The ABC tv show, Fresh Off The Boat, premiering 2015, made headlines with its authentic and comedic take of foreigners coming to America in the 1990s. The sitcom takes on an approach that isn't seen in most of our primetime television on air now. The shows comedic perspective on what it's like being a non white family migrating to the United States for the first time. By going through seven concepts that involve race, the show displays the truth of outsiders coming into a predominantly white run country.
When discussing exclusion in terms of the show, the sitcom depicts many scenes that isolate the main characters from the white people. Eddie Yang, the oldest child in the family is excluded by his classmates at school all the time. He talks about how hip hop had become a safe haven for him when everyone else around him did not accept him.
In the show, there are many scenes discussing how the family gets stereotyped. In one episode of the show, Eddie and his mom go to the principal's office. His mom argues to the principle that Eddie's homework is too easy and needs to be harder. This episode uses the "tiger mom" stereotype found in many asian moms when played in films or tv shows.
Assimiliation is a big part of the show and by even watching the trailer anyone can see that the family is attempting to do just that. Throughout each episode the family, especially the dad, attempts to assimilate with the other families around him. By having a texan ranch restaurant to wanting to participate in activities he does not enjoy, the whole show uses assimilation as its main joke.
In many of the episodes, Louis Huang, the dad, becomes the token asian friend with people around him. His white neighbors or friends use him as a reference to say they have an asian friend. The show itself does not unconsciously use the token asian as a real thing for them.
Regarding ideology of difference, the show does not depict ideology of difference in a way that is clear and apparent.
There is a sense of mothering that takes place in the show, because there are times the family as a whole or an individual family member will be excluded by whit people around them because they are too different.
The show also depicts exotiscm because of the kind of pleasure some of the q=white characters get from witnessing an Asian family around them. There has been many times the family has been asking racist questions by white characters who immediately get excited and interested if their prediction is right.
So just adding to Exclusion, I remember watching a few of this shows episodes and i never really seen any member of a different culture be a major character to begin with. Honestly, I don't know if I have a problem with it. The reason people always have an issue with it when its a white family, its because weave seen this show many times before. Perfect,American Dream, white family with no other culture in sight. When it comes to this show, it revolves around one of the least represented American cultures in our nations society and that is the Asian American culture. So I'm not to sure if I would have a problem with this just because the culture itself has been so hidden, even with the contributions that the Asian communities have had in building this country. Why don't we represent our beloved Asian American families. I haven't watched the show in a few years and to be quiet honest, I'm not sure how much Asian Americans like the show, so I could be terribly wrong.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware of this show, but find the concept refreshing. Asians tend to be overlooked when it comes to sympathy/empathy for discrimination, likely an account of their being the target of “positive stereotyping”; i.e. they are smarter, get better grades, etc., It sounds like the show is attempting to illustrate how they go though exclusion and stereotyping in their daily lives, bringing insight to the struggles they may be experiencing, so viewers of other races can gain a better appreciation of what first generation Asian/Americans go through, educating them, while offering acknowledgment of what is a familiar, though often unspoken, experience to Asian viewers. I do not feel there is an exclusion issue in scenes focusing only on the Asian characters, because the are set in the middle of white society.
ReplyDeleteP.S. - Love the name of your blog, by the way!
DeleteI haven't watched this show in many years, so I'm glad that it's being analyzed. Assimilation is essentially a running joke in the whole show. Assimilation is a pretty serious topic and because of that, I feel like it is more easily digested when it's played out in jokes. There's the "haha" moment and then when you take another second to think about it, you realize what how realistic the joke is.
ReplyDeleteFresh off the Boat is an amazing show. It definitely provides a place for other races to dive deeper and know more about the Asian American culture here in America. I wanted to write about a blog on this show at first but I couldn't think of any exclusion in the show since the show stars Asian Americans. However, little did I know that, it is so true that the families are being isolated by white characters. I think based on the comment above, i see the assimilation part of the show very satirical as there is an underlying meaning inside these jokes or the way how the dad is attempting to assimilate with white people. This will help viewers realize how it is still a problem and that instead of assimilating, Asian Americans should be celebrated for their differences.
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