Michelle Wang-Orientalism Video and Family, Culture, Gender, Narratives of Ethnic Reconstruction, Laotian Daughters Shah Blog

Orientalism Video-Said  

In the orientalism video, Said discusses that there is a contrast between the East and West. The West is seen as rational and developed while the East is viewed as primitive and inferior. Orientalism is way of looking at the differences between individuals in the East and West. Because of orientalism, many groups are internalized by the dominant mainstream and there is a loss of cultures as the dominant mainstream fears that other cultures are perpetuating. The United States and many Western Nations focused on their economic interests and implied imperialist acts towards many countries in order to maintain their power. Orientalism relates back to hegemonic forces and a neocapitalist society that maintain its power in society. It is unfortunate to see that the United States continue to imperialize, heavily involved in the Middle East conflict,  and fears the East will be civilized. Because of orientalism and a dominant mainstream society, many Middle Easterners and South Asian are stigmatized and portrayed negatively in the media as “dangerous” “terrorists” because of the negative relationship between the United States and the Middle East. The United States continue to maintain its power through its economic interests and national security.

Shah

In “Family, Culture, Gender: Narratives of Ethnic Reconstruction, Laotian Daughters” Shah discusses that “parents find it hard to connect with their kids” (118). This is because of the generation gap as Laotian Americans are not able to relate to their immigrant parents’ stories and struggles as war refugees. This relates back to Lowe’s discussion about the difference between Asian American generations because of cultures and philosophy. Many Asian American youth assimilate to the mainstream society with have their subcultures and perspectives. This continues to relate back to Stuart Hall cultures are changing and it is difficult to maintain understand narratives due to the pressures in society and different lifestyles. In addition, Shah emphasizes that “Second generation Laotian girls were also expected to maintain cultural boundaries through appropriate dress codes behavior” (113). This suggests that many Laotian immigrant parents want their daughters to maintain family and culture traditions. There continues to be gender oppression and challenges for many Laotian American women and Laotian American to maintain traditions while living in a dominant mainstream society.

Questions: How different do you think the Middle East will be like in 10-20 years? Do you think the United States’ relationship will be different? Growing up, were you able to connect to your family’s background and become educated with your roots?