Where are they now: the “Donger”
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I saw this on another blog–8Asians.com. NPR yesterday produced a show that covers Asian American male media stereotypes with special reference to Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles. They include an interview with Gedde Watanabe, the guy who played the “Donger,” who is now 52 and still acting. Read the article here.
I’ve always said that the problem isn’t the media, but rather it’s a problem with Asian American culture. Colonialism plays a role in shaping culture, but if we would pressure universities to actively create Asian American Studies programs based on knowledge and history rather than on stereotypes, we’d have much better progress on the media front. It all comes from the writing, which comes from education.
Personally, I don’t have a strong opinion on the “Donger” either way, positive or negative. Actors play roles, some of which are good, others of which are bad. Some actors will lead the charge for change, while others will just do whatever their employers pay them to do. If the Donger hadn’t taken this degrading role, someone else would have. Yes, it’s racially stereotypical, but focusing on actors doesn’t address the main problems in education and cultural creation.
One really good feature on this news article is the link to one of Adrian Tomine’s comics that references the Dong-meister. Now that’s cool.
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SamuraiJack
5:14 am | Mar 26, 2008I’ll have to disagree with you on a couple of points. First, I think AA studies won’t solve the problem. It has to start sooner, probably during high school. Studying Asian heroes, discussing Asian American issues, and teaching them to respect Asia more.
People say it’s not the media, that it’s culture and whatnot. However, the media shapes culture in a large way. Not everyone is going to take an AA studies class, but almost everyone will have watched TV, movies, billboards, magazines, newspapers, radio, etc… — for the most part, controlled by white people.
Personally, I think Watanabe is a misguided fool when it comes to Asian American issues. In the audio portion of the interview, he laughs when he recounts how he has to use a thick Asian accent for his role. I would think by now he’s wised up a bit - apparently not.
jaehwan
11:38 am | Mar 26, 2008Hey SJ:
1. You’re right about Watanabe. I read the article before I posted, but I just finished listening to the audio section. That guy is ignorant. You would think that he’d be apologizing for that terrible role and the racism his role enabled. (I think I was young enough so that I just missed the racial stuff that came from this movie.) It’s almost as if he’s laughing at us.
2. You’re right in saying that it starts early, but I’d also argue that we need to focus on one aspect of the culture. Children are too young to immediately use that knowledge of heroes, and it easily could go to naught if Kingstonism is the dominant philosophy when they get to college and study their people. Focusing on AA Studies yields immediate changes among people about to start a career, plus it could serve as a beacon to parents who can see what the culture can do for people in terms of recognition and career.
nightshade
10:58 pm | Mar 26, 2008That Tomine comic is so funny.
We definitely need AA studies to evolve–so that AAs with a critical practice and an agenda that is set with AA culture in mind can go on to influence high school and elementary school kids.
As for media, I’m with Joseph Conrad in thinking that newspapers and magazines (and now television and movies) have as much lasting power as pornography.
We need to address academics and culture and colonization–then we’ll have the know-how and power to dismantle problems with media. We don’t control the media–a white agenda does. I think I’ve said it a dozen times on this board–it’s not about changing the media. That will do nothing. It’s just like having a boycott on a single movie–nothing really gets accomplished and the next bullshit movie comes out.
It’s about gaining power and having a strong cultural base so that we can change the media in a more permanent way.
jaehwan
12:54 am | Mar 27, 2008What about blogs? If I’m a blogger who’s trying to tear up the blogosphere, does that mean I’m a wannabe porn star?
Don’t answer that. :)
One thing that is different about blogs/message boards is that it is interactive; people get to talk back. I think that blogs also have less staying power than, say, books, which people will read and debate over and over, but they help us to connect, which can create the books and programs necessary to gain power and create a strong cultural base. In a way, Al Gore has the right idea: make it interactive and have the communication go both ways.
I agree with nightshade; the media will follow culture. In my opinion, art imitates life. Most TV shows are superficial. Some dude comes up with an idea while taking a shower, and he creates a miniseries. It shows, and then people forget about it. The real key is having cultural power and the financial/organizational means to make ourselves heard. Eventually the media will catch up. That’s my opinion anyway.
SamuraiJack
10:55 pm | Mar 30, 2008I think that it’s a case of the chicken and the egg. Yes, art imitates life, but life imitates art, and so on. The problem with doing it at a grassroots level is that it requires a broad reach, and a high level of organisation. I view the media as a way to reach out to the masses, but if there was an organisation that could reach out to kids and instill that culture and pride within them, then that would be even more effective.
Once kids reach university, I think it’s very hard to change their mindset around, as they’ve already been affected by the media and their peers. For example, if Jeff Ma was educated to be aware of Asian issues, he might have insisted that the book that his story was based off of had Asian names, and that the movie had Asian leads.