Word: soong
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...would like to respond to the editorial written by Allen Soong in your October 8 issue regarding the film The Joy Luck Club and Asian-American male identity. I first note that my use of the term "Asian" refers primarily to those of East Asian descent. I do not feel qualified to address these issues in the Southeast and South Asian communities, although I'm sure there would be some interesting parallels...
Poor Allen Soong: He went to see Joy Luck Club and was left feeling hurt at the negative view of Asian men. To his credit, Allen has placed his finger on a raw nerve in the Asian-American male psyche, but he doesn't seem to understand that the characters he objected to are not simply mainstream stereotypes of Asian men (especially given the involvement of Amy Tan and Wayne Wang with the entire production process). In fact, they are images that need to be viewed in the context of the very real sexism that Asian women have...
...Although Soong cites one bean-counting male character in the film as an example of a negative stereotype, he himself resorts to a similar kind of bean-counting. True, there are no main male characters in the movie. Nor are there any lesbian or gay characters. Perhaps if there had been, the movie could have been improved. Many all-male movies could certainly have been made more complex and realistic by including female characters. But "The Joy Luck Club" should not have the responsibility of representing all Asians, just as "Dragon" should not have been expected to focus on Asian...
Several of the Asian male characters that Soong complains about are figures from the past, from a time when men were expected to prove or act upon their maleness aggressively. Certainly, there were men who did not abuse women; there were also women who were complicit in maintaining patriarchy (the film portrays many such women, including a cruel second wife, a mother who gives her daughter away, and a mother who throws her daughter out of the house after she is raped). But the truth is that throughout history, many men have actively kept good women down. Somebody ordered...
...understandable if Soong, like practically everyone in the audience, was temporarily blinded by tears at moments. But his comments also seem blind. They do not do justice to the film's power, including the effect of merely seeing a large, fine cast of Asian men and women on the screen...