Asian American Dreams- Panel Paper
Many people make the difficult decision of leaving behind their country, home, friends, neighbors, and sometimes, most importantly, their families. They leave all that behind as a trade for the American Dream but, most of the time they discover that the American Dream isnât the dream it is said to be. In Helen Ziaâs Asian American Dreams, Zia presents some of the struggles Asian Americans faced as they tried to transform themselves and families to be accepted into the American society. Some of these struggles include having to make English their first language, racist portrayals in media, and Americansâ lack of knowledge of the distinction of Asiatic countries and cultures.
It was common for immigrant families to raise their children with having English as their first language. Towards the beginning of the fifth chapter of Asian American Dreams Zia mentions âWorried that we might develop an accent, my father insisted that we speak English at home. This, he explained, would lessen the hardships we might encounter and make us more acceptable as Americansâ (Zia, Asian American Dreams, 110). Many find having an accent embarrassing. To some it signifies ignorance and it also sets them apart, making it difficult to blend into Americaâs society. In the article, âThe True Failure of Foreign Language Instruction,â by the professor of education at Harvard University, Catherine Snow, Snow mentions that âNotably, far too many of the children with the greatest potential to become good bilinguals â the children of immigrants â lose fluency in their parents' language. It's estimated that by the third generation, immigrants have completely lost fluency in their heritage languages. Ongoing support (political and social as well as educational) for maintenance of minority languages is limited. Bilingualism can be impeded by a general sense that it's more important for immigrants to learn English than to maintain their first language and that these are somehow in conflict with one anotherâ (Snow, âThe True Failure of Foreign Language Instructionâ). Knowing English is important in order to strive in the United States of America. An accent doesnât necessarily mean lack of life experience, wisdom, nor education. If anything, an accent signifies sacrifice and bravery. Leaving oneâs country is a huge step out of their comfort zone, exploring a completely new place not knowing where one goes, anyone, or how to communicate with others takes a lot of courage. Growing up, I was always told by my parents not to forget my Spanish. I was always told that being bilingual is like a superpower and that it especially benefit me when it came to getting a job because it was like working for two people. People often find accents and their native languages embarrassing because itâs different and, anything different is often not easily accepted in Americaâs society.
As Zia continues, she brings up the topic of âyellow face.â Yellowface was the portrayal of Asian Americans in the media, especially in TV shows and movies. Often, Asian Americans werenât cast to play the role of an Asian American and instead it would be an American wearing makeup that enhanced stereotypical physical features of Asian Americans. Yellow facing occurred so often that Asian Americans began to accept this portrayal of them. In a textual analysis, âRacism and the Media: A Textual Analysisâ by Kassia E. Kulaszewicz, Kulaszewicz mentions in the beginning, âWhite people controlled the entertainment industry and chose what images of Black people to portray. This study incorporated an understanding standing of Banduraâs Learning Theory to gain understanding of how media messages impact our belief and value systemâ (Kulaszewicz). Americans often were in control of the minorities which why many began to accept these images they portrayed as in the media. The controllers of the entertainment history were able to get away with portrayals of other races because people began to believe in these images as media had a huge influence on peopleâs beliefs.
With Americans yellow facing Asian Americans came a generalized perception of Asiatic countries and cultures. Often, Americans never acknowledged the different Asian countries and cultures. Further into chapter five of Asian American Dreams, Zia says âThis description is still apt, for most Americans are quite ignorant of, or unconcerned by, the distinctions between different Asian countries, peoples, and cultures. Characters in mass media often blend the wildly diverse traits from distinct Asian cultures into an unimaginative, one-size-fits-all Asian stereotype. Disneyâs high-budget and carefully researched Mulan features Chinese soldiers dressed in Japanese samurai outfitsâŠâ (Zia,117).  Once again, the media is to blame for the generalized points of origin that people see and begin to believe. For instance, most people assume that all Hispanics come from Mexico when there are so many other Hispanic countries. An example most people are familiar with is President Donald Trumpâs issue with immigrants, Mexican Americans are President Trump's main target when it comes to describing how immigrants are just there to steal jobs, commit crimes, and chaos in the United States. President Trump also makes it seem like all immigrants only come from Mexico, when in reality people come from all over the world and sacrifice so much in order to give their families and themselves a better life.
When people come to the United States, they tend to follow what is accepted by society in order to fit in. The issues Zia presents are important to remember in to recognize these issues in order to prevent this type of treatment. Everyone is unique in their own ways and these stereotypes formed by the media shouldnât be allowed. Just like history, itâs important to learn about these situations in order to prevent them from happening again.
Kulaszewicz, Kassia E.. (2015). âRacism and the Media: A Textual Analysisâ Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers/477
Snow, Catherine. âThe True Failure of Foreign Language Instruction.â The Conversation, The Conversation, 19 Sept. 2018, https://theconversation.com/the-true-failure-of-foreign-language-instruction-80352
Zia, Helen. Asian American Dreams: the Emergence of an American People. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001
