Watching
the film “Saving Face,” as a class together in the lounge, I couldn’t help but
notice how well all of us responded to this film as compared to the previous
works we have viewed together. Undoubtedly, some of this is simply due to the
fact that “Saving Face” is a humorous and somewhat light-hearted contrast
to the real world struggles of Nina Simone or 1940s anti-Semitism in the United
States. But even more than that, the plot development of “Saving Face,” the
themes of societal and family pressure, as well as the character dynamics
developed throughout the film, create an image that the majority of our class
can empathize with: Asian and Asian-American identity. The film, although
focused specifically on Chinese cultural tradition and custom, extends its
reach to develop a storyline based solely on the nuances of Asian family
dynamics and the disparities between Asian and Asian-American identity.
The two main plotlines within the film are the mother’s
humiliation and disowning by her family and friends, and the main character’s
struggle to voice, and gain acceptance, for her homosexuality. In the
progression of both of these storylines, the film conveys a harsh, but core
component of Asian identity: suppression of emotion. The main character, Wil,
as the representation of Asian-Americanism, feels a hesitancy to tell her more
traditional Chinese family of her sexuality, for fear of not only their
reaction, but the negativity it would bring to her family’s reputation in the
Chinese community. This internalized struggle is mirrored by the experiences of Wil’s mother, who becomes disowned by her family and ostracized by her
community as a result of her unexpected pregnancy. Wil’s mother initially refuses to tell her daughter of her pregnancy, disregards her own emotions in favor of
satisfying her father’s interests, and never, herself, discloses who the father
of her child is.
What’s even more important in noting is that Wil’s mother
never directly told her parents she was pregnant -- rather it was discovered
through gossip. This type of gossip, embodied by the neighborhood Chinese
mothers in the film, is a historical staple of Asian communities in urban
American environments. While Asian communities often band together against the prejudices and pressures of white America, they are also heavily divided,
seeking to downplay others for the sake of gaining an upper hand in a foreign
environment. This is of course exemplified not only by the toxic gossip and
humiliation of Wil’s mother, but by Wil’s reference to the divisions between
Korean-American and Chinese-American communities in the US. In this way, the reputation of one’s family and societal expectations within Asian communities
remains a priority, and this aspect of identity is also reflected in Wil’s
struggle with revealing and embracing her homosexuality.
In addition to revealing these core aspects of Asian family
dynamics and identity, “Saving Face” does something distinguishably different
in its depiction of Asian-Americanism -- it creates complexity. While Hollywood and pop culture have a history of identifying any Asian character as a nerd or
a martial arts master, this film strays from that. Rather, it depicts Asians
and Asian-Americans as multidimensional and complex, as exemplified through Wil and her mother’s drastically different mentalities regarding racial
stereotyping of African Americans. But ultimately, “Saving Face” does a justice
for the portrayal of Asian identity in somewhat of a contradictory way. Not
only does the film create a romantic comedy storyline centered around aspects
of Asian and Asian-American custom, but it also does not overemphasize “Asianness”, creating conflicts that any non-Asian person could experience just the same as
the Asian characters on screen.