In 1904, the organizers of the St. Louis World’s Fair created a zoo-like Filipino exhibit that would never be forgotten. Over 100 years later, Asian Americans still face racism and treatment rivaling that of zoo animals. Since the beginning of the United States, the country has always tried to present itself as “The Melting Pot,” with Lady Liberty continuing to be our beacon of this image. Though America still holds this image close to its heart, U.S. Census data tells a different story. In the time between 2010 and 2014, the white population in the United States increased 5 points, from 72.4% of the population to 77.4% of the population. While diversity and multiculturalism are being emphasized at all levels, if the United States fails to
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Louis World’s Fair, the United States made a non-verbal statement by placing Filipinos in display villages to be observed by those attending the fair. Throughout the film Bontoc Eulogy, and specifically the scene where we can see the fair visitors observing the villages, a physical and social barrier is strongly placed between those in the village and those who are not. In the decades leading up to this event, the United States had been developing through a time that was strained by tensions in Asian American immigration history. While the story of Asian Immigration seemed to already be unfolding for the United States, and White America was already beginning to define how they felt the story would continue to unfold, a major move happened when “the little brown men” were introduced. The United States moved into the Philippines and began a colonization that rivaled an explorer’s movement into the …show more content…
Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, policy in the United States changed drastically surrounding the treatment of alleged terrorists and public perception changed also. Set in a time period roughly 100 years later than Bontoc Eulogy, the film Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay shows the horrible consequences of this policy. Throughout the film, the audience is exposed to one racist implementation of a policy to another, culminating, in the first part, to the public display and extremely poor treatment of Harold and Kumar. The two men, arrested while in flight and eventually imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, are stripped of all dignity as humans and subjected to the cruelty of the military guards. From this scene, the remaining plot begins to unfold and through brief messages and pinpoint stereotypes, the animalization of the two mirrors those that have come before them in this constant racial struggle. The stereotypes continue into the depictions of the FBI Investigator that is spearheading the search for
Louis World’s Fair, the United States made a non-verbal statement by placing Filipinos in display villages to be observed by those attending the fair. Throughout the film Bontoc Eulogy, and specifically the scene where we can see the fair visitors observing the villages, a physical and social barrier is strongly placed between those in the village and those who are not. In the decades leading up to this event, the United States had been developing through a time that was strained by tensions in Asian American immigration history. While the story of Asian Immigration seemed to already be unfolding for the United States, and White America was already beginning to define how they felt the story would continue to unfold, a major move happened when “the little brown men” were introduced. The United States moved into the Philippines and began a colonization that rivaled an explorer’s movement into the …show more content…
Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, policy in the United States changed drastically surrounding the treatment of alleged terrorists and public perception changed also. Set in a time period roughly 100 years later than Bontoc Eulogy, the film Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay shows the horrible consequences of this policy. Throughout the film, the audience is exposed to one racist implementation of a policy to another, culminating, in the first part, to the public display and extremely poor treatment of Harold and Kumar. The two men, arrested while in flight and eventually imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, are stripped of all dignity as humans and subjected to the cruelty of the military guards. From this scene, the remaining plot begins to unfold and through brief messages and pinpoint stereotypes, the animalization of the two mirrors those that have come before them in this constant racial struggle. The stereotypes continue into the depictions of the FBI Investigator that is spearheading the search for