My wife and I like to watch Japanese TV at home with our little one over dinner, since we can get NHK through cable (a la TV Japan). NHK being the state-run channel, tends to be have good family programming and surprisingly good content, comparable to the BBC in my opinion. So, last night, we watched the usual programming, then when that was done, we were surprised to see a new mini-series drama on NHK, featuring the famous Enka singer Jero. Jero, for those who don’t know, is a young American man of Black and Japanese descent who’s really mastered Japanese Enka singing and is something of hot celebrity now. Since he grew up speaking Japanese at home with his grandmother, it’s no surprise he could be on a drama, whereas after years of study I still can barely explain what I did yesterday. :p
Anyway, the drama really struck me because the story because of all the stereotypes about Americans. The main actress was supposed to be Jero’s girlfriend in college in the US, and in one scene, she drinks out of a milk carton, but when her mom scolds her, she retorts that that’s how they do it in America. Really? I never did that. My mother would have smacked me in the head.
Later, when Jero comes to visit, they have a big dramatic scene showing the girl and Jero hugging in front of her parents whose mouths hang wide open in shock. Afterall, we Americans are pretty affectionate and hug all the time, right? Oh and of course, there’s lots of random English statements peppered in as well.
I was both captivated and infuriated at how Americans (read: non-Asians) were viewed. The drama was trying to show how cool Americans were, but somehow the whole effort seemed really awkward and weird. So, now I get a nice brief taste of what it feels like to get stereotyped by another ethnic group. It kind sucks, but even worse kind of bewildering.
Suddenly, I remember all the years and years of Asian-themed TV shows and movies I’ve watched since I was a kid, and I can imagine Asians and Asian Americans watching the same show and having the same feelings as me earlier tonight. The Japanese drama I watched seems to fulfill this fetish some young, Japanese hipsters might have about coming to American and becoming masters of English the same way American movies like Last Samurai or Karate Kid fulfill that white-guy/black-guy fantasy about becoming Asian and getting a nice Japanese girlfriend. Add some Zen and Samurai nonsense in there, and you’ve got a best-seller/oscar-winner.
I can only imagine that ethnic Arabs, Indians and Persians are baffled by American TV when the only actors of their community are typecasted as terrorists. I spent enough time in mosques as a younger man, curious about religions of the world, to know that most Muslims at least where I live were middle-class engineers and blue-collars folks who wanted their kids to enjoy the American dream. Kind of boring, and mundane really, and not exactly good TV content. How it must sting to watch TV sometimes for them after all their years of effort to try and blend in.
Some of my readers and fellow compatriots of the Blogosphere have lived in Asia far longer than I ever did, and are certainly no strangers to stereotypes. Many years ago when I was a student in Hanoi, Vietnam, I remember getting stereotyped as a rich American with a big belly. Comparatively speaking, it was true. People who haven’t been to the Third World have no idea of the sheer difference in wealth and security we have. We’ve really got it good here folks.
Anyway, people would practice their English on me at the most inopportune times, rub my belly and mention they had a sister or daughter they’d want to introduce me too, since an American in the family had certain advantages (read: passport out of the country). I am sure this is nothing new, but it’s been so long I forgot all about. I was young and stupid and didn’t adjust well at the time, so I was partly to blame for the misery there, but for folks who lived in Asia for a long time, I bet one gets stereotyped all the time, just as minorities here get stereotyped on a frequent basis.
I guess what it really boils down to is fascination, combined with well-meaning but ignorant naivety. Ethnic majority A, regardless of which country (Japan, US, Vietnam wherever) is curious about minority group or foreign culture B, but most A folks don’t get enough exposure to real B people, so they glean little bits from media, which only highlight the more exciting differences anyway. The A folks, possibly bored with their lives or not feeling fit in, take this narrow, distorted world-view of B, and see it as a viable alternative, or in a negative context, the reason for all their personal troubles or unhappiness. The real B folks might see this distorted world-view and try to educate or refute A, but most A folks don’t have the time or concern to actually listen let alone really get to know B enough to break bread with them, so B is stuck basically shouting at a wall.
Yessiree, getting stereotyped sucks.
I won’t even try to propose a solution to this. It’s such an endemic, ingrained habit by people in a majority culture, that I am sure smarter people have tried to stop this in vain.
Falling back on the Buddhist faith, I guess I have to accept that fact that life can be rotten and unfair sometimes, and that there are some problems in life that cannot be solved easily. The Buddha taught the importance of cultivating a sense of equanimity when encountering life’s vicissitudes, good and bad, and that’s good advice as any.
More importantly, wisdom and insight are so important. You can’t understand a person until you can break bread with them, and until you do that openly and sincerely, all your assumptions and perceived truths, even if “positive”, are merely projections of your own mind, no matter how real they may seem. This is of course, the basis of the Yogacara strain of Buddhist thought of which I have been fascinated with lately.
Self-reflection is so important in Buddhism, and getting a small but bitter taste of what it feels like to be stereotyped, even in a “hip” way, causes me to reflect on all the times I innocently did it myself. Better to learn now, than to live blissfully ignorant all my life, though. A bitter pill is a bitter pill, but it’s still good medicine.
Namu Amida Butsu
P.S. A great blog by a fellow Buddhist who knows all about getting stereotyped even by other Buddhists (oh, the irony). :p
P.P.S. I really like Jero actually, but I feel he’s been typecasted from day one, and I hope he has some good role-models to help him steer through the sudden fame and fortune and sycophants.
P.P.P.S. My wife, whose Japanese, also pointed out on that drama that American notions of “Asian beauty”, which accentuate “exotic Asian-ness” are totally different than Asian notions of “Asian Beauty” which prefer “Western” looks. She’s right of course, and it’s a fascinating topic for another day I guess.
Hello, this blog is about my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile / Koreaphile. Any useful information I can pass along will hopefully make the 
I enjoyed reading your post today because I recently had a woman honk her car at my husband and I as we walked across a busy parkway in Phila. holding hands. She shouted out the window how wonderful it was that we still do that (we are 40 something). I always think we could all be more affectionate in this country.
Hi Doug,
Loved the article! I agree about all the stereotypes that so easily build in our minds. Also I totally agree about them being mind created. It seems to me that upon this realization, that all we are thinking and conjuring is our own minds activity, we would begin to take responsibility for the content that we are creating. But so many people are unaware that they are responsible for the content in their mind. Thus we have at this time in the “evolution” of mankind, a perplexing barrage of opinions being spewed all over the world. I guess the middle way of practicing Buddhism gives us some relief. Knowing that we are creating the content, we can honestly communicate it with others, take responsibility for it, and even be a little creative with what we express. Thanks for the honesty and insight!
Chana
Hello and welcome!
zengirl1: A lovely story, thank you for sharing.
Chana: At the very least, Buddhism helps us realize we’re even doing it. :-p
“for folks who lived in Asia for a long time, I bet one gets stereotyped all the time”
Oh yes! I’ve lived in Thailand for most of the last 11 years and, almost daily, come across the Thai stereotype that I am rich stupid falang. As you know, I teach here and my students are amazed when they discover how much I get paid. Their estimates of my wages are usually three or four times what I actually get! Of course, because they grow up believing that all farangs are rich!
And, of course, there is always the stereotype that I am an outsider and can know nothing about Thai society or culture or religion. Despite being here for years, having a Thai wife and children, etc etc, I am always asked dumb questions such as can I eat Thai food. Would you ask a Thai resident of the US, after a decade in America, if they can eat western food?
But worse is the institutional racism. My Thai wife lives in the UK where she can do any job and, with permanent residency, has no further dealings with the immigration authorites. In fact, as a resident, she has more or less all the benefits of British people. On the other hand, as a legal resident of Thailand, I am restricted in the work I can apply to do and my visa is dependant upon my job. I even have to sign in for ‘alien registration’ every 90 days at the immigration office.
Worse still is the treatment from many of the temples. Ten years ago my wife and I made merit at the temple of the Golden Buddha near the main train station in Bangkok and we supported the temple as it raised funds for a new building to house it’s incredible Buddha image. I went back there a few weeks ago to visit the newly completed project and was told I had to pay to enter.
Thais could enter for free for non-Thais have to pay. I explained that I am a legal resident, that I have a work permit, that I pay tax and have done for years. I explained that I have a Thai family and that we even helped build this new temple building but I was still told that non-Thais must pay to enter simply because they are ot Thai.
The same at the main temple in Bangkok by the Grand Palace housing the most important Buddha image in the country. I went there last year with a Korean monk in robes. We were stopped at the gate and told to pay – because we are not Thai. Again I explained that I am a Thai tax-payer and that my friend is a fully ordained member of the Sangha, but again we were told that non-Thais must pay regardless of residency or religion.
And so, for as long as the institutional racism exists, stereotypes will also exist. For as long as foriegners in Thailand are officially prevented from integrating, popular understanding of foriegners will also be full of misunderstanding.