On Tuesday of week five we started off the day with a lesson about Asian Americans in music, featuring the likes of The Black Eyed Peas and Blue Scholars. The Blue Scholars track we analyzed was called “Morning in America,” and it featured the struggles of everyday life without privilege. The Black Eyed Peas songs we listened to varied from highlighting Filipino American life, and the struggles their people faced within wars, as well as a more criticized rendition of the sexualization of Asian American women.

During Tuesday afternoon session we watched a movie called The Debut. It was about a young man who was struggling to come to terms with his identity. It follows him through a night of his sisters Debut party. He would rather be at a party with his white friends, but in the end he realizes that he belongs at his sister’s birthday, and his two best friends join him while also learning about the Filipino culture.

During Friday seminar we discussed the book “Dark Blue Suit.” This novel is about a man named Buddy and his journey through life as a Filipino American. This book centers around themes of masculinity, and often comes across as degrading toward women. During the book Buddy has to come to terms with loss of family both through death and proximity, and the reality of the impact war has on his friend. He leads a life of loneliness because he can’t hold down a relationship, most likely because of his emphasis on anger and fighting as means to obtaining masculinity.