https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc Continuing the Conversation Beyond Class - Thoughts, Reflections, Community en-us 2021-11-11 16:23:23 UTC 2023-12-12 04:21:58 UTC hello@padlet.com Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885814973 Rachel Dolezal, Hector Carillo, Jessica Krug --just some other notable figures who have claimed / refused Black identity to further their own careers and increase their social cache --like Oli London, race/ethnicity is something one can wear, fabricated to the point where the histories of hurt associated with racial difference are wiped out, forgotten... ]]> 2021-11-12 04:07:20 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885814973 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885819721 2021-11-12 04:10:39 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885819721 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885823642 ...but, as the story goes, he lures his potential love interest by impersonating as his more attractive (mixed race) friend. ]]> 2021-11-12 04:13:32 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885823642 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885825686 2021-11-12 04:15:01 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885825686 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885849524 Vincent Chin's hate-motivated murder in 1982 stemmed from a case of "mistaken" identity -- his attackers thought he was Japanese and thus associated him with the declining success of the American auto industry. This deeply entrenched fear of economic competition marked even the first arrivals of Asian immigrants who somehow threatened to deplete the "native" labor force -- they were stealing jobs/labor (as Bret Harte, in "The Heathen Chinee," also went on to warn). ]]> 2021-11-12 04:32:27 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885849524 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885879795 Amy posed a confounding question today about why it seems that Japanese (anime) and Korean subcultures (k-pop) attain more mainstream appeal and visibility than others-- it's certainly not because there's a dearth of cultural richness and originality from other places (for ex., I'm thinking of the beautiful films of Wong Kar-Wai- one of my favorite filmmakers). I'm not sure what scholarly literature exists around this topic, but I thought about how 20th-c. histories of American occupations in both Korea and Japan (& US participation in the postwar rehabilitation of both nations) might have something to do with it...could these global capitalist stories speak to the successes of American intervention and rebuilding perhaps? Or, as Cathy Park Hong suggests, is "capitalism...retribution for racism"? I wonder if/how we can read into the presentation of anime characters and k-pop performers as seemingly suspended in an eternal childhood/adolescence... do they fall under the care of the paternalistic Occidental/Western caretaker? (a role that Doc Hata plays so well despite his claimed "Japanese" identity) ]]> 2021-11-12 04:55:17 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885879795 https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885938155 In class today, someone asked a question on the lines of "why isn't Chinese culture/media fetishized in the same way as Korean and Japanese culture/media?" Thinking back to Jack London's "The Unparalleled Invasion," London comments on the lack of "intimacy" between the West and China. I think this lack of "intimacy" is best seen in language. Yuri mentioned how the Korean language adopts a lot of English words. Though we didn't speak about the Japanese language, it also adopts a lot of English words-- all relative, of course, to the Chinese language. In a sense, Western thought/words have a harder time "assimilating" into the Chinese language. English words that otherwise would have sounded similar in Korean and Japanese (i.e., you probably would be able to guess the word) can sound quite different in Chinese. I think this fun Youtube video (part of a series on the channel) featuring pronunciation differences in English, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese best exemplify the language gap. Perhaps, though, as Professor Cho mentioned, it is the military presence of the US in bases in Japan and Korean that breaks down not only physical barriers but also language barriers. ]]> 2021-11-12 05:42:39 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1885938155 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1886858224 https://www.asianstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/from-hello-kitty-to-cod-roe-kewpie-a-postwar-cultural-history-of-cuteness-in-japanA.pdf]]> 2021-11-12 15:09:19 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1886858224 https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1887370350 Emely - I really enjoy Mina Le's content! Really recommend her channel ]]> 2021-11-12 19:26:57 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1887370350 https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1887378464 Emely

CONTENT WARNING: child abuse

I really like this video on the film "Silenced" (the director of this film, Hwang Dong-hyuk, also directed Squid Game). It's about an art teacher who goes to a school for children with disabilities, and discovers the abuse and neglect the children are subjected to by the school staff. It's based on a real story. It's another film that points out some of the issues occurring in South Korea (issues that Koreaboos seem to ignore).]]> 2021-11-12 19:31:56 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1887378464 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1891145791 commendable but took long enough! as Cathy Park Hong writes, “we were always here” — not born from a moment of belated representation:
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/15/1055733980/sesame-street-makes-history-with-the-debut-of-its-first-asian-american-muppet]]> 2021-11-15 12:50:39 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1891145791 https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1891663543 Emely - I have to be honest, this video mostly focuses on how the Netflix show Bridgerton represents black people, but there are some interesting points about representation of other minorities. I watched the first few episodes of Bridgerton when it came out because I was so excited to see a period drama featuring POC. I love period dramas (I'll watch anything Keira Knightley is in), but these period pieces tend to be very homogenous. If you see a person of color, they are usually in a position of servitude - they're not even allowed to be regular background characters. Period dramas tend to treat POC as something of the present; they didn't exist in the 18th century, or lived lives that do not deserve being showcased. Bridgerton was disappointing because it claimed to be such a progressive show, but I only remember seeing one East-Asian character and one Southeast Asian character on screen, and I don't even think they had a speaking role. I think a lot of productive conversations are taking place in the comment section of this video. Someone pointed out that since the show is set in England, the show writers could have done more to represent Indian people given England's history of colonization. The show also neglects to have any conversations about racism; it takes a very colorblind approach, and it just does not work.]]> 2021-11-15 15:53:11 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1891663543 https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1891747963 I enjoy Wes Anderson's work due to the cinematography. I also love Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson's first stop-motion animated film, so I was really excited to watch his next stop-motion film. Isle of Dogs is set in Japan, which I thought was an interesting choice given that Anderson is white (and is notorious for having a very white cast in all of his films). Most of the characters in the film are voiced by white actors, and when Japanese is spoken, subtitles are not provided, leaving the audience incapable of understanding and being able to empathize with the Japanese characters. Interestingly, the dogs speak English.
This video also covers another one of Anderson's movie, The Darjeeling Limited, which is set in India. I haven't watched this film, but according to this video essay, this film has the same issues as Isle of Dogs.]]> 2021-11-15 16:24:43 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1891747963 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1897292399 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/opinion/the-argument-asian-american-identity.html]]> 2021-11-17 16:03:26 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1897292399 https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1907251187 Saw this on TikTok and I thought we could discuss it since we watched and discussed Fu Manchu's movies and character. - Emely]]> 2021-11-23 01:03:10 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1907251187 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1908792137 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e0tszep890]]> 2021-11-23 16:10:07 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1908792137 Prof_JCho https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1908848364 2021-11-23 16:35:55 UTC https://padlet.com/Prof_JCho/wg1cxmlg7k9s8ypc/wish/1908848364