Vietnamese Women- Professor Bui

 

Professor Bui brought up a number of interesting topics about the depictions of Vietnamese women before, during, and especially after the Vietnam War.  Her analysis of Heaven & Earth, The Quiet American, and Three Seasons greatly reminded me of our class analysis of Marnie.  Bui mentioned non verbal indicators that represent the way Vietnam’s history and current events have shaped visions of Vietnamese women. In other movies, through different film techniques, women can be shown as subservient or in a specific stereotype.  Also, we have talked about framing in class before, and I think this translates to this research topic because views on Vietnamese women have been framed by movies, TV, books, and other media platforms.  Bui comments that very often Vietnamese and Asian women are shown in a certain submissive, hardworking role through the use of their bodies.  Female Vietnamese bodies are often shown as rape victims or prostitutes that are passed man to man just to support themselves.  This draws a great comparison with Vietnam and their unstable control of government.  Some movies, such as Heaven & Earth, easily highlight how a Vietnamese woman’s body triumphs over prostitution and can stand on their own, mirrors the history of Vietnam.  But these stereotypes of submissive Asian women and questions of identity are still around today.

I found Professor Bui’s personal account of being stigmatized (as a prostitute) in Vietnam by a businessman something that many Asian-American woman can relate to.  Maybe not in that direct way, but in a similar way of being stereotyped to the point where there is nothing you can do about it.  I am an adopted South Korean who grew up in southwest, rural Iowa; where I was often the only Asian besides my brother for many towns around.  I got asked many times if I was a foreign exchange student at my high school, when I had been in this same town of 1500 people since I was 4 years old.  Even among the most understanding and compassionate people, stereotypes and identity problems are something many Asian Americans are faced with.  I agree with Professor Bui when she said, “Representations have consequences in how we understand who Vietnamese women are.”  I think this is especially true with Asian Americans because more often than not they are depicted as this obedient, dutiful, and hardworking person, often with an accent or roots in an Asian country (maybe strict parents).  Even in the new show 2 Broke Girls their Korean boss is this short, goofy, and shy man who has an accent and is not learned of societal trends at the "appropriate" rate.  This I think is so different than the current generation of Asian Americans, like me and many of my friends, who do not fit this stereotype but are not represented in any different way.  We have freedoms, do not have any speech problems, and are socially functional.  I believe Professor Bui’s critique of how Vietnamese women are portrayed in the media is very valid because the portrayal of Asians, and the multifaceted people they are, is a topic that is lacking in much of our media today.

Caitlin McDonald