In reflecting upon Saving Face (2004), I first explored the Chinese concept of “face”—a concept that is of the utmost importance to many and applies in terms of physical appearance, pride, and more, and applies both to yourself as well as the people that surround you (“Saving Face in China”). I found that “saving face” is so significant “‘because of China’s history of exploitation by foreign countries who colonized China or raided China for business purposes, particularly in the business sphere,” which cause Chinese people to not want to be seen culturally as having been ‘had’ by Western businesspeople (“Saving Face in China”).’” Face, in this manner, is a way an individual can maintain their own pride and respectability; similarly, giving “face” to others may reciprocate their respect, causing them to have “face.” It’s also an explanation for the communities that Asian Americans created that were mentioned in Trespassers?; the communities included Asian malls and organizations, and often shared values such as belief in education. The concept of “saving face” reminded me about the politics of respectability that many black activists advocated for.
Today in class, we talked about the myth of the American dream and how most immigrants want to believe in some manifestation of that dream. In Trespassers?, Lung-Amam discusses how a good education served as that dream for many Asian Americans; that is something I can deeply relate with because that was the reason my parents immigrated to America to raise their children. This is a background shared by so many Asian Americans, and as a result, many first-generation Asian Americans feel the need to study hard to live up to their parents’ goals.
Saving Face was such an interesting movie because it shows how most characters completely change their ways of thinking by the end of the movie. It’s good that the movie tackles severely underrepresented perspectives in popular culture, but one should keep in mind that racism, homophobia, and sexism are very much present in Asian American communities today.
Article: "Saving Face in China"
Today in class, we talked about the myth of the American dream and how most immigrants want to believe in some manifestation of that dream. In Trespassers?, Lung-Amam discusses how a good education served as that dream for many Asian Americans; that is something I can deeply relate with because that was the reason my parents immigrated to America to raise their children. This is a background shared by so many Asian Americans, and as a result, many first-generation Asian Americans feel the need to study hard to live up to their parents’ goals.
Saving Face was such an interesting movie because it shows how most characters completely change their ways of thinking by the end of the movie. It’s good that the movie tackles severely underrepresented perspectives in popular culture, but one should keep in mind that racism, homophobia, and sexism are very much present in Asian American communities today.
Article: "Saving Face in China"