Journal 11 Orientalism and Laotian Family, Culture, Gender

           The film showed how Orientalism came to be. It was an idea that was created from history and an imperial conquest. It gave people the idea of the Middle East without them having to go there. It made the Middle East seem different and threatening because they are not like America. The media on Islamic terrorism is focused on making them a threat and creating a big news across the nation. I think that the media has a big role on influencing the West on how they see the Middle East because the media can get messages to the whole nation. The Middle East is seen as a threat to America now because of the incidents like 9/11 and the media making these events really big. It’s become harder for Middle East Americans to live in America because of the American view on the Middle East. They become stopped more and seen more dangerously which creates uncomfortable feelings.

            This article talks about how Laotian women deal with their ethnic lives in America. They take into account their parents by trying to stay traditional for them but they are also influenced by their peers and become more mainstream. This caused distance between the parents and the daughters because of the difference in culture. America is a place where autonomy and individualism is encouraged so that each individual can be free and successful. However, this is different from Asian culture where a big significance is placed on family and a more collectivistic aspect. I think this is a big deal for most second generation Asian Americans because we are the first to be introduced to American culture right from where we are born while our parents are getting used to America from the immigration. This is where both sides of the generation can see cultural conflict. There’s always peer influence for the second generation Americans in school. The school environment is a place to be away from parents and be around American culture. This is where we are spending most of our time so we naturally want to fit in so we adopt the American school norms and popular culture.