Image Credit: ABC
On Tuesday nights, I’m going to make sure my kids finish their homework early so we can watch “Fresh Off the Boat” together. Tuning into the pilot was sort of like the Asian American version of watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon.
There are plenty of reasons for me to relate to the sitcom family: They are Taiwanese American, and they are even named the Huangs! But their experiences running a restaurant in 1990s Orlando are a far cry from my childhood growing up as the daughter of an engineer and scientist in the 1970s Midwest, and even farther stretch from my sons’ reality of growing up third-generation mixed-race Asians in 2000s California.
Still, there were so many things to relate to: when the teacher mispronounces Eddie’s name; the way the popular white kids tease Eddie as he opens his Tupperware full of Chinese noodles; Mrs. Huang’s side-eye when the younger kids bring home report cards full of stickers; even the slapstick humor of Mr. Huang trying to drum up business for his struggling steakhouse.
I squirmed in my seat as my kids watched the climax of the pilot episode, where Eddie’s lone black classmate calls him a “Chink” and tells him he’s at the bottom now.
But would my kids relate? At the end of the show, I asked my boys what they thought.
“I like it!” my fourth-grader enthused. “But I don’t think the other kids at school would get it.”
Was it because his classmates aren’t Asian? Was it because nobody pokes fun at other people’s race any more? Were the white teachers and classmates too ridiculous? Was it unfair that the only other non-white kid throws the racial slur?
Read on at Mom.me and find out my 4 tips for using Fresh Off the Boat to talk to kids about race…
I’m all for having the discussions about race and racism.
If this is supposed to be a sitcom, I would hope to be able to laugh. But when I see racism played out, I’m not laughing. It would be more believable if a white kid threw the racial slur. I have experienced racism from Euro-Americans. I have experienced NO racism from African-Americans. African-Americans know how painful racism feels because they deal with racism and micro-aggression’s daily. They are less likely to throw racial insults.
Making the African-American kid out to be the villan builds fears and phobias of Black men and Black boys – which is the last thing we need in an already racist U.S. that demonizes Blackness.
I hear what you’re saying, Glenn. And I’ve been uneasy about how the Black boy was the one to use the slur, because of what you said about Black men and boys being villainized already. I’m pretty sure that scene was taken directly out of Eddie Huang’s memoir. I’m pretty sure from what I’ve heard about the storyline, that Eddie and Edgar eventually become friends in the show.
In my experience, I’ve faced racism from white people, as well as Blacks and Latinos. I see that as the result of our social structure, in which white culture is pretty much the standard of excellence and normalcy, and the other races are forced to prove themselves as “good enough”, sometimes by putting down other races. And Asians aren’t innocent. Mrs. Huang’s comments and nagging about Eddie loving rap music and idolizing Black men, for example, although those are much subtler examples.
Maybe this nuance is too delicate for network TV? I’m not sure. But I’m glad we can have this discussion about it.
Good points Grace.
If an African-American kid really did say that to him in real life, TV script writers should take liberty to change the story to make to make it more entertaining or funny. For the producers to demonize an African-American boy in the first episode is setting a bad first impression.
And I stand corrected on who is more or less likely to throw racial insults. I’m only viewing things through a Euro-American lens.
This begs the question, how does each racial group treat each other racial group? And what causes the variations. One thing will remain constant though; people who are in pain tend to inflict pain on others.
the comments about blacks not being racist are so naïve,my son is 1/2 white and 1/2 Filipino.when he was in kindergarten he came from school crying.when i asked him why, he asked me if we are Chinese.I said no,why.his friend in school told him “his dad said he can’t play with me because i’m Chinese”. his friend is black. i have personally heard many comments that are racist from all racial groups,don’t believe that only white people are racist.
I hadn’t thought about watching it WITH my kids!! My kids are mixed Chinese and Irish. I know partly, they will not relate, yet I think it would be good for them to see what sort of reactions, thoughts, ideas are shown on the show. It’s a funny show, and many scenes are over the top (the mom calling out the customer with the expired coupon or the crouton stealing)…Part of me fears that my kids will get the wrong idea of Asians…they don’t have any stereotypes in their head at all about being Asian. They have seen the ‘chink’ incident that we can all relate to, but they have not experienced it themselves (looking so very non-Asian). They don’t have any idea what growing up in a ‘tiger mom’ family is like, and we have not had to be so tight with our money as I did when my parents first immigrated…will they even get the humor of it? Will it open up their hearts to have more compassion for first-generation Asians here? Will it give them a way to connect to their heritage? Interesting thoughts. I liked your article about the 4 tips…but couldn’t comment there because I don’t have a login there. Thanks for the post!
I’m going to comment again…more on the linked article, not this one, because you asked some great questions…Could I relate to Eddie Huang? Yes, in the TV show (not his book though). Did kids segregate by race at school? Yes, they certainly did. I was one of the few Chinese, so it became more of a general ‘Asian’ group, with Filipino, Indian and Chinese (we had 1 white girl in our group, and we jokingly and lovingly called her “The Token White Girl”.). How would I teach my kids to stand up for themselves? I was so proud of my son when he spoke up when some kids at the lunch table were making fun of Chinese people (detailed in my blog post here: http://biculturalhomeschool.blogspot.com/2014/11/standing-up-against-racial-ridicule.html ). He doesn’t look Chinese, so I’m sure they did not expect him to be offended by their remarks! I hope and pray that he doesn’t encounter much of this (and realistically, he doesn’t…even when in public school, it seems that racial comments are very ‘under the table’. it’s not blatant anymore, it’s not public, it’s quiet…Yes, there is still racism, but it’s not so open. It’s a step in the right direction, but it’s not a solved problem. (In the same way, my kids tell me there is no teasing about kids who are autistic, or have physical problems or have glasses…a far cry from the days when i was called “FOUR EYES” the first day I showed up with glasses) I think there’s more of a feeling now that comments like that are unacceptable, yet they DO still happen when kids are alone (not supervised).