Sample Paper
APA 345
The Role of Consciousness in Asian American History
The construction of Asian American history is an ever-evolving process feeding on the contributions of Asian American arts and artists. The point of this art is not necessarily how Asian Americans are represented, but simply that they are represented. Each work increases consciousness of under-represented experiences in American history and potentially inspires activism. According to postmodern theorists, spectacle and multiple identities of Asian American representation may ultimately negate meaning in the work signaling a bleak outlook for the advancement of Asian American understanding; however such theorists concede that audience consciousness can be achieved (Feng 189). Once things are visible they are part of consciousness and people can use the new consciousness to affect change. AKA Don Bonus promotes consciousness of Asian American identity through its form, tone, and content.
The home-movie form of AKA Don Bonus increases audience awareness of issues facing the Asian American community. By presenting the film in home-video form, it enhances the raw reality of the events on screen. The traditional Hollywood style of continuity editing allows the audience to escape life and live in the world of the movie. With AKA Don Bonus, viewers do not escape into the text of the film; instead they are set apart from the images on screen making them aware of their position in relation to the film. This historical consciousness becomes part of the creation of Asian American history and representation, as each person is left to draw his/her own conclusions about messages in the film and the ultimate fate of Don Bonus. The film “retains the form of indefinite approximation, leaving it for us to fill in and complete what the text’s gaps and fissures address but do not identify” (Nichols 167). In addition, the use of home-video style increases audience relation to the events on screen by its sheer reality. The form makes it impossible to dismiss the narrative as fiction and thereby denies the viewer opportunity to release himself/herself from responsibility in Don Bonus’ situation or its larger cultural implications. It forces the viewer to realize that poverty and racial tension exist in the United States, and ideally the increased consciousness will lead to societal improvements. Finally, the form of AKA Don Bonus expands audience identification with the main character in its journal-like narrative. When Bonus talks directly into the camera, it is as if he is speaking directly to the audience, engaging each viewer. Catharsis through journaling is a common form of expression allowing the audience to relate to Don Bonus, not as a mysterious other, but as someone with similar needs and desires to themselves. The form of AKA Don Bonus enhances audience consciousness while contributing to the film’s tone of hopelessness and confusion.
The narrative and visual tones of the film mobilize Asian American representations. The film’s narrative tone incorporates both hope and desperation. Don Bonus faces many challenges at home and in school with no break and no solace. He seems confined, depressed, and unable to escape his situation. One day, he comes home from school to find his house has been robbed, and he must take care of the situation since he lives alone at this point. The police offer no support or confidence that Bonus’ things will be returned. Then the next morning, Bonus has to go to school where he is facing the prospect of not graduating and his teachers do not understand his situation. The constant cycle of pressure leaves little hope for future prosperity. The visual tone of AKA Don Bonus also contributes to the feeling of claustrophobia. Don’s talking-to-the-camera scenes are done with close-ups, innately defining the audience’s view and imprisoning Bonus within the frame. When Bonus tapes at school and with his family, he uses a lot of close-ups as well. This once again creates a feeling of confinement, but also shows Bonus’ desire for intimacy and cohesiveness. Several times during the film, Bonus tells the audience how much he wants his family to be like other families. His family continually abandons him acting in their own self interest. To Bonus, it does not matter if this familial love he desires is based on Cambodian or American traditions, just so long as it exists. American media has shown him the possibility of a cohesive family, but due to poverty and racial “otherness” America disallows him this opportunity. The faded visual images in the film are due to the fact that the film is shot by an amateur on a camcorder, but serve to darken images and create stark backgrounds in the film. These visuals create a depressing feeling for the viewer, helping him/her to empathize with Bonus. The title itself sets a tone of dejectedness and identity confusion. It possibly indicates that Bonus experiences the same struggles as other Asian immigrants, and that they are also know as (AKA) Don Bonus. More likely the title speaks to Bonus’ separation from himself. Everyone associated with Don has a different idea of his identity, including his friends, his teachers, his family, himself, and the audience. He is Cambodian; he is American; he is a high school student; he is a lost teenager; he is also known as Don Bonus. It is as if his name, Don Bonus, is just an aside because he does not know his true identity. The tone of AKA Don Bonus inspires audience empathy with Bonus through feelings of confinement and internal confusion apparent in both the visual and narrative construction of the film.
The content of the film foregrounds issues of Asian American identity and stereotyping increasing audience consciousness. As Peter Feng points out, the term “Asian American” itself is a political designation, whereas terms such as “Chinese American” denote a cultural construct (191). Don Bonus does not identify himself specifically as Asian American as it does not tell anything about himself or offer any group support. He does, however, unknowingly contribute to Asian American art and history by simply telling his story. In addition, Bonus has trouble relating to his “Cambodian American” status as his family is fragmented and he does not remember much about Cambodia. While he does not relate to any outside imposed notions of identity, he is simultaneously, if subconsciously, negotiating his Cambodian and American identities. His lack of memory and family disconnectedness separate him from his homeland, so he is left with American pop culture searching for his place in American culture. The problem is, that white America still perceives him as an outsider and even more foreign as he breaks traditional stereotypes of Asian Americans. White America often stereotypes Asian Americans in the manner of either the evil Fu Manchu or ultra-submissive Charlie Chan. Bonus fits neither of these molds, nor does he conform to the idea of the wealthy, capitalist, Asian American. The film shows the audience an often overlooked group of Asian immigrants: impoverished refugees. Don’s family immigrated to America because of war in Cambodia, however their former way of life, mostly rural living, did not transfer to success in a competitive American economy. AKA Don Bonus negates untrue stereotypes of Asian Americans and helps the audience to better understand the multiplicity of the Asian American experience.
The form, tone, and content of AKA Don Bonus not only raise awareness of experiences of Asian Americans, but affect audience perception of the group as a whole. The audience becomes a player in the action on screen through personal analysis. This gives each audience member a role in the creation and representation of Asian American history. As time passes the nature of Asian American and American history will evolve both separately and together, promoting cultural awareness and a history that encompasses the diversity of America.
Works Cited
Feng, Peter X. “Being Chinese American, Becoming Asian American: Chan is Missing.”
Screening Asian Americans. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2002.
Nichols, Bill. “Historical Consciousness and the Viewer: Who Killed Vincent Chin?.” Screening
Asian Americans. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2002.