The issue of understanding diaspora is a controversial subject that is discussed and interpreted different among different generations. Its effects are so influential to the extent that it plays a role in the determination of an individual’s identity. By using a broad range of multivalent narratives concerning ethnicity and identity, Radhakrishnan enables the reader to visualize the ideal picture of ethnicity in the United States. From the narratives used in the text, it is possible to see that ethnicity is conceptualized in different phases. First, opportunism and pragmatism and used to suppress ethnicity (121). Another phase of conceptualizing ethnicity is resistance where individuals tend to resist their identity. This is possible due to assimilation into the American culture thereby influencing younger generations to loose interests of their true ethnic affiliations. Equally, Radhakrishnan seems to suggest that the older generations is partly to blame because of their conservative attachment to their homelands making them to lose sight of the changing perspectives in the American society (125). Radhakrishnan questions the use of hyphenated integration to denote the identity of individuals living in diaspora. By examining the two generations, Radhakrishnan shows that there is need to understand the ideal strategy to use in explaining the different ways that immigrants in diaspora can use to explain their generations. Similar sentiments are shared by Lowe Lisa in Heterogeneity, Hybridity, and Multiplicity who uses the terms hybridity, heterogeneity, and multiplicity to explain the differences in generations among Asian immigrants in America.
Richard Roberts in The Construction of Cultures in Diaspora: African and African New World Experiences points out that that the Jews in the Diaspora are not bound by the circumstances that affect Africans in diaspora. While the African-Americans can easily adopt the American culture, American-Jews hold to their traditional beliefs and act in the same way that the Jews in Israel behave. Their identity remains the same. This can be used to explain the reasons why Radhakrishnan blamed the older generation for holding on to their Indian identity despite attaining American citizenship. The answer to this observation would be because of their desire to hold on to their true cultural identity.
Diversity within the American culture is certain to make younger generations to assimilate more with the American identity. Sadly, the American society is certain to make young generations to identify themselves with two ethnic identities irrespective of them being born in America or not. For instance, at home, an Indian-American child might tend to think that it belongs to the American society because it was born in America. At school, however hard the child might want to be associated or to be united with the American society, ethnic slurs and terms are certain to be used to describe her Indian identity (122). Such forces might have led Radhakrishnan’s child to inquire about her identity. Just like Lowe Lisa in Heterogeneity, Hybridity, and Multiplicity, Radhakrishnan argues that there is need to understand one’s history in order to explain the future because change is ubiquitous. Besides, understanding ones history can enable him or her to find solutions to complex situations relating ethnic identity. This understanding of ethnicity and national identity plays a critical role in determining how individuals will connect and relate with one another.
The Construction of Cultures in Diaspora: African and African New World Experiences by Richard Roberts
Apparently, the identity of Africans in the Diaspora has been one complicated issue. This can be explained by the actuality that Africans in the Diaspora exist because of the one historical experience. Perhaps this can be explained by the fact that the African Diaspora came about because of one of the worst historical experiences – slave trade. According to Abner Cohen, the Africans of the western region were separated by ethnicity, especially in the rural areas. Cohen notes that the Africans in the urban areas identified themselves with nationality rather than with ethnic lines. This was a break away from the thinking of the African male elders that were in a series of collaboration with the European intruders of the colonial period. Identity is the most important social issue as explained by Chanock, a historian that sought to understand African affairs through the eyes of the Africans that lived in the turban areas (178). Worth noting is the actuality that the Africans in the Diaspora were bound by the fact that they were Africans before anything else.
The Diaspora Africans hold different opinions from those held by the Africans at the grass roots. As much as Talal Asad’s assertion stands to hold truth, it is of essence to not that the people in African countries; especially the West Africans were driven into ethnicity by the African elders. During the colonial period, the elders held different opinions. While others fought for African identity by resisting colonial rule, others chose to dilute the same through collaboration efforts (183). Collaborating with the whites made the Africans forsake their identity and accept the white culture, which was, in essence a way of making the Africans buy the ideas of the white man. It is essential to note that over time African identity has changed, especially in the Diaspora. It is, however, important to note that the thinking of the man in the Diaspora is considerably different from the judgment of a man in the African country.
Roberts argues that Talal’s opinion and perception of African politics has remained the same over the years. For instance, today, ethnicity defines the politics of the region. This has all along been manifested in all democracies across Africa. Ethnicity plays a vital role in defining the said political numbers. The strong connection between the old and the new worlds can be explained variously as the major force behind the reason why African culture lives on. The people in the Diaspora may be deemed different from the people back in the native lands but the identity still remains strong. For instance, the people in the Diaspora do hold the religious beliefs of the traditional African religions. This is to say that the people of the Diaspora hold on the roots of their culture. Culture and identity remain coherent through time.
Roberts observes that the Jews in the Diaspora are not bound by the same circumstances. Still, they hold to their traditional beliefs. They act in the same way that the Jews in Israel act. Similar to the African Diaspora, the Jewish people maintain their identity. From such observation, it is valid to make a conclusion that not all people lose their identity through living away from their native cultures. Identity is an integral part of a person’s life, and not anything, including the influences of the elders will sway this fact.
Heterogeneity, hybridity, multiplicity: marking Asian-American differences by Lisa Lowe
Lowe’s explores the nature of culture to work out horizontally across all nationality, gender, race, and community. Lowe presents an essay that looks at the differences that mark the Asian American culture. In the poem, the woman describes how her daughter has denied her culture for a foreign culture. In the real sense, the woman fails to realize that by subscribing to the Japanese-American culture, she is also denying her culture of origin, which she learned from her mother. It is clear from the poem that culture is never transmitted vertically from one generation to another. If this were case, the woman would have not broken from her traditional notion of femininity, which tend to lock women in the dark and compress them in pearls where they are viewed as small and powerless. Both women and her daughter had to break from this tradition of undermining women and embrace a modern culture gender equality and empowerment of women (Lowe 133). The poem presents three generations of Japanese women. Each of these generations has her own perception and view of what it means to be a woman of Japanese descent. Vertical passage of culture from one generation to another occurs. This can be evident in various cultural identities other than femininity. As the article argues on horizontal cultural influences between communities and races, there are certain aspects about culture that are still passed vertically (Lowe 132).
It is also evident from the article that factors such as immigration, migration, and diaspora have influence on one’s culture. A diverse society such as the one in America has people from various communities, races, gender, and nationality. In such cases, it is most likely to find every aspect of each of these communities and nationalities combined to form a cultural identity. It is for this reason, that the woman who is originally Japanese unable to identify with her. The case is also similar between the woman and her daughter.
Lowe also presents a poem written by a Chinese American woman in a textile factory supervising an elderly Chinese woman (Lowe 134). The second poem compares the differences in two generations. In the poem, there is a clear cultural difference or a break from traditional perceptions. According to Chinese culture, age is a critical factor for stratifying women and people in general. It would not sound right for a young woman to be in a higher position within any social setting than an old woman (Lowe 135) would.
All these changes and breaking from traditional culture is blamed on Immigration. Both Chinese and Japanese women who leave their countries for other countries would end up adopting the urban cultures of those countries. Lowe’s main point in the essay is that the cultural of one community can be influenced by that of another community especially in a diverse set up. However, still within these diverse societies, Asians find themselves grouping as communities and nationalities in order to maintain their identity. This is a common phenomenon in cities where one finds Chinese or Japanese coming together to form a small group that sticks to their culture. Within these groups, they would speak their language and perform some their common cultural practices. This implies that it is hard to separate someone from his or her original cultural practices and from where they originally come from. It is quite easy to find Asians living in America marrying from among themselves instead of marrying from different communities.
Circumventing Channels: Indie film making in Post socialist Vietnam and beyond by Lam
Lam in his essay talks about independent film making in Vietnam. He defines the concept of independence in film making to imply having a singular vision and unique voice that is not driven or influenced by international or local film markets. There is no outside force that actually compels the process (Lam 1). This definition of the concept makes a lot of sense in the cinema industry today. One cannot assume that films made in Hollywood and similar industries are independent films. This is because there are many forces, which coerce filmmakers to produce that, would appeal to their audiences. According to Lam, the films also have to have accessible and replicable methods of productions in order to be regarded as independent. Culturally, and historically they have to be endowed.
In Vietnam, there is censorship enforced on the filmmakers. The producers have to meet certain standards and criteria obviously set by the government. They are expected to have the social and moral norms of the society in mind while producing the films. Being a socialist oriented nation, the review board that approved the films only focused on the cultural climate of socialism. While the government, foreign and western, was censoring the local and domestic films began to be pirated and sold into the country. The foreign films then became more popular in the domestic market than the locally produced films. This is evident in the changes witnessed on urban society within these once socialist countries. Western films have influences urban cultures of these societies. The influence is also seen in the government, which never used to support anything to do with promotion of western culture through films. There is currently a lot of corporation seen between government, the censorship board, and the film producers to increase their audiences. The goal of expanding audiences is best achieved through allowing independent production, external sources of funding, and collaborating with external interested parties.
Additionally, before any changes were witnessed in the Vietnamese film industry, most of the diaspora Vietnamese audiences also contributed to the process of freedom in film production in the country (Lam 6). From the article, Lam argues that members of the Asian diaspora in the west have changed the ways things are done are done in their home countries. The diaspora, who are still attached to their local cultures, make films, which portray the country differently. For instant, one such film has received various international awards forcing the government and as well as the local film industry to accept it.
However, if one critically examines film production in the world today, there is evident of lack of freedom in the process of filmmaking. It does not matter the scale, scope, or nature of factors that limit a producer from independently making a film. A production such as Hollywood has a wide market and audience. However, it is not entirely easy to make just any film and hope that it performs well within the Hollywood market. The film industry is important for spreading the cultures. It is through the industry that the culture of the country is beginning to be realized on a global scale. Despite the fact that Vietnam’s local film industry receives funding government, funding the lack of freedom to independently make films reduces the audience for the industry (Lam 7).
