Examining the Asian-American stereotypes portrayed in these two movies.
In both The Motel and East Is East the typical Asian-American stereotype is challenged by the director and writers' choice of characters and situations.
In The Motel, director Michael Kang is able to bring a new angle to the classic coming of age story by showing it through the lens of the Asian-American experience. The movie, though never heavy handed or blatant, is written facing head on the stereotypical assumptions held by many involving sexuality, work ethic, blind obedience, and romance. Similarly, these themes can also be attributed to East Is East, a story of a large Pakistani family living in England in the 1970's who struggle with their own problems of tradition and culture, while subtly shattering many molds that have been made typifying the classic portrayal of the South Asian.
In The Motel, Kang makes a departure from the relative one dimensional Asian-American character archetype by painting a complex yet believable portrait of his characters. The protagonist, Ernest Chin, is a thirteen year old child raised in a motel owned by his mother. Abandoned by his father, and lacking any male figure in his life, Ernest struggles with his own budding sexuality and romantic interests. Similar to Abdul in East is East who looked to his older and more suave brother Tariq for guidance in the realm of romance, Ernest is able to make friends with a patron of the motel Sam Kim, who's worldly knowledge is shown from his entrance scene in the movie.
Sam Kim is an exceptional character for analysis, as he remains incredibly dynamic and multifaceted throughout the film. As he enters in his first scene, his arm around a blond prostitute, many traditional East Asian stereotypes are immediately broken. The concept of an asexual, quiet and unassuming Asian man certainly do not apply to Sam Kim, who's raucous and wild behavior are nothing short of spectacular. This is similar to a number of stereotypes addressed in East is East. Tariq, for example, also has a taste for the after dark social scene, and creates a new image for South Asian males ? certainly the idea of a playboy Pakistani would seem incredible not ten years ago. He has a Western girlfriend, and continues to frequent night clubs ( on some sort of regular basis as the bouncers knew him by sight.)
Of all the children, Tariq appears to be the most rebellious (even the eldest son Nazir didn't have the courage to face his father the way Tariq does), which also threatens the notion of an obedient and mild mannered Asian child (certainly the terms obedient and mild mannered could only be used to describe the children as an antithesis).
Other similarities can be drawn from two of the female leads in the movies. Both Meenah, the daughter of Om Pun and Christine, the love interest of Ernest ? are excellent examples of stereotype busting women. Meenah, in no small part due to the number of brothers both older and younger, lacks any attributes that may confuse her with a stereotypical South Asian woman, one referenced by her father many times (his first wife). She does not seem to show any strong sense of religious devotion, obedience, or ?desert flower?-like attributes. Her ability to kick soccer balls through windows however impressive, do not fit in to the stereotypes many hold of Pakistani women.
Much like Meena, Christine fails to live up to the mysterious sexual creature described in the Asian Women pornographic magazine. Her wild devil-may-care attitude and a penchant for cigarettes and liquor mouth wash make her certainly against the mold. I think Christine can be foiled against Meena effectively, since they are both strong, independent women who have a mind of their own. Thats not even to mention they both demand the affection of somewhat socially inept younger boys.
The movies also have some differences, particularly in their use of the two father figures. In East is East George (played by Om Puri) is the head of the household. Though some may debate that the mother had strong sway, I think it's pretty safe to say that George held the reigns for the most part, (certainly he held such a position by some questionable means ? but this is beyond the scope of this essay). George's word was law, (as far as he was concerned), and while his children may or may not have obeyed him, they certainly respected if not feared his authority. This patriarchal family remained under the rule of the authoritarian father throughout the movie, even at the final scene where George shows growth as a man, he is still exerting control over his wife.
Although, as I've said, her complacency may certainly be voluntary, throughout the movie she cannot bear to ?put her foot down?, Sajid's circumcision case in point.
On the flip side, the movie The Motel's primary father figure, Sam Kim, has nowhere near such a commanding authority. He couldn't even convince Ernest's little sister to play with him after she had been scolded by her mother. Much of the movie's sub plot revolving around Sam, in fact, plays upon his acute inability to control himself much less anyone else. The movie ends with his tenuous mentor-ship of Ernest coming to a close at Ernest's behest. Far from a patriarchal display, Ernest's mother remains the obvious head of the house hold (even in control of her father).
In conclusion, both the films East is East and The Motel draw many similarities between both South and East Asians, and while some markedly deviations from each other exist, it is curious how many stereotypical similarities exist between two such distinct cultures. In any such case, the directors and writers of both movies adroitly put many of these preconceived notions to rest, and attempted to build new possibilities in the way we see people from the Asian continent ?whichever cardinal direction they hail from.
