Author: choi.1294

Text Review- Yeonjune Choi

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Kim’s Convenience is a comedy sitcom-style drama that has been shown on Netflix since 2016. The show draws small and big events that occur around a Korean Canadian family that owns a convenience store within Toronto. Family members include Mr. and Mrs. Kim, Jung Kim, and Janet Kim. The show is focused on comic situations that occur due to the stereotypical actions that the family members take, and the results that occur due to does actions. This shows attempts to empathize with different generations of Asian immigrants living in foreign countries, through showing situations that many immigrants could agree or relate to. However, this show also perpetuates many negative Asian stereotypes as well with the intention of developing more comic exaggerated situations. Thus, some content and intentions are questionable from a moral perspective.

One of the most noticeable stereotypes that are perpetuated all throughout the show is how Mr. and Mrs. Kim has a strong Asian accent when speaking English. Both Paul Sunghyung Kima and Jean Yoon are both native level English speakers, however, because of their roles within the show, they speak so-called Konglish, a Korean compound slang for Korean and English. Although it is for the comic aspect the show is making the presumption that most first-generation immigrants will lack in English. Another stereotypical portrayal that stands out is the extremely patriarchal and stubborn attitude that Mr. Kim shows. This is a more Asian cultural stereotype regarding elderly men and the patriarchal structure of the household. Many old Asian men are portraited and thought of to be close-minded and insensitive especially toward discrimination issues such as LGBTQ rights or ethnicity rights. Within the show, not only Mr. Kim but also Mr. Chin as Chinese Canadian and Mr. Mehta an Indian Canadian is drawn to have similar attitudes. Such stereotypical portrayals of a certain marginalized community can develop biased beliefs and perspectives against that specific community. Reinforcement of such stereotypes emphasizes the relationship of one and the other between society and the Asian Canadian community in this case.

 

Although the intentions behind why the producers would have developed biased and exaggerated content are understandable and justified through comedy, the fact Kim’s Convenience does possibly generate biased beliefs and attitudes is unarguable. Some may say that many of the audience is mature enough to differentiate humor from reality, however, one should not underestimate that continuous exposure to biased content can develop biased beliefs and attitudes unconsciously.

Images from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim%27s_Convenience

Context Presentation Week 12-Yeonjune Choi

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War Photography

This week’s reading is Susan Sontag’s “Regarding the Pain of Others”.  “Regarding the Pain of Others” is an essay that looks into different aspects of war through the use of war photos and photographers. Within this essay war, photography is an essential and crucial factor that perpetuates and exemplifies Susan Sontag’s perspective and opinion upon war. Within this presentation, I hope to introduce war photography.

War photography is meant to portrait the variety of emotions that occur through war. “It is a form of photography that can either present the reality in it’s truest form or malign it.” (artstor.org) War photography usually has two large roles, one as a tool of communication for exposing the truth and the other as a tool for political propaganda regarding all warfare that occurs globally.

Images of war were recorded before the invention of photographs. Usually in the form of drawings, however not too precise and often flawed. The earliest war photo was taken back in 1847, when an unknown American photographer produced a series of fifty daguerreotypes depicting scenes from the Mexican-American war in Saltillo, Mexico. These images provide insight into daily life in midst of a war, however, does not depict active violence or death occurring from the war itself.

 

The first war to be extensively covered was the American Civil War. Although photography technology was not able to picture all the action, it was enough to capture the impact and effects of this bloodiest war with realism. During the World Wars, war photography was censored in order to prevent any essential information from leaking, moreover, protect the morale of the general public. War photography was censored and altered until the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, uncensored war photos were released to the public. Revealing war to the public in its truest form until then. Through these releases, the public started to develop a more realistic idea of the outcomes and process of warfare.

In modern-day due to the progression of technology records of war are presented not only through photography but also through video and different mediums of recording. However, the role of war photographers has not.  War photographers hold the role of communicating the truth behind warfare. The images that they present to the audience alter’ their perception of war, thus it is important war photographers try to create images that are honest and precise to the realities of warfare. In “Regarding the Pain of Others”, Susan Sontag emphasizes and expands more upon the role and importance of war photography.

 

Citations

https://www.artstor.org/2016/11/11/seeing-is-believing-early-war-photography/

https://legionmagazine.com/en/2020/03/the-evolution-of-war-photography/

https://www.pbs.org/ktca/americanphotography/features/war_essay.html

 

Diary of Systemic Injustices Showcase-Yeonjune Choi

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http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Fq27AzSMo&ab_channel=wearemit%C3%BA

Recently I had a chance to watch a documentary about the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of the Latin community within America. It is shown that when 15% of the American population was from a Latin heritage, the news coverage on the Latin community was only around 1% of the whole news. Moreover, the Latin community has been framed with several media stereotypes that negatively affect their daily lives. In the earlier years when the American Mexican war had just finished, the bandito stereotype was formed, framing the resistance army of Mexico that had fought for their homeland. The trend moves on from bandito stereotypes to the drug lord or drug dealer stereotype. Studies performed by the National Hispanic Media Coalition show that 71 % of Americans have seen Latinos portrayed as gang members or criminals on media, moreover, around 64% have seen Latinos play gardeners or housemaids on media. This stereotype is more familiar to us. Along with the drug dealer stereotype, the most problematic stereotype is the illegal immigrant image that the media has framed the Latin community with. Through constantly depicting news only related to illegal immigration issues, and criminal activities that are performed by illegal immigrants, the media developed a negative perspective against the Latin community within the general audience.

How the Latin community is portrayed and deteriorated within the media is a good example of the concept of the master-slave dialect of Hegel. The Latin community is seen as the slave and the media industry as the master, as the Latin community lacks authority compared to the media industry. One can consider the slave of the relationship as the other and the master as the one. The other, which is the Latin community has an imbalanced relationship with the suppressing force, thus, the imbalance within this relationship results in the development of an overall biased and negative perspective against the Latin community. The seriousness of the problems that media stereotypes result in should be thought of again and approached as a more urgent issue by the general public.  The article below offers possible solutions to the biased representation of Latinos within the media. (https://time.com/5662739/latino-hollywood-representation/)

Citations

https://www.chicano.ucla.edu/files/news/NHMCLatinoDecisionsReport.pdf