Consequences of a European perspective

By Kyra-lin Hom

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" in theatre. It was a flashy and drool-worthy display of sleek, sexy cars and skin-baring female beauties. I wanted the glam and the action, and I was not disappointed. However, despite that I had determined not to analyze plot, I (half-Chinese and half-Caucasian) could not help but be put off by its obvious ploy towards white Americans.

The basics are these: through Hollywood standard luck, an Caucasian American teenage boy who has never heard of the racing technique "drifting" before is able to not only master the technique and become the top dog in the Tokyo underground by the conclusion of the film but also steals the girlfriend of the previous Japanese "Drift King," the non-Japanese female lead.

Why does this white foreigner suddenly become the top dog hero in a manner only possible if he were a once a generation racing prodigy? Why are both the leading lad and lady in a film set in Tokyo, Japan not Japanese? Simple, because this movie was made by and for Americans.

The message that these movies and other similar venues send, is that they don't think an item will appeal to the general American audience unless it portrays Americans in a superior or at least more prominent light. Either they are underestimating the American public, or this is an accurate reflection of a close-minded society.

In most public high schools, two foreign AP history classes are available: AP European history and AP world history. Freshmen year, before AP classes are an option, the history class is entitled World History, however, Asia is barely touched (Africa is becoming a larger and larger part of the curriculum). During my freshmen year I was lucky enough to have an open minded teacher who did attempt to teach a unit based on the Chinese dynasties. Unfortunately his lack of experience in that field made for a less than satisfactory study.

As I am more so mentioning the ignoring of Asian cultures, I would like to point out a significant difference between African Americans and Asians in America. Due to the cruel practice of slavery, most African American people in America have had to develop their own specifically American culture, which is nowadays a hugely important aspect of modern America. Most Asians in America have a country of origin and culture to fall back upon. Therefore they are not intrinsically a part of American pop culture and thus, it would appear, considered a different demographic.

Not to side totally with the Asians within this country, the year 2000 census showed that they compose 13 percent of Seattle's population, making them the second largest racial group in the city (Whites being the largest). Many eastside schools have upwards of 20 percent Asian students. African Americans make up only 8.4 percent of Seattle's population.

Harping and preaching about racism and unfair treatment is not my intention. I am hardly the poster child for any racially based campaign. It is entirely true that this country is, for the most part, attempting to amalgamate rather than segregate. The inclusion of Asia and Africa at all in the public school courses, for example.

I just want to point out the holes in this supposedly accepting nation of equality, and encourage people to ask questions. Are you really as progressive as you think you are?

Kyra-lin Hom can be reached at kl_hom@yahoo.com