Introduction

For now, I will identify myself as "That Asian Girl".  I am currently a freshman at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, a predominantly white university.  Though no one has ever called me that to my face, I am sure that is one of my most identifying characteristics.  Our school is 6% Asian.  My high school was 9%, but I can safely say that I feel the difference very strongly.  I am a Music Business major, production emphasis, with an Asian Studies minor.  A concern, passion, and interest of mine for a while has been media and it's interaction with the masses.  I love examining the cultural affects of journalism, music, television, film, and fashion.  One of my favorite topics of discussion is the portrayal of Asian Americans in television and film.  

It has long been my belief that the portrayal or lack thereof in popular media of minority groups, most relevantly, Asian Americans, has lead to certain stereotypes or expectations concerning these various ethic and minority groups.  I hope to use this blog as a place to evaluate different television shows and movies in regards to their treatment of Asian Americans.

I believe that one of the unheard voices of our society is that of Asian Americans.  We are underrepresented in popular music, television, and film.  I believe that part of the Asian American fixation to the internet is as a medium for this silenced voice, subsequently, we revert to the internet to discuss, to express, and to see ourselves.  

One of the greatest functions media plays in our everyday lives is a point of reference.  Whether or not we believe it consciously or subconsciously, we compare our lives and experiences to that which we see in order to figure out how our lives fit into the general human experience, and we use it to evaluate the people around us.  The limited and skewed portrayals of Asian Americans in media through the years have affected not only our understandings of ourselves, but they have affected the view that others have about us.  While I see set backs and I see hope everyday in my analysis of media, most people take little notice to either of them, and I hope that this is a place where I can point those out so that we can become a more conscious nation, a people apart from ethnic backgrounds because I believe that we are all brothers and sisters.  Advances can and have been made and little victories must be celebrated, but the problems have to pointed out as well.

I look forward to many more posts and discussions with any of you who may come to read this.

That Asian Girl