Asian American Film Thoughts

    K-POP is a popular transnational music genre that has impacted the consumption of both Asian and transnational cultures. It has influenced the U.S youth specifically through dance, style, and music. K-pop plays an important role in asserting Korean youth as “normal” or belonging to the diaspora. As we learned from week one, Hollywood likes to represent marginalized communities in stereotypical ways. K-pop contrasts this narrative of alienation by allowing Koreans be the main character. “While trying to make sense of the hybrid cultural form, overseas K-pop fans in the study engaged with K-pop as a way of imagining the process of globalization. The fans experienced the K-pop mediated world as a participatory arena.” (Yoon 378) The experience of Korean culture is more than just an escape but a social practice of cultural domination and resistance.    One thing I am interested in learning more is the image K-pop industries focus on versus the reality of who the artist wants to be. I o

        Pen15 is a cringe comedy series created by Maya Erks and Anna Konkle who play younger versions of themselves in the seventh grade. As they journey through their first year in middle school, they quickly realize it is not as expected. Maya struggles to fit in being called UGIS as well as having little control over her autonomy. While Maya is seen repressing some of her Japanese side, her mother encourages her to embrace it when insisting on the bowl cut. Instead, Maya actively denies this reality and pushes herself to create a new identity in return letting family and friends down.      I thought Pen15 did a nice job tackling the details of sexual exploration and alienation. This is the first middle school series I have witnessed that openly talks about masturbation. I feel that Maya  uses masterbation as a way to take control of her autonomy. She is both trying to fit in and stand out while also choosing which parts of herself are most and least important. The only suggestion I

          Margaret Cho is considered one of the famous godmothers for using her comedian platform to discuss taboo topics. Cho is groundbreaking to Asian American culture because she is actively disassociates herself from stereotypes that consider Asian women as docile, dainty, and not self-reliant. Cho is none of instead openly expressing her sexuality, her tattoos, and has created a new form of identity for herself.       I enjoyed Margaret as a person but didn’t find the humor to be funny. However, I understand that her platform Is not just used for humor but for the audience and performer to discuss taboo topics like sexuality, sexual assault, racism, and drug abuse. Cho has created such a large fan base because she openly talks about these issues that tend to get ignored.      Cho has mastered the way Asian Americans have traditionally presented themselves and continue to strive for change. As Cassinelli says in “If we are Asian are we funny?” “The model minority is characterized