CNN's one-hour segment on Asian Americans

[SunWuKong]

it just aired (8pm to 9pm) here on the east coast. how many of you watched it? if it hasn't aired yet in your time zone, try to catch it if you can. i'll wait till later to comment.

[Banana]

Is that the one hosted by Paula Zahn?

[SunWuKong]

Is that the one hosted by Paula Zahn?

yes.

[haplesshobo]

I didn't really watch it, and only caught a glimpse of the part where Yul was speaking. But, the puzzling thing was that Yul stated that he was chosen for Survivor because he fit into a certain sterotype. And, while Yul may have an overachiever, I think he had the support of so many was because he was also breaking sterotypes of nerdy, emasculated asian male. Indeed, I'm more inclined to give the show credit because the minorities it chose didn't necessairly fall into those facile sterotypes about different minorities.

[USCTrojanzNo1]

I didn't really watch it, and only caught a glimpse of the part where Yul was speaking. But, the puzzling thing was that Yul stated that he was chosen for Survivor because he fit into a certain sterotype. And, while Yul may have an overachiever, I think he had the support of so many was because he was also breaking sterotypes of nerdy, emasculated asian male. Indeed, I'm more inclined to give the show credit because the minorities it chose didn't necessairly fall into those facile sterotypes about different minorities.

The reason for Yul's popularity, particularly among Asians, is that while he has all the positive attributes of the model minority image (Ivy League educated, both undergrand and law school, Phi Beta Kappa, valedictorian, worked at arguably the most prestigous consulting firm, etc.), he displays none of the negative stereotypes that are often associated with being an Asian overachiever.

In other words, Yul's image to Asian Americans is this: you can still be an overachiever, but have the looks and body of a supermodel.

While I do respect Yul for all his accomplishments, I think he's too perfect. He's done something that very few mere mortals can do with their lives. But b/c of Yul's image, I think the problem is that now, the media (and most realistically, Asian parents) expect every Asian American (including parents' own sons and daughters) to live up to Yul Kwon. They will say that hey, you too can be both an overachiever and have the body of a supermodel. If Yul can do it, why can't you?

[SunWuKong]

I didn't really watch it, and only caught a glimpse of the part where Yul was speaking. But, the puzzling thing was that Yul stated that he was chosen for Survivor because he fit into a certain sterotype. And, while Yul may have an overachiever, I think he had the support of so many was because he was also breaking sterotypes of nerdy, emasculated asian male. Indeed, I'm more inclined to give the show credit because the minorities it chose didn't necessairly fall into those facile sterotypes about different minorities.

Yul was on the segment? how come i completely missed that?

anyway, i thought it was alright. it was sort of an "Intro to Asian America 101" for the mainstream, and it didn't push the envelope at all. for all the time they spent discussing the model minority myth, they did not mention that -

1) it is an idea that's been used to tell blacks and Latinos that they don't need government help to progress in society.
2) it may even be used to deny Asian Americans some needed help, especially for immigrants learning to navigate through American society.
3) it belies the fact that there are whole ethnic groups and social demographics inside the Asian American community that, on the average, do not overachieve, and may actually underachieve - Asians from refugee backgrounds, and the so called "downtown" Asians that somehow missed out on the great migration to the suburban middle class lifestyle.

personally i don't think any serious discussion of the model minority myth is complete without bringing these points up. but CNN's segment was only for an hour and it was probably the first time the network did a show specifically about Asian Americans, so i didn't expect the segment to be a complete discourse on the state of Asian America today. it was probably informative for the mainstream audience, but for some of us that frequent Asian American sites online, i think the segment didn't tell us anything we already know.

i also thought that the discussion they had on the eyelid surgery was kind of unnecessary. there are really more important things to talk about, especially in the wake of the VTech massacre. but maybe Asian American women would disagree and feel that it was good they included that in the segment.

and i don't know about anybody else, but while watching the stuff they were bringing up about the model minority myth and about how mental illness is perceived in Asian communities, i was thinking - what the heck, is my family the only Asian family in the US that isn't like this? my parents never pressured me to get into an ivy league school, they wanted me to go to a great school, of course, but they were already immensely happy that i got to go to college, whereas they had to start working right away after high school when they were kids. my father barely even graduated high school. and i know that Asian Americans are the least likely to seek help with mental illness, statistics show this, but my relatives are not all hush hush and think it's shameful to go to a psychologist or psychiatrist. i don't know if this is because i'm from HK and the city was already pretty modernised by the time i was born, but while i appreciate CNN doing a segment on Asian Americans, throughout most of the show, i didn't identify much with most of what they were discussing, maybe with the except of how i feel about stereotyping in popular media.

and the girlfriend and i literally laughed out loud when, while they were discussing the eyelid surgery, one of the correspondents that were there in the discussion said that at some point when she was growing up, she realised that, "i'm Asian, and that's OK." what the hell? you're Asian, you're not paralyzed from the waist down.

[Banana]

My parents weren't like that either. They only pressed me to get into a good school so I could open more doors in terms of jobs but they always said that money doesn't matter, as long as you like you're job, that's good enough.

[eos]

i'm just wondering, with this segment and the site that i put up regarding cnn's asian-american focus, is this the first time they've done it? i don't remember seeing or hearing anything last year.

[kimpossible]

Can someone put up the name of the segment? I'm using Oh So Shitty EyeTV on my mac and it's not returning any hits for CNN using Asian Americans or Yul. I gotta record and play back on my PSP.

[SunWuKong]

Can someone put up the name of the segment? I'm using Oh So Shitty EyeTV on my mac and it's not returning any hits for CNN using Asian Americans or Yul. I gotta record and play back on my PSP.

here's the transcript.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/16/pzn.01.html

apparently Yul has also been hosting a show about Asian Americans... that airs at 6 a.m... fuck that. good thing they put the videos online.

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/american.morning/

[SunWuKong]

i also thought that the discussion they had on the eyelid surgery was kind of unnecessary. there are really more important things to talk about, especially in the wake of the VTech massacre. but maybe Asian American women would disagree and feel that it was good they included that in the segment.

i thought about this today. i think they included this because basically every subject they touched upon was easily tied back to Asian Americans' mental health. and this is probably precisely because of the VTech massacre. personally i would have rather they talked about low political representation and participation in the Asian American community, and also the glass ceiling in the corporate world.

in my own opinion, i don't think CNN would even be running these Asian American-related programs had it not been for the VTech massacre. i appreciate the mainstream exposure, but it's a shame if that's really what it takes to motivate them to do it.

[kimpossible]

There is a glass ceiling video. I'm watching it now.

[kimpossible]

in my own opinion, i don't think CNN would even be running these Asian American-related programs had it not been for the VTech massacre. i appreciate the mainstream exposure, but it's a shame if that's really what it takes to motivate them to do it.


Hubby and I think it's part of a long term marketing strategy towards Asians. I find it hard to believe the motivation isn't related to money one way or another.

[Faithless]

Is this thread like this thread (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?t=32822)?

[SunWuKong]

Hubby and I think it's part of a long term marketing strategy towards Asians. I find it hard to believe the motivation isn't related to money one way or another.

well, i think people are still wondering what the hell made the VTech killer do it. personally i think we'll never know if his race or ethnicity had anything to do with it. but i see we have ultra right wingers blaming it on uncontrolled immigration and some Asian American activist/journalist type people blaming it on immigrant Korean American upbringing or how society treats minorities. i think CNN is trying to cater to all those people that are wondering what made him do it and thought that his race had something to do with it.

i remember there was a Chinese guy named Wayne Chiang that was initially mistaken for the killer. apparently this guy was a gun ownership advocate, graduated from VTech recently, broke up with his girlfriend recently, and still lived close by. his profile matched almost perfectly, so these bloggers posted up his name, and some stupid news media were so hungry for information that they published his name just based on what the bloggers said. my officemate is also an advocate of gun ownership, and i mentioned this to him, expecting him to make the connection that he was mistaken because he was also Asian, but the first thing he mentioned was that just because he owned guns, he was mistaken for the killer. it threw me for a curve, but it makes sense. the VTech massacre brought the gun ownership issue back to the forefront because the killer was able to purchase guns so easily just because he had no prior record on him.

[kimpossible]

I think it's different at the epicenter. Over here Cho's race was barely a blip on anyone's radar. Maybe because we're (sadly) used to school shootings. Some student made a bomb threat right after VTech on campus and the message sent to staff was a hefty reminder of emergency evacuation. Asians make up a lot of the student body and staff. No one's gotten undue attention that I know of and I'm on campus daily.

Not that I don't take your word for what you're saying. Just noting the differences in a huh, weird.

[deez nuts]

i tried watching it. it was too much of a snooze fest.

[tripostrophe]

Any links to segments?

[SunWuKong]

Any links to segments?

don't know if the segment is online, but here's the transcript:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/16/pzn.01.html

note that i'm referring to the Paula Zahn's primetime show, and the segment was aired at 8PM. not to be confused with the series that Survivor Yul has been hosting which airs at 6AM.

[tripostrophe]

oh, okay. i meant the series, but i found a few (but not all) of the segments on youtube, and thanks for the link to the transcript.