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Blog 2- Yellow Peril on the Silver Screen: Techno-Orientalism and its Effects on the Asian-American Community

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In recent years, there has been an uptick in American films led by an Asian main character. From live-action films like Crazy Rich Asians and The Farewell to animated films like Disney’s Turning Red, these films all show representation of Asian culture and identity. While these films positively portray Asian people, that was not always the case. This blog post will explore the harmful stereotypes of past Asian representation in cinema with a focus on science-fiction films and their effects on the Asian community. Still frame from Blade Runner (1982) The critically acclaimed film, Blade Runner, takes place in a dystopian version of Los Angeles that looks more like a futuristic version of Tokyo. When the male white protagonist is introduced, he is being served by a Japanese man at a Japanese restaurant and surrounded by billboards with Japanese models. The dominance of Japanese aesthetics in a sci-fi dystopia film is a reflection of Western society’s acknowledgment of Asia's techno...
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Blog 1 - Genderism and Stereotyping: The Dangers of Transphobic Prejudice

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     In recent years, the LGBT+ community has made significant progress in terms of greater public acceptance into society and better media representation. Same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States in 2015 and a 2020 Pew Research Center study shows that as of 2019, 72% of Americans believe that homosexuality should be accepted. (Poushter & Kent, 2020).  However, even as the LGBT+ community moves forward, there is still one letter of the acronym that is getting left behind. Protester in New York demonstrating against Trump's ban on transgender individuals in the military (Reuters, 2017)      A 2022 Pew Research Center study surveyed Americans on societal acceptance of transgender individuals and found that while 38% of respondents saw transgender acceptance positively, 32% saw it as a bad thing with the remaining 29% responding neutrally (Brown, 2022). These results become more significant when considering that 3 in 5 transgender people r...
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About Me

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Tammy Cheung is currently a second-year Sociology major at Cal State Fullerton. She grew up in Arcadia and went to a school with a student body that was predominantly Asian-American. In her free time, she enjoys drawing and creating comics. She also has a dog that barks way too much.  In this blog, there will mainly be a focus on LGBT+ and Asian American topics, as these are topics she is most passionate about studying and understanding. These two communities are important to her own identity as well. Her most recent blog post focused mainly on the transphobia that is rampant in current society. 
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