Representations of Asian Americans in Popular Media
Select one contemporary popular media text (i.e., film, TV series/episode, music video, comic, or novel from 2000 to present) that features Asian American and/or Pacific Islander characters. Write a 4-5-page essay that analyzes its representations of them Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism and queer of color critique as a guiding framework.
Guiding Questions
● How does the popular media text represent Asian American and/or Pacific Islanders in terms of race, gender, sexuality, and class?
● What historical tropes and popular stereotypes does the media text draw upon?
● How do such representations support and/or disrupt Orientalist logics?
● How might we use queer of color critique to analyze these representations?
Expectations: Y our paper should…
● have an organizing thesis and a logical structure in which you advance an argument about the
popular media text you have selected
● (briefly) define Orientalism and queer of color critique and demonstrate your understanding of it.
● include a brief plot summary of the film, TV series/episode, music video, etc., that you’ve
chosen.
