Yesterday, my kids and I went into our local Target to pick up a few things. When you first enter the store, there’s this special section for super-cheap and/or seasonal items usually costing a dollar. When we walked by it yesterday, my daughter grabs my arms and says, “Mom, look ‘Asian fusion’.”
“What’s that?” I asked. It sounded like some kind of ancient Chinese secret fad drink. What I saw was a variety of items like a set of sake cups, rice bowls, satin bags that looked like make-up bags that had peony patterns, chopstick holders, bamboo trays and fan shaped spoon holders. “So this is what we’ve been reduced to?” I said a bit too loudly. The “Asian Fusion” was actually a cheap mix of fake Asian or “FAsian” as Mudeng would say, of Japanese and Chinese icons. Obviously, my daughter knows me too well, “You should have brought your camera, mom.” Unfortunately, I’d left it at home.
As a kid, I would have bought them all which is sad more than anything. As a teenager, I would have been thrilled to see anything Asian. Yesterday, I just felt a bit insulted. There was a time when I wasn’t sure whether I should feel insulted or flattered when I saw anything “Asian” on television, in the malls or department stores. In a weird way, I felt represented which was a far cry from my early days of attempting to forget and “cover” my “Asianess”.
It took a long time to realize that this shit doesn’t represent me in any way nor would I want to be represented in such a narrow, stereotyped way. What Asian Fusion did represent was a sad reminder of we are generalized into cheap, commercialized consumable bits. *sigh Such a long way to go. At least, there were no plastic Buddhas.
Out of curiosity, I looked to see where these things were produced and printed across the bottom was “Made in China”. Does that make it authentic?
