Race/Racism: Who are you?
Vietnamese Americans are Americans who have a Vietnamese heritage. Vietnamese people living in the United States make up close to have of the Vietnamese people leaving overseas. The Vietnamese Americans are one of the largest Asian American ethnicities. Other Asian ethnicities include the Indians, Filipinos, and the Chinese. The Asian Americans have a distinct characteristic from other Americans. I define myself as an Asian American. The media sources like the movies and television give little positives about the Asian Americans and neither are there many recognized role models of Asian American heritage (Mok). According to Mok the media fails to do justice to diversity of the American people and does not appreciate the culture of Asian Americans. The paucity of a conspicuous Asian image in the American society is responsible for affecting perceptions of the Asian Americans themselves, their race, and the broader society. 

Mok examined the autobiographical information and Asian American images from literature material in order to demonstrate the likely negative impact of being a minority person of color in the American society that has emphasized on a mono-racial beauty standard. Information gathered by Mok from primary Asian American sources frequently pointed to media as the potent information source dictating the manner in which attractiveness is measured and defined (185–202). Pham (1) describes the experiences of the Asian immigrants into America as diverse just as the experiences of their children born in the United States (Pham 1). The Asian American children grew to some awareness level in relation to their identity. They acknowledged that they have an Asian American heritage and had a specific ethnic background as Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, Filipino etc. The immigration and growth of the Asian American society signaled the development of the consciousness of the Asian Americans (Pham 1). 

The Asian Americans distinguished their heritage based on their respective cultures. They also separated themselves from mainstream culture of the American people (Pham 1). The first generation Asians born in America never had the chance to benefit from the advantage of any existing Asian American models of consciousness because they happened to be the pioneer Asians in the American society (Pham 1). The Asian Americans struggled with defining and cultivate their own identities as Korean Americans, Japanese Americans, or Chinese Americans, Indian Americans or Vietnamese Americans etc. (Pham 1). Contrary to the first generation Asian Americans, those arriving from Asian Countries after late 1960s had opportunity to bear witness of the interactions and existence of various Asian American ethnic groups. This made it possible for the immigrants to witness various Asian American identities from which they could adapt, reject or alter the inherited perceptions. The second class of Asian immigrants had the chance to study existing pan-ethnicity of the Asian Americans giving them a collective identity (Pham 1).

A...…America is a society of numerous ethnic communities. I strongly believe that it is easier to make a good living and succeed in life as an American than in any other place on earth. Save for the fact that people of color and minority groups have had some rough encounters before the white ethnic majorities America is a society that upholds constitutionalism, civil, and human rights. Equality of all ethnic groups is yet to be achieved although great strides have been made so far. Asian Americans are widely accepted as an integral part of the American society just as other ethnic minority groups.

In conclusion, as Huh would have it Asian Americans are the victims of neglect and degradation by the popular media and the consumer markets (Huh 1). The Asian American community has not been able to make a mark in the American pop culture. The measly Asian American representation is strictly controlled through the lens of distortion and inclined towards creating the perception that Asian Americans are only good comic relief artists (Huh 1). Due to insignificant Asian American representation in media platforms, the young Asian Americans have been forced to adopt personals from various cultures in the quest to mobilize themselves culturally and socially. All in all I believe Asian Americans should be more assertive in claiming their rightful place and sustaining their cultural, religious, and social outlook. 

 

Works Cited

Hassan, Adeel.…