Dialectic
Nov 29th, 2004, 07:54 AM
Many people have asked us to explain exactly what "Fighting 44" means.
We're warning you right now that you're about to dive into deeper waters than you expect.
Keep in mind two things about this explanation of the meaning/ symbolism/ significance of our name:
1) Though we've tried to be as comprehensive as possible, this attempt is by no means exhaustive. Further implications, currently floating around in an amorphous, half-formed state in our minds, may take clearer shape in future.
2) We may just be full of shit.
You were warned.
First, why the digit "44"? The number four is of course the worst, unluckiest number in most East Asian cultures. It brings bad luck, misfortune, and death. It is an ominous number, shunned, often ignored and unacknowledged, in the hopes that perhaps if the digit is skipped in counting and its appearances are minimized, the bad luck it brings will also disappear.
Does this not sound like the position in which the ethnic minority finds him/ herself?
The use of this number is also an acknowledgement of both our Asian heritage as well as our Western upbringing. On the simplest level, the use of "4" is a part of an attempt to appear "bad" or rebellious, in much the same way as adolescents and gangsta rappers glorify death, guns, drugs, and dangerous living. This attempt at taking something that is clearly viewed in a negative light and treating it as something positive, something to be proud to be associated with, this is very much a postmodern phenomenon (combining the "high" and the "low," or recontextualization of values) and can be largely attributed to our upbringing in North America. Though postmodernity is certainly present in Asia, particularly in Japan, it is most widespread in North America, especially in urban centers.
We are fully aware, then, of what the number 4 stands for, but we use it anyway: this is also an acknowledgement of our uniqueness, as we belong neither to the "pure" Asian or North American spheres. We are neither Asian born and raised, or White North American born and raised. We participate in both but belong to neither. In this way, we may approach the symbols, superstitions, and beliefs of either culture from both subjective and objective perspectives, and contemplate and use them in unique and creative ways. In this manner, the "4" stands for a heightened cultural awareness, an ability to transcend the limiting exclusivity structures of both cultural worldspaces and bring them together into a more insightful, more inclusive, more creative whole.
We also wished to unify the disparate and fragmented Asian populations in North America. The North American Asian demographic, in a practical sense, does not exist. They generally follow White trends, though a small youth sub-culture is developing which follows the Black. We needed a way to speak directly and impactfully to a largely apathetic audience and find a way to hit them on some fundamental level, deeper than Chineseness and Koreanness and Japaneseness and all the rest. Distaste for the number 4 is universally known among Asians, at least the significant populations of which we are aware; since we were targeting a youth/ young adult crowd, we believed that we had found the perfect universal symbol for "bad boy/ bad girl" rebellion. It seems to be working so far.
Rather than use the singular "4," we opted to double it into "44"; as is at least the case in Chinese culture, doubling something, such as happiness ("xuang xi" in marriage, for example), places greater emphasis and significance on its presence. It also has the effect of making the name seem larger and grander. Additionally, from a purely aural perspective, "Fighting 44s" has a greater weight and sense of completion than "Fighting 4s."
Finally, the question arises of why we use the term "Fighting." Again, on the simplest level, it is alliterative (and therefore orally impactful), and it evokes a sense of strength, resistance, and rebellion. Though our emphasis is on artistic endeavour and self-expression (and advocacy insofar as it relates to artistic self-expression and liberation), we could find no other adjective/ adverb which had the same level of impact or fit so well with the "44" idea. As I described in the Slit-Eyed Vision of our Declarations of Intent, however, "Fighting" has deeper implications than mere reactionary conflict or rebellious struggle: we "fight" eternally to better ourselves, to never let falter our strength or awareness or compassion, to transcend physical, psychological, and spiritual limitations.
Every moment, we die and are reborn. Any moment, we could pass from this earth forever. Fighting 44s reminds us that we have some important shit to do while we're here, and we're the only ones who can do it.
So if your folks ever ask you why you're wearing a 44 on your t-shirt, stick your chopsticks into your rice bowl, give them a clock and a Zen-style pinch on the nose, and tell 'em you were sent down to raise holy Hell by the original Bad Luck Bunch.
We're warning you right now that you're about to dive into deeper waters than you expect.
Keep in mind two things about this explanation of the meaning/ symbolism/ significance of our name:
1) Though we've tried to be as comprehensive as possible, this attempt is by no means exhaustive. Further implications, currently floating around in an amorphous, half-formed state in our minds, may take clearer shape in future.
2) We may just be full of shit.
You were warned.
First, why the digit "44"? The number four is of course the worst, unluckiest number in most East Asian cultures. It brings bad luck, misfortune, and death. It is an ominous number, shunned, often ignored and unacknowledged, in the hopes that perhaps if the digit is skipped in counting and its appearances are minimized, the bad luck it brings will also disappear.
Does this not sound like the position in which the ethnic minority finds him/ herself?
The use of this number is also an acknowledgement of both our Asian heritage as well as our Western upbringing. On the simplest level, the use of "4" is a part of an attempt to appear "bad" or rebellious, in much the same way as adolescents and gangsta rappers glorify death, guns, drugs, and dangerous living. This attempt at taking something that is clearly viewed in a negative light and treating it as something positive, something to be proud to be associated with, this is very much a postmodern phenomenon (combining the "high" and the "low," or recontextualization of values) and can be largely attributed to our upbringing in North America. Though postmodernity is certainly present in Asia, particularly in Japan, it is most widespread in North America, especially in urban centers.
We are fully aware, then, of what the number 4 stands for, but we use it anyway: this is also an acknowledgement of our uniqueness, as we belong neither to the "pure" Asian or North American spheres. We are neither Asian born and raised, or White North American born and raised. We participate in both but belong to neither. In this way, we may approach the symbols, superstitions, and beliefs of either culture from both subjective and objective perspectives, and contemplate and use them in unique and creative ways. In this manner, the "4" stands for a heightened cultural awareness, an ability to transcend the limiting exclusivity structures of both cultural worldspaces and bring them together into a more insightful, more inclusive, more creative whole.
We also wished to unify the disparate and fragmented Asian populations in North America. The North American Asian demographic, in a practical sense, does not exist. They generally follow White trends, though a small youth sub-culture is developing which follows the Black. We needed a way to speak directly and impactfully to a largely apathetic audience and find a way to hit them on some fundamental level, deeper than Chineseness and Koreanness and Japaneseness and all the rest. Distaste for the number 4 is universally known among Asians, at least the significant populations of which we are aware; since we were targeting a youth/ young adult crowd, we believed that we had found the perfect universal symbol for "bad boy/ bad girl" rebellion. It seems to be working so far.
Rather than use the singular "4," we opted to double it into "44"; as is at least the case in Chinese culture, doubling something, such as happiness ("xuang xi" in marriage, for example), places greater emphasis and significance on its presence. It also has the effect of making the name seem larger and grander. Additionally, from a purely aural perspective, "Fighting 44s" has a greater weight and sense of completion than "Fighting 4s."
Finally, the question arises of why we use the term "Fighting." Again, on the simplest level, it is alliterative (and therefore orally impactful), and it evokes a sense of strength, resistance, and rebellion. Though our emphasis is on artistic endeavour and self-expression (and advocacy insofar as it relates to artistic self-expression and liberation), we could find no other adjective/ adverb which had the same level of impact or fit so well with the "44" idea. As I described in the Slit-Eyed Vision of our Declarations of Intent, however, "Fighting" has deeper implications than mere reactionary conflict or rebellious struggle: we "fight" eternally to better ourselves, to never let falter our strength or awareness or compassion, to transcend physical, psychological, and spiritual limitations.
Every moment, we die and are reborn. Any moment, we could pass from this earth forever. Fighting 44s reminds us that we have some important shit to do while we're here, and we're the only ones who can do it.
So if your folks ever ask you why you're wearing a 44 on your t-shirt, stick your chopsticks into your rice bowl, give them a clock and a Zen-style pinch on the nose, and tell 'em you were sent down to raise holy Hell by the original Bad Luck Bunch.