On Visual Culture - Asian Americans in Film and Its Critical Discourse - Assignment Example

Final Paper Proposal Art Education 367.01 Spring Kate Collins Topic: The Hybrid Identity of Asian Americans in Action Films Big Question: How are Asian Americans framed in action films that are intended for consumption in popular culture? Possible Thesis: Asian Americans are oftentimes portrayed differently in action films to spice up the camaraderie and spectacle that follows an orientalist framework which opens to an exotic appreciation and racist imposition. Purpose: To examine and explore how Asians are depicted and becomes an epitome of exotic appreciation. At the same time, these Asian Americans have become a benchmark in judging the entry of other aspiring Asian American artists in the film industry. Research Strategy: I shall analyze three action films Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Romeo Must Die and Charlie’s Angels to clearly identify the workings and the technicalities of the representation and the distortion of identity in the films where key Asian Americans or Asians have been projected. Sub - Questions: What kind of characteristics that these key Asian project when it comes to exposing their identity in the consumerist culture of film in a globalized world? Is this considered advantageous or detrimental? What seems to be social implications of these projections of Asian identities and key figures? Baggage or Luggage: Before coming to this class, I did not pay attentions as to how it is dangerous and ambivalent, to a certain extent, the manner of projection of identity of Asians in films. Upon garnering the skill of rendering a semiotic analysis, I am now able to pinpoint and assess the hybrid identity and conditioning of Asian in films, particularly, the action genre. Bibliography/ Works Cited Page: Alcoff, Linda. “Cultural Feminism versus Post-Structuralism: The identity Crisis in Feminist Theory.” Signs. Vol. 13. No. 3. Chicago; Chicago University Press. 1988. Arthurs, Jane. Television and Sexuality: Regulation and the Politics of Taste. England: Open University Press. 2004. Bhabha, Homi. “On Mimicry: The Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse.” Discipleship: An Issue of Psychoanalysis. Massachusetts; Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. 1984. Parker, Andrew. “Impossible Speech Acts.” Derrida and the Politics of Deconstruction. London: Pluto Press. 2007. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. IMDb.com. Accessed May 24, 2012. Charlie’s Angels. IMDb.com. Accessed May 24, 2012. Romeo Must Die. IMDb.com. Accessed May 24, 2012. Academic Pledge: I will properly cite any work or information that is not my own thought or idea. I understand if I plagiarize I will be reported to the committee of Academic Misconduct. On Visual Culture: Asian Americans in Film and Its Critical Discourse It has been a common phenomenon in a globalized world that identities start to mix up. This kind of condition opens up to an inherent complexity where a difficulty in determining, which is which: specifically on which culture does a certain traits came from. In the case of film and its visual culture, especially in the context of American globalized perpetuations, hybridity has becomes an innate condition. Hybridity, in the context of globalization, provides a two – fold condition: a preservation of original identity and the commodification of such to make it sellable in the market. Both of the aforementioned tenets speculate on orientalist framework, which constitutes a polemic discourse especially on its workings in the contemporary films specifically rooted in the American context. How is hybridity manifested when coming to terms with the proliferation of Asian – Americans in film culture, consumption and appreciation? The encompassing manner that assesses both how cultural differences emanates from this complex and ambivalent conditioning present in hybridity (Papastergiadis 40). In the process of critical inquiry, I shall use the action films as a genre in which the titles such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Romeo Must Die and Charlie’s Angels shall be used as points of discussion. These films have promoted certain stereotypes that can be considered to be a hybrid in its full scope. At the same time, there will be a personal reflection to show how this affects me as a person. These complexities of identity and cultural differences have been used by the popular culture to sell. These are dangers that can be considered extremely beneficial and detrimental because racism and its reconfiguration can adhere to the respectively aforementioned effects. Asian Americans are oftentimes portrayed differently in action films to spice up the camaraderie and spectacle that follows an orientalist framework which opens to an exotic appreciation and racist imposition. With the advent of the hit all girl group of spies in Charlie’s Angels, Lucy Liu, a renowned Asian American, has been treated as one of possibly the hottest protagonist ladies in Hollywood. In the film, the three girls are working under a mysterious boss and uses martial arts to accomplish the missions, which are daunting, as assigned by Charlie (IMDb.com). Analytically, Lucy Liu, despite of her Asian heritage, has been projecting the brave, the fierce and strong woman, which, to a certain extent, follows a feminist line of thought. However, there is an inherent imposition that Lucy Liu’s Asian projection conflates with the feminist discourse since the bodies of women are still manipulated to follow the accord of pop – cultural, which is dominated mostly by the succumbing satisfactions of men (Alcoff 405). Nevertheless, her compliance with the incursions of pop culture opens up the discourse regarding the importance of cultural differences and the neglect of it explicates the idea of mixing contexts: the identity as an Asian and the pop – culture that follow the globalized conventions. Even if such mixture happen, Lucy Liu’s identity, as an Asian is determinable by her shallow eyes and mastery of martial arts, particularly, the Kung Fu, which is of Asian origin to make her a unique character. This manifests an implication of an exotic perception of Lucy Liu. Lucy Liu, in her film, Charlie’s Angels, is not just one of the films that uses Kung Fu, but also the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon by Ang Lee (IMDb.com). In this case, the mixture of contexts, especially in terms of presentation, provides the ambiguity of appreciating Chinese culture. It cannot be denied that the East (Asia) has been seen under the perspective of the West (Euroamerican) that has open up certain anomalies due to impositions on identity and the manipulation of it (Arthurs 121). This is what has been called ‘otherness’, which is now an extension of racist judgments, which are proven dangerous and contentious. The hybridity occurs in this case due to the permutation of contexts that has a strong influence to perceive a certain image or projection. Thus, there will still be inconsistencies in the manner of rendering judgment and appreciation of the film because of exchanges of culture. One cannot disregard the workings of technology, originated from the West, which allowed the East to project itself to satisfy the Western consumers. Analytically, the representation of Asians or Asian Americans in film cannot be confined to a single, over – arching categorization. Instead, the Asian have subjugated themselves to multiple readings due to a globalized world that bridges the gaps of cultural understanding and misunderstanding. Identity is not carefully understood and studied due to the presupposition of racist sentiments that ignites conflicting parties, which formulates and conditions identities on their own accord. Another film that shows another Asian icon in American cinema is Jet Li, in his film Romeo Must Die. Vengeance and Love are the common themes present in the plot of the story (IMDb.com). However, there is also a need to carefully assess how stereotypical juxtapositions have been put into place. The hunger for violence, having been constantly introduced by the West by their acts of colonization and subjugation forwards a mimetic condition, which allows copying of acts or cultural standards in the contemporary era (Bhabha 132). The copying of violence, as articulated by films that use Asian characters, implicates that Asians are now becoming like their other. However, this can be contested due to the fact that Asians have their own manner of rendering violence that is deemed appropriate to their specificities when it comes to upbringing and sensibilities. The tendency to generalize and classify is the one that has been defied by hybridity at a certain glance. It cannot be denied that the othering, which follows the paradigm of Orientalism, which proposes an incursion of Western conventions in seeing and changing the East in the name of civilization and oneness (Parker 76). Racial judgments are perpetuated but those who want to gather income from it are harnessing its marketability. This is a sad condition that has been brought upon by globalization. There are certain trajectories and interventions that it has made displaced the people, who belong to a certain class, to be accorded some inhumane treatment that can have a detrimental disturbances on a personal level and inevitably escalates to cultural level. How does this affect me as a Chinese? Obviously, in a duality: gravely and advantageously. I felt that I am still confined to a certain standard and conventions. This opens up saddening implications and complications that I have to endure the judgments according to race, appearance and identity. I am subjugated to the concept of racism even though it is no longer rampant nowadays. Comparatively, one still cannot deny that racist innuendos are still out there and in a more conservative and tactful remorse. Consequently, the graveness that I felt should not be considered as a shallow one. It is still something that can be considered as something that invariably indicates the complex social order where I am confined because I do feel that the liberal condition has internal contradictions together with the globalized conventions. There is a call for an inclusive under the banner of one world, one culture. However, this does not seem to be followed at any rate. This is quite frustrating because racism, even though no longer at its peak, still has its strains; waiting to be triggered whenever possible. However, I am also thankful to these icons due to their insistent proliferation in the market of film. They, to a certain, advance the status of Asians and make the Asian culture more understandable that can suspend the complexities of racist domination. This advancement is something that cannot be disregarded due to its capacity of making people more accepting and appreciative of other cultures. On a larger scale, I do believe that it is not just the Chinese people who are victims of such imposed generalization, manipulated identities, hybrid phenomenon and cultural differences. Other cultures become victims and afraid losing what is dear to their identity and origins. This is something that is unresolvable and already a natural kind of thinking and feeling from those who might have oppressed by the exotic and oriental perception of the East just to satisfy the satisfaction and interest of the people. This advantageousness posits the inclusive paradigm of globalization. It is undeniable that recognition comes first before acceptance. Understanding first is important before making judgments that strongly rectify the crucial racist practices that are deemed unfit in the current world where there is more of an inclusiveness and changing mindsets when it comes to culture. However, no one can deny that this acceptance still hinges on an orientalist perception, an exotic approach and appropriation. Such framework is a double-edged sword: a double standard, which evokes inconsistencies. This is something that can be considered unavoidable but it is at least amenable (Steger 111). As much as the entry of these Asian celebrities turned icons, I prefer to be careful in choosing which among should I follow or appreciate: admire and be like to a certain condition due to the need to being sensitive and careful of others. There are cases that conflict and trouble might not be avoided. It is a matter of learning how to blend with others. It is also a matter of incorporating other cultural values to be better in the end. That is something that cannot be devalued when it comes to hybridity. In the end, sensitivity to the sentiments and sensibilities of people that came from other cultural backgrounds must be important. Everything regarding globalization is driven towards oneness and unity. However, one must be careful whenever globalized intrusion is allowed. One must not be a victim of the other but both must benefit from the said interaction that can have a better outcome in the long run. This benefit results into a hybridity: opening up the possibility of constructing a new form of culture with a newer perspective and critical approach. WORKS CITED Alcoff, Linda. “Cultural Feminism versus Post-Structuralism: The identity Crisis in Feminist Theory.” Signs. Vol. 13. No. 3. Chicago; Chicago University Press. 1988. Arthurs, Jane. Television and Sexuality: Regulation and the Politics of Taste. England: Open University Press. 2004. Bhabha, Homi. “On Mimicry: The Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse.” Discipleship: An Issue of Psychoanalysis. Massachusetts; Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. 1984. Parker, Andrew. “Impossible Speech Acts.” Derrida and the Politics of Deconstruction. London: Pluto Press. 2007. Steger, Manfred. Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. London: Oxford University Press. 2003. ß Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. IMDb.com. Accessed May 24, 2012. Charlie’s Angels. IMDb.com. Accessed May 24, 2012. Romeo Must Die. IMDb.com. Accessed May 24, 2012. Read More