Cultural Assimilation of Asian Americans
Big Trouble in Little China
--It is more than just a film
“Big Trouble in Little China” starts with a white American character called Jack Burton, who delivers his cargo to a small town and during some free time plays card games in a Chinese market. After beating everyone at the game, he is proposed a bet by his friend Wang, and wins. Wang, not having enough cash to pay himself, convinced Jack to pick up his girlfriend Miao Yin at the airport, promising after which he would pay what he owed. Unexpectedly, a Chinatown gang called the Lords of Death abducts Miao, because of her green eyes. She becomes essential to being able to revive an ancient Chinese sorcerer Lo Pan and bring him back to the flesh. This marks the beginning of the adventure to rescue Miao and destroy Lo Pan’s plan down in Little China.[1] From the plot summary, “Bid Trouble in Little China” is an entertaining film, however, its value reaches beyond entertainment; it provides invaluable insights into cultural stereotypes, in both Chinese-American culture and mainstream American culture.
To start up, let us have an overview of Asian Americans. The Asian experience in the United States has been affected by two most important factors: race and culture. Given that Asian immigrants had a different appearance, it was not difficult to categorize, identify and stereotype them, or to treat them differently. Two assumptions by the mainstream Americans apply to this ethnic minority group. First, Asians are homogenous; in other words, all of them have a similar look, rationality and behavior. Second, there is a close connection between Asian immigrants and their home country. The way Asians are treated in America is closely tied to these two assumptions. They are assumed to be familiar with Asian ancestry, the ancestral culture and the language.[2] For pervasive social influence of film, it plays an important role representing cultural issues. As film scholars are concerned with the influence cinema has
--It is more than just a film
“Big Trouble in Little China” starts with a white American character called Jack Burton, who delivers his cargo to a small town and during some free time plays card games in a Chinese market. After beating everyone at the game, he is proposed a bet by his friend Wang, and wins. Wang, not having enough cash to pay himself, convinced Jack to pick up his girlfriend Miao Yin at the airport, promising after which he would pay what he owed. Unexpectedly, a Chinatown gang called the Lords of Death abducts Miao, because of her green eyes. She becomes essential to being able to revive an ancient Chinese sorcerer Lo Pan and bring him back to the flesh. This marks the beginning of the adventure to rescue Miao and destroy Lo Pan’s plan down in Little China.[1] From the plot summary, “Bid Trouble in Little China” is an entertaining film, however, its value reaches beyond entertainment; it provides invaluable insights into cultural stereotypes, in both Chinese-American culture and mainstream American culture.
To start up, let us have an overview of Asian Americans. The Asian experience in the United States has been affected by two most important factors: race and culture. Given that Asian immigrants had a different appearance, it was not difficult to categorize, identify and stereotype them, or to treat them differently. Two assumptions by the mainstream Americans apply to this ethnic minority group. First, Asians are homogenous; in other words, all of them have a similar look, rationality and behavior. Second, there is a close connection between Asian immigrants and their home country. The way Asians are treated in America is closely tied to these two assumptions. They are assumed to be familiar with Asian ancestry, the ancestral culture and the language.[2] For pervasive social influence of film, it plays an important role representing cultural issues. As film scholars are concerned with the influence cinema has
Bibliography: Beeman, Mark and Volk, Robert W., "Challenging Ethnic Stereotypes: A Classroom Exercise",Teaching Sociology, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul., 1996), pp. 299-304. Kitano, Harry H.L., "Asian-Americans: The Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Pilipinos, and Southeast Asians", Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 454, America as a Multicultural Society (Mar., 1981), pp.125-138. [2] Harry H.L. Kitano, "Asian-Americans: The Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Pilipinos, and Southeast Asians", Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 454, America as a Multicultural Society (Mar., 1981), pp.125-138. [7] Harry H.L. Kitano, "Asian-Americans: The Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Pilipinos, and Southeast Asians", Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 454, America as a Multicultural Society (Mar., 1981), pp.125-138. [11] Mark Beeman and Robert W. Volk, "Challenging Ethnic Stereotypes: A Classroom Exercise",Teaching Sociology, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul., 1996), pp. 299-304.