Shortcomings
Recently as I clicked around the internets, I came across an excerpt of Adrian Tomine’s Shortcomings. I was hooked. I’m not really a comic book graphic novel person, but after reading Persepolis I and II and American Born Chinese, maybe I am a graphic novel person. These books rock, and not only because I can finish the book in a weekend and feel like I’m actually reading something. I think the combination of snippets of conversation and some simple imagery can go a long way in conveying a message. Maybe the fact that it’s so bare bones makes the message that much more obvious. But that can’t be *it*, because some of the stuff in Shortcoming or American Born Chinese is so complicated.
In one of my favorite scenes, Ben Tanaka and his girl friend Miko are leaving an Asian American film festival. Ben, king of pessimism, attacks the film and everyone who cheered for it because it was an Asian American film… because to him, it was just a bad movie that they applauded simply because it was about Asian Americans. Hmmm. Have I ever been part of that?
I laughed and cringed all at the same time through all of the bits about interracial dating. About the “right” kind of person to bring home, whether it be about gender or ethnicity. Is it wrong for a person to have a “type?” What if this type happens to be white girls? Or white guys? How politicized should we be in our dating choices? We think we know the whole story when we see a “white” guy walking down the street with an Asian American girl. But do we? Maybe it’s the familiarity of the images, but the newness of the stories lie a little deeper.
I don’t know. Check it out for yourself. Or, find me and I’ll lend you my copy. =)
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Tags: Commentary, inter-racial dating.
Your comment on interracial dating brings me back to conversations I’ve had with my parents about who I should date? My parents have a hierarchy about who is “acceptable.” I’m not going to say which ethnicity, race, or skin color is at the bottom, but let me say, it is racist.
But is dating a white person so bad? Is it “wrong” for a white man to be dating an Asian woman? Maybe categorizing all people by their race is what is wrong. We don’t want to be stereotyped, so why is it okay to reverse stereotype? Is it “wrong” for a white woman to be dating an Asian man?
There is something to be said about dating someone who shares the experiences that you have. Sometimes ethnicity is a big deal. But sometimes it isn’t. I suppose it comes down partly to personal politics and priorities.
All this talk has me thinking about Bao Phi at the moment and “Asian Men! On A Roll.”
this looks fun. i feel you on graphic novels being easier to read, and I think they can transmit significant experiences, despite the kiddy association comics sometimes have.
uh oh. an interracial dating thread has started up. luckily, we have only 3 readers, so this won’t get dragged out too long.
I would add only this for now: i’ve heard some people say it’s too bad that race plays a factor in who you love.
i would say that who you love is the most personal decision a person can make…thus, the things that are important to you should play a large part in determining who date, and potentially embark on a long-term relationship with. for me, race is one of those things.
i in fact, just wrote an essay submitted to a anthology about intra-racial relationships and coalitions. i don’t think what i wrote was good enough to be accepted, so maybe over time, i’ll share some more thoughts on this or my personal blog.
i also would like to publicly acknowledge that my parents don’t have a racial hierarchy as far as who their children date. i have always assumed this was a media-created myth, but enough people i know and respect have told me their parents do this that i have to believe it.
the decision to only date asian women - and eventually marry you know, my wife - are mine alone. so people who think that dating exclusively within your race is simply a manifestation of parental wishes are mistaken. it was all my own choices to be the person i am as far as romantic relationships are concerned. there is a big stupid circular argument about why asian men are terrible dating choices, which i would go into here, but it’s so stupid i cna’t bring myself to do it. you can find it on many blogs out there on the internets.
and a word on graphic novels: they are awesome. wasn’t persepolis awesome? actually her book after those too…i think called embroideries, was also great.
Oh I wish the hierarchy was a myth, but I live it. But I will say that my parents’ hierarchy has not stopped me from dating who I’ve wanted to date.
Funny thing is, their hierarchy often shifts and changes depending on the time of day, the weather, or whether the moon is full or new.
I agree that love is really a very personal decision. For me, there are many factors that come into play.
btw, apparently persepolis is being made in to a movie. the trailer is in french, so i have no idea if a film like that would ever make it to boston. speaking of inter-racial dating, i’m still waiting for the release of americanese, the film version of american knees.
WoOT! I’m excited you did a review on this. I’ve been a fan of Adrian’s since his Optic Nerve days. I also found Yang’s “ABC” at the MFA gift shop and felt compelled to read the entire thing then and there. Yeah…closeted graphic novel geek.
Hm, I wrote more but it didn’t post. System glitch? So I’ll just summarize what I said: I liked “ABC” because it offers a peek at the Asian American experience and stereotypes in a comical, sometimes sharp & biting, but engaging way.
I’m curious to see how Eric Byler handles “Americanese.” I saw his earlier film, Charlotte Sometimes, and wasn’t that impressed. Two films I would recommend are “Red Doors” and “Saving Face.” They both deal with family, race, sexual identity and the pressures to conform to a certain image versus being true to yourself. Good stuff.
http://azntv.blogspot.com/2007/10/beau-sia-okay-can-we-stop-calling-it.html