kristinberry

Playing off Janet Stickmon's book, it was interesting to focus on identity this week in a different form. Although cheesy at parts, The Debut was an entertaining movie about a young Filipino American. It wasn't really all about searching for identity since he did not even seriously question the issue until later in the film. The term "white washed" is something that many people don't usually discuss. At my high school, it was a phrase that used by the entire community including Asian American students. No one really questioned it, and from my perspective, no one saw it as really negative. In The Debut, Ben didn't seem like he would have cared either until he began seeing his culture from a different perspective. Like Tomas in American Son, he probably refused to identify with his Filipino heritage and try to fit into another mold because of his disdain for his father. Ben's father is pivotal character in this movie since Ben really starts to appreciate his lifestyle when he hears him sing and his family member tells Ben that his father gave up his dreams to raise his children in the US with the hopes of an American dream. Back to the issue of "white washed" (sorry to digress)...Ben became angered at that term after his sister's debut when his cousin called him that. This shift was due to his sudden changing ideology.

I also thought the story line with Annabelle was interesting, yet I'm not too sure what to think of it exactly and its implications.

The movie Flip Side was also interesting and dealt with identity and culture in a similar way, but with the main character in tune with his ethnicity while his sibling questioning his own. Both of these movies show how important this issue with today's youth and I'm sure with people of older ages.