Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Thursday, January 30, 2020
Alanna Berger
Brittany Bowman
Zack Blumberg
Emily Considine
Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Ethan Kessler
Mary Rolfes
Michael Russo
Timothy Spurlin
Miles Stephenson
Joel Weiner
Erin White
Lola Yang
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MIN SOO KIM | COLUMN
Appreciate the love! Sincerely, Asians
I
love
watching
movies
but never paid too much
attention to award shows.
I knew the names of some of the
biggest film celebrations, like the
Academy Awards and the Golden
Globes, but that was the extent
of my knowledge. I would scroll
through my Instagram feed and
maybe see a couple posts about
which film won Best Picture, but
that was about it. This all changed
when “Parasite” came out.
The movie came out this past
summer while I was in Korea
and I had the opportunity to
see it in theaters. The movie is
directed by Bong Joon-ho, one of
South Korea’s most famous and
critically
acclaimed
directors,
and stars Song Kang-ho, a top
South Korean actor. Because of
the film’s star power, everyone
had high expectations for it. I left
the theater in awe of how good
it was. This well-made thriller
about coexistence, centering on
an impoverished Korean family
that begins to work for a wealthy
one, satires our modern-day class
system. As much as I would love to
talk about the plot, I will not spoil
the movie for those who have not
seen it yet.
Currently,
“Parasite”
is
collecting many of the most
prestigious
cinematic
awards
worldwide. It won the Palme
d’Or — the highest prize awarded
at the Cannes Film Festival — as
well as some Golden Globes and
Screen Actors Guild awards. As a
Korean, I am immensely proud to
see a Korean film enjoy such an
unprecedented amount of success.
But what feels better is the sense of
acceptance and validation finally
being awarded to Asians in media.
For her role in 2019’s “The
Farewell,”
Awkwafina
became
the first Asian American to win
Best Actress for a Musical or
Comedy at the Golden Globes.
Netflix apparently had to win a
bidding war to secure Ali Wong as
the hostess for stand-up comedy
specials after the success of
“Always Be My Maybe.” “Crazy
Rich Asians,” the first major
Hollywood studio film with a
majority Asian cast in a modern
setting since “The Joy Luck Club”
in 1993, also enjoyed commercial
and critical success. It became the
highest-grossing romantic comedy
film in nearly a decade. Disney’s
live-action “Mulan” and Marvel’s
first Asian hero film “Shang-Chi”
will arrive in theaters soon.
Before these recent successes,
Asian
representation
in
traditional media took a number
of unfortunate turns. Only a
handful of Asian roles existed
before “Crazy Rich Asians,” and
some of these roles were blatantly
racist or heavily stereotypical.
Mickey Rooney — who is white —
played the role of a Japanese man
named Mr. Yunioshi in “Breakfast
at Tiffany’s.” Randall Park, who
starred in “Always Be My Maybe”
alongside Ali Wong, remarked to
TIME magazine that he played
doctors maybe a few too many
times. Asian Americans make up
about six percent of the entire
population, yet only one percent
of all leading roles in Hollywood
were played by Asian Americans as
of 2018. One study from professors
at
six
California
universities
proved that only one-third of the
242 scripted shows on broadcast,
cable and streaming TV had an
Asian Amerian or Pacific Islander
character who was a series regular.
Media lives off of stereotypes
and, to some extent, is responsible
for
furthering
them.
While
stereotypes are not the most
sincere form of judgment, I must
admit they are based on some
truth. Asian parents are widely
recognized to be passionate about
their children’s education and,
not to much surprise, want their
children to become doctors or
lawyers. However, this does not
mean that the media should exploit
such stereotypes and further
consolidate them.
I still remember one of my
high school friends showing me
a clip from “Family Guy” where
an Asian dad, in his heavy Asian
accent, scolds his son for not being
a doctor at the age of 12. This was
during my first year in America,
and I instantly knew that was how
we were portrayed. The stereotype
and its presentation lingered on and
was stuck in the back of my head. I
unconsciously put myself under the
stereotype and even wanted to live
up to it. I never liked math or science,
but felt like I had to ace those classes,
and felt proud when a non-Asian
peer of mine approached me to ask
questions on those subjects.
Limited
and
stereotypical
representation in the media certainly
played a part in driving me toward
the
pre-established
stereotypes.
There were no cool Asian characters
in any shows or movies. There was
nobody for me to rely on.
Then, once again, “Parasite”
came out and is now collecting
numerous meaningful accolades.
Asian Americans have only recently
gained some momentum in media
representation and I hope the film’s
success can be the breakthrough. I
hope the film, along with individuals
like Ali Wong and Awkwafina, can
bring some spotlight to Asians so
that we can correctly represent
ourselves. I do not expect all
stereotypes to be wiped out, but I
sincerely hope that these collective
achievements can provide society
with
the
more
diverse
and
appropriate
representation
we
deserve. I hope we can be better
assimilated into society as who
we are: wonderfully talented,
culturally diverse and capable of
many different things, just like
everyone else. We are not just
good at math or science; we are
more than just doctors or lawyers.
We can be award-winning movie
directors, actors and actresses,
comedians and even superheroes.
Min Soo Kim can be reached at
kiminsoo@umich.edu.
RAY AJEMIAN | COLUMN
To use or refuse?
B
ack in September, a
friend of mine admitted
he was attracted to me.
Not emotionally, he assured me,
just physically. That seemed off
— he’s usually into women, and
he knows in no uncertain terms
that I am not a woman — but I
wasn’t going to let that ruin a
four-year friendship. That took
a few more months to ruin.
The
vulgar
jokes
didn’t
bother me so much; those had
always existed. It was the
sudden commentary about all
the sexual things he wanted
to do with transgender guys,
things he didn’t talk about
before I was 18 and living an
hour away. It was the sudden
inquiry into the circumstances
under which I would send
“someone” nudes. It was the
lamenting over my lack of
confidence in my transgender
body because it was “so hard”
for him to listen to, as someone
who appreciated that body in
such a way. He said more than
that, of course — nor was he
the only one — but those words
don’t belong in a newspaper.
We
often
hear
of
the
transphobia
and
disgust
directed toward trans people,
but the opposite is often true
as well: We are simultaneously
fetishized
by
the
same
transphobia that deems us
undesirable
until
rejection
and exploitation are our only
options.
When
speaking
of
transgender
exploitation,
sex work comes to mind.
Transgender
porn
(almost
always of trans women) is
undeniably popular, in some
cases being the most popular
genre for a given porn studio.
This
sexualization
partly
explains why so many trans
people end up in sex trafficking,
trading
sexual
favors,
as
victims of sexual assault or
in prostitution. This works in
tandem with the fact that we’re
at high risk for homelessness,
a fact uniformly addressed
in these particular studies
about trans sex work. Within
the trans community, we use
the term “chaser” to refer to
someone who fetishizes and
seeks out trans sex partners
because of our transness, as it’s
such a common experience.
The fetishization of trans
people
remains
prevalent
even
in
non-sexual
media
because porn was previously
the only sphere in which the
existence of trans people was
acknowledged. The New York
Times, for instance, reported
on the death of a trans woman
in a fire, noting that she was
“curvaceous” and “was known
to invite men for visits to her
apartment” within the first
line. The article was published
in 2012 and was never edited
to remove the unnecessary,
sexually-charged commentary
despite public backlash.
Mainstream
media
finds
other ways to exploit us, too.
Once trans people started to
make themselves known to
the public, news outlets leaped
at the chance to cover the
controversial matter of our
existence.
Caitlyn
Jenner’s
transition was one of the
biggest news stories of 2015,
to the point that she was given
an
eight-part
documentary
series,
garnered
a
million
Twitter followers in a matter
of hours when she launched
her profile and was considered
for TIME’s Person of the
Year. A transgender person’s
transition, often a long-awaited
and life-changing process, was
broadcast nearly constantly for
the world to see, knowing that
many people would give her
backlash for it. In a sense, her
fame made this publicization
inevitable, but to this extent?
It is hard to call Jenner’s news
coverage altruistic in nature
Even
fictional
media
co-opts
trans
stories
for
the sake of drama. In some
cases — 21 percent of cases
according to the Gay and
Lesbian
Alliance
Against
Defamation — we’re made
to
be
the
villains,
often
portrayed as serial killers
like in Sleepaway Camp and
Silence of the Lambs. Other
times, our existence is played
for
laughs.
In
“Friends,”
Chandler’s
“father”
is
supposedly
a
drag
queen
but is portrayed much more
like a trans woman, and she
apparently only exists to be
misgendered and made fun of;
“Family Guy” takes the same
concept
to
another
level,
with other characters being
downright
disgusted
and
terrified, while demonizing
the trans women in question
as if this terror is funny
rather than dangerously true
to life.
Then, in most other cases,
we
are
victimized:
“The
Crying Game” sees a trans
woman beaten when a straight
man takes her clothes off; and
“Boys Don’t Cry,” one of the
few mainstream portrayals
of a transgender man, is
about the murder of the trans
protagonist. All these stories
were written by cisgender
writers, seizing experiences
that are foreign to them for
the sake of comedy or drama
and condemning trans people
in the process. If that wasn’t
already exploitative enough,
consider that none of these
parts were played by trans
people, or even by cis people
of the correct gender — each
of these roles is filled by a
cis actor of the characters
assigned gender at birth (that
is to say, men playing trans
women, and women playing
trans men).
This sort of backhanded
acknowledgment
of
our
struggles showcases how we
interact with all of society.
Trans people are twice as
likely as others to serve in
the military (driven in no
small part to disproportionate
homelessness),
yet
we’re
banned from serving at the
behest
of
our
commander
in chief. I personally have
denied recruiters several times
with equal parts smugness
and bitterness. The medical
establishment
we
depend
on to transition forces us
to jump through hoops to
get healthcare, such as a
therapist’s approval letter to
start hormone replacement or
get surgery, while said therapy
and procedures may or may
not be covered by insurance
(if we even have insurance).
I received my approval letter
for testosterone back in April,
only to be denied care by every
trans-serving practitioner in
my county until other health
issues
inevitably
demanded
my attention. The legal system
charges us to petition for name
changes, update our passports
and
similar
documentation
and often mandates expensive
and invasive “reassignment”
surgeries before we can legally
be recognized as the correct
gender; thankfully, Michigan
has recently eliminated the last
issue, which otherwise would
have prevented me and many
others from legal transition
indefinitely. Even within the
LGBTQ+
community,
trans
people
have
historically
spearheaded activist work only
to face hate from transphobic
members of the community.
Unfortunately, allies and even
trans people themselves don’t
always realize how exploitative
these
establishments
can
be,
thinking
that
media
representation
and
sexual
appeal are inherently a net
positive. The truth is that
it’s the same transphobia as
before rebranded to seem
less malicious. The choice
between
exploitation
and
rejection is often life or
death: For trans sex workers
who can’t get wage work
because employers can fire or
deny them for being trans, for
trans people who have to shell
out thousands for surgeries
they don’t need or want so
that their driver’s license
doesn’t out them and for trans
youth who want to love and be
loved without experiencing
domestic violence, there is no
real choice. As a trans college
student
choosing
between
sexual harassment from a
“friend” and a nagging sense
of unwantedness, I’m one
of the few who could afford
rejection over exploitation.
Ray Ajemian can be reached at
rjemian@umich.edu.
VALENTINA HOUSE | COLUMN
Appropriate cultural appropriation
G
rowing up, I learned in
school that racism was an
easy fix: Treat everyone
equally and judge them by the
content of their character, not
the color of their skin. While that
axiom and mindset come naturally
to most, it works mainly as a “going
forward” proposition. What about
all of the damage done, particularly
that of slavery? We need to be
more than fair and open-minded
going forward. We need to show
deference to those who have been
neglected. One solution to this
difficult problem is to educate
people about the further damage
that cultural appropriation may
cause – even though this still falls
far short of any real repayment of
a debt owed.
Dana Schutz’s painting “Open
Casket,” a depiction of the exposed
face of Emmett Till, a 14-year-
old Black teenager murdered in
1955, at his funeral, was widely
criticized at the time of its debut
in 2017 – not for its content, but for
its white creator. Although Schutz
wasn’t making any money from
the painting, it was still thought
to exploit Black suffering “for fun”
or artistic gain. The argument was
that she couldn’t possibly relate to
black mothers and shouldn’t claim
she can.
One of the first forms of
cultural colonialism dates back
to the 1900s. Blackface was an
early technique used in minstrel
shows
to
effectively
weave
whiteness into every part of
society. Today, the entertainment
industry is still making progress
in becoming more inclusive of
diverse cultures. New York Times
article “Hollywood, Separate and
Unequal” by Manohla Dargis
and A. O. Scott outlines the
development of Black roles from
historically being “servers” of
more white, dominant roles to
recently gaining more prominence
on screen. Movies need more
Black actors, but directors need to
be conscious that they’re casting
them for the right reasons and not
just for political clout.
Instances
of
white
people
rapping, kindergarteners wearing
Native American costumes on
Thanksgiving and Gordon Ramsay
cooking Indian food are debated
in the same breath as blackface
and the misuse of “negro” music
during the Harlem Renaissance
period. But are they the same? Is
the modern-day any less racist
than it was 80 years ago?
The term cultural appropriation
originally referred to a global
ruling
class
dominating
and
taking advantage of a globally
marginalized class. Today, it is a
highly individualized concept that
applies to any person who takes
offense by a white person using
their culture and its tortured past
lightly as a costume or style. As a
Mexican, society gives me the right
to claim cultural appropriation on
my friend who wears a sombrero
on Cinco de Mayo, even though I’ve
always considered it a lighthearted
form of celebration. While some
cultural antics are better left to
those that created them, there’s a
difference between a “colonizer in
disguise” and a “sad try-hard.”
There are important discussions
to be had about white supremacy
and race struggles that still exist
in America today. However, if
we claim every instance of a pop
star dressing the wrong way a
grossly construed form of racism,
we will be having “reductive
conversation(s)” about whether
the newest Zara skirt is offensively
stealing the style of an Indian lungi
or not, making little progress along
the way. While I’m sure there’s
someone out there who takes deep
offense to the newest fashion trend,
these conversations are limited
and hold us back from focusing on
the real racism in America — the
one that offends not just a handful
of individuals but a whole class of
people. Excessive claims dilute the
meaning of class appropriation
and run the risk of sounding like a
hammer that thinks everything’s a
nail.
Millennials have developed a
“cancel culture” whereby public
figures quickly come under fire for
culturally appropriated remarks
or actions. This concept, however,
has been used so sweepingly
that deep divisions have formed
between cultures, limiting unity
and progress. Yes, affirmative
action, other reparative measures
and just the general goal of respect
necessitates we recognize and
appreciate
different
identities,
but there’s also worth in coming
together as one. Usually, when
someone copies another person,
it is a form of flattery. Influencers
deem it cultural appropriation
unless it’s done in a very specific,
fine-toothed way. In the real world,
that looks like buying Japanese-
inspired pillows from a Japanese
market itself because buying it
from Urban Outfitters would be
inappropriate.
I’d argue everyone appropriates
culture. Cook a Chinese meal
lately without cultural consent?
You appropriated. Use a singing
technique that’s not from your
own culture? A Canadian award-
nominee was bullied for that.
Wear a qipao to prom and you’re
not Chinese? That was the latest
social media scandal. Ironically,
people of color are “nearly as likely
as whites to face accusations”
of racial identity theft. Cultural
exchange is natural and inherent
to growth.
There are certainly harmful
instances of culture being placed
flagrantly out of context. However,
when
done
right,
cultural
exchange
inspires
creativity,
encourages differentiation and
even bonds people. I’d love to see
Black and white rappers work
together to produce the next
greatest hit, instead of white
rappers being shunned for not
having the cultural angle to sound
good.
Refusing
to
include
other
groups
in
the
exchange
of
ideas
and
intellect
seems
discriminatory to me. People like
to make the argument that cultural
appropriation is about a power
struggle. It’s fine for colonized
groups to borrow from each other
but wrong for white Americans to
do so because of their history of
exploitation. However, as David
Frum at the Atlantic points out,
cultural staples from these groups
have also been founded on histories
of empires that dominated and
exploited other cultures: “The
Han Chinese learned to drink tea
… from peoples to their south.”
James Zwerg fought against
racism as a Freedom Rider in the
60s alongside John Lewis. He
is a white man who expressed
anger toward white supremacists
and unapologetically voiced his
support for Black citizens. Dana
Schutz is an artist who used
her talent to speak on the same
issues. One is honored as a civil
rights advocate and the other an
offensive artist, but they might be
more similar than one might think.
Valentina House can be reached
at valhouse@umich.edu.
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It’s the same
transphobia as
before rebranded
to seem less
malicious.