Blips of Progress
You know progress is never linear. If you lived during the time of Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa, then you would have thought that Asians would become a significant force in Hollywood in the latter half of the 20th century.
There were always blips of progress in cinematic history with regards to representation of the Asian American male: The Crimson Kimono (1959), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bruce Lee (1972), Vanishing Son (1994), Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), Harold and Kumar (2004).
Every time one of these movies appeared, it looked like, "Yeah, things are getting better! We're on the road to full representation for the Asian American male!"
But representation always comes in spurts, and we've never been able to reach a point of critical mass. I'm hoping that now with all the Asian guys in movies, Internet and TV that we'll gain some traction as far as representation, but more importantly… respect.
Divide and Conquer
The thing is Alpha Asians tend to be isolated from each other due to their success. In mainstream society, the more successful you are as a person of color, the less likely you are to run into other people of color. Chances are you if promote high up in a given field or obtain significant wealth or power, then you will work with and run into other successful people and chances are they will be white because they make the majority of the population.
This is why successful Asians, both men and women, tend to marry whites. Not necessarily because they have strict preferences for whites, but because people tend to date and fall in love within their social circles and of the same social status.
As a result, there’s a huge disconnect between those Alpha Asians who have knowledge and experience and those of us in the Asian American communities who benefit from that knowledge and experience.
We have few role models who publicly give back to the Asian American community (John Liu, Yul Kwon), and the few role models we do have are overwhelmed by the needs and concerns of the masses. People think that if you’re an Asian in public light that you should be all things to all people in your community.
This is why we can never get traction in the Asian American community. Everybody wants to do their own thing and be their own boss thinking that they are the ones to lead the Asian American community to the promise land. We all operate independently as agents of change, and we burn ourselves out reinventing the wheel and treading the same issues over and over (i.e. IR disparity). Without knowledge of our past to build on and without the passing on of such knowledge, then we as a community will just have flashes of insight, but nothing more.
Which is why I’m hopeful that the blogger get-together Banana will be something more than just a blip. The event proved that although blogging is an effective means to achieve influence and educate people about the needs, concerns and accomplishments of Asian Americans, there is nothing quite like interacting with people face-to-face and engaging with them. Otherwise if we blog and act in isolation, then we’re just blips of progress.
Comments
B, you bring up some good examples. Of course they all happen to be men, huh?
But to apply this theory more broadly, why don't you see prominent African Americans marrying Whites to the same degree?
Because African Americans have a stronger sense of identity and community and will not so easily be assimilated into the great White Blob of America.
This is one of the major problems with Asian Americans.
This is why we can never get traction in the Asian American community. Everybody wants to do their own thing and be their own boss thinking that they are the ones to lead the Asian American community to the promise land. We all operate independently as agents of change, and we burn ourselves out reinventing the wheel and treading the same issues over and over (i.e. IR disparity). Without knowledge of our past to build on and without the passing on of such knowledge, then we as a community will just have flashes of insight, but nothing more.
This is true. There is a strong sense of not making progress because there is no *sustained movement building* going on. There are individuals who come along and do their thing. But their legacy is largely individualist.
Movement and community building are essential.
And, from my perspective, radical Asian American movement/community building even more so.
I believe that in many ways this entity that we refer to as the "Asia-American community" is largely a granfalloon. Having no established identity means that our generation has a million different identities, not all of which are necessarily compatible with others.
I used to think the same way as you but now I wonder if rigid ideologies may actually cause more harm than good. We need to work on resolving the internal contradictions with the "community" because those are actually a much bigger problem than external factors. A big part of me also think we need to start letting go of this notion of the "community". I find it the notion more burdensome than liberating.
Human existence is a tension between collectivism (ie longing to be part of a community) versus individualism (personal freedom). Specifically, for Asian-American men, I think our problem is we tend to be too collectivist by nature. We need to shift more toward individualism. Individualism is the key to creativity. And there simply isn't enough Asian-American creativity. And this is the essential tool of identity-building and culture-making. Identity and culture, in turn, are the essential substances of community. Herein lies the dilemma and the reason why we keep going around in futile circles.
We need to let go of this mystical notion of community and let the chips fall where they may. Sometimes, in order to gain something, you have to let it go.
I should have also added, following that statement: and our struggle is determining what the proper boundaries are between the two.
Because African Americans have a stronger sense of identity and community and will not so easily be assimilated into the great White Blob of America.
I don't know about that, Larry. I've seen lots of African American men who were successful, but date and marry white women or Asian women. Wesley Snipes, Dave Chappelle and a former sergeant of mine come to mind (he married an Asian Indian co-worker).
In a way, I sympathize, because even though we have an African American president and live in the post-Civil Rights era, a large proportion of the Black community is in poverty or has to deal constant crime and drug problems.
I think unconsciously a lot of people of color (Black, Asian, Hispanic) want leave their ethnic communities because their communities are poor and rife with problems.
I think this is why Asian American Studies is so important. Taking the courses helps Asian Americans from disparate backgrounds find common ground.
I haven't heard of Vonnegut's term, but if the idea of Asian American community is largely a myth, how can you talk about "Asian American male empowerment" here and elsewhere?
Wouldn't this very idea be based upon a myth according to your logic?
Also, why participate on Asian American forums or websites like this one, if Asian American community is a supposed myth?
Bottom line: weak community is not the same as no community.
Every community has internal fissures, but this does not mean that no community exists. And compared to African Americans, Asian Americans have a weaker sense of community.
And I don't think that the problem with Asian American is "collectivism."
It's obedience to White majority culture and values that are hostile to Asian American well-being.
Many Asian Americans are docile and happily conform to the identity, role, and value system that White America assigns them.
Your point about the lack of AA creativity and originality is somewhat true, but the causes you ascribe are wrong.
Frank Chin actually talked about this a long time ago:
"Society is conditioned to accept the given minority only within the bounds of the stereotype. The subject minority is conditioned to reciprocate by becoming the stereotype, live it, talk it, embrace it, measure group and individual worth in its terms, and believe it.... The successful operation of the stereotype results in the neutralization of the subject race as a social, creative, and cultural force. The race poses no threat to white supremacy. It is now a guardian of white supremacy, dependent on it and grateful to it."
http://chintalks.blogspot.com/2008/08/racist-love.html
Please do write about how the Banana meet turned out! :)
Oh wait I already did on my blog. Fact of the matter is, AM have to keep bitching about this until the requests are appropriately addressed by the powers that be.
I know, huh? When it comes down to it we all want the same things:
Representation and respect for Asian men.
Everybody is talking and lecturing everybody else on these forums and blogs, but if we took the time to acknowledge what others say and realize that we want the same things, then we wouldn't have so many of these squabbles among us.
Having flame wars and heated forum threads doesn't mean jack sh!t in the real world. I think this is the reason why Asian American forums have died off (except for Aznlover) and we're in the era of the AA blogs. The messengers think they're more important than the message.