Journal 13 - Import Culture & Kelly Loves Tony Pt. 2

In Rodriguez’s and Gonzales’ “Asian American Auto/ Biographies: The Gendered Limits of Consumer Citizenship in Import Subcultures,” they discuss the stark differences between Asian American males and females - in order to meet the standards of masculinity, a man must have a “trophy girl” to accompany his trophy ride. Women, usually young and sexy, are used as accessories next to the car. Just like the cars that the men change and modify to their preferences, the women are dressed and placed into contests for male entertainment. This approach is interesting, as it relates to Said’s analysis on orientalism and how it affects popular culture. In order to define their masculinity in American society, Asian American men perpetrate orientalist views of the sexualized and disciplined Asian women in order to dispel any homosexual implications of import culture. Not only do the men act as if they own the women, but any female racers that exist in the culture continue enacting the distorted view: “sexy and photogenic, with just a touch of the Dragon Lady to make it interesting” (267). Import culture is full of hyper-orientalism and Asian American males act as native orientalists when they validate Western theories while trying to establish their masculinity. Asian American females are similar where they self-orientalize, fitting the mold without speaking out against the heterosexual and masculine Asian American territory. Despite both genders’ attempts, Asian Americans still struggle with feeling accepted into American society so the gender constructs become an endless cycle.

As we watched the second half of “Kelly Loves Tony,” we see how their cultural views begin clashing with each other, especially when Kelly becomes pregnant with a second child. I noticed that the rest of the class groaned when she made her announcement, and even though it seems obvious to us that she and Tony should have abstained, I also wonder if maybe they did not receive proper education and awareness about pregnancy and contraceptives. Since they grew up in Richmond, which is a low-income area, I do not think that they had access to resources that could help them with pregnancy planning and/or useful organizations that could help with teenage mothers. Through the video diary, we witness the differences in Kelly’s and Tony’s priorities – Tony is overjoyed at having another child, but Kelly begins regretting her past choices. Frustrated, she expresses her discomfort around Tony’s family, to which he does not understand because he expects the both of them to instantly connect. However, he does not realize that his family also doesn’t value the same goals that Kelly does, which begins to drive their relationship further apart.