Teri Hu
MA Education in Language and Literacy
UC Berkeley, May 1999
Molding Minorities:
Asian American Youth Respond to Images in Popular Culture and Literature
Appendix A
Personal Data (This information is strictly confidential and will be used only for the purposes of statistical analysis within this study. All participants should be first or second generation, Mandarin-speaking Chinese immigrants between the ages of 16-18 who reside in the Bay Area.)
Name
Name you would like to use in the study
Sex
Age
Date of Birth
Country of Birth
Languages Spoken
If you are an immigrant, at what age and year did you come to the U.S.? If your parents immigrated, what year did they arrive in the U.S.?
Parents’ Names(M) (F)
Parents’ Ages (M) (F)
Parents’ Countries of Birth (M) (F)
Parents’ Occupations (M) (F)
Are your parents currently: married (to each other) widowed
divorced
remarried
If divorced, with which parent do you currently reside?
Mother
Father
Current Address
Phone(s)
E-mail Address(es)
I, the undersigned, do give permission to the author of this study to contact me and my family at these addresses and phone numbers during the course of her research.
Signature:
Response to Media Images
Who do you consider a role model…
in the movies?
on television?
in books?
in real life?
With which fictional characters do you identify strongly? (i.e. Superman, Bart Simpson, Ferris Bueller, etc…)
When you see an Asian actor/actress, model, news reporter, writer, etc…on television, in newspapers/magazines, or elsewhere in the media, what is your reaction to their accomplishments? Is it any different than your reaction to celebrities who are not Asian?
Do you feel any particular affinity to celebrities who are Asian as opposed to those who are not Asian? Why or why not?
What does the phrase “Asian American” mean to you?
Write three adjectives that you associate with Asians.
1
2
3
How has being Asian affected the range/variety of career options you have seriously considered?
How has being Asian affected your behavior/expectations…
as a child?
as a student?
as a teenager?
What do you plan to do with your life? How is it influenced by the fact that you are an Asian American?
In the following section, circle the word from each pair that best describes Asian Americans as they have been portrayed in the media and popular culture. Remember, it does not have to be a characteristic you agree with, just one that is generally applied to Asians. If you do agree with the characteristic, and feel that it applies to you personally, check next to the pair of words.
A Time to Compromise
By Howard Ling
As Multi-Cultural Week approaches, all different people of different cultures and backgrounds prepare for the event. All individuals during this time want to prepare some sort of event that his or her culture demonstrates in order to highlight their traditions.
Different cultures perform different arts and crafts. As for my Chinese culture, we have something called the Dragon dance. This is a very popular dance during the time of the Chinese New Year. A group of people gather together, usually two or three, under a decorated cloth with a dragon head attached. The cloth resembles the body of the dragon. They usually make movements that act as if a dragon would. In order to accomplish this, time and much hard work must be put into perfecting these movements. The dragon is usually chasing a man carrying a wooden stick with a blazing ball at the tip.
The dragon is a beast or monster that is included in many Chinese folk tales. It is known as “nien” or year. It usually symbolizes the coming of a new year.
posted on March 1, 2003.