Claire Kim’s article thoroughly explained in depth the description of race and how it came to be and is spoken about today. She goes on to write about the white privileges which are one of the main causes of this depiction and the racial inequality that other races have faced. It was a very in depth article that dove into the intricacies of racial depiction and how it became what it is today and the variety of elements that we use to associate with race nowadays. “Since the norms of colorblindness have expurgated overtly racial claims from the “public transcript” during the post-civil rights era, talk about a groups’s culture often serves to disguise what are fundamentally racial claims.” After this statement, she goes on to explain how racial superiority has created this facade that other groups of people are more doomed to fail and others are already granted the path to success before they are even born. Due to the cultural backgrounds of these peoples, they are are at a disadvantage and along with this comes the racial inequality that these cultural groups now faced due to being one of this culture. I think that this quote is significant due to the fact that she goes to to elaborate on this key point on how there are many different forms of nonracial language, and that culture has become one of the many nonracial languages. I also believe that these statements hold true to this day as I have experienced this in my own life as an Asian-American living in a predominately Caucasian town. As many other races were not present within my school at the time when I was young, I can recall in middle school that I would often be called out to do math problems because I was supposed to be good at them by the white people that were in my class. I didn’t pay much attention to it back then as I was didn’t understand what it really meant but when I found out, I made sure that no one would make that kind of association with me again, as math is actually one of my poorer subjects.
Month: September 2020
The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans Response
“As a result of this turn, it became possible to talk about a group’s culture without disavowing any claims about its intrinsic racial nature, although overtly racial claims certainly persisted, as the earlier discussion of civic ostracism demonstrated” (Kim, 117).
As Claire Jean Kim explains the dominating facilitation of the field of racial positions from 1965 to today, she reveals a trick that public opinion-makers often employed in order to continue making racial claims under a guise of colorblind, objective assessments. This quote precedes several examples of how time after time core tenets of different Asian cultures and beliefs were assumed to be held by massive people groups who were praised as the “model minority” by many journalists and scholars. These hardly substantiated talks allowed for the simultaneous racist ostracization and valorization of these Asian Americans, doing so “under the radar” without emulating the style of past racial claims.
The identification of this trope is key to her core argument of the continuation of the field of racial positions in the modern era, as it sorts a chronology of offenses as well as revealing the historical motivations behind them.
The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans
“The valorization of Asian Americans as a model minority who have made it on their own cultural stream only to be victimized by the “reverse discrimination” of race-conscious programs allows White opinionmakers to lambast such programs without appearing racist-or to reassert their racial privileges while abiding by the norms of colorblindness.”
This quote stood out to me because it shows that Asian Americans have been made into the definition of the “model minority”. They are used to make it seem that White opinionmakers aren’t racist, since they support a minority. This diverts people’s attention from focusing on their White power. It places a facade over the fact that Asian Americans are inferior to Whites. This and the racial triangulation allows Asian Americans to be exploited without it seeming to be racist.
“A Model Minority”
“The valorization of Asian Americans as a model minority who have made it on their own cultural steam only to be victimized by the “reverse discrimination” of race-conscious programs allows White opinionmakers to lambast such programs without appearing racist- or to reassert their racial privileges while abiding by the norms of colorblindness.”
I found the article to be very analytical in looking inside the engines of yesterday and today’s society. This quote served to exemplify the repeated message of Asian Americans while being worshipped as citizens who model the same values as Whites, still being treated as outcasts or “aliens”. This was an interesting point as Whites would use this tactic of essentially building up a race then knocking it down to maintain control and turn what was a White vs minorities battle to White vs Asian vs Black. Through this, it would be easy to keep Asians in check as they were under the idea of how they weren’t being persecuted so nothing is wrong. This double standard however still blocked them from having any sort of political power as they were still considered different. Prior to reading the article, I was not conscious of this ongoing repression of Asian Americans, but I find myself taking a second look at history and discovering the ideologies of White politicians shadowed before.
The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans
“For over three decades, scholars in Asian American studies have generated powerful critiques of the model minority myth, pointing out that it exaggerates Asian American prosperity, homogenizes this extremely diverse population, and obscures discriminatory treatment against it.”
This quote was extremely significant to me because I’ve seen the negative effects stated of the model minority myth in my own personal life (South Asian) and my friends’ (East Asian). The model minority myth clearly hurts Asians as people decide to disregard the fact that the bamboo ceiling still exists. To add on, the myth has pitted Asians against other minorities, specifically the black community. It has created an ideology that “black people are lazy and not hardworking, therefore they are unsuccessful” that ripples through our older family members. Pitting two minorities against each other reminded me of the paper on NYC graffiti as the poor communities believed that one was better than the other. The working class was divided and the group of young writers of color were stereotyped as “thugs” and “vandals” in order for the working class community to believe that there was a hierarchy. Similarly, dividing minorities into Asian, Black, and Latino communities and pitting them against each other has created a sense of a hierarchy as well. This hurts all communities involved as they would work better together to create political change, but they don’t support each other because of the belief that systemic racism doesn’t exist and that it’s just up to the individual to work hard to succeed. It’s also interesting that when Asian-Americans are published for their accomplishments they aren’t written off as just “American” but (for example) “Indian-American”. The CEO of Google is known as an “Indian-American business executive” even though his nationality is American. It shows that even though Asians are successful, they still aren’t considered to be “full” Americans.
9/30 blog
In this post, I’ll be focusing on this quote that stood out to me the most: “Thus, Asian American cultural values are seen as more conducive to success than Black cultural values.” This article is mainly based on racism, who has more privilege than the other races. On the chart, it shows that while Asians are seen as the most foreign, blacks on the other hand, are seen more as an insider. But, as stated in the quote, because Chinese/Asian culture have a lot more to offer to the American community, Asians are seen as superior than the blacks, despite being a lot more foreign. The reason this quote stood out to me, because, on a personal and broader point of view, this statement and the graph are the core foundations to the problems existent today. Although each culture has something different to offer, they are seen separated, making one culture irrelevant, which sparks the keg to modern problems.
“The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans’
“The second approach, which I call the racial hierarchy approach, emphasizes the ordering of groups into a single scale of status and privilege with whites on top, blacks on the bottom, and all other groups somewhere in between.” (Page 106)
This quote really stood out to me because this is sadly on of the ways society is viewed today. The article gives very little reasoning as to why this approach has Blacks on the bottom, rather just states the approach. I think that the fact that this type of idea has a specific name isn’t right.
Kim argues that Asian Americans have been racially triangulated for an immense amount of time. She says that they have been racially triangulated since its inception in the mid-1800s. Angelo Ancheta said that Asians were often looked at as “outsiders and aliens”. Kim does a great job of informing people about a problem that is going on within our society. It is very often over looked and should be fixed.
Appreciating and Redacting upon the Theory of Racial Triangulation
Claire Kim’s essay on Racial Triangulation highlights the fringe experience of non-black minorities in relation to an ever present, yet highly malleable framework of white-superiority. Triangulation is a method of racial categorization, where non-black cultures in the U.S, primarily of foreign origin, are used as intermediaries and actors between white supremacy and black inferiority, with the indented consequence of ostracizing both African Americans and non-white agents from civic engagement. However, these examples of agency work on both ends of the “y” axis in Kim’s triangle, where Asian Americans move in the negative direction during the genesis of their immigration, and move towards the positive direction as they emerge as “model minorities”. With this in mind I would like to reimagine the fixed position of Asian Americans on Kim’s triangle, as a point on a sliding scale along the y axis, thus distorting the geometric shape. I personally find that this would be a better, and more accurate representation of Asian-American agency in relation to white society.
Personally, Kim’s essay struck a nerve, as figuring out the relative positioning of Asian-Americans and other non-black minority groups in America has been a constant source of mental anguish for me. Kim’s piece has been highly insightful in quelling such an anguish, and has helped me mentally connect with times in which I experienced confusion over the agency she now describes. I can distinctly remember when the city was concerned over the lack of minorities in specialized high schools. Conservative news outlets and republican politicians alike, made the case that specialized high schools were already diverse enough as is due to the high success of Asian American students. But what are the implied intentions? Using Kim’s method of understanding agency, we can immediately infer that Asian Americans, now positioned as “model citizens”, are utilized as the deafening chants in a cry of reverse racism. Kim herself states that “Valorizing Asian-Americans helps to deflect Black demands for racial reform”, proving that by reframing Asian-American’s as “model minorities”, white power structures can subdue the need for reform within other marginalized cultures, thus killing off two problems with a single bullet.
This was a VERY interesting read and I hope we get assigned similar material in the future!
“Thunder” by Imagine Dragons
0:02-0:16- people are walking around; it’s black and white
0:18- three streaks of light fall from the sky
0:23- Dan Reynolds (lead singer) starts singing
0:25- there is an alien-like guy standing next to Dan; his eyes are white and his face is sculpted in a particular pattern. He is also wearing an unusual outfit
0:27- another alien-like guy is shown; there are things on his face and he is a wearing an unusual black outfit
0:33- a unusual looking woman is shown; her eyes are black, she is wearing an unusual sparkly outfit and her hair is very long and a little messy
0:42-0:46- the woman and the first guy start looking around
0:47- the second guy starts dancing in the middle of sheep
0:50- Dan dances while the other members watch him and the other three with blank expressions
0:58-1:14- Dan and the others dance continue to dance in a particular way
1:31- the three unusual people start harmonizing in a line
1:38- the members start multiplying
1:40- the 3 unusual people dance in a peculiar way while the members keep multiplying
2:00- there are a bunch of the same cars driving down a highway; the three people are inside there
2:21- There are hundreds of the same cars on either sides of the road, emphasizing on how everything is the same
2:30- the multiplied members formed a couple of rings around the three people, while they are dancing
2:37- as the lady is dancing in the building, there are colorful fireworks going off in the background, adding some color to the black and white city
3:01- there are a bunch of the unusual people dancing on the sides of buildings, as if they took over
3:06-3:16- they all continue to dance, there are still fireworks lighting up the sky, and there are small sheep in the air
Analysis
This song is important for the band, especially for the lead singer, Dan. It is about one not conforming to society’s expectations. That’s why the they added the three peculiar dancers because they weren’t considered the “norm” of society. It is also about how the lead singer was able to achieve his goals, that other people discouraged him from. In the beginning of the song Dan sings about how people have told him to “fit the box, fit the mold”, in other words they told him to be “normal” and “ordinary”. He was told not to dream too big. In the second part of the song he sings about how he was actually able to achieve his goals, despite the challenges and hardships he had to face along the way. One particular part that stuck out to me was when he said, “Kids were laughing in my classes/While I was scheming for the masses…Now i’m smiling from the stage while/You were clapping in the nose bleed”. These lines speak out to me because of how powerful his message is. Despite people making fun of him, he still went to achieve his goals, and when he did his haters would watch him on stage.
The genre for this song is pop, but the band is considered to be rock. They intended this song for all audiences. They may have specifically wanted to reach out to those people who have big dreams, but may have things holding them back, whether that’s other people or themselves. They want people to understand that it’s okay to reach for your goals and that not everyone has to fit to the society’s norms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKopy74weus
ATM – J. COLE
0:00-0:39
Children riding on a platform of drugs, pills and money through the distorted clouds reaching for something. Chains connecting these entranced children by a lost king flying drugged through this same space of clouds, draped in gold and on top of a gold chair. The throne in fact connects to a dollar bill, and the children are chasing after the dollar bill in the air.
0:40-0:54
Cole sits in a room with bright colors and unconventionally angled geometric shapes. He wears a track suit with chains and brightly colored clothes and fancy glasses while counting stacks of money and having a female by his side. Money bags and wads of cash are thrown throughout the room piling up, almost disregarded.
0:55-0:59
Cole is in a straight jacket, trapped within a room encased with cash everywhere. His movements are ecstatic and erratic which continues throughout the video.
1:17-1:24
Cole reaches into one of the money bags only to see a comically smaller J. Cole counting the money and then attacking the larger iteration of himself. Most likely showing how self harming these life practices of focusing on money can be.
1:30- 1:46
Children smash the window and chase J Cole and the unnamed objectified female partner out of the room, to trespass and smother themselves in taking his money, all with entranced drugged faces. The children look almost to be animals with how they move.
1:55-2:25
We see Cole in a gambling poker like casino scenario gambling his life away. He continuously gambles all he has left. We see everyone at the table with ridiculously colorful and outlandish outfits similar to his to show the comedic style of the rich. While also displaying neon signs in the background often used to coerce people into indulging in such businesses.
2:29-2:36
We now see many adults on the street looking up at the sky also in a trance, with their eyes colorfully swirling in a cartoony manner, gazing at the sky. They begin to float to the sky.
2:49-4:25
At a used car sale they attempt to buy a new car, however the price is said to be outrageously high. Reaching into the bag it is empty, and so he quite literally cost him an “arm and a leg,” following the phrase and pulling his limbs off to barter for the car. Regrettingly shaking his hand he takes the car into the road and into that same sky, eventually falling and crashing, losing his life.
Analysis
The video’s genre is the genre of hip hop/rap with elements of trap infused to mimic the current state of mind of many rappers and kids in general battle within this lifetime. This chasing the next Euphoria mind state of money and drugs holding indescribable power within our lives, distorting our natural sense of balance and reality. Its intended audience is exactly who it speaks about, the lost kids who lost their life to money and drugs driving them, selling weed to make their racks stack faster, as their minds grow to dissociate from reality. It’s a change seen within the younger generations today that Cole notes as almost subtle and exhibits through his mannerisms within the music video. The historical message is deep rooted within the way that society has monopolized on manipulating the masses to this ideology of wanting to feel good all the time and seek wealth. From what is taught in classrooms to what is forced down our throats, we live in a “feel good,’ society that cares only to please one’s desires constantly. This is even further perpetuated within the lives of rappers and kids from the hood, all attempting to escape their nasty realities, believing money and drugs is the way to do so, thus losing their touch with reality. Cole goes in depth as well by even showing how far a person will go for attaining the luxuries or the “look,” of wealth, even losing a limb for it, to symbolize this as an extremely self destructive lifestyle.