Even though I realize that I am lucky
to live in the time and place that I
do and that I have many luxuries that
not everyone in the world has, I want
to look around sometimes and scream,
really loudly. I can not believe how
lazy we all have become and yes, I
do include myself in this rant. When
I say lazy I mean both physically and
mentally. People are not using their minds
to their full potential and see people
getting bigger and bigger every year
(meaning fatter). And does anyone else
think that it is ridiculous that people
who play professional sports get payed
millions of dollars when teachers get
paid CONSIDERABLY less. That is insane
to me because the teachers are in charge
of educating the future of this country
and if they are worried about paying
their bills on time or getting to their
second job, then they can not do the job
to the full extent of their abilities.
Basically, the recent election of Obama
to the Presidency has shown that the
United States has made several good steps
forward, but a quick glance around what is
going on in the country shows that we
"Still have miles to go before we sleep."
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Looking Back
Looking back over the semester, I realized that
I learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing it.
This class was one of the most entertaining
classes that I have ever taken part in. The
people in the class with me and the teacher
made the experiences that I had in the class
highly enjoyable. However, the class was not
just fun and games. Over the course of the
semester my eyes were opened to a piece of
history that had before been unknown to me.
When I was a junior in high school, I went
on a ten day trip to the south, that took me
through the major events of the Civil Rights
Movement. So, before I took this class I was
not unaware of the racial injustices that are
part of this countries history. I knew about
the Trail of Tears and about the Japanese
Internment camps after Pearl Harbor was
bombed. So, I was not completely unaware of
those pieces of history, but I did not know
the extent or the whole story. And I still don't,
even if my eyes are opened a little wider then
they were before, because the denseness of the
material can never be completely and wholey
covered in one semester. So at the end of the
semester, I realized that though I have learned
a lot, there is still more that I need to learn.
I learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing it.
This class was one of the most entertaining
classes that I have ever taken part in. The
people in the class with me and the teacher
made the experiences that I had in the class
highly enjoyable. However, the class was not
just fun and games. Over the course of the
semester my eyes were opened to a piece of
history that had before been unknown to me.
When I was a junior in high school, I went
on a ten day trip to the south, that took me
through the major events of the Civil Rights
Movement. So, before I took this class I was
not unaware of the racial injustices that are
part of this countries history. I knew about
the Trail of Tears and about the Japanese
Internment camps after Pearl Harbor was
bombed. So, I was not completely unaware of
those pieces of history, but I did not know
the extent or the whole story. And I still don't,
even if my eyes are opened a little wider then
they were before, because the denseness of the
material can never be completely and wholey
covered in one semester. So at the end of the
semester, I realized that though I have learned
a lot, there is still more that I need to learn.
Pop! Producing Our Power
This last Monday, the SFSU Ethnic Studies 210
classes gathered at the Brava theater in the
Mission and performed for the people. Even though
I am not a theater inclined person myself, or
inclined towards performance of any kind, but I
have to admit I was moved by the event. Everyone
there was so full of energy and purpose that it was
hard not to get caught up in the whirl-wind of it
all. The way that the other classes took what we
had learned all semester and taught the audience
something was really fun and funny. One group from
another class did a skit about how people should
not try to change who and what they are to fit in.
In the skit, the group showed the audience that
being Asian-American is not something to be ashamed
of, but something to be proud of. What made the skit
entertaining was that it was set in the world of
Harry Potter. What my group did was we made a news
cast about SFSU as if a full-scale strike
was taking place on campus right now. In the news
cast we interviewed students, a TA, and a teacher
about the "strike." Granted the strike that we
talked about in the news cast was fake and the
people we interviewed were peers from our class,
that did not make their answers any less truthful.
At the end of the night, I felt a sense of relief
that the madness was over and also a sense of
purpose. The purpose that I felt was not focused,
it was just a sense that I would not take any
injustice that I witnessed lying down. If I ever
see something that does not ring true or right, that
I would do everything in my power to try to change
it or at least move towards the right direction.
classes gathered at the Brava theater in the
Mission and performed for the people. Even though
I am not a theater inclined person myself, or
inclined towards performance of any kind, but I
have to admit I was moved by the event. Everyone
there was so full of energy and purpose that it was
hard not to get caught up in the whirl-wind of it
all. The way that the other classes took what we
had learned all semester and taught the audience
something was really fun and funny. One group from
another class did a skit about how people should
not try to change who and what they are to fit in.
In the skit, the group showed the audience that
being Asian-American is not something to be ashamed
of, but something to be proud of. What made the skit
entertaining was that it was set in the world of
Harry Potter. What my group did was we made a news
cast about SFSU as if a full-scale strike
was taking place on campus right now. In the news
cast we interviewed students, a TA, and a teacher
about the "strike." Granted the strike that we
talked about in the news cast was fake and the
people we interviewed were peers from our class,
that did not make their answers any less truthful.
At the end of the night, I felt a sense of relief
that the madness was over and also a sense of
purpose. The purpose that I felt was not focused,
it was just a sense that I would not take any
injustice that I witnessed lying down. If I ever
see something that does not ring true or right, that
I would do everything in my power to try to change
it or at least move towards the right direction.
"A STORY TO FAMILY"-By:Crystle Presa
I wrote this poem in response to break the media image of Asian American women, as well as break the image of how my family percieves me and how they assume they know the real me.
"A Story to Family"-by: Crystle Presa
Young, dumb, pretty, and naive is all you think of me.
Look where I've grown up, what I've gone through, and where I'm at today,
How can dumb and naive even be a possibility?
In a testosterone driven world, respect and acceptance granted to a double headed people.
Respect given based on physical strength and thoughts of cerebral smarts.
Lemme break it down to you my brotha, I own it.
Mentally capable, inner strength is what rules me to those before.
Brown colored skin resembles royalty and greatness in my book, striving for better, working hard at any cost.
Exploitation of my sisters on the screen, don’t you see it’s a white man’s corporate dollars running this fictitious game?
Educated with state smarts and street wisdom, mama didnt raise no fool.
A brown bitch under minority lines, you think you have it hard, double up on my pain.
Independent to stand alone head to the sky, following the kulintang beat of my heart.
Graciously walking through bamboo obstacles
I choose my own path, not conforming to society, but what's right for me and the god that judges me.
Error pop ups, woman enough to own up to mistakes and grown enough to learn from them.
Misunderstood, underestimated, and complex, you think you know, but the diary says you have no idea.
I'm grown. I've grown.
A woman. A pinay to be exact.
"A Story to Family"-by: Crystle Presa
Young, dumb, pretty, and naive is all you think of me.
Look where I've grown up, what I've gone through, and where I'm at today,
How can dumb and naive even be a possibility?
In a testosterone driven world, respect and acceptance granted to a double headed people.
Respect given based on physical strength and thoughts of cerebral smarts.
Lemme break it down to you my brotha, I own it.
Mentally capable, inner strength is what rules me to those before.
Brown colored skin resembles royalty and greatness in my book, striving for better, working hard at any cost.
Exploitation of my sisters on the screen, don’t you see it’s a white man’s corporate dollars running this fictitious game?
Educated with state smarts and street wisdom, mama didnt raise no fool.
A brown bitch under minority lines, you think you have it hard, double up on my pain.
Independent to stand alone head to the sky, following the kulintang beat of my heart.
Graciously walking through bamboo obstacles
I choose my own path, not conforming to society, but what's right for me and the god that judges me.
Error pop ups, woman enough to own up to mistakes and grown enough to learn from them.
Misunderstood, underestimated, and complex, you think you know, but the diary says you have no idea.
I'm grown. I've grown.
A woman. A pinay to be exact.
ROCK THE SCHOOL BELLS 2
On November 22, 2008, Skyline College produced their second annual show "Rock the School Bells 2". It's a Hip Hop conference containing workshops and a showcase of performers. This conference is used to educate the community about the history of Hip Hop and to gain a better understanding of its elements. One of the things I found interesting about the showcase is that most of the performers were Asian American or of a different nationality besides African American. A lot of the dance crews consisted of mostly Asian Americans, but some had a mix. The MCs were mostly Asian American as well and the ones with Pilipino MCs spit a little bit in Tagalog. This showcase displayed how Hip Hop is becoming more diverse not just by its listeners/viewers, but also by its performers. I think Asian Americans have gotten into Hip Hop not only because it's the most listened genre of music amongst our youth, but we also share the common struggle of those who first started this music we call Hip Hop. Poverty, corruption from the government, injustice, racism, and inequality is what we face as well as African Americans, Latin Americans, Native Americans, etc. Hip Hop became an outlet for our voices to be heard. For so long, Asian Americans were seen as quiet, kept to ourselves, and allowing others to step on us. Now, "they" no longer have that power of us because we're finally doing something about it. Hip Hop seems to be the passageway into other sources of rebellion like protest.
ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN ON THE BIG SCREEN
In my Asian American sex history class, we watched a film about Asian American women in films and how we're portrayed by the media. Early Hollywood films, Asian American women were perceived as lotus flowers or dragon ladies, but never both. Asian American women were submissive, weak, and meek or they were displayed as promiscuous, exotic, and dangerous. These perceptions have caused men outside of the Asian American community to think that this is how Asian American women act. Perceptions like these create thoughts that Asian American women can easily be used, mistreated, and manipulated into sex toys and women who would bend over backwards for their man. This mindset is dangerous to the Asian American woman because these thoughts can lead to different types of violence like rape. In all actuality, Asian American women are not just lotus flowers or dragon ladies, but a mixture of everything. The portrayal of Asian American women in film now is a bit different than before. Asian American women roles are more realistic to the common Asian American woman next door. There are roles that display Asian American women as submissive, promiscuous, exotic, and dangerous. The more degrading traits as weak and meek rarely occur. I think these roles have changed in order to relate to Asian American women of today, instead of some made up idea created years ago by American producers and directors. Nowadays we have actresses, celebrities, and models that portray Asian American women in a better light such as Lucy Lu, the Asian girl who played the female Wolverine in X-Men 2, Kimora Lee Simmons, Masuimi Max, Margaret Cho, and much more.
Besides the overall portrayal of Asian American women in cinema, the issue of interracial relationships occurred. In the film we watched in class, it displayed Caucasian women playing Asian American roles due to the fact that interracial relationships were not allowed. This was interesting to me because the overall perception of Asian American women by ethnicities outside of the Asian community brought out generalizations and stereotypes of Asian Americans. Hollywood felt that chinky eyes and a submissive weak or dangerous personality fully represented an Asian American woman. To some extent, that was more offensive than giving an Asian American woman a stereotypical role because I felt the average Asian American woman was being mocked and misunderstood by the media and different films were giving the message to its viewers that these representations were okay and valid. If it was not for the film "Walk Like a Dragon", the idea of interracial relationships would still be unaccepted.
Besides the overall portrayal of Asian American women in cinema, the issue of interracial relationships occurred. In the film we watched in class, it displayed Caucasian women playing Asian American roles due to the fact that interracial relationships were not allowed. This was interesting to me because the overall perception of Asian American women by ethnicities outside of the Asian community brought out generalizations and stereotypes of Asian Americans. Hollywood felt that chinky eyes and a submissive weak or dangerous personality fully represented an Asian American woman. To some extent, that was more offensive than giving an Asian American woman a stereotypical role because I felt the average Asian American woman was being mocked and misunderstood by the media and different films were giving the message to its viewers that these representations were okay and valid. If it was not for the film "Walk Like a Dragon", the idea of interracial relationships would still be unaccepted.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
POPPOP
POW -BANG and it was over, haha. POP! it was fun, although it was stressful to bang it out in 2-3 days! It was no ones fault, but our own...we had all thanksgiving break and didn't do anything. But, like every big project we've done in this class, it never fails to be empowering and ...just a really good experience. If you are the type of student who puts your all in your classes then this class can't fail to teach something new about culture, whether it may be your own, or a culture that you didn't know shit about. And the reason why this class was such a good experience was because we created a safe place amongst ourselves, in this classroom, and in front of these particular people -to open up about our thoughts and feelings, we opened the floor to opinion, argument, agreement, constructive criticism, but never embarrassment or put downs. We were comfortable to perform, to speak, and at the same time stand for what we beleived was right or wrong. Creating this safe environment we've made ourselves realize that "People Power" STILL exists. This kind of power is easily forgotten in the everyday and definitely taken for granted. People forget - if you get enough people to stand with you and feel as strongly as you do about something, that you hold the power for change.
Fil-Am presence
I've noticed that we Filipino Americans have trouble holdin' down a spot in the downtown, castro and other parts of the city. I know, I know "we come from Daly City where it's foggy because we make a lot of rice"......who the heck made that up? although it is where many of the filipino americans reside, we have no significant mark in downtown like- chinatown! or japantown! or little italy? there are cultures in the city that have a designated place, even though they are mainly for tourists, it is still marked as their own. I can't help but let it bother me. I've had an uncle try to put up a cafe in the castro area...which maybe some of you knew about- it was called "Kape @ 16th & Dejon". I even worked there for a short time and there were barely any filipino americans coming to support the cafe on weekdays, but many white folks came to check it out, and even just asked what the heck was up with the word "Kape"?? Sadly the cafe closed down in less than a year. The filipino food served on the weekends attracted filipinos from daly city just to eat, but it wasn't enough to support the amount of loss during the week. That was where i realized that there were plently of folks in san francisco who barely knew anything about filipino american culture, and partly because there isn't much of a strong presence.
POETRY RESPONSE
BARBIE III
A child's play thing, once felt fortunate to own.
Pretty blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect nose,
skinny body, a fashionista with a million shoes,
a pink corvette, a dream house.
Your overall image entailed "The Good Life",
irony to your foreign makers.
Exploited factory workers.
Long hours, a few bills,
a struggle to make ends meat
and education is key,
a continuous fight over injustice and corruption,
living in a land paying for endless dues.
Poverty stricken archipelago,
Our people can make you, but can never own you.
So they try to be like you,
lightened skinned, blue eyes hovering its honest quality,
a reconstructive science project,
why can't you leave them be?
Our access to those like my sisters,
are denied...value or by order.
But why are you easily plastered?
Overlooked, am I not worth it?
INSIGNIFICANT.
Barbie, where is the life you portray?
A child's play thing, once felt fortunate to own.
Pretty blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect nose,
skinny body, a fashionista with a million shoes,
a pink corvette, a dream house.
Your overall image entailed "The Good Life",
irony to your foreign makers.
Exploited factory workers.
Long hours, a few bills,
a struggle to make ends meat
and education is key,
a continuous fight over injustice and corruption,
living in a land paying for endless dues.
Poverty stricken archipelago,
Our people can make you, but can never own you.
So they try to be like you,
lightened skinned, blue eyes hovering its honest quality,
a reconstructive science project,
why can't you leave them be?
Our access to those like my sisters,
are denied...value or by order.
But why are you easily plastered?
Overlooked, am I not worth it?
INSIGNIFICANT.
Barbie, where is the life you portray?
House of Sisig
I'm used to eating filipino food at home, and usually nothing compares to the taste or "timpla" of my family's cooking. Every filipino restaurant you go to makes something wrong, or it tastes more like mexican food -or something completely different. Especially if you go to filipino restaurants like Goldilock's, Jollibee, or Red Ribbon...it never quite tastes right. One sunday, my family and I decided to try eating at House of Sisig in Daly City (across the street from Ihop). We found that the food was not bad at all, the bangus (milk fish) tasted really good and they never failed to give you the RIGHT sauce to go with any food you were eating- like bangus goes with white vinegar---not soy sauce damnit!! (like other restaurants) There is a wait time for the food because the they cook the food fresh for you, instead of leaving it under a heating lamp all day (ahem-Goldilicks) until it gets stale and crusty. The customer service is good, but not the best! They are very polite, but sometimes forget to check on you if you need something more. Despite all that, the goodness of the food and politeness of the servers made up for everything else. If you can't find home-cooked food at home, I recommend House of Sisig!
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