Minari

Photo by Lachlan Milne and edited by Francesca D.

Asian Americans through Gender, Family, Culture, and Economics

Exhibit by Francesca D., Teresa X., and Nia Y.

Our projects highlight the reasons for Asian immigration and the experiences of first- and second-generation Asian Americans as they adapt to life in the United States. Asian Americans are regarded as a successful immigrant group.¹ However, they struggle economically, socially, and culturally in their new lives. They face disadvantages in the job market,² tensions over gendered divisions of labor,³ treatment as a perpetual other in the United States,⁴and cultural identity conflicts.⁵ We uncover the nuance and complexity of the Asian American experience through poems, books, movies, TED Talks, and YouTube videos that capture different points of view, from both within and outside of Asian American communities. Each project addresses a different character in Minari: Francesca focuses on Jacob, Teresa focuses on Monica, and Nia focuses on David. By studying the Yi family’s perspective, our projects aim to tell the story of the Asian American immigrant experience.

Exhibit Goals

Movie Summary⁶

The Yi family are South Korean immigrants to the US in the 1980s, consisting of Jacob and Monica, their young children Anne and David, and Monica’s mother Soonja. The family moves from California to predominately-white Arkansas so Jacob can pursue his dream of owning a farm. Jacob’s farm creates financial concerns and family conflicts. Jacob is committed to his dream, while Monica wants to live closer to hospitals due to David’s heart condition. Monica grows increasingly frustrated with Jacob’s decisions. In addition, David is unaccepting of Soonja and the Korean culture she brings. Tensions rise as Monica threatens to leave due to Jacob’s lack of responsibility for the family. However, Jacob yields a great harvest and secures a deal to sell his vegetables to a Korean grocery. The film ends with Soonja accidentally burning down the barn that contains Jacob’s crops. Jacob and Monica rush in to try and save the crops, but Jacob ultimately decides to save Monica over his crops. The film ends with the family restarting by planting minari, a plant Soonja brought from Korea, and preparing to farm again.

Projects & Site Map

Francesca’s Project

Francesca explores the history of South Korean immigration to the US, the economic success of first-generation South Korean immigrants, and the tension over family gender norms that occurs because of labor.⁷

Teresa’s Project

Teresa examines how Asian American immigrants’ dual cultural identity further intersects with gender norms.

Nia’s Project

Nia focuses on how othering of family members can occur when one member of the family is more assimilated into American culture than other family members.

History + 1st Gen

1st Gen

2nd Gen

Glossary

  • Interpolation is the integration of an outside group into a different, more dominant group, and it is especially central to first-generation Asian American immigrants.⁸

  • Men and women face different expectations in Korea and the US: women are expected to care for the family, while men are expected to manage finances.⁹,¹⁰ However, the US has a more positive outlook on feminism.¹¹

  • To assimilate and stop feeling othered, many Asian American youth reject their culture and turn to what is called “defensive othering” by Michael Schwalbe.¹² They choose to distance themselves from their co-ethnic peers to gain acceptance from their non-Asian peers and to show that their identity is more complex than stereotypes suggest.¹³

Interpolation is related to assimilation pressures in Teresa’s and Nia’s exhibits and tensions over Korean versus American gender beliefs in Francesca’s exhibit. Gender is important to Francesca’s and Teresa’s projects: Francesca examines how economic tensions impact gender beliefs and Teresa focuses on cultural tensions. Defensive othering is a key response that second-generation Asian Americans adopt in relation to their peers and family members in Nia’s exhibit.

Interweaving of Sociological Concepts

Group Theme:

Family and Identity

Family is a key value in many Asian cultures and shapes understandings of what it means to be Asian American. Each individual in a family structure has different experiences depending on gender and generation. First-generation immigrants who are parents, like Jacob and Monica, tend to worry about their children’s success and their own parents’ well-being. Meanwhile, challenges in assimilating to the US tend to be more central for 1.5- and second-generation Asian Americans, like Anne and David. Younger Asian Americans may develop values that conflict with those of older generations, which can lead to othering. Conflict between generations, such as between parents and children, can impact Asian Americans’ self-identities, goals, and psychological well-being, especially when these interact with experiences of racism. These challenges are all embedded within the family structure.

Our exhibits collectively address how characters in the Yi family develop identities based on their relationships with each other. Nia examines Soonja and David’s relationship and David’s reaction to his grandmother’s Korean heritage. Teresa discusses how the Yi family’s attempt to reconcile US and Korean culture interacts with gender norms, resulting in limited power for Monica. Francesca analyzes how Monica takes an increasingly active role at her job but still has limited influence over financial decisions, while Jacob is able to use the family’s money for his dream instead of supporting individual family members. Francesca and Teresa’s projects consider gendered divisions of labor, but Francesca’s takes an economic focus, analyzing how a more equal distribution of income causes tension by challenging patriarchal norms.¹⁴Teresa’s project examines how cultural gender norms in both Korea and the US intersect with Asian Americans’ immigration experience. Nia’s project on Asian American reactions to othering relates to Teresa’s project because the othering is based on a hegemonic system that privileges whiteness and US culture, which connects to intersectionality.¹⁵ The hegemony of US culture affects David’s relationship with his grandmother because he others Soonja for not being Americanized, and intersectionality influences why Monica is devoted to her children but conflicted about following Jacob’s wishes. Othering relates to Francesca’s topic of Korean immigrants feeling disadvantaged in the traditional job market, prompting them to turn to entrepreneurship to advance their socioeconomic status.¹⁶

ASAM 2106 group theme photo.jpg

Notes

  1. Yoon, K. E., Pan, Y., & Lubkemann, S. (2012). Observing Census Enumeration of Nonenglish Speaking Households in the 2010 Census: Korean Report. Survey Methodology, 7.

  2. Min, P. G. (2013). The Korean Community in the United States: Changes in the Twenty-First Century. The Research Center for Korean Community at Queens College.

  3. Park, K. (2008). “I Can Provide for my Children”: Korean immigrant women’s changing perspectives on work outside the home. Gender Issues, 25(1), 26–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-008-9048-6

  4. Schwalbe, M., Godwin, S., Holden, D., Schrock, D., Thompson, S., & Wolkomir, M. (2000). Generic Processes in the Reproduction of Inequality: An Interactionist Analysis. Social Forces, 79(2): 419. https://doi.org/10.2307/2675505

  5. Choi, H. (2009). “Wise Mother, Good Wife”: A Transcultural Discursive Construct in Modern Korea. Journal of Korean Studies, 14(1):1–33. https://doi.org/10.1353/jks.2009.0004

  6. Lee Issac Chung, Minari, directed/performed by Lee Issac Chung, Steven Yeun, Han Yeh-ri (2020; Tulsa, OK: A24, 2021), film.

  7. Min, P. G. (2001). Changes in Korean Immigrants’ Gender Role and Social Status, and Their Marital Conflicts. Sociological Forum, 16(2), 301–320. http://www.jstor.org/stable/685067

  8. Qutami, L. (2020). Censusless: Arab/Muslim Interpolation into Whiteness and the War on Terror. Journal of Asian American Studies, 23(2), 161–200. https://doi.org/10.1353/jaas.2020.0017

  9. Seo, Y. J., Cheah, C. S. L., & Cho, H. S. (2020). The gender ideology of “Wise Mother and Good Wife” and Korean immigrant women’s adjustment in the United States. Nursing Inquiry, 27(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12357

  10. Arnaldo, C. R. (2021). “We’re Just as Good and Even Better than You”: Asian American Female Flag Footballers and the Racial Politics of Competition. Journal of Asian American Studies, 24(1), 115–144. https://doi.org/10.1353/jaas.2021.0014

  11. Min, P. G. (2001). Changes in Korean Immigrants’ Gender Role and Social Status, and Their Marital Conflicts. Sociological Forum, 16(2), 301–320. http://www.jstor.org/stable/685067

  12. Schwalbe, “Generic Processes.”

  13. Ibid.

  14. Park, “I Can Provide for My Children.”

  15. Arnaldo, “We’re Just as Good.”

  16. Min, “Changes.”

Credits

  1. Minari (2020) directed by Lee Issac Chung, accessed through https://digitalcampus-swankmp-net.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/vu374190/play/7478190435199d96

  2. Photo by Lachlan Milne via https://www.pennsylvasia.com/2021/06/2020-korean-american-film-minari.html and edited by Francesca Ducker

  3. Photo by Federico Respini via https://unsplash.com/photos/sYffw0LNr7s

  4. Photo by Connor Byers via https://unsplash.com/photos/-PR_BybYYqo

  5. Photo by Lachlan Milne via https://film-grab.com/2021/07/02/minari/

  6. Ibid.

  7. Ibid.

  8. Ibid.

  9. Ibid.

  10. Ibid.