty cent. (Come On)
The lyrics speak of castration, gun violence, drugs, and prostitution while subverting these delinquent acts with lyrics about MSG, Chow Mein and chopsticks. Although the band's lyrics do not necessarily explore the complex details of cultural identity, their unique take on recontextualizing these stereotypes creates a new layer of parody. The band does not only combat notions of Chinese meagerness and feminization but the band also makes a parody of the very project of combating. The band's over the top performances, elaborate music videos, exaggerated wardrobe and extroverted public persona can in itself be read as a parody of the hyper compensation that Asian American
61 filmmakers and artists are now known for. In interview, the band was asked what their thoughts were of accusations that their lyrics are sexist. The band's ring leader, Hong Kong Fever, replied, "I am not sexist, I disrespect women and men."38 Notorious MSG's humor and self parody demonstrates a power and command over their own stereotypes. Music journalists have noted that the band's persona has slipped off camera during interview and the three members of the group do not in fact have the Chinese accents that they sing and appear in public with.39 The band's mimicry of both the Rapper superstar and Chinese gangster, combat the stereotype of the irrevocably foreign Asian man in an indirect, entertaining and humorous way. This approach is subtle in comparison to films such as Michael Kang's The Motel (2005).
3.3 Michael Kang's The Motel
The Motel is Korean American Michael Kang's first feature length dramatic film. The film follows the life of 13 year old Ernest Chin (Jeffery Chyau). Ernest lives with his grandfather, mother and sister in a Motel that they own and operate on the side of a quiet suburban highway. Ernest is an aspiring short story writer and unbeknownst to his mother, he enters his latest story into a writing contest.
38" MSG in French Documentary on Chinatown." Accessed May 2008.
62 Ernest's nagging and unsupportive mother finds his short story and reads it
without his permission. She tells him that the story is "stupid" and discourages
him from attending a ceremony in which he will receive an honorable mention.
Furious and frustrated Ernest befriends a new patron at the hotel, Sam. Sam, an
alcoholic and recent divorcee, shares Ernest's discontent with life. Together, the
pair battle their personal anxieties and bond in their pursuit of finding happiness.
The Motel was screened at Sundance and received the Humanitas Prize in the
Feature Film category. 40 Although the film had a modest theatrical release, the film created a large following through internet spaces such as MySpace.
Ernest's interest in creative writing is a common stereotype of Asian
American youth. There is a common belief that Asian parents pressure their
children into careers that lack artistic or creative skills and promote studies in areas that are considered conservative, conventional, stable and well paying such as the medical field, accounting and law. Asian Canadian artist Ho Tarn said in interview, "Chinese parents never really encourage kids to get into 'art professions' (Tarn, 2007: 136). Asian Canadian professor and art curator Alice
Jim shares the sympathy admitting, "I yielded to economic and parental pressures and got a science pre-university degree" (Jim, 2007: 136). Asian American
40 "Stories that affirm the human person, probe the meaning of life, and enlighten the use of human freedom. The stories reveal common humanity, so that love may come to permeate the human family and help liberate, enrich and unify society."
63 columnist for www.8asians.com writes on her biography page, "I was premed in college. Now I'm a writer (creative fiction and nonfiction). How's DEM apples?!"41 Ernest's interest in writing may very well be by his own choosing; however, there is the idea that perhaps creative writing acts as a tool of rebellion in light of his alienation with his mother.
Frustrated with his failed attempts at courting a young Asian female neighbor,
Christine, Ernest seeks Sam's help. Ernest tells Sam that he likes a girl and is not sure how to win her affection. Sam offers discouraging advice to Ernest, advising him, "You just remind her of what she is trying to get away from!" In this scene
Sam is referring to Ernest's supposed inescapable Asian male identity. Sam suggests to Ernest in order to shed the elusive Asianess he has to do something
"wild" to impress her. Ernest takes Sam's advice and steals his mother's car to takes her for a joy ride.
Superficially, the characters in The Motel are not particularly 'good' images.
Ernest is an overweight, sluggish, weak and quiet boy. He is bullied for most of the film by a classmate at school and Christine teases him about his feelings for her. At the end of the film, Christine finally refuses Ernest's feelings and tells him she does not want to see him anymore. Sam solicits sex from prostitutes, he is lonely, an excessive drinker and it is inferred that he is a bad husband. There is
1 About C(h)ristine.
64 even a brief scene that suggests that Sam may have pedophilic tendencies. At the
conclusion of the film Ernest and him have a falling out and in the last ten
minutes of the film, the two violently argue. Sam slaps Ernest and screams at him
to hit him with a baseball bat. Sam calls Ernest a "fucker" and a "pussy" to which
Ernest finally responds by striking Sam with a baseball bat and telling Sam to
leave the motel and never to return.
The portrayals of Asian women do not seem to be any better in this film.
Christine is a static character serving very little importance of the narrative. She
is the desire of Ernest and is careless with his feelings. Despite being ignored and
mistreated by several White boys from school she maintains unfounded feelings
for one of them and towards the end of the film she encourages Ernest's reckless
and rebellious behavior. Ernest's mother is strict, cold hearted, cruel and distant
from Ernest and only in the very last scene of the film does her character receive
redemption, albeit very little. Ernest lacks positive male figures to look up to.
The absence of Ernest's father is never explained and his Grandfather has very
little dialogue.
Kang's film bravely attempts to tell a story with two Asian males as the main characters - a project not yet attempted in Hollywood or network television.
However, with this film, Kang had the opportunity and some would argue responsibility to positively portray Asian males or at the very least not perpetuate
65 the already existing Asian male stereotypes that mainstream screens do. This may
seem like an unrealistic expectation given that the film is primarily a story of
tragically flawed characters and not a project of counter hegemonic images.
However, as previously mentioned in the case of Margaret Cho and All-American
Girl, it can be seen here that mainstream expectations are not necessarily
analogous with Asian North American expectations. Ultimately, a story of well
balanced and adjusted Asian male characters is not compelling and interesting to the mainstream.
3.4 Criticisms from Within
Measuring the success of an Asian North American film is often done by judging the film's ability to crossover on to mainstream screens. Besides anomalies like The Joy Luck Club (1993) and Better Luck Tomorrow, most Asian
American projects never make it to the big multiplexes. Several factors exist that restrict Asian North American films from their inception. There is an unwillingness of distribution companies to buy and release a film that presents minorities as main characters. There is a belief that the White dominated audiences prefer to see White faces on screen. This can not only be said about
White American audiences but Asian American audiences as well. Asian
42 It should be noted that The Motel did have a commercial theatrical American release.
66 diasporas in North American are a diverse demographic, representing different histories, cultures, languages and a wide variety of ideological beliefs that make defining a national cinema like Asian American film problematic. Unfortunately, due to this diversity, there seems to be a lack of cohesion in terms of activism and positive representation. In interview, Asian Canadian theatre actor, Leon Aureus, said some "Asian North Americans are perfectly happy seeing blacks and whites playing these roles. They don't need to see their own faces. It's almost jarring for some of them" (Aureus, 2007: 168). Aureus comment suggest that the effect of dominant images have made it equally as uncomfortable for Asians to watch
Asians on screens as it is for Non-Asians. This alleged mentality illustrates how severe and dangerous the destabilizing pressures of the mainstream can be in the creation of a self hatred or disgust of one's own image. The notion that even
Asians do not want or need to see their representation on screen is a contributing factor to the difficulties Asian North American filmmakers have when it comes to crossing into the mainstream.
Author Lindsey Jang created a 7 step tongue-in-cheek check list for Asian
American filmmakers that are looking to cross over into Hollywood.43 Her list reads:
Jang, Lindsey. "Through the Mirror, Sideways." Countervisions: Asian American Film Criticism. Ed. Darrel Hamamoto. Temple University Press, 2000.
67 1. Get fictional. Enough with documentaries. You don't see documentaries from China, Japan, or Hong Kong getting big play in your theatres, right? 2. Get exotic- with places, people, or activities. Take the audience to a world it has never seen. 3. Get Sexy- mostly if you're dealing with Asian women. 4. Get violent. The universal language is not mathematics, and it's not a "good story, well told." It's a good fight, full blown. 5. Get a trend going. Create a bandwagon. Hype a movement. 6. Get a new film language. Make audiences think they 're watching something new and on the edge.
7. Get political. It's about scandal. Make a splash.
Jang's check list offers a satirical perspective on how dominant North
American audiences are susceptible to cinematic formulas and how a great deal of cross over Asian North American films seem to unknowingly conform to this simplistic model. Jang's sarcastic tone suggests that Asian North American film is not necessarily about answering to popular appeal but rather being something entirely new and different from the mainstream. This goes against the general consensus of many Asian North American filmmakers whose goal is to become part of the mainstream. Jang's sarcastic tone also suggests that conceptions of
Asian North American cinema need to be expanded.
The idea that Asian North American film can be looked at as a singular object is perhaps in need of renegotiation. An anecdote of the Asian North American experience is the common occurrence of being labeled an ethnicity that one is not.
As previously stated, it can be noted that the grouping of multiple cultures into the broad demographic of 'Asian' may work against the project of racial specificity 68 and equality. In many instances, the Asian North American culture industry has
embraced the term Asian American and the power that comes with forming a
larger community. However, in the case of select organization, there has been a
desire to develop smaller interests groups. The Toronto Reel Asian International
Film Festival has in the past programmed country specific presentations including
a spotlights on: Thailand (2002),Indonesia (2003), Mainland China (2004),
Malaysia (2005), South Korea (2006) and Canada (2007). Former Reel Asian volunteer coordinator and community outreach officer Aram Siu Wai Collier, has
says that the showcasing of distinct Asian national cinemas may be a result of a
'Asian Canadian mentality.' Collier, notes that in Asian American film festivals there is a pressure to showcase exclusively (or predominantly) Asian American films. The opening film at the 22nd Annual San Francisco International Asian
American Film Festival was a Chinese film called Hero (2002). The festival received criticism for their programming choice. Collier, an Asian American himself, claims Asian Americans have a different relationship with Asian than he feels Canadians do. It is his contention that to a certain degree American values of assimilation and the melting pot model are important to Asian Americans, unlike Asian Canadians who value the retention of older cultural origins.
With such a wide variety of histories, language, ideologies composing one
'community', it is inevitable that strong criticisms and disagreements be made
69 regarding the purpose and function of Asian North American film. As it was
noted with the Margaret Cho incident, criticisms from within the Asian American
community, although perhaps warranted, can have negative repercussions on the
industry. In the case of Charlotte Sometimes (2002), Eurasian director Eric
Byler's first feature length narrative film, hasty and malicious criticisms had an
effect on the filmmaker's career.
Charlotte Sometimes follows the quiet and modest life of auto shop mechanic
Michael (Michael Idemoto). Michael spends his day silently working on cars.
One night, Michael exchanges glances with a stranger at bar. Darcy, a free
spirited drifter befriends Michael and the two enter a passionate affair. Charlotte
Sometimes was shot digitally for the estimated budget of $80,000. Two months after its opening weekend, the film recouped it's budget and won several Film
Festival prizes including the Special Jury Award at the Florida Film festival and the Jury Award at the San Diego Asian Film Festival.
Charlotte Sometimes received strong praise from film critic Roger Ebert.
Ebert wrote, "What films like this represent is a breakthrough for Asian-American filmmakers. For the first generation, it was enough that their films existed: Wow!
Asians in an American movie! Now the filmmakers have lost their self- consciousness, have freed themselves from the need to fit into conventional
70 patterns."44 However, the film was heavily criticized by mixed raced audience members. Some felt that a sexually dysfunctional character (who was mixed race) in the film was a negative portrayal of mixed raced Asians. In interview,
Byler addressed the criticisms:
".. .A few people... have really come after me—and a few went after Jacqueline (Lead actress) for whatever reason. I think this has more to do with their own personal issues than whatever it is they see in the film. Anyway, I guess someone's trying to hurt the film by voting multiple times on IMDB. I talked to the EVIDB help desk. They said you're only supposed to vote once, but as long as the people know how to circumvent the system, there's nothing they can do. They suggested that I encourage supporters of the film to do the same" (In interview with Greg Pak).45
On the Internet Movie Database, the film received a vote of 1/10 a total of 132 times.46 Despite the acclaim the film received, these malicious criticisms tainted the film's success and may have influenced potential distributors from purchasing the film. This demonstrates one of the ways Asian North American community/audiences have a unique relationship with the films they views.47
^"Sometimes' a Great Notion." Accessed January 2008.
71 While attending Asian North American Film Festivals, it is important to
consider that it is not always the objective to see 'good' films but rather to see
films that provoke a response. The forum and opportunity to freely express
opinions, ideas and criticism in a welcoming environment is the best way to
encourage new and challenging ideas.
3.5 Asian North American Feature Length Narratives at SFIAAFF 2008
The San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival is one of the
oldest and most popular Asian American Film Festivals in the world. Over 25 years old, the festival has showcased landmark films in Asian North American cinema that would be later screened at festivals like Sundance and Cannes. This past year, SFIAAFF screened over 120 films. Remarkably, of the 120 films only two films were feature length dramatic narratives from the U.S.
Pretty to Think So (2008) was directed by lawyers turned filmmakers Francis
Hsueh and Steven Hahn. Their film tells the story of Hanna (Pia Shah), an investment banker laid-off during the Internet bust of 2000. Hannah falls in love with Jiwon (Louis Ozawa Changchien), a successful attorney she meets at a bar.
Hanna finds out that one of Jiwon's clients is her childhood friend, Alex (Rob
48 Since feature length dramatic narrative is the most visible genre on mainstream screens, I believe there is particular value in analyzing this same genre in Asian North American film. Films of this format/genre tend to be the films that crossover and achieve critical and financialsuccess .
72 Yang), whom she at one time had feelings for. Jiwon and Alex's conflict over
Hannah culminates in a bloody conclusion.
Pretty to Think So tries to recall an era that really has not passed. During the
Q&A of the film's premier, Hsueh and Hahn reminisce how tragic and emotional
New York City was during the dot com crash. The directors tell the audience they wanted to recreate the same setting and mood in their film. Other than a short montage of Hannah being rejected from job prospects, the film is ineffective in communicate this. The directors reveal that the lead character Hannah was recasted at the last moment because Asian Canadian Grace Park turned down the role at the last minute. The directors maintain that the recasting decision did not change the film despite the fact that the replacement actress was not East Asian.
Thus, the romance in the film became an interracial one. When questioned why their film "used so many flashbacks", the directors claimed they wanted to remind the audience "who was who". However, the flashbacks were so frequent they were disruptive to the pacing of the film.
For first time directors, the film was certainly an accomplishment. The film was technically well produced and continuity was maintained. However, the project itself seemed like a self fulfilling story about two men fighting over one women made by two lawyers who wished to dramatize their lives. The film is filled with cliches of addiction, gang violence, sexual aggressiveness and an
73 obligatory struggle for a gun, all of which seem to be common tropes in this
format/genre.
The other feature length dramatic narrative film at SFIAAFF was Option 3
(2008). Partially funded by the Center for Asian American Media, director
Richard Wong departs from his previous musical film Colma (2007) and attempts to enter the romance genre. In Option 3, Ken's (Preston Conner) girlfriend
Jessica (Theresa Navarro) disappears one night during dinner. With nothing to go on but a mysterious voice on her cell phone, Ken sprints through the city in search of her.
The SFIAAFF synopsis of Option 3 calls the film "[a] wild ride that is simultaneously dark, baffling, funny, clever and whimsical." However, at the film's premier it seemed audiences did not agree. The film was a mixture of moods that did not seem to have any order or relevance to the story of a man running around San Francisco in search of his girlfriend. Unnecessary gratuitous fighting and long running scenes spaced out a film that could have been told in a shorter format.
The screening of the film garnered moans and groans from the audience and while the credits rolled at the end of the film, one audience member sarcastically yelled, "Encore!". During Q&A, the film's director, Richard Wong told the audience that he made this film for himself. He explained that he had gone
74 through "personal problems" and he wanted to express those problems in Option
3. Wong did not divulged publically what those personal problems were but
industry rumors suggest that Wong's long term partner had broken up with him
unexpectedly. Variety Asian Online referred to the plot as a, "my-girlfriend-left-
me-cuz-I'm-a-jerk-and-now-rm-sad" story. Wong admitted to CAAM
representatives in the audience that he had used their funding money to make a
film for himself. While there is nothing wrong with making a film about one's personal problems there are certainly concerns over whether these films are made
with any consideration of an audience and whether a festival should program such films for its audiences.
The film's admittance to SFIAAFF was met with scrutiny due to the nature of
Wong's relationship with the festival. Wong's previous film Colma (2007) played at SFIAAFF in 2007 and won the Special Jury Prize. That same year,
Wong was commissioned by SFIAAFF to produce the festival's commercial advertisement. With Option 3, Wong received funding from the Center for Asian
American Media who are both funders and presenters of SFIAAFF. The lead actress, Theresa Navarro, was not an actress but actually works at SFIAAFF. In
2008, when Option 3 screened, so did a sing-along presentation of Wong's older film Colma and Princess of Nebraska (2008), which Wong worked on with
Wayne Wang.
75 These set of circumstances certainly influenced the festivals reception of
Option 3. It seems reasonable to assume that despite the film's questionable
artistic integrity, it would have got in to the festival regardless. In the instance of
Option 3, this is where film festivals have to make difficult programming
decisions. What is more important, showcasing entertaining films and selling
more tickets or supporting filmmakers? And is doing both possible?
Unfortunately, it seems like there will always be individuals or groups that will feel neglected since the expectations of filmmakers, audience and film festivals, and not always aligned.
3.6 The Asian North American Film Festival
The Asian North American film festival is a space where Asian North
Americans can see themselves on screen. These images act as alternatives to mainstream American television and Hollywood film. Reconciling multiple identities as both American/Canadian and of a visible minority are worked out here. Brenda Longfellow writes on the importance of South Asian diaspora cinema. She notes, "The pleasures [minorities] derive from this activity, the specific nature of the shared social and communal experience of cinema going"
(Longfellow, 86) provide minorities with a chance to have their unique stories and
76 feeling told before an audience. This voice and presence is a crucial step in the
fight for social and racial equality.
Some Asian North Americans filmmakers feel that labeling and defining a
cinema as 'Asian American' is counterproductive to achieving the goal of
equality. In interview, multimedia artist Karin Lee addressed post-identity
politics, saying, "What we [need] to articulate [is] not identity, but something
beyond and outside of that. There [is a] kind of rebellion against being identified:
not being identified [is] better than being identified" (Lee, 2007: 201). The Asian
North American film festival as it stands can in some ways simplify unique and
distinct cultures and histories into the one broad term of "Asian." This may
diminishes cultural specificity and perpetuate that which seems to be the looming
threat of homogenous dominant motion picture - an othering of Asian North
Americans. Conversely, Filipino Canadian director Romero Candido expressed in interview, "I want my work to be culturally specific but universally affecting"
(Candido, 2007: 193). Candido's outlook on the project of Asian North American cinema is one where both Asianess and universality are addressed simultaneously
and that there is a power in dabbling in both arenas.
Lee's attitude towards non-identity is useful in creating a more diverse discourse of race in filmmaking. Film festival programming often faces criticisms for including (or excluding) films that do not fall into a festivals program or
77 mandate. For instance, a film that has no Asian actors, does not address Asian
themes, is stylistically 'Hollywood' but was written by an Asian writer may not
be what most Asian North American film festivals would showcase. Film
festival programmers are faced with a pressure to cater to an audience that for the
most part is interested in seeing and hearing Asian North American stories. Lee
would likely cite how this restriction limits the possibility of expanding notions of
what Asian American and Asian Canadian cinema is.
The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival's current mandate reads,
"The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is a unique showcase of
contemporary Asian cinema and work from the Asian diaspora. Works include
films and videos by East and Southeast Asian artist in Canada, the U.S., Asia and
all over the world." The language in the statement encompasses a very large
geographic and social space. The mandate refers to films "from" Asian diaspora and "by" Asian artists. However, considering the changing state of identity, globalization, hybrid, adoptee and mixed race filmmakers, this mandate needs to reflect a broader idea of Asian and Global experience.
Reel Asian is currently attempting to develop a broader idea of the Asian
Global experience on a local level. The festival has begun initiatives to move the festival out of the downtown core into the Greater Toronto Area. Aram Siu Wai
Collier at Reel Asian, claims the festival is trying to "attract more 905ers to the
78 festival." 905ers refers to Asian populations in surrounding suburban areas of
Toronto such as Markham and Richmond Hill that are known for their large
Chinese populations. These communities are typically first or second generation
Chinese and live in neighborhoods where Chinese people are the majority. Their
cultural experience as Asian Canadians is arguably different than that of the
metropolitan Chinese that reside downtown. In early 2008, Reel Asian screened
Up the Yangtze (2007), an Asian Canadian documentary about the displacement
of communities that live along the Yangtze River in China. The screening was
held in North York and attracted a sold out crowd, with most patrons coming
down from the 905 areas. In May of 2008, as part of Asian Heritage Month, Reel
Asian will present a multiple screenings at York University on their Keele campus
which is hoped to bring in wider audience.
At approximately 2.9 million, Asian Canadians represent 11% of Canada's population - double the Asian Americans at 5% of the U.S' population. Yet, even
Canada's two largest and oldest Asian Canadian film festivals, the Vancouver
Asian Film Festival and Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, are both only 13 and 12 years old respectively. Compared to the older and more attended
New York Asian American International Film Festival and the San Francisco
International Asian American Festival, it is puzzling why it seems Asian
79 Canadians had much latter start in showcasing Asian North American film.49
This March, SFIAFF reached a patronage of approximately 40,000 per year. This
number represents 3% of the Asian population in San Francisco Bay Area.50 On
the other hand, in 2007, Reel Asian received approximately 4,000 patrons which
only represented less than 1% of the Asian population in Toronto.51 Of course
these numbers assume that patronage is primary from Asians individuals.
However, when considering that the Toronto First Nations film festivals,
Imaginative brought in over 14,000 patrons last year, it is clear Reel Asian
audience attendance has room to grow.
49 The state of Asian Canadian studies is another reminder that Asian Canadians do not seem to care about their own representation. In Canada, there are no advanced degrees in Asian Canadian studies. 50 In the San Francisco Bay Area, approximately 1.4 million individuals are identified as Asian American. Jessica S. Barnes and Claudette E. Bennett. The Asian Population: 2000. Census Bureau publication c2kbr01-16. Published February 2002. 51 In Toronto, 385 000 individuals identify themselves as Chinese, Japanese, Filipino or Korean. Accessed April, 2008.
80 Conclusion
Surveying the long and difficult early history of Asian interaction with North
America, it is clear that although much has changed, racially driven prejudices
continue to resonate in today's media influenced social ideology. Films,
television shows, poster ads and magazine ads are no longer the overtly racist
sites they used to be and there is no longer a "tidy one-to-one relationship
between corporate controlled media institutions" (Hamamoto, 1994:3) and social
racism. The American World War II propaganda poster on the street corner in
the 30s and 40s that vilified the Japanese is now the American car commercial
that demonizes Japanese imports. The asexual Kung Fu master who speaks in
riddles in a Buddhist temple is now the soft-spoken wise Chinese restaurant
waiter in the popular sitcom. Racism has changed in form and due to today's
relatively subdued social political climate, it seems more difficult to rally the
aggressive movements of racial equality that are needed
Dominant images of the hypersexual Asian woman and the emasculated Asian man have had severe effects on Asian North American individuals. The effects are evident both from a social studies standpoint and from a look at the Asian
North American film industry. Self-orientalizing Asian North American women and sexually (over)compensating Asian North American men are symptoms of this. Additionally, within the Asian North American community there are also
81 internal destabilizing factors. Ongoing debates and disagreements regarding
terms like, Asian, culture, identity, race and gender mean that the so-called Asian
North American community is unable to stand united. The diversity and
complexity that is valued is also simultaneously the cause for internal criticism
that works against the community. It has become the responsibility and burden
of Asian North American festival programmers, filmmakers, artists and authors to
continue to questioning and challenging not only mainstream images but their
own as well.
As a multigenerational Chinese-Taiwanese Canadian my perspective is
divided. The way I think, the way I feel and the way I speak may be from a North
American perspective in terms of political ideology, global awareness and social
etiquette. Yet, as a visible minority, my presence and my reception as a perpetual
foreigner shapes how I am related and addressed (or not addressed). This conflict
between how I feel and think internally and my awareness of an external
incongruency is a common point of identification for many Asian North
Americans.
As the world continues to change and we develop new understandings of who
we are, there could conceivably be a time where distinctions like 'Asian North
American' may become obsolete. However as Peter Feng poignantly notes, "In a world where Asian American cinematic identity could be fully realized, the muse
82 of Asian American cinema would vanish; but then, in a world in which our identities could be fully realized, there would be no need for art at all." (Feng,
2002: 214).
83 Epilogue
Other Research Interest
My other research projects continue to explore the many facets of North
American conceptions of Race. I would like to analyze the recent trend of
Hollywood remakes of Asian films. I am interested in looking at how cross- cultural incongruencies arise when adapting an Asian film for North American audiences. Subtle but key intricacies in history, culture and language are often overlooked by American filmmakers/producers and the results are a remake that is a significantly different. Additionally, I would like to study how Race and
Gender are presented in North American children's film. From an early age, it is through film and television that children may be programmed with racist and sexist ideologies.
PhD Research
My PhD research focuses on the ongoing changes in Asian North American film. I have become more interested in what specifically can be said about Asian
American and Asian Canadian films as separate National Cinemas. Question such as: What differences and similarities exist between Asian Canadian and
Asian American film? What held back the inception of Asian Canadian Film
Festivals and ultimately Asian Canadian film? How do unique and subtle aspects
84 of Canadian and American society shape minority communities? In August of
2008, I will begin a PhD program in American Studies at the University of
Hawaii where I will continue this study.
85 Work Cited
Texts Araki, Gregg. "The (Sorry) State of (Independent) Things." Moving the Image: Independent Asian Pacific American Media Arts. Ed. Russell Leong. Los Angeles, California: UCLA andVisual Communications, 1991. Aoki, Keith. Critical Legal Studies. Asian Americas in U.S Law and Culture, Neil Gotanda and Me. Sacramento, California: University of California Davis, 1997. Brenda Longfellow. "Bollywood/Toronto: Transnational Spectatorship" Public: Number 29, Localities. Ed. Saara Liinamaa, Janine Marchessault and Christine Shaw. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Hignell Book Printing Ltd., 2004. Browning, Frank. The Culture of Desire: Paradox and Perversity in Gav Lives Today. New York, New York City: Vintage Books, 1994. Chin, Frank and Chan, Paul Jeffery. "Racist Love." Seeing Through Shuck. Ed. Richard Kostelanetz. New York, New York City: Ballantine Books, 1972. Diawara, Manthia. Black American Cinema: The New Realism, in Black American Cinema, Ed. Manthia Diawara. New York, New York City: Routeledge, 1993. Donaldson, Melvin. Masculinity in the Interracial Buddy Film. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, 2006. Eng, David and Aureus, Leon. "Men and Monsters." Reel Asian: Asian Canada on Screen. Ed. Elaine Chang, Toronto, Canada: Coach House Press, 2007. Eng, David. Racial Castration: Managing Masculinity in Asian America. North Carolina, Durham: Duke University, 2001. Eng, Phoebe "She Takes Back Desire." Warrior Lessons: An Asian American Woman's Journey into Power. New York, New York City: Atria, 1999. Feng, Peter. Identities in Motion: Asian American Film and Video. North Carolina, Durham: Duke University Press, 2002. Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: An Introduction. New York City, New York: Vintage Books, 1978. Fung, Richard. "Looking for my Penis: The Eroticiaed Asian in Gay Video Porn." How Do I Look: Queer Film and Video. Ed. Bad Object Choices. Seattle, Washington: Bay Press, 1991. Fung, Richard. "Center the Margins." Moving the Image: Independent Asian Pacific American Media Arts. Ed. Russell Leong^Los Angeles, California: UCLA and_Visual Communications, 1991. Hamamoto, Darrell. Monitored Peril. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1994.
86 Jang, Lindsey. "Through the Mirror, Sideways." Countervisions: Asian American Film Criticism. Ed. Darrel Hamamoto. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press, 2000. Kang, Laura Hyun-Yi. "The Desiring of Asian Female bodies: Interracial Romance and Cinematic Subjection." Ed. Peter Feng. Screening Asian Americans. Piscataway, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2002. Kipnis, Laura. "Bound and Gagged: Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in America." Countervisions: Asian American Film Criticism. Ed. Darrel Hamamoto. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press, 2000. Koshy, Susan. Sexual Naturalization. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2004. Lee, Karin and Todd, Loretta. "Searching for the White-haired Girl." Reel Asian: Asian Canada on Screen. Ed. Elaine Chang, Toronto, Ontario: Coach House Press, 2007. Lim, Kevin. Images of Asia in American Pornography. Toronto, Ontario: York University, 2007. Lynn, Lu. "Critical Visions: The Representation and Resistance of Asian Women." Dragon Ladies: Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire. Ed. Sonia Shah. Boston Massachusetts: South End Press, 1997. Lynn, Richard. IO and the wealth of nations. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publisher, 2002. Marchetti, Gina. Romance and the "Yellow Peril". California: University of California Press, 1993. McClintock, Anne. Imperial Leather: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest. Oxford, United Kingdom: Routledge, 1995. Mizuguchi, Tomoko. The Eroticization of "Asia": Asian Heterosexual Women in Anglophone Online Pornography. Toronto, Canada: York University, 2006. Naficy, Hamid. "Phobic Spaces and Liminal Panics: Independent Transnational Film Genre." Ed. Ella Shohat and Robert Stam. Multiculturalism, Postcolonialitv. and Transnational Media. Piscataway, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2003. Rainer, Peter. Dragon Jason Scott Lee: They Have the Chops. Ed. Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1993. Reimers, David, The Korean-American Immigrant Experience. New York, New York City: New York University, 2001. Ronald Takaki, "Bachelor Society: Deviant Heterosexuality and Asian American Historiography." Privileging Positions: The Site of Asian American Studies. Ed. Gary Y. Okhiro, Marilyn Alquizola, Dorothy Fujita Rony, and K. Scott Wong. Pullman: Washington State Press, 1989.
87 Shimizu, Celein Parrenas. The Hypersexuality of Race: Performing Asian/American women on Screen and Scene. North Carolina, Durham: Duke University Press, 2007. Webb, Arthur. "Not Quite Gold, The Strange Case of Kristi Yamaguchi." The Journal of American Chamber of Commerce. 1993. Xing, Jun. Asian American: Through the Lens. Walnut Creek, California: Altamira Press, 1998.
Films 3 Needles. Dir. Thorn Fitzgerald. Bigfoot Entertainment, 2005. Balls of Fury. Dir. Robert Ben Garant. Rogue Pictures, 2007. Bean. Dir. Mel Smith. Polygram Filmed Entertainment, 1997. Beverly Hills Ninja. Dir. Dennis Dugan. Beverly Hills Ninja Productions, 1997. Better Luck Tomorrow. Dir. Justin Lin. MTV Films, 2002. Big Fat Liar. Dir. Shawn Levy. Paramount Pictures, 2002. Charlie's Angels. Dir. McG. Columbia Pictures Corporation, 2000. Charlie's Angles II. Dir. Joseph McGinty Nichol. Columbia Pictures Corporation, 2003. Charlotte Sometimes. Dir. Eric Byler. Vision Box Pictures, 2002. Colma. Dir. Richard Wong. Greenrocksolid, 2007. Dir. Darrell Hamamoto. 2004. Dark Matter. Dir. Shi-Zheng Chen. Saltmill, 2007. Dark Shadows. Dir. P.J Hogan. Dan Curtis Productions, 2004. Dragon Ladies & Kung-Fu Masters: Re-Constructing Asian American Sexuality. Domino. Dir. Tony Scott. Domino 17521 Inc., 2005. Eve and the Firehorse. Dir. Julia Kwan. Golden Horse Productions, 2005. Finishing the Game. Dir. Justin Lin. Barnstorm Pictures, 2007. Harold and Kumar. Dir. Danny Leiner. Endgame Entertainment, 2004. Hero. Dir. Zhang Yimou. Beijing New Picture Film Co. 2002. Joy Luck Club. Dir. Wayne Wang. Hollywood Pictures, 1993. Kill Bill I. Dir. Quentin Tarantino. Miramax Films, 2003. Kill Bill II. Dir. Quentin Tarantino. Miramax Films, 2004. Kung Pow. Dir. Steve Oedekerk. 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation, 2002. Lucky Number Slevin. Dir. Paul McGuigan. Capitol Films, 2006. Mavdav. Dir. T.J Scott. CBS Television, 2005. The Motel. Dir. Michael Kang. Flan de Coco Films, 2005. Option 3. Dir. Richard Wong. 2008. Payback. Dir. Brian Helgeland. Icon Entertainment International, 1999. Pretty to Think So. Dir. Francis Hsueh and Steven Hahn. Omerice Works, 2008. Rise. Dir. Sebastian Gutierrez. Mandate Pictures, 2006.
88 Shopping for Fangs. Dir. Justin Lin and Quentin Lee. De/Center Communications Inc., 1997. Sorry, Haters. Dir. Jeff Stanzler. InDigEnt (Independent Digital Entertainment), 2005. Tre. Dir. Eric Byler. Tre Productions Inc., 2006. Undoing. Dir. Chris Chan Lee. A Space Between, 2006. Up The Yangtze. Dir. Yung Chang. Eye Steel Film, 2008. Wavne's World II. Dir. Stephen Surjik.1993. West 32nd. Dir. Michael Kang. CJ Entertainment, 2007. Wilby Wonderful. Dir. Daniel Maclvor. Palpable Productions, 2004. Yellow. Dir. Chris Chan Lee. 1998. Yellow Fellas. Dir. Tetsuro Shigematsu. CAAMA Productions, 2007.
American Films
Television AU-American Girl. Prod. Gary Jacobs. Sandollar, 1994. Boomtown. Prod. Stephen Sassen. Los Angeles Center Studios. Los Angeles, California, 2003. Friends. Prod. David Crane and Marta Kauffman. Warner Bros. Television, 1994- 2004. Joey. Prod Kevin Bright, Shana Goldberg-Meehan, Scott Silveri. Silver and Gold Productions. Burbank, California, 2004-2006. Seinfeld. Prod. Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. Castle Rock Entertainment, 1990- 1998.
Websites "A Booming China Spells Trouble for America." NPR.org. Published May 23, 2007. < http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId= 10312271 > "Angry Little Girls." Accessed April 2008.
89 BBC News. "Mandarin learning soars outside China." Published January 9, 2007.
90 "Mika Tan Discusses the Porn Industry, Racism & Prostitution." Accessed April, 2008.
91 Appendix
"Me Fuck You Long Time." Accessed January 2008.
An American War propaganda demonizes the Japanese. Accessed on 10 March 2008. < http://radgeek.eom/gt/2005/l l/22/EveryMurderingJap.jpg>
92 Cheryl (Maggie Han) meets George (Jason Alexander) at the coffee shop.
Ping (Ping Wu) informs Elaine (Julia Louise Dreffaus) that the lawsuit is back on.
Alex Munday (Lucy Liu) giving Roger Corwin (Tim Curry) a backrub. Accessed February 2008.
93 ASIAN BABY MAKERS
¥ MM M "* 1 m
ap/V "Asian Baby Makers." Accessed January 2008.
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• '••» "Fob Fuckers." Accessed March 2008.
Asian Chicks White Dicks." Accessed January 2008.
94 _ Welcome to Asiaaloa 1 free sample photos page! Our asiaa^irk are th« Hottest online, visit our mam sit«& Enjoy!
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We update each week wit h new I/- W ltd htffny aaiin babea! Jtiai Ifekiw! "Asian lonl." Accessed January 2008.
Sf* the m in tUitUtn, une«Bvmr«ilt Brought ta yuu ivy KauB&tyAniiiHcii!
oltMy* •tin.iu*} tu pltauau. eianii* Lynn t abulias lh.it. *(
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[•WhiM^k v.« odd Hiiro smart Join Asian lanl HDWI hnGtac trnnu rat mk'nK aire a' ik»a»nu n rot mbat tn w« n»di of them get slnmnmd bant! SmuUuMuin garta hvB hugu adm1 GUoUtaLfttttm) One Month TRY* Fill! HarabgrahiB RUB -M, Jt*-ul'l Ji "Asian lonl." Accessed January 2008.
95 ASIAN INDIAN AMERICANS Other Husbands , .. 90.254 2.054 Whites 7.154 Blacks 0.0% Hispanics/Latinos 0.75c Indians Asians Other wives ,A!tan n.m 2.1?; Whites 3.754 Blacks 0.7% Htspanics/Latinos 0.55S Asians Indians CHINESE AMERICANS Other Husbands Chinese 81.554 8.354 Whites 8.954 Blacks 0.354 Hispanics.'Latinos 1.054 Asians Other Wives Chinese 77.95! 5.654 Whites 15.354 Blacks 0.554 Hispanics/Latinos I.45S Asians FILIPINO AMERICANS Other "A Husbands Filipinos 77.3% 4.7% Whites 13.054 Blacks 0.054 Hispanics/Latinos 3.2SS Asians Other Wives Filipinos 55.2?; 5.454 Whites 33.454 Blacks 2.4S Htspanics/Latinos 3.4% Asians JAPANESE AMERICANS Other Husbands Japanese 72.35S 7.»54 Whites 13.554 Slacks 0.054 Hispanics/Latinos 3.35S Asians Othei Wives Japanese 55.2:: 5.1"-: Whites 34.95, blacks 1.254 Hispanics/Latinos 1.61'. Asians KOREAN AMERICANS Other Husbands Korean VI.}** 1.49s Whites 4.454 Blacks 0.0% Hispanics/Latinos 0.554 Asians Other Wives Korean &2.0H 5.S=5 Whites 28.85. Blacks 2.0% Hispanics/Latinos 0.6% Asians VIETNAMESE AMERICANS Other Husbands Vietnamese 91. IX 5.4=. Whites 2.7K-* ^Black s 0.0% HfSfMtifcj/UHhos 0.0* Asians Other Wives Vietnamese 86.6% i.va Whites ».5* Blacks 0.054 Hispanics/Latinos 0.4% Asians Accessed March 2008.
Asian Porn Star Actress like Nautica Thome often wears color contact lenses, obscuring their ethnic background. Accessed February, 2008.
96 Internet diva Tila Tequila often dyes her hair blonde and wears blue contact lenses. She also changed her last name to 'Tequila'. Her original last name is Ngyuen, which is Vietnamese. Accessed March, 2008.
An image comparing the before and after of a patient who underwent eye surgery. The photo on the right has a more pronounced epicanthic fold that looks more Caucasian. Accessed February 2008. < http://blog. wired.com/biotech/images/patient_asianl .jpg>
97 An Asian woman with blue eye contacts posts a picture of herself on a forum regarding the common trend of hair dying amongst particularly Asian women. Accessed April, 2008.
Its'". : "»<1 \, \5 &
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Canclv Bart hfanta Margarita Mane Antoinette Yoon's photographs are labeled after Western female icons such as, Marilyn Monroe, Paris Hilton and Barbie. "Dorothy M (Miyeon Yoon) Solo Exhibition "13 of Blondes"" Accessed April, 2008.
98 Paris Hilton wearing a red cheongsam. Accessed March 2008.
International students in Japan. Accessed March 2008.
99 xvii
Angry Asian Man's front page image. Accessed April 2008.
Rap Parody Group Notortious MSG Accessed January, 2008.
100