Back to the ROOTS of the matter ...

Like the title? My mama says that I should be an author with a wit like that.

With the invocation of the William Hung media figure (sitting smack dab in my second year of college, which I spent with the UC Irvine Asian Pacific Student Association), I feel compelled to talk about the student publications of ROOTS. Prevalent media stereotypes, institutionalized racism, the need for a united racial and gender front, and the need for political action to shatter the model minority stereotype - all things that even in 2004 we were still struggling to address in APSA. Reading through the articles and thinking about my experience at the UCI Cross Cultural Center, it seemed that the only thing that has changed in the Asian American movement in the past few decades is the need for a united front across the lines of ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual orientation - although the diversity of identities has changed, the language of the struggle hasn't seemed to progress very far.

Going back to your histories of politicization, how do you relate to the selections from ROOTS or Asian Women? For example, the representations have become more complex, but they still seem to hold on to some stereotypical baggage - every time I talk about Asian Americans in pop culture, I can't help but think of Raj in Van Wilder, Jackie Chan (and his many adventures), and Better Luck Tomorrow (all AA cast, but is the main drama really revolving around homework?).

All views welcomed. Happy Saturday!