Artistic production
Fred Ho highly promoted capitalism in art with his main philosophy pointing at making art that is defiance of class or color. According to him, this was the only possible way in which a revolutionary art could be achieved where there is no confusion or sensitization in regards to color or race. As an artist, Ho favored imaginative realism that would bring color in the world of music. He believed that an art should fill people with love since this is the only way in which an ultimate society which is transformed can be achieved. When an art has the ability to organize people of different social classes and races together without any ties, then this is when revolution shall have been achieved. Asian American artistic production has drawn through Ho’s philosophy of making art that is political focusing its major themes on the subjects of race, culture and class and the ways in which they affect the society at large. The plays titled “Trying to Find Chinatown” and “R. A. W: Raunchy Asian Women” are perfect examples of Asian films that have expressed Ho’s philosophy in its plots making these particular art works political in nature.
A revolutionary art should inspire the defiance, class and national pride spirit because this is the only way in which it can easily resist the backward ideology and domination that the world has been having for a long period. The play “Trying to Find Chinatown” is known for its popular class settings while exploring various themes regarding different cultures that the students can understand easily. The play is set in American where the audience can identify the ways in which it defies national and cultural ideologies and spirit. Benjamin Wong, who is a Caucasian Asian American, finds himself clashing with Ronnie, who has Asian ancestry because of their identities. Each has different viewpoint on the ways in which they represent Asian American community in America but differ in ideology.
Benjamin having grown up in Kansas is proud of his ethnic background which he considers liberal since he has managed to study in Madison majoring on Asian American study. Nonetheless, his last name was given to him by Asian American people who adopted him where he acquired his ethnic identity. He hopes that since Ronnie is an Asian would give him directions to find his birth place Chinatown (YouTube 1). However, this is not the only instance when Benjamin judged Ronnie by his physical appearance and skin tone; he also did so when he mistook one of his musical instruments for a fiddle. It is important to note that though Ronnie is an Asian, he mainly covers and plays classical music and jazz which for a long time has been labeled with black Americans. It is clear that Ronnie is a revolutionary artist who is not defined by appearances and social relations to determine the kind of music that he loves or plays for people. It embodies cultural imperialism which can only be achieved by revolutionary artists like him.
On the other hand, the play “R. A. W: Raunchy Asian Women” mainly explores the stereotype that whites have about Asian women like the character Miss Saigon who is considered as suicidal and exotic virgin. Though all the characters in the play are women, who perform various arts like spoken word, dancing and music, the producer used their voices to address different political relationships that Asian women have with white American men in the country (HIDVL 1). Among the things that have been quoted to depict racial stereotype include their Asian hair which the men compare with that of white women. In summary, Ho played an important role in influencing Asian film themes to address issues that affect them in the society while at the same time using the political nature to resist the backward ideology and domination and this is evident in the plays “Trying to Find Chinatown” and “R. A. W: Raunchy Asian Women.”
Works Cited
“R. A. W: Raunchy Asian Women.” HIDVL, 1996. Retrieved from http://hidvl.nyu.edu/video/003808914.html
“Trying to Find Chinatown.” YouTube. 2012. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUYa3JSUuWY