Today, one of the questions we discussed in class today was: What does it mean to be American, and who gets to define it? Trespassers? explores the possibility of the American Dream that is redefined and created by Asian Americans, who “made their home in Silicon Valley by reshaping and repurposing their given landscapes.” This sort of transformation from unfamiliar these landscapes into so-called “‘ethnoburbs’” serving as centers of Asian culture raise interesting questions: How has the creation of these societies affected public perspectives of Asian Americans? How do the landscapes built by Asian Americans reflect distinct cultural values? How do Asian Americans define “American?” It’s also important to think about how Asian Americans created these societies in a country that often met them with hostility or distrust.
In addition, “historian Charlotte Brooks notes that Asian Americans’ acceptance was conditional—oftentimes prefaced on the expectation that Asian Americans would quietly stay in their place and adopt the norms of their White middle-class neighbors.” Under the scrutiny of white officials and citizens, Asian Americans have created rich, diverse communities as well as organizations such as the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) that fights for “the civil rights and political representation of Chinese Americans.” At the same time, Asian American communities have burgeoned with technological innovations in Silicon Valley, and today Asian Americans are often automatically associated with Silicon Valley.
One thing I found really interesting in “Impossible Subjects” was how many Japanese Americans chose to renounce their citizenship as well as how internment camps were romanticized, seen as places where Japanese Americans could prove their “Americanness” and commitment to democratic ideals. Assimilation, it seems, is the only way immigrants can be considered “American.” However, by taking control of suburbia, Asian Americans redefine what “American” means to them.
In addition, “historian Charlotte Brooks notes that Asian Americans’ acceptance was conditional—oftentimes prefaced on the expectation that Asian Americans would quietly stay in their place and adopt the norms of their White middle-class neighbors.” Under the scrutiny of white officials and citizens, Asian Americans have created rich, diverse communities as well as organizations such as the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) that fights for “the civil rights and political representation of Chinese Americans.” At the same time, Asian American communities have burgeoned with technological innovations in Silicon Valley, and today Asian Americans are often automatically associated with Silicon Valley.
One thing I found really interesting in “Impossible Subjects” was how many Japanese Americans chose to renounce their citizenship as well as how internment camps were romanticized, seen as places where Japanese Americans could prove their “Americanness” and commitment to democratic ideals. Assimilation, it seems, is the only way immigrants can be considered “American.” However, by taking control of suburbia, Asian Americans redefine what “American” means to them.