PBS’s documentary Field Trip to the DMZ was, as expected, heartbreaking on the large part.

What surprised me the most, though, was North Korea’s treatment of its own citizens. I had always known that North Koreans were less privileged than us in many ways, yet I had no idea that it would be as serious as what was portrayed in the documentary. I could not believe that the students had to learn about the existence of credit cards, let alone get used to riding buses for transportation. I feel really thankful that schools like Hangyeore High School exist to help these poor students make a smoother, less emotionally and mentally shocking transition to the more liberal culture that exists in the southern part of the penninsula.

Even more surprising was Haejung’s confessions regarding North Korea’s educational system. According to the documentary, a lot of propaganda is used to brainwash the students that, essentially, isolationism is best and the rest of the world and its values are inferior. Especially shocking is when Haejung says that she was taught that South Korea was merely a puppet-country controlled by the U.S. and that South Korean values were simply borrowed from the West. Hopefully, throughout her continued stay in Korea, she will come too realize that this is definitely not the case and learn to appreciate the great deal of freedom and (technologically) unrestricted society that characterizes South Korea.

The Noguchi Coffee Table, designed by Isamu Noguchi, who was famous for his organic modern forms.

Fallingwater, one of the most famous private residencies designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (nice blend of modern and Art Deco work).

"Army of Mushrooms" by Takashi Murakami, one of the most famous Japanese pop artists.

Antoni Gaudi's unfinished Sagrada Familia

In Western societies and now more globally, blonde bombshells have been established as the sex symbol of their era. As for some main characteristics, blonde bombshells have platinum blonde curls, hour-glass figures, and plump red lips. Nowadays, the trend shifted away from Hollywood glamour to skinny stick figures as today, food is abundant in the U.S. and skinny meant affluence and ability to control oneself. Nevertheless, blonde bombshells remain blonde.

Writing Prompt #2 (Reflection)

Through this project, we were able to closely examine and analyzed each image for our topic. Because images are said to be worth a thousand words, we carefully synthesized different media images and clips together to support the four stereotypical notions of our topic, blonde bombshells, and how they changed over time. From the images of the past blonde bombshells such as images of Marilyn Monroe and Jean Harlow, we could identify similarities in sex appeal through red plump lips, white silky dresses, perfect platinum curls, and hour-glass figures. During our research, we realized that most photos aren’t consistent to all four of the stereotypical notions. For example, Dita Von Teese was our example for red plump lips and sharply drawn eyelines, and was a sex symbol, but importantly, she wasn’t a blonde. We thought it was more relevant to have key figures represent each notion because after all, we were trying to illustrate sex appeal produced from the four stereotypical notions. We identified various trends of blonde bombshells over time from hour-glass figure to stick figure through Calvin Klein advertisements that portray skinny blonde bombshells like Kate Moss. By grouping and synthesizing media images, we were able to effectively support our topic. Although we only briefly mentioned it in the presentation, the media portrays skinny as beautiful for today’s standard of beauty whereas the curvy hour-glass figure was considered beautiful in the past.

Beyond analyzing the images, time management, group work, and responsibility were also important factors in this project. In order to finish our project by the due date, we had to plan efficiently. Group work and responsibility was crucial in this project because we divided up parts for each member to focus on, and each member had to take responsibility for their own part to make this project collaborative. In this regard, our collaboration was successful.

Writing Prompt #1 (Audience and Archetypes/Stereotypes)

Because our group had spent a considerable amount of time consolidating our ideas and coming up with a unified, coherent theme for our project, once we found the images, we had no problem with identifying the originals (archetypes) and their respective copies (stereotypes). In this prompt, we will discuss only a select number of images which we thought were the most important ones that were shown throughout our presentation.

The Original

The original blonde bombshell shows off her curvaceous bodyline, platinum blonde curls and seductive facial expression, all of which have been established as main characteristics of the typical blonde bombshell.

Harlow appealed to men as an ideal woman to sleep with, while women idolized Harlow as someone they want to, but cannot be. Thus, Harlow appealed to both male and female audience, as other blonde bombshells are. Also, Harlow’s intended audience was most likely a Western one because American and British (Harlow was a British actress) film industries were largely based on the Western world.

A Slight Modification

Betty Grable poses with her long lean legs and small attractive butt facing the camera. Look at how she has only has a swimming suit on- the emphasis of this era was on minimalism.

This pin-up image of Betty Grable has a clearly defined intended audience—American soldiers during World War II. During the 40s and 50s, Grable’s pin-up girl photo was hung up literally everywhere, especially pubs and on war planes, to boost the morale of worn-out, female-thirsty soldiers. The pin-up girl image was slightly modified from Harlow’s blonde bombshell image to fit the time period’s minimalism (minimal clothing) because in war time, people had to save up clothing that could possibly be used towards war efforts.

Modern Day Blonde Bombshells

Along with Jessica Simpson, Charlize Theron, Christina Aguilera, and Pamela Anderson, Scarlett Johansson is one of the leading blonde bombshells of Hollywood today. Like Jean Harlow, they have the attractive looks of a mega-blonde bombshell—the platinum gold hair, the voluptuous bodyline, and the plump red lips and defined eyelines. A quick look at any of her images tells us that she is definitely a sex symbol aimed towards men. Unlike in the 30’s, these Hollywood blondes are available to an international audience because of the globalized entertainment business, which brings movies, photos (paparazzi pictures) and soap operas to other countries. “He’s just not that into you,” which features Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Aniston, is currently aired in Korean movie theaters and elsewhere in the world.

Left: Marilyn Monroe in her last photo shoot before she died; Right: Lindsay Lohan. According to Lohan, Marilyn Monroe is her role model and she tries to emulate (or rather, imitate) her last photo shoot, and the above picture is just one from her photo shoot. We can see she tried, but Lohan doesn’t exhibit the bold, sexy and wild nature of Monroe.

The music video Me Against the Music- Britney (Feat. Madonna) shows some interesting gender dynamics because Madonna is dressed up like a man in a suit and a fedora, but Madonna still has beautiful blond curls and red lips as emphasized characteristics.

Nearly every girl who grew up in the ’80s and early ’90s wanted to be Madonna. In the beginning of her career, Madonna’s signature look seemed to be borrowed from Marilyn Monroe, even copying her “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” routine for her Material Girl video.

Pamela Anderson is sideways in a solid red bathing suit to accentuate her curves. Pamela Anderson became famous for her curvy body (big boobs?), totally revealed in Baywatch, a 90’s TV series about Los Angeles life guards who patrol the crowded beaches of LA. Charlize Theron has platinum blond curls at ABC Awards, like how many celebrities fix their hair. Her blue eyes and her platinum blonde hair go unusually well together.

Scarlett Johansson has large hips and only a thin slip that barely covers her body. In a reader’s survey in Glamour Magazine, Scarlett Johansson was named the sexiest body, putting behind Jessica Alba and Supermodel Gisele Bundchen. Her seductive body figure and classic look landed her on her Monroe-like role in “Black Dahlia.”

Christina Aguilera, along with Gwen Stefani, is known for her plump red lips and defined eyelines, reminisce of Monroe’s Hollywood Glam look. In the beginning scenes, Aguilera seduces men, like what blonde bombshells are meant to do.

Changing Standards

Sharply contrasting with a few decades ago, skinny is the new ‘It’ body type and at the center of the trend stand Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. They are still blonde, but have lean, almost skeletal figures, which represents affluence and initiative to exercise, rather than poverty and starvation as in the 30s. The audience of the new blonde bombshells are normally women who want to emulate their body type, more than men who want curvier women.

Lindsay Lohan's make-up, hair style and white halter dress reminds us of Marilyn Monroe, but where are her curves? This photo shows us that skinny stick bombshells are often preferred to voluptuous blonde bombshells today.

Paris Hilton looks deadly thin with leg bones showing on the surface of her skin. Yet she has platinum blonde hair and is considered one of the modern-day blonde bombshells, especially for promiscuous attitude and shady reputation.

In conclusion…

Overall, males anywhere from 18 to the late 30s were the most widely represented audience, with females (especially those past 40 and older) the least represented. Both past and contemporary blonde sex symbols were designed to attract male followers (for various reasons, such as to boost war support, for income, and etc.). As for females, we think that those in their thirties or younger are also substantially represented, because young females are part of the pop-culture, have deep interest in cosmetics (Benefit Cosmetics use pin-up girls) and one day, dream of becoming like them.

Vocabulary and Word Cloud

1.       strong look

2.       golden blonde curls

3.       stereotypical notions

4.       making a statement

5.       target audience

6.       sex on a stick

7.       luminous quality

8.       hourglass figure

9.       natural

10.   sex-symbol status

11.   interesting contrast

12.   cliché

13.   epitome

14.   deviations

15.   pin-up girl image

16.   scandalous

17.   Queen Bee

18.   perfect

19.   skinny bitches

20.   cultural icon

21.   bombshell

22.   defined

23.   evolved

24.   representation

25.   edgy

26.   Hollywood

27.   Benefit Cosmetics

28.   accentuated

Resources and Links

The Blonde Bombshell PPT

Above is a link to the PPT our group created to aid our presentation.

Portrait of Harlow: the Original Blonde Bombshell

The most famous pinups of WWII

Here’s the skinny on fashion models

1) What authors or genres of writing are cited as influencing McCarthy’s writing style?

According to the article, McCarthy’s writing style is similar to those of several reputed authors such as James Joyce, Mark Twain and William Faulkner. However, despite these apparent similarities, McCarthy’s writing is noted for its unique style that still makes it distinct from the works of the aforementioned writers. His style of prose is characterized by elaborate descriptions that are conveyed through a series of run-on sentences, as well as dialogue that is not accompanied by the conventional quotation marks. McCarthy is also known for using a wide range of vocabulary, including “archaisms so unfamiliar they appear to be neologisms.”

2) How does McCarthy treat human characters in his story as opposed to landscape and and animals like horses?

 ”In his sleep he could hear the horses stepping among the rocks and he could hear them drink from the shallow pools in the dark where the rocks lay smooth and rectilinear as the stones of ancient ruins and the water from their muzzles dripped and rang like water dripping in a well and in his sleep he dreamt of horses and the horses in his dream moved gravely among the tilted stones like horses come upon an antique site where some ordering of the world had failed and if anything had been written on the stones the weathers had taken it away again and the horses were wary and moved with great circumspection carrying in their blood as they did the recollection of this and other places where horses once had been and would be again. Finally what he saw in his dream was that the order in the horse’s heart was more durable for it was written in a place where no rain could erase it.”

Unlike Faulkner’s work, McCarthy’s writing places horses over humans, meaning that not much emphasis is put onto human thought and activity. Instead, McCarthy focuses on descriptions of landscapes, settings, and especially horses, and how the human characters interact with each of these elements. Instead of directly referring to John Grady Cole’s thoughts or emotions, he touches on these elements by instead describing how John Grady feels about horses.

3) What type of dialogue does the article state McCarthy uses?

McCarthy uses very realistic dialogue that is usually succinct and is to the point. However, I often had difficulty identifying such dialogue because McCarthy does not use quotation marks to begin and end his characters’ speech. His style of writing dialogue that seems detached from a human viewpoint does not make the experience any easier for the reader, yet this is what makes McCarthy’s writing truly unique.

4) What is notable about his diction (word choice)?

As mentioned before, McCarthy employs such archaisms to the point where they may be considered to constitute his own language. Nonetheless, such words (including the occasional Spanish dialect), if their meanings are known, greatly enhance many of his descriptions throughout the novel.

Recently, we watched another documentary by Frontline, titled “Growing Up Online.” Contrary to “Young and Restless in China,” which focused more on the more socioeconomic aspects of the emerging “restless” generation of Chinese entrepreneurs, “Growing Up Online” delved into the more personal, Internet-based lives of current teenagers. I enjoyed this documentary a lot more than the other one (click here to read my response to the second documentary) because it represented my generation pretty accurately and I was able to identify myself with some of the teenagers who were interviewed.

Here are my responses to the discussion questions:

1. In what ways would you need to change your routine in order to disconnect yourself from all media (i.e. no TV, no Internet, etc.) What problems would you encounter if you unplugged for one day? One week? One month?

In order for a life without any media to be possible, I would basically have to live a life with no shortcuts. I would have to read the newspaper to hear about the daily news, use a pen and tons of white-out to write a 10-page research paper, and entertain myself solely through cartoon books and the like. If the word “media” here also includes offline sources of information such as published pieces of writing, the speed at which information traveled would be incredibly slow. Although this is somewhat of an exaggeration, I would essentially be living a reclusive life. Unplugging for one day would be manageable, since I can catch up on everything immediately the next day, yet unplugging for a week, a month, or even longer would cause consequences on my ability to function as a socially active teenager in a world where the media plays an extremely huge role in our lives. For instance, I will no longer be able to keep in touch with my friends and distant family members as easily as I used to.

2. How many hours per week do you estimate you spend on Facebook or similar personal networking sites? What are the benefits and disadvantages of using these sites?

My best estimate is that I spend at least an hour every day on Facebook and other similar personal networking sites, which amounts to about seven to eight hours weekly (considering that I usually spend a bit more time surfing the Net during the weekends). Using the Internet to check my email, interact with my friends on Facebook and other forums has become a sort of daily “ritual” to me, as this process marks the beginning of my afternoon at home after-school. Even if I know that I have a lot of work to finish before I can go to sleep, I just cannot seem to start on any of my tasks before I go online and utilize the many resources the Internet has got to offer. As mentioned before, the benefits of using social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are that they provide a medium through which we can easily establish and maintain contact with our friends and family members, even though all of us might not be living in the same city, for instance. Also, although this does not really apply to me, some people are able to pursue new identities and begin fresh lives online, allowing them to regain any confidence and self-esteem they may not have had offline. A novel example of an instance such as this is Jessica Hunter, a shy and rather “antisocial” girl who was reborn as the gothic artist model “Autumn Edows” via posting photos of herself on the web.

Autumn Edows, mentioned in the documentary, is one teenager who was able to begin and enjoy a new life through being active on social networking sites (click on image for its source)

But the fact is, no matter how much we enjoy the Net and its numerous resources, the Internet does open up our lives to various dangers. By entering our personal information and posting up photos of ourselves, we are, in a way, voluntarily allowing ourselves to be more prone to the becoming entangled in dangerous cyber-relationships (after all, was is not our choice in the first place to sign up for an account on Facebook and to allow other people access our profiles?). What you post on the Internet about yourself can also be misinterpreted by somebody else and result in people misjugdging you. Instances such as this have quite recently become so serious to the point where prosecutors are basing their arguments on whatever “negative images” or photos regarding the person in question they can get a hold of on social networking sites. Here is a previous blog entry I wrote about a CNN article that dealt with an example of this issue.

3. To what extent are you aware of viral marketing, the use of “advertorials” (presenting advertisements as editorial content), or direct marketing on Facebook and other social networking sites?

I am not that aware of viral marketing and the other often “subtle” means through which companies get themselves or their products advertised. I think this is mainly because while I’m using the Internet, I’m so absorbed into whatever I am doing at the moment (reading a news article, viewing photos on Facebook, writing responses to messages, and etc.) that I fail to consciously realize that I am also looking at somesort of advertisement at the same time. This proves just how dangerous subtle such marketing techniques are, as just because we do not realize that they are present on the computer screen does not mean that we are  subconsciously or unconsciously affected by them in some way or the other. However, I don’t think this makes all social networking sites quite unsafe to use, because from what I have seen certain sites such as Facebook seem to display less advertising than other portals such as MySpace (but then again, this might be because I was unaware of the existence of viral marketing and the like and have thus failed to recognize any thus far, even if I may have encountered them before).

4. Personal response based on your individual viewing of “Growing Up Online”.

One reason as to why I enjoyed viewing “Growing Up Online” is that effectively represented the two main voices/viewpoints surrouding the entire debate concerning the Internet: that of the younger generation, the teenagers, and that of the older generation, the teachers and the parents of the aforementioned teenagers. Being a teenager myself who depends heavily on the Internet not only for social networking purposes but also for the acquisition of news and information and a whole range of media for entertainment, I’m personally against the many complaints parents and adults have about their children using the Internet. Although I understand their argument that the Internet makes it so much easier for criminals, predators and stalkers to attack students like us and that it is through the Net that our privacy is intruded upon, taken advantage of and misused by other people for various purposes, I still cannot see how such disadvantages outweigh the numerous benefits that come from having access to the Internet. I believe that the majority of the parents’ negative feelings of disapproval that are directed towards the Internet represent their uncertainty about this relatively new medium and their fear to accept this change as reality. After all, we are all prone to being assaulted by strangers or being led into the wrong direction (such as suicide) offline as much as we are online. I understand that the Internet speeds up this process through its “interative” environment, yet we have to face the truth–that we are living in perhaps the peak (or one of the many peaks) of the Information Age, and that to many of us, our online lives are beginning to resemble more and more of our offline lives. Let’s face it: the Internet is indeed indispensible.

I’m not trying to sound pessimistic or anything, but I imagine college to be a place where we get a chance to test our levels of endurance and perseverance… all alone. Unless our parents decide to move with us to the States, most of us will be staying in our own dorm rooms, having to take care of everything (not only studying) by ourselves, without any help. It’s as if you’re left with a long path ahead of you, a path that’s supposed to be walked on by yourself.

Reading the two articles above got me worried about the way students are preparing themselves for college. I guess the fact that Korean students cannot adjust to their new environments is not their fault, although I’m suspicious as to why they applied in the first place if they know that they’re already having some difficulty with the English language.

“There are a number of Korean students who withdraw from prestigious universities after they find it extremely difficult to catch up with their peers in English writing and in logical reasoning – which is fundamental to studying in Western classrooms,” said the head of another hagwon, also identified only by the surname Kim.

Reading the quote above also got me thinking about the different educational values in Western and Eastern cultures. Although one cannot deem that one is strictly better than the other, I personally find myself leaning more towards American educational values. I always wonder whether Korean students will be better prepared for an education in the United States if Korean public schools emphasized less on concrete, absolute values and encouraged them to think more creatively outside the box. Wouldn’t there be a big difference if students had class discussions during literature classes, as opposed to spending time reading about the lives of certain authors and their works? Also, Korean students who attend public schools (in other words, schools that mainly follow a Korean curriculum, unlike international schools and foreign language high schools) are too focused on their academics, an attitude which I believe is primarily a result of their parents’ and school’s expectations. What if students had a choice of participating in Model United Nations programs, or even sports programs and community service clubs that aren’t mandatory (from what I know, Korean students have to complete a required number of volunteer hours, which defeats the whole purpose of community service)? Western curricula encourage students to enrich their lives with alternative options through which they can exercise their creative and logical thinking abilities. Who mandated that learning only comes from studying in classrooms where every student is staring at the blackboard for several consecutive hours?

A typical Korean public high-school classroom... are the students studying or sleeping?

In Flushing, New York – one of the major Korea towns in the Eastern United States – more than 300 hagwon have sprung up, largely due to the Korean zeal for education. Bell Boulevard stretches 3.5 kilometers (2.1 miles) through the district, crowded with 60 private schools targeting Korean students. The area looks just like a street in Daechi-dong, a popular hagwon district in southern Seoul.

Well, it’s fortunate enough that hagwons are offering help to such needy, lost Korean students. However, would it not be a much better alternative to try to improve oneself with what one’s got within the university campus? After all, studying by oneself or with one’s friends allows one to realize his or her mistakes on a more personal level, resulting in possibly greater strides forward. Even if going to these hagwons helps the students to succeed, it’s not like it guarantees them a safe way into the life that comes after attending college or graduate school. What are they going to rely on now–workplace hagwons?

Although the second article does not mention Korean students, nonetheless it still makes me worried about our future generation. If approximately 64% of the students have cheated previously on tests before, how many will resort to short-cut methods in college? There is a slight chance that some students will realize the seriousness of college and lead more morally virtuous lives, yet I doubt that this will be the case for many people. Also, as I’ve mentioned before, these students will be left alone throughout their college lives. If they have resorted to cheating and other immoral deeds even with the guidance from their parents, the fact that they are now “free” to do whatever they want brings up the likelihood that they will cheat some more times again.

“As bad as these numbers are, it appears they understate the level of dishonesty exhibited by America’s youth,” the study warned, noting than more than a fourth of the students (26 percent) admitted they had lied on at least one or two of the survey questions.”

…which, of course, is definitely not good news. That just makes what I said above only an understatement. Oh well.

Here are my responses to some of the discussion questions:

1.  In what ways do you think the Ben Wu, the entrepreneur launching the Internet café, is representative of the “new” China?

Ben Wu is definitely representative of the “new” China in that he is aware of and knows how to use the various opportunities the nation’s booming economy has got to offer. Even though he was initially not used to China’s business after he returned from his studies at a business school in New York, he nonetheless acted quickly to make use of his recently-acquired management skills. Aside from his job at Lenovo, Ben Wu eventually established the number one Internet café in Beijing, not to mention that he is also planning on expanding his prospering business throughout the rest of China as well. The fact that Wu carries out business by himself in Beijing while the rest of his family resides in the United States shows us that he embodies the hard-working, entrepreneurial spirit that is so representative of the emerging “young and restless” Chinese generation.

2. Why do you think that several of the profiled characters have turned to religion or spiritual outlets?

Throughout the documentary, several of the profiled characters have confessed to feeling lost and troubled regarding the corrupted way in which business works in China. One example is Lu Dong, who operates a quite successful Internet tailoring service. He says that even though Chinese business is very corrupted in that there are a lot of “behind the scenes” transactions—which, in reality, are inevitable—taking place, relying on the Bible and on Christianity has provided him with a sort of “filter” through which he can protect himself from such dangers. Lu Dong, like many of the other individuals mentioned in the film, resort to religion for a sense of guidance amidst the quite chaotic, fast-paced lives they have to face in China. Spiritual outlets like the Bible can also provide these people with a source of companionship, especially when they are feeling lonely because they are living away from their families.

 3. Who do you think is the happiest of the young people profiled in this documentary and why?

I believe that the happiest of the young people profiled in this documentary is Zhang Yao. Although he might even be deemed as the most “successful” individual due to his esteemed job as a physician, I would rather say that he is the happiest because he has the least number of troubles and worries. Unlike many of the other characters who live apart from their families, are extremely poor, and have never been given the opportunity to pursue a full education due to certain financial hardships, Zhang Yao has been able to become a doctor and even leads a content life with his girlfriend, who is also a medical student. According to the documentary, Zhang Yao does indeed have some concerns, such as the highly uneven level of healthcare that is available to the lower social classes throughout China. However, the fact that he is even in the position to contemplate about such issues makes him a really gifted person, as it means that he has received the necessary amount of training and education to be authoritatively thinking about these topics in the first place. Contrary to many of the other characters, Zhang Yao is fully educated, lives with his family, and through his job is directly able to help the less fortunate around him.

The clip above is only a music video and so some of the martial arts moves may be somewhat closer to dancing as opposed to actual martial arts techniques. But video in its entirety does show certain elements of the warrior tradition, such as the way in which nature is depicted as well as how fighters take poses before the actual combat begins.

1. What are some elements of the “warrior tradition”?

Contrary to the way in which combat is viewed in Western culture–big muscles, lots of bloody killing and explicitly barbaric weapons:

Look at those biceps!

A screenshot from "Die Hard"

Or this fighting scene from “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” shows it all… the typical physical violence and mass murder that is associated with the Western interpretation of fighting:

However, the “warrior tradition” is less violent and much more “decorous”, if you get what I mean. The whole point of martial arts is not to kill; as a matter of fact, killing is very taboo, and the majority of the fight consists of a series of give and take until a loophole is found. Even when this loophole is found, nothing more is done than the fact that the stronger individual has now achieved a higher status as a martial arts fighter over the other.

Also, the idea of constantly beating one’s opponent until he or she bleeds to death does not exist in the “warrior tradition”. Rather, the fights are somewhat “disrupted”, meaning that the fighters take the time to harness their inner universal force, or “chi”, before commencing onto their next moves.

Bruce Lee in one of his famous "chi" poses.

2. How is the natural world depicted in relation to martial arts/combat?

Here is a clip from the movie ”Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”:

Just watching the first few minutes of the clip will tell you that there’s a sort of mystical, serene quality associated with the natural environment. Because the background remains peaceful throughout the entire fight and there are no intrusions, the two martial artists are able to focus all of their energy into harnessing their “chi” and becoming one with the natural world around them. The calm orchestral playing in the background further emphasizes this dreamy quality of nature.

Notice now the slighly foggy sky and the somewhat hidden mountains constitute a sort of mystical natural environment...

 The same concept regarding the way nature is depicted in relation to martial arts can be seen in Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior. Especially in the novel’s second chapter “White Tigers,” the legendary Fa Mu Lan is reported to have disciplined herself amidst the natural elements of the world around her. From watching the silent demeanor of the deer and the subtly threatening movements of the white tigers and the Dragon, Fa Mu Lan learns to become a more persevering and skilled warrior. Moreover, she literally becomes one with the natural world around her when she has to survive in the wilderness without any food for a long of period of time, a feat that is possible only because the environment around her is serene and “uninterrupted” in the first place, thereby allowing her to concentrate on harnessing their “chi.”

3. How are gender roles important (to the scenes we watched)?

 Here is a significant quote from one of the fighting scenes in “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” (it may be hard to distinguish the Jade Fox’s face as the scene takes place during the night):

Apparently females did not deserve to master the techniques behind martial arts.

 In general, it seems to be that females are still yet not very accepted or looked highly upon when it comes to martial arts. For instance, in the film “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,” the thief in the opening scene is automatically assumed to be a male based on her proficiency in martial arts. Moreover, the fact that the Master does not think highly of woman, including the Jade Fox, is clearly represented by the fact that he smirks after he stabs the Jade Fox’s breast, which is a stark contrast from his previously erect, calm composure.

The smirk.

This male-dominance is also manifest in the legend of Fa Mu Lan. Aware that females are not expected to take on such “noble” challenges such as fighting in combat, Fa Mu Lan ultimately disguises herself as a man in order to bring justice back to China. An especially memorable scene is when Fa Mu Lan slashes the evil baron across the face after he denies his wrong deeds, including how he said “Girls are maggots in the rice.” This is one of the few times in the novel when  the concept of male supremacy is reversed… well, at least for a brief moment.

People surprised when they realize for the first time that Fa Mu Lan is actually a female (click on the picture for its source).

Because Maxine Hong Kingston fuses elements of both fact and fiction in her novel The Woman Warrior, I find her work to be very interesting so far. This might be because I’ve never been an avid reader and have thus not had the chance to approach a lot of books, but the language Kingston uses to express her ambivalent feelings regarding her Chinese heritage and culture is unique in the sense that she combines two seemingly polemical elements–fact and fiction. I find it remarkable that she even came up with the initiative to do this, since usually autobiographical memoirs are full of solid details and anecdotes only. After all, how could one’s life really be regarded as “life” when it includes imagined scenarios? In terms of its literal definition, isn’t life supposed to be composed of a series of real events that occurred to a particular person?

A photo of Maxine Hong Kingston

I largely agree with Jess Row’s stance in her article “The Woman Warrior at 30″. As I have stated before, what makes Kingston’s novel so enticing is that she very skillfully and naturally weaves in and out from the elements of her imagination. Considering the fact that American literature usually defines a strict line between reality and fiction, Kingston’s The Woman Warrior stands out as a sort of entrepreneur in that it has no clearly designated genre. Kingston refers back to her memories, but at the same time she also dives deep into the world of fiction, using her imagination as she compares herself to the legendary heroine Fa Mu Lan and questions No Name Aunt’s motives in her supposedly unorthodox actions that ultimately led to her to commit suicide.

On the flip side, however, I had a pretty hard time adjusting to Kingston’s unique writing style. Because she so subtly transitions from one point of view to another, I usually found myself getting lost, unable to understand some parts of the novel. For instance, I did not realize that the majority of the second chapter, “White Tigers”, was retelling the legend of Fa Mu Lan until we discussed this during class. In this sense I guess I agree with some of the more negative critics who state that Kingston attempts to achieve too many in her novel by cluttering her pages with so many references to various pieces of fact and fiction.

Polemical and unfair as Chin’s charges may be, it certainly is possible to criticize The Woman Warrior for trying to be too many things at once: a revenge fantasy and a sweeping act of cross-cultural reconciliation, a work of new mythology and a personal narrative. There’s a sense in which Kingston’s vengeful narcissism becomes, in the end, simply narcissistic, as if every element of her experience can be transformed into a perfect metaphor, or as if her personal experience can be understood on the level of large-scale myth.

Overall, Kingston’s writing style is indeed fresh, and I applaud her for trying something new with literature. However, the way she writes is also potentially “dangerous” in that it may initially confuse the inexperienced reader who has previously only seen pieces of writing with straightforward, clear language–writing with either fact or fiction, but not both.

In films such as "Mean Girls", there is always at least one Asian guy who is portrayed as a nerd or a geek.

Well, seems like this article has got some pretty interesting information for us to take a look at. Turns out that based on a research done by Samuel S. Shin as his doctoral dissertation, forty-four percent of Koreans drop out from of top American universities, all of which aspiring Korean students usually designate as their “dream schools”–Harvard, Dartmouth, Duke and UC Berkeley, just a name a few. He also mentions how this rate is much higher than those of American, Chinese and Indian students, a comparison that is made all the more surprising when one considers that India and China have populations more than 20 times that of Korea.

According to the article, Kim stated in his thesis that this relatively high dropout rate among Korean students seems to stem from the fact that most of them cannot adjust to college life in the United States. He says that because Korean students are so accustomed to a study-centered way of life, they have trouble becoming a part of the more “social” aspects of the student body, such as performing community service and participating in other extracurricular activities.

“I saw many Korean students in America isolated from the local community due to their study-concentrated way of life,” Kim said in an interview with The Korea Daily, a Korean-language newspaper published in the U.S. “They should abandon what they were familiar with in Korea to succeed in America.”

As a student living in Korea but not attending a public Korean school, I have often thought about this issue before. It is indeed true that students need to spend more of their time doing other meaningful activities besides studying, such as participating in certain team sports or volunteering at the local hospital. However, I do feel slightly offended by Kim’s statement that Korean students should “abandon what they were familiar in Korea to succeed in America.” Kim should realize that after all, studying is a part of Korean culture. Society is designed so that studying is the main way to succeed. Unlike my friends and I who take the time to play sports, go on international trips to debate with students about global issues and perform community service, Korean students cannot make such choices. They have no choice, because their lives into the colleges they want depend solely on their grades and test scores. Imagine how busy and study-concentrated your life would be if you only had one good shot at entering college!