The Asian American Students Association explored the representation of Asian Americans in the media Friday in the annual Asian Arts Fest, a festival celebrating the diversity of Asian arts.
In List 120, more than 100 students watched a range of student group performances including Korean drumming and Japanese fencing that culminated in a concert by YouTube sensation and special guest Jason Chen.
The festival this year included dance, song and calligraphy by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, a performance by Hansori - a student group that performs Korean percussion-based music - spoken word by Archiplag-a, modern dance fusion by the Filipino Alliance and a demonstration of the Japanese sword martial art by the Brown Kendo Club.
While the Asian Arts Fest is an annual event, King John Pascual '14, an executive board member of AASA and organizer of the festival steering committee, said the group tries to add a new element to the show every year.
"We were kind of inspired by the whole Lin-sanity phenomenon and how he has been perceived in the media as kind of this model minority for Asian Americans," said Pascual, a Herald business staffer. "We wanted to put out the stereotypes and perceptions of Asian Americans in the media to the student body here at Brown."
Members of each student group that performed were asked questions about the portrayal of Asian Americans in the media, and the video of their answer was played prior to their performance. Multiple performers touched upon the salient characteristics of the Asian American stereotype, particularly as studious and hardworking, but not very multidimensional. "We don't just study," a member of Hansori said in the video.
"Asian American communities are so heterogeneous," Pascual said. "We have Asian Americans that actually come from really low socio-economic backgrounds that are mostly marginalized, but no one knows about them."
One member from Archipelag-a - a spoken word group comprised of Filipina women -was particularly insightful about the unique cultural limbo in which Asian Americans often reside. "In America, I'm expected to act like an Asian, and in Asia, I'm expected to act like an American," she said. One student in the Chinese Students and Scholars Association said Asian Americans "are still foreigners in this country."
Charles Abe '14 of the Brown Kendo Club said he is not personally concerned with the representation of Asian Americans in the media. "Where I'm from, the stereotype is usually all positive," Abe said. "I'm actually not very sure what the image that they're trying to change is."
He said a lot of the labels associated with Asian Americans, such as being studious and good at piano, actually apply to him, and he does not see it as harmful.
Nevertheless, Pascual said AASA members hope the audience will start to question and explore the role the media plays in cultural perception as a result of the festival. "Overall, we just hope that the students leave with this consciousness and awareness of how the media shapes perception of particular cultural groups and how we could challenge those discourses and become really aware of how you're perceived," he said.
The crowd was of mixed race, though Asian Americans made up the majority. Alec Brownridge '12 and Le Tran '13 emceed the event, and both had a little trouble quieting an eager audience. It was a full house, despite the event taking place on a Friday night, though a few people in the back rows compromised by drinking wine during the performances.
The audience was audibly excited for Chen, who concluded the night after all of the student groups performed. From the heart-stopping concert by Hansori to the pop-star performance by Chen, the often-overlooked diversity of Asian culture was highlighted through the sheer variety of acts featured.
