The Namesake

[USCTrojanzNo1]

Anybody think this film is worth seeing?

Heard some great reviews about this movie. And I like Kal Penn a lot and I think he's an extremely talented actor who looks like he's finally landed a decent role outside of Harold and Kumar. I also heard that this movie speaks greatly about the immigrant experience.

Plus this film is suppose to feature a powerful AM/WF relationship...something you don't see often.

Any thoughts?

[SunWuKong]

Anybody think this film is worth seeing?

Heard some great reviews about this movie. And I like Kal Penn a lot and I think he's an extremely talented actor who looks like he's finally landed a decent role outside of Harold and Kumar. I also heard that this movie speaks greatly about the immigrant experience.

Plus this film is suppose to feature a powerful AM/WF relationship...something you don't see often.

Any thoughts?

yeah i think it's worth seeing. the story is pretty good. "speaks greatly" about the immigrant experience? it's not really speaking anything new about the immigrant experience that hasn't been said on film before though. immigrant parents came to the country poor, American-born kids grew up not wanting to be part of the ethnic culture, then the kids "find themselves" and get re-acquainted with their ethnic roots. pretty typical progression actually, for these kinds of stories.

[Banana]

I read the book and I'd suggest it over the movie honestly.

[AngryABCGirl]

yeah i think it's worth seeing. the story is pretty good. "speaks greatly" about the immigrant experience? it's not really speaking anything new about the immigrant experience that hasn't been said on film before though. immigrant parents came to the country poor, American-born kids grew up not wanting to be part of the ethnic culture, then the kids "find themselves" and get re-acquainted with their ethnic roots. pretty typical progression actually, for these kinds of stories.

I heard the movie was great and really want to see it and can't find where to download it anywhere. Clearly they don't have it here, the closet place is Singapore. I'll wait till someone can mail me the DVD.

The book is really different from the average immigrant narrative though that moves behind identity as a process of finding ethnic roots, etc. that's a lot more realistic and less corny. I think the book is more focused on the story of Gogol's mother in her issues of nationalism, immigration, and identity rather than the main character's, whose issues have more to do with his life shaped by his father's accident and his name. I think the movie frames the story a lot more about Gogol and the 2nd generation immigrant narrative.

There's also a lot more said about longing and the process of grieving across seas and cultures and not a rags to riches story that's more realistic of immigrants these days and planting down roots and uprooting them again when the mother character leaves Boston back for Calcutta. I read it sometime last year after I saw the trailer and couldn't put it down, it's pretty refreshing and definitely not your Amy Tan fare.

[SunWuKong]

There's also a lot more said about longing and the process of grieving across seas and cultures and not a rags to riches story that's more realistic of immigrants these days and planting down roots and uprooting them again when the mother character leaves Boston back for Calcutta. I read it sometime last year after I saw the trailer and couldn't put it down, it's pretty refreshing and definitely not your Amy Tan fare.

oh god, Amy Tan writes fictional mysticism mumble jumble for the white readers. in other words, she sells orientalism to America.

i guess i don't blame her if she can make tons of $$$ doing it.

[yoMAMA]

i guess i don't blame her if she can make tons of $$$ doing it.

i heard that she takes home at least $ 10 mil at book.

crap sells.

[bluemonq]

oh god, Amy Tan writes fictional mysticism mumble jumble for the white readers. in other words, she sells orientalism to America.

i guess i don't blame her if she can make tons of $$$ doing it.
wait... so you're ok with her exploiting and perpetuating stereotypes and arguably harmful preconceived notions? i remember having to read "the joy luck club" and watch the movie for junior high, and i was *not* okay with it.

[SunWuKong]

wait... so you're ok with her exploiting and perpetuating stereotypes?

i don't like her books but yes, i'm ok with it. i don't think she's "exploiting and perpetuating stereotypes", it's not like she writes about geisha dolls and rickshaw drivers. what she does is adds a lot of mysticism mumble jumble to her stories, and they're not realistic. i also think her idea of the Chinese American or Asian American identity is very outdated. she did grow up in a different era.

[bluemonq]

Pop quiz: off the top of your head, what male Chinese characters (or other Asian ethnicity for that matter) can you name that has come off well - or at the very least, not poorly - in an Amy Tan novel? Now, from that list, which of them have played a pivotal role in the story, ie, could not have been replaced with some other character, say an aunt or cousin? I haven't yet read Saving Fish from Drowning, but that list comes up very, very short. I would say a disproportionate number of Asian males in her stories are/were abusive, penny-pinching, ineffectual, and/or dead; in short, "Asian males don't know how to treat their women right". Caucasian males, on the other hand, have a better time of it.

I'm probably not going to convince you of my view, and you're probably not going to convince me, so we'll agree to disagree on this. I just wanted to point out that what Amy Tan writes is far from harmless.

[SunWuKong]

Pop quiz: off the top of your head, what male Chinese characters (or other Asian ethnicity for that matter) can you name that has come off well - or at the very least, not poorly - in an Amy Tan novel? Now, from that list, which of them have played a pivotal role in the story, ie, could not have been replaced with some other character, say an aunt or cousin? I haven't yet read Saving Fish from Drowning, but that list comes up very, very short. I would say a disproportionate number of Asian males in her stories are/were abusive, penny-pinching, ineffectual, and/or dead; in short, "Asian males don't know how to treat their women right". Caucasian males, on the other hand, have a better time of it.

I'm probably not going to convince you of my view, and you're probably not going to convince me, so we'll agree to disagree on this. I just wanted to point out that what Amy Tan writes is far from harmless.

yeah you know, i don't really keep a running counter on which Amy Tan male Asian character is "good" and which one is "bad". kudos to you if you like to do that on your spare time or something. but i'm entirely unfazed by what people might start thinking about Chinese people after they read her books. i only read her up to Hundred Secret Senses, after which i decided i couldn't stand her writing anymore.

[bluemonq]

meh, fair enough. i read all her books because i don't believe you should bash writer until you've read what they wrote. as for memorizing "good" and "bad" characters, i tend to remember stories by the characters and not the plot. with amy tan, it's pretty easy: see if you can find any "good ones", of *any* race. makes for a pretty short list.

[Banana]

Not to bash Asian or Asian American female authors but I've found that all their stories have stereotypical portrayals of Asian men.

I just got done reading "China Dolls" which was written by two young Asian American women. Oy, I needed a barf bag.

And then you have them taking pictures with other Asian men that read it with a shit eating grin on their face that screams "I'm a fuckin eunuch so kick me in the face."

[Adaon]

I enjoyed the movie, am looking for the book now.

[Yeahman]

The Namesake was good. I usually don't like these kinds of movies but if you do, it's great. My mom would love it.

yeah i think it's worth seeing. the story is pretty good. "speaks greatly" about the immigrant experience? it's not really speaking anything new about the immigrant experience that hasn't been said on film before though. immigrant parents came to the country poor, American-born kids grew up not wanting to be part of the ethnic culture, then the kids "find themselves" and get re-acquainted with their ethnic roots. pretty typical progression actually, for these kinds of stories.
I think it goes one step farther than most of these kinds of movies. "Finding his roots" ends up not bringing the happiness that he (and the audience) anticipated.

[AngryABCGirl]

The Namesake was good. I usually don't like these kinds of movies but if you do, it's great. My mom would love it.


I think it goes one step farther than most of these kinds of movies. "Finding his roots" ends up not bringing the happiness that he (and the audience) anticipated.

That's true, in the end the character does finds a closer sense of his indian side, although it's disputable that he was more secure with his identity than his parents were in the whole story, but that doesn't bring him any closer to any realization of himself or happiness. The ending is pretty bittersweet actually, but realistic. I don't know how it played out in the movie.

[yoMAMA]

That's true, in the end the character does finds a closer sense of his indian side, although it's disputable that he was more secure with his identity than his parents were in the whole story, but that doesn't bring him any closer to any realization of himself or happiness. The ending is pretty bittersweet actually, but realistic. I don't know how it played out in the movie.

saw it with my mom tonight.

we both loved it!

i agree that it's the perfect movie to watch with your mother, especially if you come from immigrant (and asian immigrant) families.

[Banana]

Yea, I tend to be a little more tolerant of my parents' odd ways but one thing I could never understand is their perpetual fear of disaster which seems to be rife in all immigrant communities.

I was working out and I also take multivitamins. My mom put two and two together and since I'm working out AND taking pills, I must be taking steroids.

It took me 2 months to convince her these were actually vitamins and not steroids in a vitamin bottle.

[SunWuKong]

Yea, I tend to be a little more tolerant of my parents' odd ways but one thing I could never understand is their perpetual fear of disaster which seems to be rife in all immigrant communities.

I was working out and I also take multivitamins. My mom put two and two together and since I'm working out AND taking pills, I must be taking steroids.

It took me 2 months to convince her these were actually vitamins and not steroids in a vitamin bottle.

do you really see this "perpetual fear of disaster" in other immigrants as well? or just your parents? because i personally don't see it.

[AngryABCGirl]

I finally saw this because it came out on DVD. It was a lot better than I expected, though very different from the book, I thought it was a decent adaption. The book has a lot more details so it makes it richer, but it's still excellent.

I'm gonna see it with my folks during Christmas, I'm sure they can relate to it. If anything I think the main character of the story is Ashima and Ashoke's (I think it's more emphasized in the book) journey more that Gogol's, which is nice. I like the story because most films about being immigration in America is seen through the eyes of a rebellious 2nd generation, like the Debut for example, while this one is seen strongly from both and displays the disconnect very sympathetically.

If anything most diaspora stories emphasizing the breaking off and Americanizing of a 2nd generation being the end result, while I think this movie has a less idealistic view and one more based in reality where both worlds exist in lives without contradicting each other so to speak.