April 16
Week 7: Korean Americans, Friday morning group presentations
41 interviews
28 (?) interviewees
Japanese American
Chinese ”
Vietnamese ”
Hmong ”
Korean ”
South Asian ”
Filipino/a ”
PI (Hawaiian)
Hapa
Age/Generation
Geography
Occupations
Gender
Sexual orientation
What’s missing?
Oral history/Asian & US history
bildungsroman – coming of age
API popular culture – produced by APIs
APIs and popular culture
” in ” ” – depictions, representations, stereotypes
Threads/themes/topics
Americaization
Culture/duality
Hybridity
Identity
Racism
Sacrifice
Generations
Family
American Dream
Trauma (individual/group)
Normalcy
Gender
Work
Education
Activism
Better Luck Tomorrow, 2002, dir. Justin Lin
four characters, Ben, Virgil, Daric, Han
selling cheat sheets progresses into selling drugs
“token Asian” on the basketball team, Ben quits after Daric’s “exposé”
Steve, private school, rich family, white girlfriend (cheating on Stephanie), “has it all,” still isn’t happy
Ben and Steve both envious of what the other has
Daric pulling a gun on Ryan, feelings of inferiority from racist treatment expressed through violence
Steve wanted to give his parents a “wake up call,” seems to want to show them their material possessions aren’t important, Daric suggests he feels his parents don’t pay enough attention to him
Daric incites the others to turn the plan around on Steve using their feelings that he looks down on them
Steve seems to have a better handle on things than the others, suggested at the party (“what did you think of Stephanie’s friend she brought to mini-golf,” even though Steve wasn’t shown to be aware that Daric was there, Daric doesn’t catch it)
Ben is still thinking of Daric’s article after Virgil’s suicide attempt
April 19
Emiko Omori, Rabbit in the Moon, 85 mins, 1999/2004
pareidolia
issei – Japanese immigrant
kibei – born in America, educated in Japan
nisei – born and raised in America, second generation
Omori’s mother died at 34, cremated, ashes lost
examination of the history of internment
Ueno, wrongfully imprisoned, protestor killed, reported as “celebrating Pearl Harbor” (very “Muslims celebrating after 9/11”)
rabbit/man in the moon as an allegory for country loyalty being presented as a choice when its not a choice at all
interned Japanese as hostages, for reprisal against any potential mistreatment of American POWs
“military necessity”
Japanese American Citizen’s League, “unquestioning loyalty to America,” encouraged full cooperation with the government
James Omura, Rocky Shimpo editor, supported draft resistance, jailed for six months
Tule Lake, where “disloyal” Japanese were sent, lasting stigma after the war ended
fear that complaints about internment would seem petty in the face of other atrocities committed during the war