Angelica's A-POP Blog

Chinese Americans:

What I learned

• The majority of kung fu is movies are inspired or directly from the Shaolin monks
• There a limited number of Asian-Americans on the Walk of Fame

• In search of the American dream
• In the Shaolin Temple, Buddhism can be taught to all
• Shaolin – Little forest
• 1992 – first monks to America
• Master > parents
• First Shaolin branch opened in 2000
• Shaolin monks cannot marry
• Officers learn Shaolin as a form of self-defense
• 72 Shaolin arts
• Shaolin monks are vegetarian
• The Shaolin monks performed at Lollapalooza
• Every two years there is a Shaolin festival
• The festival is broadcast to over 1 billion people

• Field trip might be rescheduled
• Week 5 project updates updated
• Week 6 partial draft (1,200 – 1,500 words)
• Week 7 (2,400 – 3,000 words)
• Friday – Open blogging time

Kung fu – Gong fu

June

• The story talks of a woman going to America in hopes of a new life for her daughter
• June realizes that her mother died four months ago
• The Joy Luck Club was started by June’s mother
• June can’t (or chooses not to) understand Chinese
• June’s mother and Ying Ying compared their daughters heavily
• June’s mother had twins during the war that she abanded
• June’s aunties write to China to find out what happened to the babies
• The twins write back
• The aunties lie and tell June that her sisters want to meet her
• Lindo tells June that she signed the letter as Suyuan
• June tells her sisters the truth about their mother

Lindo

• Lindo’s mother had an arranged marriage set for her
• Lindo’s family moves to the south and leaves her behind to be married off
• Lindo marries a young man
• Lindo tricks her in-laws in order to get away from her husband

Waverly

• Waverly used to be a chess player
• Waverly won a chess tournament that put her on the cover of Life Managzine 
• Waverly married a Chinese man to please her mother
• Waverly started dating a white man named Rich
• Waverly forgets to tell Rich about Chinese manners
• Waverly only wants her mother to accept Rich
• Lindo finally tells Waverly that she approves of Rich

Ying Ying

• Ying Ying’s husband cheats on her after their son is born
• Ying Ying’s husband has no problem with no calling or hitting Ying Ying
• Ying Ying drowns her baby to get back at her husband

Lena

• Lena and Harold split their finances down the middle
• Lena is very unhappy in her marriage
• Ying Ying tells Lena to leave Harold until he can be respectful and tender towards her

An Mei

• An Mei’s mother was kicked out of the house for being with another man
• An Mei’s mother performs the bloodletting charm to try and save her mother
• An Mei chooses to leave with her mother, rather than staying with her family
• An Mei’s mother was Wu’s Fourth Wife
• An Mei gets kicked out of her room so Wu can have sex with her
• An Mei leanrs that Wu raped her and that’s why she was kicked out of the house
• Second wife’s son was the baby Wu fathered with An Mei’s mother
• An Mei’s mother kills herself
• An Mei forces Wu to accept her and her brother as his first children

Rose

• Ted’s parents are very wealthy
• Ted’s parents try to ask Rose to break up with Ted
• Ted defends Rose in of his mother
• Rose and Ted marry after six months
• Rose gets pregnant to try and save her marriage as a last attempt
• Rose finds out about Ted’s affairs
• Even in divorce, Rose still gives Ted gifts
• Rose refuses to sell the house with Ted
• Rose get back together with Ted

Suyuan

• Suyuan tells June that she has best-quality heart
  • That she has a style that can’t be taught
•  Suyuan almost died from dysentery
• Suyuan left a note with her babies to bring them to their father
• Suyuan was saved after abandoning the twins
• Suyuan saved the swan feather until June travels to China

• Week 5 reports going out today
• Find text adjusting widget
• Annual Academic Statement
• Can now look at paper during movie-taking notes
• Mentoring Day
  • Internships – LIB 1412 2pm
  • Study Aboard – LIB 1412 3pm
  • Entrepreneurship – LIB 2205 3pm
• 2nd Glance to Alien Encounters
• All satire is about destruction

https://www.theverge.com/2012/5/9/3004622/otaku-spaces-patrick-galbraith-manga-anime-review

https://www.splicetoday.com/writing/the-weird-phenomenon-of-the-weeaboo-48948676-d1ba-4b25-b9f0-56de52388878

While anime and manga may seem to be just another form of media and entertainment, there is a huge community laying underneath with more problems and controversy.

In the year 1989, the first derogatory use of the word Otaku was born out of murder. A man named Tsutomu Miyazaki attempted to molest a young girl in a park. He was caught by the girl’s father and upon being arrested and having his apartment inspected, the remains and evidence of four girls were found. Along in his apartment were thousands of copies of manga, anime, graphic films, and porn. After being arrested, he was dubbed the name, “the Otaku Murderer.”

The word Otaku can easily be translated to “geek,” or “nerd,” but carries a more derogatory tone attached to it. Otaku are seen as people who are disconnected from reality and anti-social. While this is slowly being changed in Japan’s culture, overseas the word has morphed.

In the United States, for example, Otaku are people who watch and consume anime, manga, and other forms of Japanese media in a respectful manner. Usually learning the language and culture along the way and develop a sense of art critique or admonition for the art form. Unlike in Japan, these people who self-identify as Otaku are seen as well kept and proud fans.

On the other side of that coin, there are also Weeaboos, a word created in popularity on 4chan to describe a person of non-Asain descendant who has an over obsessive compulsive with anime and manga. Similar to Otaku, these people are often seen at the forefront of the anime community for their extreme personalities, as well as their disrespect towards others outside of the community. While living in a bubble of their own reality, these Weeaboos tend to mock and appropriate Japanese culture, while at the same time engoring themselves in as much anime and manga that they possibly can.  

Pena, Eric. “What’s the Difference between a Weeaboo and Otaku?” Quora, Quora, 11 Dec. 2017.

1. Railroad Standard Time
   1. P. 1
      1. She brought me in here to the …was a paradise for conspiracy, …
         1. I’ve noticed this a lot growing up and in movies. Coming to the kitchen table as a place of comfort for hard or difficult topics.
   2. P. 2
      1. “Your grandfather collected railroad…gives it to you now,” she said.
         1. My family likes to pass down heirlooms, but not tell us the origins behind them. For example, I have a ring from my grandmother that was given to me with no history behind it other than it was hers.
   3. P. 6
      1. The voice of the tires hums a shrill rubber…pelvic bones, the roots of my teeth.
         1. Reminds me of my first time riding an ATV and crashing.
   4. P. 6 – 7
      1. She stood up singing, one hand cupped…pounded the tune out with her palms.
         1. My mind blended a version of this description and the sing-a-long version of one of the cows from Home on the Range and I can’t stop laughing and being disgusted at the same time.
2. The Eat and Run Midnight People
   1. P. 9
      1. The giant moonhunter awoke each…children. Ride with me, Grandfather.
         1. This whole piece was writing here is both exciting to read and terrifying if you think of him as a ghost or a demon.
   2. P. 11
      1. We eat toejam, bugs, leaves, seeds…food to make up enough to eat.
         1. I remember a time when my family was so poor that I made to go through our pantry and find old containers of meat stews or dry mixes to make something to eat that was at least five years old.
            
   3. P. 13
      1. Inside her twat was like I was…right of way, going home, Grandfather.
         1. Guess this is where the red in the name Sex on the Beach comes from…
            
   4. P. 18
      1. An hour later and he’s still ticking…apart. Like a dam breaking: blood!
         1. It’s since a shame that in order to try and save him, they ended up killing him in the process.
            
3. The Chinatown Kid
   1. P. 25
      1. Did she dream in Chinese?
         1. I wonder if people who were raised in multilingual homes pick which language they dream in or if they hear both.
   2. P. 28
      1. He told Pete and Maria that his wife had a great…knew what they weren’t talking about.
         1. It’s terrible when your spouse knows that you’re cheating on them, but even worse when they then lie to themselves about what you’re doing.
   3. P. 32
      1. Dressing the girl had been an act of revenge; he…beautiful that would mindlessly be eaten alive.
         1. No one knows what will happen to their children, they can only prepare them.
   4. P. 33
      1. How do you make a child care about leaving you…when you leave? Better to not hear her shriek.
         1. Perhaps the makers of Bao have read some Frank Chin.
4. The Only Real Day
   1. P. 41
      1. “Every morning, I woke up with my father and my…was leaving my father and mother, and I did. I left.
         1. An odd morning routine, but at least a bonding experience.
   2. P. 43
      1. “The Jews don’t like anybody,” Huie said. “They…of the Orient, for fuckin out loud? What a life!”
         1. One of my classmates that traveled to Japan with me is Jewish and when the men he was drinking with found out, they started calling him a “Jew bastard.” Then half ran, half fell, chased him out the Izakaya he was in.
   3. P. 47
      1. “His mother, my boss, is one of these new-fashioned…making her son well, but she knows…”
         1. It can be really hard for some people to adjust to their new life and surroundings. For now at least, or just in public, it’s better to blend in.
   4. P. 49
      1. “And my brother told Jimmy that all his papers had been…no one thought about papers, and some not even of their gold.”
         1. One of the most common questions someone can ask you is, “you could only save one thing in a fire, what would it be?” Most people pick possessions, family members, heirlooms, but who would choose to save their only way to prove their identity?
5. Yes, Young Daddy
   1. P. 79
      1. You see, I don’t want to pay $22.52 for the ring…I can wear it through my junior and senior years.
         1. I’ve never understood why someone would want a class ring. High school is an important part of someone’s life, sure, but it’s not the time of your life that is the most important. It’s the end of your childhood, the start of adulthood, but wouldn’t a college class ring mean more to you than one from a high school? It takes more work to earn it after all.
   2. P. 80
      1. I think it’s time for you to start dating. I know you…the kind of guy my mother thinks I am.
         1. I’ve always heard of family members telling you to stay in school and not date or to have a secret lover that you hide from everyone. This is a first for me of hearing a family member encourage dating.
   3. P. 84
      1. Dirigible blushed, then turned his head to stifle a laugh. He had never seen his cousin with breasts before.
         1. My aunt acted the same way the first she saw my sister and I in two years. “Boobs! Girls with boobs!”
   4. P. 86
      1. “You don’t want me to?” “Nope…” “You think I’m…no more. Just stay home! All the time!”
         1. Given Lena’s attitude and the way that she writes to her family members, I wouldn’t want her going out anywhere either. Clearly, she has some issues with bounders and understanding what is appropriate.
6. “Give the Enemy Sweet Sissies and Women to Infatuate Him, and Jades and Silks to Blind Him with Greed”
   1. P. 94
      1. “I won’t stay here just because of you. Good old Mrs. Hasman…of my old grade school teacher,” Dirigible said.
   2. P. 96
      1. “Goo’leven-ing elley bolly, lady anner gennumas, anna walcome…U-S-A. Anna Goong Hai Fat Choy!”
         1. I had to read this twice in my head to make sure I understood everything. Reading it out loud just made it worse.
   3. P. 99-100
      1. “I’m thinking her up. I’ll show you a picture of her later…just me who knows what she’s missing,” Mrs. Hasman said.
         1. I’m not too sure which part of this story is more disturbing, Dirigible asking to grope Mrs. Hasman as a replacement, or how okay she is with being replaced. As if she wants to touched more than anything.
   4. P. 105
      1. “Do you, when a girl bends over, if she’s wearing a…they expect if I’m going to die before I turn eighteen?”
         1. What’s the point of her asking this question? If he does, does that make him a pervert and if he doesn’t does that mean that he’s respectful or not that attracted to women? A better question would be to ask him what he finds the most attractive about a woman so she kinds if he likes women for their minds and not just their bodies.
7. A Chinese Lady Dies
   1. P. 110
      1. …a mysterious paralysis echoing the paralysis of…his Hollywood career as the Chinaman who dies.
         1.  “Making it big,” and making something isn’t the same and in this case, is destroying.
   2. P. 112
      1. “Good thing for you I should be black and blue all over to make you happy. I suppose when you don’t hit me, you’re in a bad mood, huh?”
         1.  Having someone hit you so you don’t beat others is no way to live. It’s a death sentence, not a life.
   3. P. 118
      1. “Are you calling me a jinx?” Dirigible thrilled…hers’. I’ll leave if you’re afraid of me, Ma…”
         1. Bad things in life happen all the time and no single person can be of the blame of that. Bad timing or not, that’s too much pain to put on a single person. 
   4. P. 122
      1. “Waiting for you to die?” Yes, he had. Then he…mean? Now if I really were somebody…”
         1. My sister is the same way with our mother. Asking for death, but wanting to talk with and spend time with them. A back and forth between riddance and desire.
8. The Sons of Chan
   1. P. 131
      1. When I touch bare metal with my free hand or foot…Hood of the Old West, the Cisco Kid.
         1. I’ve gotten shocked by my electric blanket in the past and the feel is anything far from this description that he gives. 
   2. P. 133
      1. I’d become a father and a divorce had a daughter by an elderly ex-nun and returned to California to play yellow bit parts.
         1. I wonder if it’s the same nun from The Eat and Run Midnight People…
   3. P. 135
      1. In the twenties when Charlie Chan came into being, the…males, guarantee an end to Chinese population.
         1. I wondered if this is the time and origin of “all Asians have a small dick,” and saying that, “Chinese people can’t drive.”
   4. P. 139
      1. Is it true that Chinese restaurants all over America have…trying to be magicians of white magic.
         1. I’ve heard of Latin communities closing their businesses early on Wednesday nights for church, but not Chinese. Maybe I haven’t been to enough Chinese restaurants to see them close on Wednesday yet, or maybe this was a change that the communities made in order to adapt.

Psychology References

Hutchings, Peter. The Horror Film. 1st ed., Routledge, 2004.

I’ve used this text as a beginning outline for my own research. The text itself explores the horror topic in a similar way to my own and can aid me in finding additional pathways in my own research.

Kerr, Margee. Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear. 1st ed., PublicAffairs, 2017.

This text explores into the scariest experiences a human can face when it comes to horror, from willingly going into haunted houses and going into the mind of a serial killer.

Iaccino, James F. Psychological Reflections on Cinematic Terror: Jungian Archetypes in Horror Films. Praeger, 1994.

I used this text as a way to see how horror has changed throughout the year in the minds of those who consume them, the people who produce them, and what is considered to be successful horror.

Darwin, Charles. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. The University of Chicago Press, 1965.

This text goes into the many ways that ones experience fear and their reactions to it, from fight to flight and audible reactions.

BBC. Culture of Fear. Films on Demand, BBC, 2017.

I used to this documentary to see how different circumstances affect each person in signs of fear or danger. The documentary uses ten test subjects in order to see their reactions.

Bantinaki, Katerina. “The Paradox of Horror: Fear as a Positive Emotion.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 70, no. 4, 2012, pp. 383–392. JSTOR.

This study focuses on a human’s desire to consume horror media as an obsession. Including themes that surround popularity, the study goes farther into one’s mind for understanding the difference in enjoying this genre.

Beil, Laura. “Emotional Wounds: For Some Children, the Effects of a Disaster Reach Deeper than Anticipated.” Science News, vol. 186, no. 12, 2014, pp. 22–25. JSTOR.

A study on the long term effects of children who have faced traumatic situations, particularly life-threatening and natural disasters.

Raphael, Beverley, and Warwick Middleton. “After The Horror.” British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition), vol. 296, no. 6630, 1988, pp. 1142–1144. JSTOR.

This study focuses on the effects of PTSD on a child’s mind and the recovery of that child’s psyche.

Black, Dora, and Martin Newman. “Television Violence And Children: Its Effects Need To Be Seen In The Context Of Other Influences On Children’s Mental Health.” BMJ: British Medical Journal, vol. 310, no. 6975, 1995, pp. 273–274. JSTOR.

This study focuses on a child’s early expose to horror and disturbing media. I plan on using this research to explain what may have happened to early consumers of horror movies, television, and stories.

Game References

This playlist details a remake version of the original Corpse Party game. I used this source as window to the origin of Corpse Party, the original cast, and storyline that eventually drove it into pop culture media.

This playlist details to the international release of Corpse with it was remade through a studio. The game adds more plot and details to the original story, including new characters and villains, as well as changing the origin of some characters. The primary use of this source was to gather information about the horrific experiences the main cast experience and to note their reactions across the timeline of events.

This source adds additional details that weren’t added into the main game. The goal of the chapters listed is to give backstory to the personalities to the characters involved in the main game, prior to their deaths or traumatic experiences.

This source details the experiences the main cast feels after returning home from the last game. It shows the beginning stages of PTSD, depression, attempted suicide, and desperation that the characters feel due to the loss of their friends. The game also provides additional backstory to the deceased and their relationships with the main cast.

This source is a spin-off game that is a bit more joking than serious. While the contact of this game is met to be more lighthearted, the tone switches frequently. This game doesn’t take place on a specific timeline but does add additional backstory and plot details essential for the next game in the series.

Listed as the final game in the original timeline, this game showcases the last act of desperation the characters feel as a last shot to end their suffering. This source is not only important in showing the main casts progression since the first game, but also what has of become of them since the original events, their families reaction to their changing mental state, and just how far they are willing to go to reverse time.

• Manzanar is the most visited Japanese Internment camp
• Heavy Handed Music used to sway emotions
• Name comes from a Russian poem
• Japanese Americans first started to be released in 1943 through work release
• 1990 Gulf War
• 1988 Amerasian Homecoming Act
  • 30,000 children, 7,000 family members
• 1988 Civil Libertionas Act (reparations
• Alan Parker: Missing Burning (1988)
• “Mississippi Summer of 1964”
• Andrew Goodman, Micheal Schwerner, James Chancey
  • Kidnapped, murdered
  • Buried in a dam
  • Serve damage done to their bodies
  • Found other black people in the dam

• The film starts out with a mother and her daughter singing
• The film takes place in 1936
• A man gets burned badly while trying to stop a fire in a theater
• Lily’s father forces her to meet and marry a mand that he owns a lot of money to
• Jack notices Lily working in the sewing shop and asks her out to lunch
• Lily goes on another date with Jack
• Jack tells Lily that he married his ex-wife at 18 and she left him after losing their baby
• Jack gets fired from the theater after Lily tells her father about them
• Jack speaks with Lily’s father about being able to see her again
• Japanese citizens weren’t allowed to marry non-Japanese citizens in California
• Lily and Jack traveled to Seattle to get married
• Lily and Jack crash a wedding reception
• Jack agrees to help with unioning his fish cannery
• Jack and Lily fight in front of Mini over work
• Jack gets released from prison the same day as Pearl Harbor
• Lily’s mother was forbidden from writing to her
• Jack and Lily reunite in Little Tokyo
• Jack and Mini are kicked out of a Christmas store
• President Roosevelt signed the order to send all Japanese families away
• Lily’s mother burns their personal and security records
• Jack stays behind and returns to Seattle to check in with his parole officer, promising to find Lily
• Jack has his parole annulled and pushed into the draft instead
• Lily’s father is brought to the camp
• Jack finally finds Lily after seven months
• Jack stays only for a day and then returned to Fairmont
• Lily and her family are given the Test
• Jack ran away from the army to be with his family
• Jack gets arrested for going AWOL
• The Supreme Court rules that the camps were unconstitutional and that everyone would be sent home
• Jack and Lily finally reunited after the war