When watching film “Saving Face,” there was one particular scene which I felt deserved a large amount of reflection. In one instance, Vivian Shing, a young Chinese American woman, invites her friend Jay over to eat dinner with her and her mother, Hwei-Lan Gao. Jay is a young African American man (the only one featured in the movie) who, though depicted as a kind and supportive friend to Vivian, is subject to the mother’s prejudice towards, or, more blatantly, distaste for black people. Even before Jay arrives, the film hints at the woman’s harmful views - though I had not at first realized this. It was not until a friend leaned over and whispered to me that I realized that Hwei-Lan’s insistence on serving a paper plate to only Jay might have problematic undertones. This subtle mistreatment is not subtle for long, though, as in the following scene, the camera focuses in on numerous shots of the mother’s disgusted face as she observes the man walk towards the table wearing shoes, pour “too much soy sauce” or enjoy his food too loudly. While there is something to be said about respecting the wishes of your host when you are a guest (particularly when it comes to removing your shoes in the house, for example), Hwei-Lan’s actions - going even as far in one point to exclaim that she hopes her child will never end up “that dark” - were deeply offensive and uncalled for, regardless of any situation. Nevertheless, though the words of the mother disturbed me, it was ultimately Vivian’s inaction which surprised me the most. Though his friend, Vivian makes very little effort to defend Jay throughout her mother’s tirade - she mostly only passively reprimands her mother for her insults. In fact, at one point, Vivian retorts to Jay’s friendly greeting by exclaiming: “don’t speak so loud.”
This scene is important for many reasons - though it may seem hard to understand or believe for some, the mother’s prejudiced rhetoric is a reflection of a relatively common prejudice seen among different oppressed groups. When thinking about class discussions, I was reminded of the idea that racial differentiation is not just a concept that white people may try to cling to. Indeed, I believe that this scene highlights the somewhat-disturbing idea that even when humans hail from oppressed groups or identities, many are still often quick to distance themselves from those who they deem as “different” - perhaps to feel better about themselves. More importantly, however, the ambivalence of the daughter shows the extent to which such discrimination is still (to some extent) normalized to this day; the scene hopefully suggests to its audience that there is an inherent danger and harm in the downplaying of racial bias.
This scene is important for many reasons - though it may seem hard to understand or believe for some, the mother’s prejudiced rhetoric is a reflection of a relatively common prejudice seen among different oppressed groups. When thinking about class discussions, I was reminded of the idea that racial differentiation is not just a concept that white people may try to cling to. Indeed, I believe that this scene highlights the somewhat-disturbing idea that even when humans hail from oppressed groups or identities, many are still often quick to distance themselves from those who they deem as “different” - perhaps to feel better about themselves. More importantly, however, the ambivalence of the daughter shows the extent to which such discrimination is still (to some extent) normalized to this day; the scene hopefully suggests to its audience that there is an inherent danger and harm in the downplaying of racial bias.