In October 2010, I was a student at Ohio State
University and had a chance to attend a campaign
rally by President Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama on campus.
My roommate politely declined to attend with me because, in her words, “Obama
made my uncle lose his job at the car factory” because he supports “foreign
cars”, which are cars she “doesn't trust at all”. A week later I was there when
she opened a recall notice letter for her “all American” Ford Mustang. Her
comment was one of many that I had not been used to hearing as a person who
grew up in New Jersey, in a protective “bubble”.
To enter the rally I waited on a long line and
along the way there were protesters. There weren't a lot of them and there was
only one thing they were all protesting: abortion. Some of them had gruesome
images of dead fetuses on posters with quotes from the bible. They believed
that a woman’s decision to get pregnant or not, should be up to the law and the
law should be in accordance to their religious beliefs. Obama did not talk
about abortion at the rally but if he did, I hope it would have been something
similar to what Jennifer Nelson has said: “… a woman [has] a right to control her individual reproduction and
terminate a pregnancy regardless of circumstances, “ and “[A]bortion should no
longer remain in the hands of doctors, lawyers, or legislators because it is a
woman’s body that gets pregnant” (Nelson 17). Even though it seems like an
obvious and popular opinion, here in New York City and in Columbus, Ohio, we
have to voice our beliefs and continue to vote for policies that allow women to
have control over their own body. Even if it seems like we all agree, we have
to make sure women are supported in legislation. That includes providing
affordable and easy access to birth control and improving sexual education for
children. We can’t tell women to have children no matter what and then not have
good healthcare for them. We need to make sure everything is accessible to all
women of different races, sexual orientations, and economic statuses.
I wish that every media maker would have a signed
code of moral conduct, sort of like the Hippocratic Oath that physicians swear
to, so that we can hold media makers accountable for their actions when they
decide to portray women negatively. As a film major and media minor in my final
semester, very few of my professors have addressed the moral responsibility we
have when creating content. We need to create media that is honest, unbiased,
well researched, inclusive, and representative of the diverse population of the
world. We need to create positive media for women so that they aren't
“bombarded with warped images of their humanity” (Perry 29). Melissa Harris
Perry wrote about the recognition of the distorted representation of black
women and its effects on women throughout their lives: “Zora Neale
Hurston writes Janie Mae Crawford’s as an irrepressibly independent women. … Janie’s
quest is about carving out a life that suits her authentic desires rather than
conforming to the limiting, often soul-crushing expectations that others have
of her. In this way, her personal journey is a model of the struggle many black
women face” (Perry 28). The media regularly contributes to these “soul-crushing
expectations” and “warped images” of women and discourages women from pursuing
their “authentic desires”.
The first time I saw a Korean American show was in 2010 and it was
called “K-Town”. As a
Korean American, it was “soul-crushing” to watch. Before the show was released
on YouTube I watched an interview with one of its executive producers Tyrese
Gibson (of the Fast and the Furious franchise) which has since then been
removed but I found a press
release which quotes him: " ‘LOUD is the perfect platform for
chronicling the social rituals of this unique Asian American subculture. While
nothing about this series is commonplace, the show is highly-relatable as the
cast's personal stories, struggles and triumphs are universal’ "
(Electus). Another executive producer states, " ‘Asians have always been
viewed through the media as either exaggerated stereotypes or the
one-dimensional model minority,’ said Executive Producer Mike Le. ‘K-Town is a
celebration of what it's like to be a young Asian in America today. It's
not just about playing the piano and being great at math. We're also sexy,
stylish, have swagger, and can party with the best of them’ ” (Electus). Those
are all great statements that seems like they understand what the audience
needs; a show that would let viewers see what the lives of Korean Americans are
like, a chance for us to see real “relatable” stories that are “universal” and
not “one-dimensional”. After seeing a couple episodes, I believe they
have failed because they decided to best refute these stereotypes and inaccurate
representations of Asian Americans, by intentionally adopting a “Jersey Shore”
“lingo” and “philosophies” (Electus).
 |
| Photo of the cast members of a Korean American show "K-Town" and it's attempt at Asian American representation. Image Source: http://disgrasian.com/ |
The 3 selected women cast members
of the show are described as an “attention” seeker, a “sexually liberated”
stripper, and a “drama queen” single mother who blogs about “gossip” and the
“boys [that] follow her” (Electus). What happened? They had a chance to show us
something good but didn't. Did nobody want to televise a show that would create
an accurate portrayal of Asian Americans or are there no networks willing to
invest in one? Why can’t we have a show something that our society can value,
something that addresses the stories, the voices, of the Asian American
population and talk about issues like “ethnic and gender identity”, the
language barrier between generations, and “everything from body image to peer
pressure to racial prejudice” (Nam XXIV, XXX)? I've seen it before, I've gotten small tastes of it here and there, but great content about Asian American are
always disappearing and poorly attempted.
For me, film is one of the many mediums that can help, as Audre
Lorde stated, “transform[] … silence into language and
action” as “an act of self-revelation” (Lorde 42). My all-time favorite film is Saving Face (2004) which is directed and written by Alice Wu. She told a
story without making the female protagonist one of “the stereotypes --the femme
fatale, the supermom, the sex kitten, the nasty corporate climber. Whatever the
role, television, film and popular magazines are full of images of women and girls
who are typically white, desperately thin, and made up to the hilt”
(MediaSmarts).
 |
| Gif taken from the film Saving Face (2004) which features a lesbian Chinese American female protagonist. |
The film follows a lesbian Chinese American female protagonist
in New York City who deals with issues of gender roles, language barriers, and
expected social and cultural “norms” of heterosexuality and marriage. The
film is one of the main reasons I became a film major, it helped me believe
that films can: be a medium that would enable me to share my experiences as an
Asian American, have content with my point of view, and help others get a
glimpse of the conflicts we face. Hopefully we can all contribute by creating
media that is honest and valuable, so we can share our stories with everyone in
order to continue a cycle of inspiration and creation of positive media.
Works Cited
Electus.
Domestic. Electus Announces K-Town, the First Unscripted Series from Its Pop
Culture YouTube Channel, LOUD, Set to Launch on July 2nd.Electus.
Electus, 17 May 2012. Web. 16 May 2015.
Harris-Perry, Melissa V. Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and
Black Women in America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013. Print.
Lorde, Audre.
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. New York: Ten Speed Press,
2007. Print.
Nam, Vickie. Yell-oh
Girls!: Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing up Asian
American. New York: Quill, 2001. Print.
Nelson, Jennifer. Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement.
New York: New York University Press, 2003. Print.
Saving Face. Dir. Alice
Wu. Perf. Michell Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen. Sony Picture Classics, 2004.
DVD.
“Media Portrayals of Girls and Women - Introduction.” MediaSmarts. MediaSmarts,
n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.
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