Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Asianization of America

I did not want to write anything before I knew what we were going to be talking about in class and how it was going to be presented. I also do not wish to offend Yu and her country, so if I do, I am very sorry.

With that being said, I would like to talk about the “Asianization of America” article. I never realized how much of an influence the Asian culture had on America. From the article, it talked about all of the food, decoration, religion, and movie influence there is from the many Chinese restaurants to feng shui decorating a room.

“These days, it's not hard to imagine someone, freshly wakened from his futon and clad in a T-shirt emblazoned with Chinese calligraphy, ducking into Starbucks for a cup of chai before popping over to Blockbuster for Jet Li on DVD” (para. 4).

While I do not own a T-shirt emblazoned with Chinese calligraphy, nor do I rent Jet Li movies, this is a common scene for me. I do sleep on a futon bed and I do love a good Chai Tea in the morning to help wake me up.

I knew there was a lot of influence in the United States, but I never stopped to look at my own life. I vaguely remember wanting to redecorate my room many years ago. I had three completely different styles and colors in mind: black bedspread and black walls splattered with neon colors: Hawaiian/beach theme; and a red, black, and white room with an oriental influence. Of course my parents would not let me have the black emo room, and I ended up with the Hawaiian/beach theme, but I really like the oriental theme. It just seemed so sophisticated. There are many other instances where Asian influence is in my life without going into detail about materials and objects being made in China.
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2 comments:

  1. AnthonyMarch 10, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Looking at Asian influence in my life, I have a difficult time pinpointing specific items. I love Chinese food, but I also know that what I think of as "Chinese food" has very little to do with what is actually eaten in China. I drive a Hyundai and probably own a zillion products made in China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. But most of these are made with the purpose of selling to an American audience, so I have a hard time considering these to be Asian influences.

    I think that as globalization continues to make our world smaller and smaller, we will have a much harder time seeing the influences of various cultures within our own lives. While things may not be to that extent as of now, they may be one day.

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  2. The Tennis Prof ChroniclesApril 6, 2011 at 8:37 AM

    I think Anthony's observations about how "Asian" influences are tailored to U.S. audiences is really a reflection of how cultures can be commodified in the same way that gender, race, and even sexuality can be marketed (e.g., "commodity racism"). Is this just good business, or is it offensive to those cultures that are commodified?

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