Paul

FASA Wiki Page

History

The Filipino American Student Association at William and Mary (FASA) is a cultural organization that was founded in 1991 by a group of Filipino American students under the advisement of Professor Mario Zamora. The current advisor is Professor Francis Tanglao-Aguas, who has been with the College since 2005.

Mission

FASA's main objective is to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the rich Filipino and Filipino-American cultures to all students of the College and community. Its emphasis is on cultural awareness and focuses on the contributions of Filipino-Americans to American society and current issues affecting them today. FASA’s major goals are to increase its visibility on campus through various cultural activities and to support and participate in cultural programs within the WM community and with other universities.

Activities

FASA holds biweekly general meetings during which presentations regarding Filipino culture are exhibited and the general assembly is given the opportunity to vote on events pitched by the executive board.

FASA hosts a variety of events, from fundraisers to showcasing guest speakers at the College. Popular fundraisers include selling Turon and Halo-Halo, traditional Filipino desserts. Past guest speakers have included spoken word artists Phil Kaye and Sarah Kay (2012), entrepreneur for the non-profit organization ARK (Advancement for Rural Kids) Ayesha Vera-Yu, and more recently the Virginia Poet Laureate, Sofia Starnes (2014).

In hosting events, FASA also strives to inform the public about Filipino history, whether it be in the distant past or current. For example, FASA has held vigils for Filipino WWII veterans (2007, 2008) and for victims of Typhoon Haiyan (2013), and raised public consciousness of issues faced in the Philippines through cultural awareness weeks in which speakers were invited to discuss topics pertaining to the Philippines and movies were screened documenting Filipino conflicts.

Connections

Though Filipino Americans comprise most of the club’s membership, anyone is invited to participate in club activities. To facilitate bonding within the group, the Kuya/Ate program (Big brother/big sister) is hosted at the start of the fall semester, introducing new members to the atmosphere of FASA. Each new member becomes part of a family within the organization, making connections more personal as members become more invested in the organization.

FASA itself is a part of the greater Asian American community/family, taking part in the William and Mary-based Pan-Asian Coalition (PAC) and the regional District 7 sector of the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue (FIND). Both facilitate communication with other cultural groups, though PAC is between other cultural organizations such as the Chinese Student Organization or the Korean American Student ASsociation while FIND is between other Filipino organizations at Virginia schools within the District 7 region (i.e. UVA, VCU, VT, etc). Activities within these communities span from activism conferences to olympic-style field days facilitating bonding and growth.

Culture NIght

Beginning in 1998, Culture Night is a student-run presentation held in the spring semester every year that combines Filipino and Filipino American dances, songs, and themes into one comprehensive showcase. The performance occurs through the medium of a play or a series of skits and is followed by a dinner of traditional Filipino foods. It is by far the most successful outreach program hosted by FASA, drawing diverse audiences from within and outside of the WM community.

FASA Culture NIght Catalog

Date	Title	Culture Chairs (Director*)
Feb. 1998	Filipino Culture Night
Feb. 6, 1999	Filipino Cultural Night
Feb. 19, 2000	Ako Ay Pilipino-”A Cinderella Story”	Danae Busa Gemma Longfellow Mary Sy
Jan. 27, 2001	Maalaala Mo Kaya?-”Will You Remember?”	Rianne J. Rodriguez Julieta Valenzona
Feb. 16, 2002	Pasalubong-”The Gift”	Sharon Punzalan* Anna Navarro
Feb. 15, 2003	Magunawan Tayo-”Understanding Each Other”	Stacy Aquipel* Sienna Marie A. Malubay
Feb. 14, 2004	Ang Pinanggalingan-”Know Your Roots”	Liza de la Cruz Tamera Rivera
Feb. 12, 2005	Ang Lakas ng Pamilya ay Lakas ng Bayan- ”The Strength of Our Family is the Strength of Our Nation”	Aisa Martinez Tara Pascual
Feb. 11, 2006	Sama Sama Tayo-”Let’s Stay Together”	Tara Pascual Eirene Pilar Busa
Feb. 10, 2007	Tatlong Daan, Isang Biyahe-”Three Paths, One Journey”	Rob Landicho Melissa Lorenzo
Feb. 2, 2008	Bayani-”A Filipino Journey”	Rob Landicho Tamar Peterson
Feb. 20, 2009	Kalayaan-”A Lesson From the Past”	Cherrie Soleria Cecilia Esteban
Feb. 6, 2010	Walang Pinagkaiba-”Not So Different”
Feb. 5, 2011	Banggaan-”Collision”	Stacy Lewis Michael Magaling
Feb. 10, 2012	Paglalakbay-”Journey”	Abby Acio Michael Magaling
Feb. 8, 2013	Tiwala-”Confidence”	Abby Acio Paul Atienza
Feb. 16, 2014	Kakoyanang Bumangon-”Resilience”	Weldon Emerson Michael Lefew

FASA Presidents

• 1998-1999: Christian Jose
• 1999-2000: Rechelle Apolonio
• 2000-2001: Debbie Palad
• 2001-2002: Jeremy de Milo
• 2002-2003: Danielle MIrande
• 2003-2004: Carmela Laygo
• 2004-2005: Louise Lockett
• 2005-2006: Heather Soloria
• 2006-2007: Tara Pascual
• 2007-2008: Anthony Elopre and Carling Sitterley
• 2008-2009: Steven Enriquez
• 2009-2010: April Maglalang
• 2010-2011: Amanda Andrei
• 2011-2012: Stacy Lewis
• 2012-2013: Dannie Angeles
• 2013-2014: Jasmin Green
• 2014-2015: Paul Atienza

In a study conducted by Amanda Andrei (FASA president from 2010-2011) on the leadership of FASA at WM, it was found that overall, the Presidents of FASA prefer a democratic style leadership in which all members of the club act as a family unit and have their voices heard, forcing leaders having to closely define the line between being comrades and executive figures to the general assembly.

Source:

Filipino American Student Association, Swem Research Special Collection, College of William and Mary

Paul Atienza, Michael LeFew, Megan Rebueno, Felicia Wong

Acting Asian American

Francis Tanglao-Aguas

May 4, 2014

Uploading Culture: YouTube as an Accessible Platform for Asian American Perspectives

Definition of a culture comes through its presentation.  Therefore, agency over definition comes through agency over presentation.  Presentation of the Asian culture and the definition of the “East” as separate and inferior to the “West” from the mid-19th Century to the mid-20th Century as discussed by Edward Said is characterized by its insulation from Asian input; Westerners define Western perception of the East.  Since Said’s 1978 publication, we perceive a shift in agency over definition of the Asian culture as a consequence of the invention of the internet and inception of electronic social media.  Here we focus on the presentation of Asian American culture and how YouTube has grown into an outlet by which Asian Americans can access the mass presentation, and thus definition, of the Asian American perspective and culture, and discuss how this relates and should append to our take on the ideas of Said.    

In his work Orientalism, Edward W. Said, a founding figure of the critical-theory field of Post Colonialism, discusses the cultural misrepresentations of what is collectively considered the “East,” the geographical regions of the Middle East and Asia. He introduces his take on orientalism, “a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient” and explores the implications behind this theory and its use as a tool by the “West” in shaping perspectives of the East, and thus defining itself in the process. According to Said, the West perceives the East as feminine, mysterious, and primitive, in contrast to the more “civilized,” dominant, European West. When investigating how the East is made into the less-desirable “other” by the society in which he resides, Said acknowledges that Eastern identity is erased and replaced with aggrandized icons hand-picked by the West through the medium of presentation. He expounds on the power of presentation, describing the Western use of propagandized media such as plays, the World Fair, and visual art to subjugate the “East” (Said).

Said offers an insightful examination of cultural presentation in the post-colonial 19th Century; however, his work is limited to this historical context. We point to a more recent shift in agency as Asians and Asian Americans alter the distinction between the East and the West by accessing outlets of mass presentation, showcasing the East as an added perspective from which to learn from, rather than continuing the image of a voiceless, marginalized “other” through the increasingly didactic medium of YouTube.

YouTube has served in mass presentation to Asian Americans by two main virtues, its accessibility to producers, and its access by Asian American consumers.  As stated by YouTube-based Asian American artist Jonathan Park, under the rapper alias Dumbfoundead, "Asians got tired of waiting to get into the mainstream. With YouTube, you don't have to wait for somebody to sign you...you can just do it” (Balance 5).  For an individual with something to say, this freely accessible platform visible to approximately 1 billion unique users per month, including 51% of Asian Americans, the highest percentage of any ethnic group viewing YouTube in the United States (Social Media’s Diversity Problem).  Through the action of “sharing” on other social media like Facebook and Twitter, along with traditional word of mouth, the support of fans can quickly propel the popularity and visibility of a YouTube producer.  Through fan support, three Asian-American-owned channels, Kevin Wu’s KevJumba, Ryan Higa’s NigaHiga, and the collaborative Wong Fu Productions, entered the top 20 most-subscribed channel list (Considine).

Taking advantage of the features of YouTube as a platform, Asian American producers have successfully presented their perspectives as artists by virtue of their relatability.  Through grassroots production techniques and sometimes unintentional targeting of niche groups within the Youtube community, Asian American producers initiated and sustained a growing diverse fanbase. Philip Wang, of Wong-Fu Productions, characterizes the appeal of this relatability, commenting, “People, especially through YouTube, they're finding types of entertainment that are just from people that are just like themselves-or people that they can relate to a little bit better than some unattainable movie star or TV star” (Takahashi). Typical content features stars like Wu and Higa in their rooms, conversing to their audience through webcams on topics like teenage relationships and their favorite animes.  More than remarking on trivialities of pop culture, these producers themselves evolved into idols for the younger Asian American community as they addressed everyday social issues faced by Asian Americans. In “Asians Just Aren’t Cool Enough,” Wu discusses young Asian Americans’ idolization of the Japanese anime character Goku and his subsequent disappointment at a white actor’s portrayal of the character in the live action film Dragonball Z (Wu.).  In “Yellow Fever,” the members of Wong Fu Productions act as themselves, University of California - San Diego students, discussing the difficulties they feel stemming from their status as Asian males in getting a relationship with white women, in contrast with the seeming ease of white males getting in relationships with Asian women (a video ending with the moral that it’s up to the individual to act confidently in order to initiate a relationship regardless of race) (Wong Fu Productions).  The proliferation of these low-production, relatability-focused videos propels the industry into a new mode of expression that serves to specify and at times even overhaul traditional perspectives of what it means to be Asian American.

Through the presentation of their perspective, producers have a widespread effect on the perception of Asian Americans.  In “How it Feels to be Viral Me,” author Balance remarks upon the idea of the “model minority,” the myth of humble, obedient, self-reliant workers whose sole aim is to assimilate into American society (8). The aforementioned Youtube producers dispute this myth in the style of their videos and the content they choose to share with the rest of the world. The model minority “figures Asians as unfeeling or...stifled, repressed, abused, conformist quasirobots.” (Balance 11). But this image is challenged by the new generation of Asian American producers who opt to utilize humor oftentimes combined with rant-like rhetoric to turn “alienating episodes into a common understanding” (Balance 12).  These producers explicitly identify themselves as Asian American, acknowledging and often articulating Asian stereotypes, presenting frustration toward perceptions of Asian Americans.  “Nonetheless, YouTube stars often present racism as simply being comprised of misguided stereotypes that just need to be played around with on a performative level” (Gao 1). In such videos as the “Sh*t Asian Parents Say” series by the production team JustKiddingFilms, producers push perceptions of Asian Americans to absurdity, accepting these perceptions at present while pointing out their ridiculous function.  The humorous presentation allows for the approach of sensitive subjects like racism, which can lead to its more serious discussion. As Gao explains, the burdensome “racial aura” surrounding the topic is broken down; ”the damage...is all virtual, and thus something to be laughed off” (Gao).

Perhaps the most vivid example of Asian Americans responding to their presentation and asserting their agency is in the widespread response to “Asians in the Library,” a video by University of California – Los Angeles student Alexandra Wallace.  In the video, Wallace, a white woman, disparages Asian students at the university.  Her grievances include Asian families members “brought along from Asia…[on campus] to do [students’] laundry, buy their groceries, and cook their food,” and students on their phones in the library, “ching chong ling long ting tong oh…checking on the tsunami thing” (Yamaguchi).  A search on YouTube for “Asians in the library response” produces 20 pages of direct responses, including dozens from self-declared Asian individuals.  The two most popular responses are David So’s video “Vlog #4: Asians in the Library – UCLA Girl Going Wild on Asians” and Jimmy Wong’s parodic “Ching Chong! Asians in the Library Song.”  So breaks down Wallace’s rant and mixes clips of her speech with his responses, acknowledging some truths she brings up but in the end admonishing her for making these hurtful opinions public with the view of being taken seriously (So). Wong appropriates Wallace’s mock language, ascribing definition, “ching chong[,] it means I love you,” in order to claim the expression for himself and humorously undercut the use of racist language (“Ching Chong”).  As Wong explains in interview, he aims to “destroy the power racism has by turning it into something positive” through his subversive artistic expression (“Racial Rant”).  Wong, So, and the many other Asian Americans who respond to Wallace rebel against Wallace’s negative representation of Asian Americans and introduce their own representation of the group through their self-assignment as Asian Americans and humorously forceful presentation.

While critics find fault in the propagation and aggrandizement of these stereotypes, and we should acknowledge the potential danger in making light of the subject of racial perceptions, we must remark that in the very least these Asian Americans have the resources to do so, bringing to light their visions and ideas in a world that had previously projected assumed ideas of Asian American identity unto them. Online audiences, comprised of more than just Asian Americans and Asians worldwide, are receptive to these new voices.  This is the linchpin on which turns the shift in agency from that purported by Said.  While we retain Said’s view as to the power to define cultural perceptions through artistic and media presentation, and acknowledge that orientalist attitudes and their presentation remain extant, we offer an optimistic outlook for the mitigation of orientalist effects based on the existence of new accessible media for performance, exemplified by the popularity of Asian Americans on YouTube.  As electronic platforms continue to develop, so will the artistic atmosphere in which Asian Americans present their perspectives, driving the evolution of perceptions on Asian Americans and their culture.

Literature Cited

Balance, Christine B. “How It Feels to Be Viral Me: Affective Labor and Asian American YouTube Performance.” Women’s Studies Quarterly  40. (2012): 1/2. 138-152. Web. 3 May 2014.

Considine, A. “For Asian American Stars, Many Web Fans.” New York Times 29 Jul 2011. Web. 3 May 2014.

Gao, C. “The Virtuosic Virtuality of Asian American Youtube Stars.” The Scholar and Feminist Online Journal 10.3 (2012): 1-3. Web. 3 May 2014.

“Social Media’s Diversity Problem.” SocialMediaToday. n.p. 11 May 2011. Web. 3 May 2014.

Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, Random House, 1979. Print.

So, David. “VLOG #4: Asians in the Library-UCLA Girl (Alexandra Wallace) Going Wild on Asians.” Online video. Youtube. Youtube, 14 Mar 2011. Web. 4 May 2014.

Takahashi, C. “In a Small Corner of Youtube, a Web Star is Born.” National Public Radio. National Public Radio, 26 Jan 2011. Web. 3 May 2014.

Wong, Jimmy. “Ching Chong! Asians in the Library Song (Response to UCLA’s Alexandra Wallace).” Online video. Youtube. Youtube, 15 Mar 2011. Web. 4 May 2014.

Wong, Jimmy. “Racial Rant Inspires An Internet Balladeer.” National Public Radio. National Public Radio, 24 Mar 2011. Web. 4 May 2014.

Wong Fu Productions. “Yellow Fever.” Online video. Youtube. Youtube. 3 Feb 2006. Web. 4 May 2014.

Wu, Kevin. “Asians Just Aren’t Cool Enough.” Online video. Youtube. Youtube. 10 Apr 2009. Web. 4 May 2014.

Yamaguchi, Masataka. “Reconsidering Communicative Competence in Web 2.0 Environments: ‘Asians in the Library’ and Four Parodic Responses on Youtube.” Language and Communication 33. (2013): 376-389. Web. 4 May 2014.

Clybourne Park

On April 12^th, a fine Saturday evening, I witnessed the wonderful, comical performance that is Clybourne Park.  Clybourne Park brought up the issue of racism through humor, which I thought would be cringe-worthy, but was hilarious. The play made the audience think about the issue through jokes in order to lessen the tension. The play, itself, is set in a fictional Chicago neighborhood beginning in 1959 where in the first act, a black family moves into a white neighborhood. In the second act, as generations pass by to 2009, gentrification sets in and roles are reversed. What is particularly unique about the play is that only a single ensemble of actors plays two sets of characters in the play.

In my opinion the actors played really well together and were really versatile in their styles, given that each actor had two different pairs of shoes to fill. To me besides the clothing, props, and topics discussed in the second half, what really stood out to me to differentiate the two acts were the actors’ voices. It truly felt that the two halves were two separate points in history. I especially believed that their diction defined the differing points. For me, I think that the change in the style of speech reflected my view of the topic of racism in the play (that it changed). It seemed that clear in the first act that racism is blatant and blunt whereas in the second half I believed racism was blurry, that I didn’t really know if something is offensive anymore. In sum, I think the second act really tried to show that racial social separations were blurring and not as apparent as the past.

One actor that stood out for me was the one who portrayed the characters, Karl and Steve. In both acts, I was under the impression that the characters that the actor portrayed were racist. It seemed that he was the cause, the catalyst, for a discussion on racism. This is best exemplified by his prison joke. The entire time I was hearing him explaining the joke, I was cringing thinking that “Oh. He’s going to make a racist remark..” However, what’s strange about Steve in the second act was that I was starting to believe that maybe he’s not racist, since he logically formed an argument on it. His character really surprised and interested me.

FACES OF ASIAN AMERICANS AT WILLIAM AND MARY 

JOURNAL 5 | April 27, 2014

As part of the creative component requirement of THEA 340 -- Acting Asian American and in celebration of APAHM (Asian Pacific American Heritage Month), this documentary was made.

This video is the culmination of a month's work of interviewing 25 Asian Americans at the College of William and Mary. Everyday, with my cohort Priscilla Lin, we interviewed and transcribed what each person had said and pulled a quote and posted it along with a picture on the Asian American Student Initiative facebook page. The purpose of "Faces of Asian Americans at William and Mary" was to showcase the different faces of Asian Americans that the campus has to offer. We really wanted to see how Asian Americans really see themselves and how their identity impacts them as well as their thoughts of the overall Asian American community on campus.

It's been about 2 days since I completed the video of Faces of Asian Americans at William and Mary and showed it to my classmates and other peers at APAHM Night 2014. I feel great getting it out of my system and able to share the experiences and stories of people who have something to say about the topic. I'll the time here to break down how I organized the video and the message(s) I wanted to convey.

[WHAT IS YOUR NAME?]

When you meet someone for the first time, what's the first thing you ask? Their name. I wanted to throw in so many names (if you notice, this section had the most number of people talking). This section was to reflect that there are a great number of us on campus, although you probably don't know all of them, you've probably met or come across one of them at one point in your time in William and Mary.

[HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF?]

In the next section, we get into some demographic type questions where interviewees are asked to identify themselves. For most Asian Americans, it's pretty easy to say "Oh! I'm Chinese American" or "I'm Filipino American" but as cultures blend and mixed races exist, it becomes harder to identify oneself. If you notice here, you can see a gradient of fast responses to longer responses to explain how they identify themselves (this is best exemplified by Felicia Wong and Carmi Thompson).

[IS YOUR IDENTITY IMPORTANT TO YOU?]

This is the part where we get hear more of a voice from the interviewees. For most, this was where they first thought about it and many began to own their identity. This part is also where the viewers starts to see longer portions of people saying what they want to say (ex. Yonsoo Philip Kang and Shayela Hassan).

[WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AT WILLIAM AND MARY]

There was a reason why I only put Max Nikoolkan for this part. Everyone else had political responses saying that there is one where Asian Americans do get together; however, as I previously talked about in an earlier journal, Max went in. The Asian American community is fragmented because of differing ideas of what it means to be Asian American.  We really need spaces to vent this out and there have been a growing number of people lately thinking and vocalizing their opinions.  

[WHAT ARE YOU ALL ABOUT? WHAT MOTIVATES YOU? WHAT DRIVES YOU?]

This part is where we see people as people, what gets them up in the morning and keep doing what they are doing. In sum, it's the people that we're surrounded by (ex. Julian Iriarte and Arvin Alaigh) and the self (ex. Arvin Alaigh and Paul Atienza).

[DO YOU HAVE AN ASIAN AMERICAN HERO?]

I looked up to a lot of Asian Americans growing up -- Jackie Chan, John Cho, my brother, my parents, so much. So I was very sure that others had some of their own that had influence in a part of their life. I knew that I wanted to end with Megan Rebueno's line that her parent's came over to America and worked hard all for their kid.

Before I close this final post about this project, I'd like to say that no matter how grueling of a process this was in trying to get people to interview everyday and going through everything that they had said afterwards, I would like to say that I am very satisfied as to what was made in the end. I am glad that Priscilla Lin pulled me into it and Prof. Tanglao-Aguas for leaving it up to me as to how in-depth I went into it.  It was a cathartic experience. 

FACES OF ASIAN AMERICANS AT WILLIAM AND MARY 

JOURNAL 4 | April 27, 2014

So it's 4am Sunday morning (day of presenting the video and end of the project) and I'm still editing the video for Faces of Asian Americans at William and Mary. I've been reviewing all the interviews Priscilla and I have taken all month and it's starting to get to me. Everything that each person is saying is so passionate and I feel like I don't know how to best express their stories in a 10 minute video, maybe I'll just extend it to 20 minutes. I want everyone we interviewed to be represented in the video because they all have something to add to the discussion of the question of identity as Asian Americans. However, I don't want the viewer to be confused with so many people talking in the video that they lose focus of the point of the entire project. I guess what I really want from this video is to show (in application) certain points that I think are defining statements / thoughts of what was discussed in class. I've got 15 hours to keep working on this and I've logged in I'd say over 15 hours compiling and putting this all together. I just want this to be done, but I want this to be done well.

FACES OF ASIAN AMERICANS AT WILLIAM AND MARY 

JOURNAL 3 | April 20, 2014

I know it's been a long time since I took the time to write up a blog post on this page, I've been so busy interviewing people we have over 15 people! (it's still way below of my goal for this project -- 30 people -- but at this point I think I'll aim for getting close.

For today's post, I'd like to vent my feelings for this entire process, all of the emotions that's coming to me because of this project. I have two people I'd like to talk about whom I've interviewed that bring me to write this post.

So first, Matt Van Dongen. He is my big (mentor) in the social fraternity that I am involved with Alpha Tau Omega (ATO). The reason why I bring him up specifically is that he's someone I've looked up to since last year when I joined the organization and hearing what he had to say about being an Asian American touched me. He even went as far as having a writing supplement in addition to his interview saying how this project of mine really made him think about how thought of himself as an Asian American and about all the experiences he had to face for someone racially ambiguous (he's 1/4 Korean). Reading it made me realize that what Priscilla and I are doing is really making a difference to at least one person, despite not really getting as much exposure of our project online as much as I would have liked to.

Here is what he wrote me:

"Hey man, this will be a pretty long message, but I was thinking about the interview a bit and there were a couple of things I wanted to expand on/clear up. First, I think I was a little unfair when I described where I grew up in WV as very white and "whitebread". Thinking about it more there actually was a pretty diverse population there, especially relative to many other parts of the state. For example I can think of close friends off the top of my head who are Indian, Pakistani, Viet, Filipino, Peruvian, Mexican, Ethiopian, Kenyan, and I don't even know what else. I think I might even be able to go as far as to say there was a pretty even split between white and minority when I think about my closest friends. I looked it up and my school was actually only 67% white compared to 92% on average at other WV schools. Most of the minority population was black at about 24%. Asians only represent about 1% of my school's population though out of a total enrollment of about 1800. I think what I meant more by what I said about "whitebread" and "boring" is more that there wasn't any focus or celebration of diversity. It's not something that was ever brought up or talked about so the only culture that really came out much was a generic, white American culture. The only real experiences I had with other cultures were when I was either spending time at a friend's place who had immigrant parents (like my friend Sricharan who's family is from India or my ex whose parents were Vietnamese immigrants), or at the Filipino society events I attended. There may have been other small experiences mixed in there, too, but those were the main ways I experienced other cultures.Despite that I can still remember experiences in other parts of WV that REALLY showed how little diversity there is in some areas. For example, I distinctly recall being at a summer camp thing the summer after my junior year of high school where I met a guy who had never met an Asian before.

The conversation went pretty much like this: 

Guy with backcountry accent: "Excuse me, but are you Asian?"  

Me: "Yes, why?"  

Guy: "I ain't never met no Asian before! I wasn't sure y'all even existed (half-joking)"

Me: "I'm glad I could be your first." 

There was no animosity or racism there or anything and he seemed genuinely interested, but it was still pretty weird. That probably describes most of my experiences with my race there. No real outward racism or disrespect, but weird interactions that reminded me I wasn't quite like the others. It seemed like people were identified basically as whatever messed up the whiteness. So I was straight up Asian by most people's standards in WV. At the same time though, race wasn't really brought up that much. I mean me and my friends would make shitty semi-racist jokes at each other on the reg, but it wasn't something that was really focused on at all. And for something more specific to being multiracial, I know I said I enjoyed being multiracial during the interview (which is absolutely true, it's pretty interesting in my opinion), but there are times it makes me feel a little weird. Mostly because I sometimes feel like I don't REALLY belong to any specific culture. Like I can say I'm Korean or Italian, but I'm not REALLY because I'm not full blooded. I haven't experienced anything but acceptance from cultural groups, but it is still something that I'm aware of at times. And I mentioned there was a little write up about my grandmother/grandfather. I found that article if you'd like to use it for whatever reason. It's at the link I'll give below. Her name was Jung Sook Kim and my grandfather was Joseph Cattano. She took the name Rose Cattano when she married. I think the link will take you right to the relevant part of the newspaper, but it's at the bottom of the first page just in case. Titled "Long Wandering ends for Waif from Seoul" Yeah think that's all I've got. There might have been something else I was thinking of, but I can't remember it right now. I'll message you later if I remember haha. I think this project is really cool though and I'm glad you approached me for an interview."

Second, I'd like to bring up my little in the Filipino American Student Association (FASA), Felicia Wong. So at the end of my interview with her, when I asked if she had any Asian American heroes, I was surprised that I was one among hers. After hearing what she had said about me confirmed my feelings for joining and staying in the organization and it made me tear up when she left. I felt that all the efforts that I did for the club these past two years on exec was not for granted (like making sure every FASA event runs smoothly, Culture Night actually happening, drawing members to join and then convincing to stay). I don't know, I really felt appreciated. 

Here is what she said:

"You remind me of a lot my uncles. One of which lives in Richmond, but I never really had Filipino American / Asian American friends in high school / middle school because they all seemed really obnoxious or they would be like 'there's something different about you.' Coming here, meeting you and you being my big is the first time I really had a Filipino American friend and you're basically like an uncle / brother / dad, all these things to me. You've had a very big impact of how much I enjoyed my time here at William and Mary. Really appreciate you, boss."

FACES OF ASIAN AMERICANS AT WILLIAM AND MARY 

JOURNAL 2 | March 30, 2014

Today, Sunday, March 30, 2014, Priscilla and I conducted our first round of interviews for our Faces of Asian Americans project. Our first interviewee was Max Nikoolkan, our TA for THEA340 and there was something he said that really struck me -- his thoughts on the Asian American community at William and Mary. The following is what he had to comment.

"I think that there is no one sense of an Asian American community because there are so many different ideas of what it means to be Asian American. What happens is that you have a lot of students from Asia, a lot of students of Asian descent born in America, and then there’s no real outlet to think about what that means in terms of transnational identity or transnational identity politics.

We're a great school but there's no infrastructure and that's what we really need. Spaces and discussions and really trying to understand that it's really important to see how you fit in the American context. Sometimes it's very hard to picture a leading male Asian actor in Hollywood. It's sometimes very hard to picture an Asian American in Congress. So I think it's hard for our communities to really think what it means to have Asian American leaders and thus an Asian American community.

However, I think that despite the fact that I talk a lot about the disparities and fractures we have in our Asian American community I still feel that it's very strong. Other students are becoming interested in these issues. It's increasing. Our community is starting to become a community." 

I'd like to begin my thoughts what he has to say with that I do agree with Max that the Asian American community is fragmented with so many different ideas of what it means to be Asian American. I think this is best epitomized by the number of Asian culture clubs on campus (FASA, SASA, KASA, CSO, JCA, VSA). These organizations, though, they do mix every now and then, they all don't just come together and have a discussion about really what it really means to be an Asian American. However, since many of them have come together within their perspective race is a start. But I think in order for any progress for them all to actually get together. Each organization needs to be talking with each other, really mixing -- not just hanging out but an actual mixing of cultures. I remember in my freshman year, my roommate Andrew Kopca and I dreamed that together we would get all the organizations together in harmony or something and have the Asian Olympics (of which I hear there are talks of right now) and not like a situation where each is like a nation/country from Avatar: the Last Airbender. Ah I think anything's possible.

In addition to doing a facebook post everyday of what Asian Americans had to say I thought it'd be a cool idea to take video as well! I don't know I did but I like shooting videos and editing them for fun! So I think at the end of this entire month, I'll culminate this project with a short documentary of sorts with footage I took during the interviews.

Here's a trailer that I made!

FACES OF ASIAN AMERICANS AT WILLIAM AND MARY 

JOURNAL 1 | March 28, 2014

Initially I was going to focus all of my attention to Andy Loh’s and Felicia Wong’s creative project where would make a short film concerning the perceptions of Asian Americans. However, Priscilla Lin convinced me to get behind her project. Her project is entitled “Faces of Asian Americans at William and Mary” which is a photoblog that would feature the different faces of Asian Americans on campus. As a student pursuing an entrepreneurship concentration, her pitch for this sold me. Also, it really appealed to me as a Marketing major for its potential of what it could do for the Asian American community.

I suggested to Priscilla that in order for the project to gain much exposure, we should do all the postings on Facebook under the Asian American Student Initiative (AASI) page (of which we are a part of along with Max Nikoolkan and Benming Zhang). I made that suggestion so to hit two birds with one stone: (1) start building momentum for the initiative and (2) satisfy the creative component for THEA340.

My strategy for AASI in the month of April was to everyday post a different Asian American to prepare the William and Mary campus to celebrate APAHM (Asian Pacific American Heritage Month) in May. I saw this project as a way to draw people in to learn more about Asian American topics that we would normally post on the AASI facebook page. I think I’m in for a fun ride.

MIDTERM QUESTIONS

1) Referencing the historical events addressed in the plays, please discuss why you believe one of them to be the most significant in our study of the Asian American community. (50 points maximum)

In the 7 different plays our class has read thus far in this semester, they all have had the historical context of major events in Asian American history. It all started with immigrant plantation work in Hawaii with Bitter Crane, the lives of the coolies working on the Transcontinental Railroad with The Dance and the Railroad, then the immigration process after the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 with Paper Angels, and ending with internment camps with 12-1-A (to name a couple). Given all these important historical events that have helped shape Asian American history, I believe that the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II has to be the most significant historical event in our study of Asian American community.

In class, we have seen the plight of the Japanese through several plays (The Music Lessons, Gold Watch, 12-1-A). For some historical context, many Japanese immigrated to America because of Japan’s policy of isolation and did not want to be restricted in their own land. The first two generations of Japanese Americans (Issei and Nisei – first and second generations respectively) adopted the Western way of life. The Issei were the most loyal to Japan and faced difficulties of thriving in the West by building a new home for their family and preparing the next generation for the future. The Nisei, on the other hand, felt more at home in America than the Issei. When the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941, everything changed for the Japanese Americans. Many Americans became prejudice of the Japanese, seeing them as spies for the Japanese government. The Japanese were then put internment camps because of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive order (Executive Order 9066) in February 19, 1942; they had to leave the previous life the Issei had worked so hard to get. They lost everything from property to belongings. In the camps they lived with their families as well as other families and tried to make new communities; in the most difficult of times, there was unity among the Japanese.

From a modern perspective, German Americans, Irish Americans, and Italian Americans were more vocal antagonists to the U.S. military policy in World War II but did not receive discriminatory treatment as extreme as the Japanese. This shows that, at the end of the day, racism and fear were more at play in the decision of internment as opposed to legitimate security concerns. In 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the validity of the internment camps due to it being necessary military action. It is because of that, I believe, the Japanese internment is critical in the study of the Asian American Community. It is important to Asian Americans as well as Americans in general to remember this atrocity in how easily the United States can fall hard in the trap of racist treatment of minorities. This really shows the importance of social justice and activism in terms of the rights of people as people. The gravity of this event can help internalize (to Asian Americans, social activists, and pretty much everyone) the weight and significance of fostering good relationships between anyone regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. and treat everyone as human beings.

REFERENCES:

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5154/

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5151

2) Please discuss your present development in terms of synthesizing the work of the actor with social agency and empowerment. Where are we in our objective of utilizing the study of acting in Asian American plays as a way to empower ourselves in real life? Discuss present status and future plans in order to achieve this objective. (50 points maximum)

The goal of the actor, in my opinion, is to recreate and best represent actual life to the eyes of the audience. Agency is defined as “the power of individuals to act independently of the determining constraints of social structure.” To me, the concept of agency definitely applies to acting. It has been discussed heavily in class as to whether the actor has agency in their capacity or not. The actor does indeed have agency because what they show on stage/to the audience is their impression of the character that they playing. That character becomes an extension of the actor with fabricated thoughts, feelings, and actions that the actor perceives that the character would think, feel or do in a certain situation or scene. In the scope of this class, the combination (of learning acting and the study of the Asian American) is very powerful and an interesting match. Reading Asian American plays and understanding the historical context behind those plays through personal research and in-class discussions allow us to put ourselves in the shoes of the characters from the plays we read when we practice the art of acting. Through this way, we as actors use agency to understand more than just character we portray, we understand the plight of the Asian Americans that character represents in a point of history. I think that this is important internally for each person in the class (as an Asian American or person in general) in terms of self-identity with how we feel in certain tough/ethical situations (well in this case, specific to Asian American history).

In terms of where we are in our objective of utilizing the study of acting in Asian American plays as a way to empower ourselves in real life, I think the objective and the concept behind the class is starting to sink in with the actual application of the discussions of the issues and the lessons of acting (the midterm scene work). It was through the rehearsals of the midterm scene that I felt personally that I was starting to get that bright blinking light bulb above my head. I say this because in order to really make the scene realistic the actor has to understand where the character is in life and in history. When practicing and rehearsing, I had thoughts racing of “what would I do if I were him?” and “is that something I would do?” It is thoughts like those that solidify the person we are and shapes us. In sum, I think the midterm group scene gave us just a taste for what’s to come and a notch to obtain the bigger objective of using Asian American plays to empower. In the future, with all things, the act of just doing more of what we are doing right now in addition to (going further) making this process more personalized (with increased personal involvement) will make the objective very attainable by the end of the semester.

ACTOR'S JOURNAL 5 | (for class 2/25/2014)

[reflection of scene work]

Seeing everyone's scenes (and their interpretations of those scenes) was a really interesting sight for me to see. What really drew me in and engaged me to sink into a few minutes of the certain plays we read was the chemistry and relationships established between actors. To me, it seemed apparent which groups just worked well together and just clicked. In addition, it was really cool to see the culmination of progression of some scenes of which we had previously saw in class. What really comes to mind with that was Andy, Nikki, and Lucas's group where at first (a few classes ago) the scene seemed pretty rocky and unrealistic. But in that class, they kept getting better and started to work more together and develop clearer tensions between characters and more intense actions. It was really refreshing to see that scene, in particular, to come full circle in class and how it progressed.

I also have some notes on Ryan and my scene went that day. I felt that we were way better from where we were at day one of rehearsal. In my own opinion, I think we did establish that we were having a good time with the scene by playing off with each other in the first part of our scene (where we were joking around and mad talking about Chizuko) then transitioned to a more serious moment with the talk about pregnancy and loving women. One thing to note about our scene was the clear nervousness by us, made apparent by the shaking of our glasses of water (more so me than Ryan hahaha) when we were drinking in the second half of our scene. I think this has to do in that we both are not used to performing or public speaking. I know this for a fact for myself in that I only thrive talking to people (or  a large group of people) when I start cracking jokes to lighten the mood and to become less tense. But overall, I really did like how Ryan and I progressed. It was emotionally satisfying to get it done and perform it in front of everyone.

ACTOR'S JOURNAL 4 (for rehearsal 2/23/2014)

My scene partner (Ryan) and I usually met at the couches at Andrews Hall to rehearse our scene, Act 1 Scene 3 from The Music Lessons. Not really knowing each other prior to this class, our dynamic as scene partners (at first) was just as if we were teammates in any other group project with the general unspoken sentiments and tensions like: "okay, we're here to do get this assignment completed,""I don't know this guy, I hope he thinks I'm a cool guy," and "let's just get the minimum requirements done and move on with our lives from here." Initially, the first two practices (I felt) were like this. As we got a better grasp of our lines and a better understanding of our characters and their motivations, the rehearsals became a whole lot smoother, more engaging, and overall, fun. It was as if as we kept on practicing together, our interpretations of the characters and the scene kept on evolving.

What I found really helped us really understand the scene and the characters (and at the same time develop for us the peace of mind that we're getting better at this whole process hahaha) was getting to know each other, developing chemistry between the two of us to be shown in front of others. We would talk before rehearsal about the littlest things like "How are you?," "How was your day?," and "Did you have any idea of what happened in class, today? Yeah, me neither." Then as rehearsals went on, our conversations became longer and we knew more about each other and even cracking jokes. Ryan and I realized the purpose of the scene in how it was an application of the kinds of things we had been doing in class. I know that may sound really simple; however, for me, even the simplest things must be really understood before proceeding in any process. As we kept on repeating doing the scene, we kept adding on ideas and concepts that we would learn in class like applying actions to the characters and give them motivations as to why they are doing a certain action. At the end of the day, we found a single concept very true in our attempt of making our scene realistic: "Acting is life." What acting boils down to is that it is the representation of actual life before our eyes. If it does not seem to us believable or realistic, then the odds are that it won't seem like we are two real people having a conversation (living) to the audience. This really clicked when in class, Francis kept calling Andy out on the littlest things when his group did their scene from Gold Watch. It has to look realistic and the only way to do that is to do actual actions that you would do in actual life. So from there, we shifted our rehearsals from the couches at Andrews to the chairs and table in the THEA 340 classroom. We also added the use of props (the glasses of drink) in each rehearsal to really replicate what we thought was going on in the scene.

ACTOR'S JOURNAL 3 (for class 2/13/2014)

What really stood out to me in class was Francis's statement of how acting is indeed living. Every moment in life is action and that the job of the actor/artist is to create the action/art and put it out there. This really tied in with our reading of Text Analysis by Shapiro which outlined clearly how the actor should begin to get into the zone and become the character they are portraying. The text highlighted that (in my opinion) the types of thoughts that the actor should have are parallel to what is going on in the character's mind in a particular situation.

Another topic I'd like to bring up in this journal which I haven't discussed thus far is the concept of agency, a concept that has been popping up in a majority of this class. Agency is defined as the capacity of the agent (a person or any entity) to act in the world. In relation to acting, the actor (agent) surrenders into the role and assume the capacity of the character to the point of where it feels natural and is embraced. At this point, the actor should not really care (to a certain extent) of what people think of their art because, in my opinion, the fact that you have created/done something is in itself something great. In essence, the character the actor displays is in fact a reflection of the actor him/herself. I kind of see this in friendships where you invest time and energy into friends. Just like a bank, they have a part of you dependent on how much you invested (if you put in a lot then it is reflected that you did in fact put in a lot), and with this I try to tie the point of surrendering to the character.

I also keep hearing the word "surrender" when it comes to acting. I find it really interesting and true where if the artist does not really surrender to their art then they are kind of missing out on some things. This is relateable (I think) with rap artists today. When they first put themselves out to the world they seem hungry for the fame that rap brings spitting rhymes and lines connoting that burning desire to get noticed and that they should be respected. However as time passes by in the career of the rapper, they start to mellow out and sort of lose that fire they once had symbolically seen in the shift of types of beats they use. I think the reason for this is that the rapper initially invests all the time he/she has (every minute of the day) perfecting their craft and once they achieved what they wanted and become busy with other facets of life they spend less time on their art as they once did.
A good example of the initial fire of hunger is Kendrick Lamar (a relatively new artist who rose to fame). (Warning: contains very explicit language). Commit to the bit.

PLAY REPORT 6 | 12-1-A

“…blood is (the) only thing you can count on” (69).

Hmmmm sounds familiar. I feel like I’ve heard that one before.

In 12-1-A, Wakako Yamauchi brought the experience of the World War II Japanese internment camps to the foreground. The play chronicles the Tanaka family’s period at 12-1-A (the same camp Yamauchi and her family were interned). They are befriended by Yo (a Nisei whose father is at another camp), Harry (who is developmentally disabled and mistreated by his father), and Ken and Mrs. Ichioka (their neighbors). In the midst of the blackness that surrounds the principles of democracy, the fear of living, and the uncertainty of the future, Yamauchi depicts humanity under this particular unfortunate situation. Despite their current state of incarceration, they still seem hopeful with the recurring theme of family unity throughout the story.

What I really liked about the play was the slice-of-life aspect that Yamauchi brings to a rather bleak situation as I have felt with her other play, The Music Lessons.  She drove home the point that these characters are indeed human beings that we should care for in spite of their treatment as if inhuman. They have joys, struggles, and ambitions; feelings and emotions just like anyone else. I truly appreciated that. It really grounded me as the reader and to develop empathy for them. Yamauchi begins in the first act by establishing the aforementioned qualities. Then, in the second act, we really see them as people, highlighting the pressures with tough decisions the inmates have to make. It is through their decisions that we see true human attributes. A perfect example is Mrs. Tanaka’s efforts to keep the family together and Mitch’s ultimate decision to refuse to sign up for war duty and stay and look after his mother and sister. This close family dynamic (which is seen when Mitch decides to be with his family at the end of the play) had me thinking about my own family and confirm an irrefutable value of family I recently developed.

I find this particular human quality of support for one another and the emphasis of family sticking together are very relatable for Asian Americans. In relation to myself as an Asian American, that theme of family togetherness was always recurring. Growing up, my parents have always stressed to me “blood is thicker than water.” They have constantly reiterated that phrase to me emphasizing that my friends will come and go but no matter what my family will always be there. I, personally, had a strained relationship with my relatives in the past. Like every other stereotypical Filipino American family, mine had seemingly endless family get-togethers or parties with complementary seemingly endless amount of food every weekend. Now I do not deny the eventfulness and the quality of fun of those events, but in high school, I started to make some generalizations about them. I felt that there was no real differentiation among the content of events, but thinking back on it now, I believe that I had a narrow view and only saw the negative qualities. To me at the time, these get-togethers all felt the same; titas would gossip on whose child was academically better or if they got in trouble and titos would get inebriated and lectured my generation on hardships and how my generation has none. As I became busier in high school and more academically involved, my appearances became less and less to the point it became a running joke in my family of when I would actually show up. One instance last year, I had an argument with my father about my family where I narrowly vented negatives views I had towards certain members. As my dad had done before, he repeated the phrase he had always told me when I was younger that “blood is thicker than water.” He went even further on to explain the story of how our family immigrated to America in depth and detail, especially covering that if it were not for him and them working and supporting each other we would not be where we are now. It was then on, I gained a newly found appreciation for my relatives and highly valuing them by truly seeing them as people, human beings. I started to enjoy myself at events like when I was a kid.

ACTOR'S JOURNAL 2 (for class 2/4/2014) 

In class today, we did an acting exercise where the actor keeps on repeating a line from The Romance of Magno Rubio. At times, someone would forget parts of a line, but Prof. Tanglao-Aguas said that it was fine and that all we had to do was just repeat the lines that we do remember. When I did eventually try it in class, I felt that I was becoming more and more committed to being the character (Magno). Personally, I generally have a care-free attitude so when I first did this exercise I appeared to be very happy and smiling without a care in the world, but the character I was playing was actually getting mad and trying to exude confidence to Claro. As I said the line more, I realized that I getting more committed into playing Magno and delving deep into similar feelings I have had before to express the character. This exercise really brought home the point that Prof. Tanglao-Aguas was making a few lectures ago that acting is submission / truly believing. 

Last night for culture night practice for FASA, Michael (who's directing the play) had us do the exercise again to get into character; I had to do it for a significant amount of practice time. As time went on, I really felt emotionally involved in the character I was portraying in the play to the point that I was using the character to express and vent my actual thoughts and feelings for things going on with my life. To picture it in my mind the next day (today), it was like I ate my feelings and then it just came (purged) out.

PLAY REPORT 5 | The Romance of Magno Rubio (2/4/2014)

“Western Union me. ASAP.”—Clarabelle

Sounds fishy to me, Magno. Am I right ladies?

Oh nevermind, Magno. I feel for you man. (Dangit Devon Baldwin.)

In The Romance of Magno Rubio, Lonnie Carter takes us back to 1930s in California. However, California’s current stereotypes of the laid back culture epitomized by longboarders and surfers were not apparent in the 1930s. Back then, Filipino migrant workers were met with disdain and disapproval with signs like “No Filipinos and dogs allowed.” They were discriminated against, encapsulated by the Asian Exclusion Act in 1924. The Romance of Magno Rubio tells the tale of the titular character, Magno Rubio, a feisty, physically filthy, small man with big dreams, spewing out optimism, curiosity and love. The “Four foot six inches tall” Filipino boy works by harvesting crops with his fellow manongs with the common goal of living out the American Dream. His friends (Prudencio, Claro, and Atoy) constantly tease him throughout the play for his biggest desire of all time, the “six feet tall and one ninety-five” Clarabelle (whom Magno has never met). The narrator, Nick, is the only person who takes Magno seriously out of the manongs and writes letters for him to express his burning love for Clarabelle. What transpires is an exchange of letters between Magno and Clarabelle leading to him giving her sums of money and having unrequited love.

What was really interesting to me was how Lonnie Carter symbolized the American Dream in a unique way. Although the American Dream has been a common theme in previous plays we have read in this class, it has been given life and personified in the form of Clarabelle, a six-foot blonde woman. Magno had found her in a magazine’s Lonely Hearts section. Throughout the play, he believes and maintains the thought that their love is mutual, though he has never met and does not truly knows her. He works tirelessly nonstop and puts all of the money that he earns into her. The infatuated Magno does not see through her ruse, as there are many signs that she is stringing him along for money. Every time he does give her money, it just does not seem to be enough. Clarabelle is a prime example and symbol for the exploitation, disillusionment and hope experienced by the Filipino workers, further reinforcing the turmoil that they had to face in addition to physical. For Magno, his imagined received love from Clarabelle equates, to him, the feeling that he has reached success and acceptance in the new land that he can call home; he feels that he has been assimilated.

Magno’s involvement with Clarabelle allows Asian Americans and people of today to relate to the trials and tribulations of Filipino and Asian immigrants, pulling at the heartstrings of a similar event that many probably had in their lifetime. The beginning line of this blog post links the present and past. “Western Union me. ASAP.” I had no idea what that meant when I first read that but it reminded me of a current business with the same name. A quick google search and look at urban dictionary defines the term “Western Union” as a “money transfer service designed to rip you off of your hard-earned savings” and the “official online bank of scammers.” This present definition of the online transfer system relates to Magno’s situation with Clarabelle where she tells him to “Western Union” her, meaning that she wants him to keep sending her money and that clearly she is scamming him. So through this, in my opinion, the inclusion of Clarabelle is two-fold; one to represent the toiling of immigrants with the American Dream and second to link the people of today to relate to Magno’s current state.

ACTOR'S JOURNAL 1 (for class 1/28/2014)

Acting is believing. 

For that day in class, Professor Tanglao-Aguas broke down what acting is. It is sensation, action, and emotion meeting together to reflect life. What we doing is trying to keep things real, manufacturing life. You have to only do what are supposed to do. It has to be realistic, rather, believable. In essence, acting is really believing. What I really wonder is how do people conscientiously really hone in, or rather, believe what they are doing is them when they are acting?  I guess it has to do with what Francis brought up in class in that actions translates down.

I really liked seeing my classmates' autodramas especially their introspections on life through them. (Sidebar, I gotta say though that my boy, Michael LeFew has mad flow.) Personally, I don't really/usually thoroughly collect my thoughts and transform them in any form of expression so I found the autodramas an interesting exercise. I say this because when I do write, I keep it unedited and just free flow the ideas. I find, on my own preference, that looking back on rawness I can truly tie things together.

PLAY REPORT 4 | The Music Lessons (1/30/2014)

“When I hear your music, I feel another world out there… full of romance and mystery. I feel like I’m missing so much” (89).

Aki, that’s how I feel every time I listen to the hauntingly beautiful musical stylings of Frank Ocean.

So last night, I got a listening session of “The Music Lessons” by Wakako Yamauchi. I learned more than just the standard music theory of quarter and eighth notes you get in your first hour of stereotypical violin lessons. Yamauchi depicts a farm family headed by Chizuko Sakata, an Issei widow who lost her husband in a farming accident. She runs the farm with her three children (two boys and a girl): Ichiro, Tomu, and Aki. Then one day, a traveler (Kaoru) shows up at the farm seeking to be a hired hand and life at the farm changes.

What I found interesting about the play were the juxtapositions of many of its characters to reflect larger issues at the point in history. One is the clash of generations. The play illustrates the Issei generation (first generation of Japanese people to immigrate) through Chizuko; a generation defined by the dedication to material survival. In addition, the play also shows the Nisei generation (second generation) through Aki; a generation pursuing romanticism. Chizuko’s and Aki’s fight at the end over the concept of love (and as a somewhat sexual competition for Kaoru) highlights the conflict of values and cultures of the two generations.  Chizuko, representing the Issei, is dedicated to surviving with her goals being very praiseworthy but not spiritually fulfilling where she works hard to have what is best for her and her children and to live to see the next day. This is seen in her commitment to avoid living in poverty by paying off her debts, freeing her offspring of a massive potential burden. On the other hand, Aki, representing the Nisei, chases after the romantic. This is seen in her pursuit of mastery in the violin, love of poetry, and her fondness toward Kaoru. It is through their conflict that we an intersection of a desire between the two generations symbolized by Kaoru; a society that transcends the concerns of necessity, unfortunate changes and twists, the dullness of rural life, and race. I feel that in the exploration of both characters (Chizuko and Aki) that those sentiments are expressed (Chizuko’s tired of her current state and Aki’s yearning for better). That expression for such a society is seen in another juxtaposition, a rather broader one, between the Sakata family and Billy Kane (Tomu’s white friend).  It is pretty simple comparison showing the contrast between the life of a white American and an Asian American where the former is better than the latter. This is emphasized a couple of times by Billy’s constant entries with new toys (luxuries that the Sakata children cannot afford), the bitterness that the children feel that all they do is work, and the “shrinking in pain” of Chizuko from hearing her children’s sentiments. The inclusion of Billy’s character, in my opinion, furthers brings home the point that the wanting of the aforementioned kind of society I think both generations of Asian Americans want.

In its message for Asian Americans of the pains and hopes of generations, I think it is applicable even today. Nowadays, it has been a common stereotype that Asian American children must study and work hard at school in order to get a stable job and that Asian American parents are/had been working hard so that their children can have stability. In my own experience, my father had wanted me to pursue a career in business specifically accounting. His dream for me was accented by his stories of coming home to a one-bedroom apartment eating whatever he could get at 7-11 after a day of fixing air conditioners (a life he did not want but a life he had the opportunity to get and had to live with). Similar to Aki, I want to do my own thing of pretty much just experiencing life without the worry of necessity. I believe that this is somewhat comparable (though not as rough as the farm life of Chizuko and family) in that at the heart of the matter, Asian American parents (the first generation) and Asian American children (second generation) just want a good life. In essence, to paint a picture, two differing mentalities should meet halfway for progression.

PLAY REPORT 3 | Paper Angels (1/28/2014)

“I always thought life was a ladder. All you had to do was put one foot in front of the other till you reached the top. But all the time I was climbing up, I was really going down…” – Chin Gung (44).

Sheesh, Chin Gung, lighten up. But it’s a sad reality.

Chronicling the plight of 7 Chinese immigrants seeking a better life, Genny Lim’s Paper Angels had me witness the grueling process of admittance to the United States. At this point of history, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 refused entry of Chinese laborers, requiring each and every Chinese immigrant to be investigated for his/her right to enter. Many of these Chinese immigrants are paper sons, those who claimed that they had familial ties to resident Chinese-American citizens. Whether these were true or not is hard to prove. So the investigation was an arbitrary process on the legitimacy of the stories of witnesses and immigrants to see if they truly had their ties as stated on paper. Paper Angels, at its core, paints an agonizing picture of the whole Chinese immigrant experience in the United States.

In light of the serious nature of the play, what I liked about Paper Hearts was how it showed that (epitomized by its characters) every immigrant creates his or her own version of America in order to hang on to his or her dreams. Collectively, they all have the same purpose/dream: have a better life. Examples include: Lee, an idealist, wants to learn English and be immersed in American culture; Lum, a rebel, wants to beat the American system through violence and make a name for himself and be the top dog; and Chin Gung, a returning citizens, has no illusions of grandeur about America and just sees it as a “faraway place in the mind.” By doing so, I believe it pushes through the arduous process.

Out of all the characters I felt the most invested in Chin Gung. I see him as a characteristic Asian American in that he has been in the United States in the past where he developed American habits but at the same time he remains true to his Chinese values and outlook on life. What really drew me in about him was his nationalism for China even though he considers himself American. This is seen when he berates Lee for being ashamed of his Chinese heritage with lines like “You whining yellow bastard,” “How dare you call yourself Chinese,” and my personal favorite, “Let me tell you something, schoolboy.” (36) Classic. I see myself trying to be him in that this semester I am doing an independent study on Philippine History. As I have figured out when creating the syllabus, I truly want to connect with my cultural past and really get that inspiring vigor and nationalism that my parents, family, and some peers have for their culture in the present day. It is for that reason that maybe, even I and other Asian Americans could make a difference.

PLAY REPORT 2 | The Dance and the Railroad (1/23/2014)

In The Dance and the Railroad, David Henry Hwang took me to a railroad labor camp in the midst of a strike, protesting low wages and long hours. The play features two Chinese immigrants, Lone and Ma. Lone, a former student of Chinese opera, is a skeptical character who lives up to his name by being seen mostly throughout the play on a mountain practicing his opera and secluded from the other laborers. On the other hand, Ma, a neophyte laborer, is eager character who throughout the play seeks Lone to instruct him on the steps. Through their exchanges concerning the politics of the strike and opera, the play addresses growing up, what it means to have integrity, and to retain one’s humanity in the face of misery and want (which is highlighted with being an alive or dead man).

If I would have to portray a character from the play, I would do Ma. Reason being is that I still feel that for where I am in life, I have a similar mindset as him. Though personally I don’t want to roll down the streets with a harem of 20 wives, I still dream and the fact that I can still dream puts me at ease getting me through each day. To prepare this role, I would just try to remember all of the moments that I have been let down.

What I found really interesting about the play was Ma’s character development. Ma was an optimistic dreamer looking forward to his experience as a railroad laborer with outlandish aspirations. His dreams are constantly put down by Lone's mocking where Lone questions Ma's status of being an alive or dead man as well as the other laborers at camp. Ma, in the beginning, seems unmarred by Lone's comment but ultimately succumbs to being a "dead man." It was heartbreaking for me to see his descent into cynicism when he finds out that the conclusion of the strike was not what he had hoped, especially when his enthusiasm was beginning to infect the stone cold Lone. It really got me thinking about growing up and the all letdowns you experience in life and how all you can do is just continue. Ma’s dreams and the killing of it makes sense in a historical perspective where immigrants moved to America with the belief of the American Dream or Gold Mountain and then things don’t go the way they’ve imagined. 

The play got me thinking about the song "Continue" by the artist Wax when your dreams are crushed and all you can do is just continue.

PLAY REPORT 1 | Bitter Cane (1/21/2014)

“Life is going after what you want, no matter what.” – Li Tai (198)

I have never heard any truer words spoken by a prostitute.

In Bitter Cane, Genny Lim threw me into the islands of Hawaii. There, I did not land on the preconceived islands of paradise with the umbrella drinks and hula girls, but rather on a sugarcane plantation with opium and prostitutes. The play follows Wing, an ambitious, sixteen year old contracted Chinese laborer who is lured to Hawaii like his father with the hopes getting enough money to live the good life when he returns home in China. However for many like him, the dream is never realized. Most become chained to the life seemingly created by the people who run the plantation and fall victim to vices and distractions that hinder them from accomplishing their goal they set abroad (opium, prostitutes, etc.).  A vicious cycle is then created hindering these workers where work is their life in order to get money, which is then wasted on self-pleasure instead of being used to become affluent in their home country.

What really drew me into the play was how restricted the characters’ thoughts were. As I follow Wing in his quest, it appears throughout that he is following his father’s footsteps with his father’s ghost constantly with him and by falling in love with the same prostitute as his father, Li-Tai. Eventually he reaches to the same conclusion as his father and wishes to escape with Li-Tai for a better life in Honolulu. Then she, as with Wing’s father, rejects him due to her notion that “freedom was as frightening as death” (198). Restrictive thoughts are seen frequently in many of the characters in the play. Examples include: Kam (Wing’s roommate) who believes that work, drugs, and prostitutes is his new life and that he cannot possibly start a new life; Fook (the plantation’s foreman) who views money and power as the meaning in life; and Wing (to a certain extent) who is tormented with thoughts of being like his father and that he will probably do as well as his father.

I found myself sympathizing with Wing. Growing up, I have always been compared to my father by his siblings. I would always get comments that I’ll probably end up like him doing engineering or how there’s no point in trying in anything since he has already made a name for himself or simply how he’ll always be better than me. But what I came to realize when I came to college and what I believe Wing and other immigrants did as well is that when you reestablish yourself in a new world or culture your upbringing really does not matter or is relevant and you have complete freedom to do what you want. Li Tai’s words at the beginning of this post are true in that life is about going after what want and not letting anyone/thing hinder you. In sum, in the words of my friend Alan, “pull the trigger and you do you.”