Better Luck Tomorrow

I really enjoyed watching this movie. It was a modern version of everything we’ve been talking about all semester. It was easy to watch because it was dealing with kids only a couple years younger then our age.  While talking about the movie in class today we talked about how Virgil appeared through out the movie. He always was so excited about the violence and bad ass things and Ben always seemed like he was more controlled. I feel like Virgil is the extreme attitude he wanted to let out at times, but he tried to bottle it, possibly leading to him bashing Steve with the bat. Daric is a sick character. It’s like he feels nothing. He has no emotions and its like the other guys are his pawns, they just wanted the excitement and attention. Daric just wants to control people and manipulate them.

The very obvious Asian American stereotypes were all over the movie. The very smart students, all the clubs, only hanging out with each other, and even saying  at one point that they were hanging out at a certain place because the library was closed. I’m always surprised to see and hear some of the stereotypes so blatant. It’s like they’re almost picking fun at themselves.

Response to Feng

While reading the article I thought it was interesting to see the points that were mentioned. The quote “In a sense, the label ‘ Asian American’ is a political category: the name of a coalition of Americans who have come to realize that their political situation-determined in part by how Asians are seen by outsides-requires them to act together” It’s like they’re pointing out that Asians don’t necessarily want to act together but because of how the rest of the country groups that they have no choice.

Many times in class we’ve seen the phrase “model minority” and it’s mentioned in the article, along with discussion on identity and the LA Riots. Everything we’ve worked towards during the semester has been been brought to life or discussed, even if its in a underlying way, in films, but theyre not getting much attention. As stated on page 23, the films get release but more because they want to generate interest by cable channels and video retailers.  It odd to me that they have to struggle so much to get their films out, whats the difference between them and any other film makers?

Response to Class/ Cho

I think watching the Cho show was a great add to the class. It gave us a different media to look at and I enjoyed watching it. Margaret was hilarious and I found the reality show was easier to see the connections to the things we have been talking about. Her struggle to feel connected to her community and still be herself are mentioned a lot. It’s obvious to me that her parents are a little on the traditional side and I think they laugh at her because she’s still there daughter, despite how they may disagree with her antics. She’s so over the top with things and I think that that’s a normal part of some peoples personalities, but I think she gets judged about it a little more often because she is Asian American. People have this perception of what she’s suppose to be or how they think she should act, but she’s just being herself.

The end of Native Speaker

I’m surprised on how the book ended. Henry did what he was suppose to for work and even ended back with Lelia. It wasn’t what I predicted at all. I knew Kwang was a sketchy guy but I didn’t think that it would end up being such as mess. The scene where they’re at the bar late at night and hes slapping Sherrie around, he has a completely different personality that we only got a small glimpse into when he was yelling at his wife  in the car. When this scene appears you realize it’s very much part of him. He’s obviously very controlling. He reminds me of Henry in the sense that he has many personalities and is acting according to the situation he is placed in.

It was interesting to read the scenes in which Henry and Lelia get back together. I didn’t think they would, she seemed so angry at the beginning with leaving and the list. They seem to find an understanding towards the end, that they care deeply for each other even if they don’t always agree with each others actions. It’s a nice touch to a book that has so many odd/ negative/ sad moments in it. I think as we discussed in class the reader was definitely suppose to be confused in the beginning, it all coming together in the end.

Native Speak part 3/ Response from Class

In this section we def learned more about Kwang. In class we talked about the descriptions of him and the one that caught my eye was on page 139 where it said, “He displayed ambition I didn’t recognize, or more, one I hadn’t yet envisioned as something a Korean man would find significant or worthy of energy and devotion..” It’s almost like Henry is impressed by Kwang, inspired by him. As we go on in the reading he gets to know Kwang more and goes to dinner, they open up with each other, and when asked to make predictions in class I wouldn’t help but think Henry wasn’t going to complete whatever task he was given. It seems that the book is leaning towards Henry helping Kwang instead of helping his boss, I’ll be surprised if he completes the job. From the experience with the psychiatrist, I think this will be the job that breaks Henry.

Native Speaker part two

I found Henry’s father to be the most interesting part of this sections, of course I was interested in how Mitt died, but it’s just so unrealistic to me. I feel like its just so odd and honestly I rather focus on the father. The section when it speaks about how his dad wanted him to speak at the stories just plays into all the discussions we had in call about language. This book seems to have an inlaying plot that focusing on the language of an Asian American. The other part that caught my attention was when he was talking about the young girl who wanted to go to the dance with Henry, saying that there’s no way she could like him. I found this to be so disturbing. What kind of part says that? I know you look out for your kids and you don’t want to see them get hurt, but I feel like that conversation was completely uncalled for. It’s almost like his father didn’t want to go down the nice road, he wanted to be mean. A lot like the quick mentioning of when Henry got drunk, his dad didn’t yell at him, but he wanted him to suffer a bit by feeding him more alcohol.

Native Speaker

While reading the  new text, Native Speaker, I was confused but enjoying it. I didn’t understand everything that was happening every step of the way but I did enjoy that the book is a fiction. The personal story and context makes the read more enjoyable.

 While reading there were a few moments that grabbed my attention. The list is so bizarre to me. How could you write that kind of list with no explanation and then just walk away? I was laughing because I’d be so caught off guard if something ever did that to me. I cant imagine spending time writing down short facts about who i think a person is and then just handing it to them.

Another moment that really caught my attention was the moments we discussed in class when Henry and Lelia kissed. It was interesting to read that conversation and consider everything we’ve learned in the past. Henry ask if his face makes a difference, always seeing himself as the Asian American even when others don’t pay any attention to the fact. I’m sure this point will be brought up again through out the book. In the third chapter I was interested in how he talks about his job and the people he works with. It’s like the job has a greater effect then he even knows or wants to take notice of. I’m wondering where it is going to lead in later chapters.

The End of Zia

Reading I found Chapter ten to be on the interesting side. Zia mentions the radio station that makes comments about the Hmong girl who allegedly killed her baby and it reminded me of the Don Imus incident last year, causing a stir by having a ridiculous comment. The Hmong have customs that American society doesn’t understand but does that mean they’re wrong? When reading the chapter you see how the young girls are married off as young as twelve and bought by their husbands family, even if its against their will. But later when they discuss Moua (the attorney who is marrying Yee Chang) and how she would like the have the old and the new you see that to the Hmong culture, this process is tradition and something that is valued.

Another section that caught my attention was chapter twelve when Zia talks about her pen pal. It’s interesting that she just stopped writing to the girl because she didn’t want to send her a picture. I understand children don’t want to be ridiculed and picked on, but this girl was only sending her letter, obviously her level of anxiety about it was higher then some could understand.

Response to Wikis

I enjoyed listening to everyone present their wikis. It def was interesting to see what other groups found and if they thought it was difficult or not. The whole time I was doing the project I felt like we weren’t finding information and it wouldn’t end up doing good, but I think a lot of people weren’t really sure as to what information would be beneficial. The LA Riot wiki is awesome. They had so much information and it was interesting to see how that touched every be of the spectrum; poetry, music, plays, etc. I liked how they mentioned the songs and some of the lyrics, it was a topic that hit close to home for a lot of people.

The project definitely added to my knowledge on the topic, or rather deepened my understanding. I know it may be obvious but I cant wait to get back to readings and discussion in class, because I’m all wikied out!

the wiki project

I’m not gonna lie I’m not thrilled with the wiki project. I dont know if my groups topic is extremely hard to find good information on or if it’s just me, but I’m so frustrated. We have a few source but each of us basically only found one useful source and we’re not really sure where to even go with this assignment. I feel like I didnt contribute enought but I know none of us had much because finding information is a struggle. We start collecting and reorganizing everything and I think we have the best start that we can with what we’re working with. I’m hoping this all ends up workings out!