5/22 Kelly and Tony

            Kelly and Tony is a classic case of family versus individuality. Boundary kids often find themselves stuck in the middle of borders of struggle that are divided up by self-interested and cultural expectations. Kelly is stagnated in the dilemma of trying to appeal to Tony’s parents as an acceptable wife, while trying to pursue her own goals. What Tony and his family fail to realize is that they are causing Kelly to be caught in a cultural struggle; this is due to the fact that Kelly’s experiences are tailored to the American social standards, whereas Tony’s family are still backwards in their oriental philosophies. This reminds of how Laotian girls, in Bindi Shah’s excerpt, are expected to be conservative, culturally bound, good housewives, and many more; yet, in reality, these Laotian girls are caught in the process of assimilation to American culture while trying to either satisfy or resist their oriental cultures. Another similarity to be drawn is the expectation of girls as culture bearers; whereas Kelly was expected to adopt the Thai culture, Laotian girls were expected to retain their Laotian identities. A critical view of their experiences concludes that neither of these girls were against having to bear their cultures, but the expectations are simply biased, and only placed on female members of their culture, which is very unfair.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Laotian Daughter and Monkey Dancer

In the article “The Political of Race: Political Identity and the Struggle for Social Rights” by Bindi V. Shah, it mentions the struggles that the Laotian community faced in Contra Costa County.   Laotian community were one of the least represented community in the county due to the lack of representation via politics.   They experience racism through the structural “neighborhood race effect” of “underfunded and resource-deprived schools, environmental pollution and low-wage jobs.”   (53)   When it comes to the perception of model minority, it heavily affects the Laotian community negatively because they are not on the same playing field as other Asians who are economically success and assimilated.   So when the fire arose in the Contra Costa Valley, the Laotian elders were not aware that the fire happened until hours later.   The reason was because they could not understand the messages that were being said when they were informed.   So many elders e...
Read more

5/30- Fiske

In "Shopping For Pleasure", one point was raised "In shopping malls and department stores women's pleasure and desires are catered to, but only in so far as they serve the greater interest of the market". I somewhat disagree with this. While it may be true that the notion of shopping and the market is mostly managed by the predominantly male. The fact that women have a place to exercise a small resistances is important. It is also worth noting that it might be true that it is mostly managed by males, women are exercising the power to vote with their wallet. Also, it creates a space where women can be employ because of the fact that they belong to the group of the target audience, therefore, they have better knowledge of the market. So I argue that shopping malls might not be the place created by women, but it is a stepping stone for women to achieve equal right.
Read more

5/23 Kelly Loves Tony Part 2 Video Response

5/23 Angel Truong Kelly Loves Tony Part 2 Video Response             The documentary Kelly Loves Tony highlights the difference between second-generations Asian Americans who are either assimilated or not assimilated. Kelly wants a life where she is not restricted by traditional gender roles. However, Tony is not assimilated as Kelly since he values family more than Kelly’s well-being. This is depicted from his rant with his boss where Tony does not understand why Kelly is always upset with his family. He believes she should care for their baby and his family conveying that he wants her to be a domestic wife and daughter-in-law. Their conflict also ties to the model minority myth where Asian Americans are not as assimilated or obedient as the myth depicts them because Tony has a criminal record and both Kelly and Tony are struggling to live with his family who are very dependent on each other. This is displayed from the fact th...
Read more