Asian Pacific Islanders as the Joke

Asian American History 101

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 14! Most people like a good joke, but when it is harmful or demeaning, or there is a pattern of a specific target being laughed at instead of laughed with, then it can lead to reinforcing stereotypes and power dynamics. This is what has happened to Asian Pacific people in the U.S., and being the target of jokes desensitizing the impact with audiences and normalizes mocking of AAPI individuals. Today we take time to talk about some key moments when AAPI people were made to be the joke in movies or by comedians, celebrities, and athletes. There’s some great work done by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. One of their studies was done with Gold House and the Coalition for Asian Pacifics in Entertainment called I Am Not a Fetish or Model Minority: Redefining What it Means to Be API in the Entertainment Industry. We also mention a great piece from The Daily Show where Ronny Chieng mocks Jesse Watters. In the rest of the episode, we talk about a history of April Fool’s Day and share our thoughts on Everything Everywhere All at Once. Spoilers… we LOVED it! For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at https://linktr.ee/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [e-mail].

Segments

• 00:25 Brief History of April Fool’s Day
• 05:07 Asian Pacific Islanders as the Joke
• 25:53 What Are We Watching? Everything Everywhere All at Once