Saving Face

Watching the film “Saving Face” in class today illustrated a variety of challenges toward Chinese American culture that were mainly put forth by the main character, Wil, and her mother. For instance, Wil’s mother reveals early on in the film that she is pregnant, although the she refuses to say who the father is. Later on, Wil reveals to her mother that she is actually a lesbian, despite her family’s attempts to set her up with a guy. Wil’s mother also had plans to get married to Mr. Cho, in accordance with her father’s wishes – but then proceeds to stop the wedding as it was happening, and ran away with Wil.

The aforementioned acts of defiance against traditional Chinese culture represent Wil’s and her mother’s attempts to break free and assimilate into American culture, which both of them find more appealing. (Wil’s mother tries to deny the fact that she prefers American culture by obeying Chinese traditions on various occasions, such as when she initially disapproved of Wil’s lesbianism.) By the end of the film, it is quite evident that both Wil and her mother are happier following the ways of American culture rather than Chinese culture, as primarily seen in Wil’s mother’s approval of Wil’s lesbianism, and Wil’s mother’s refusal to marry Mr. Cho. Indirectly, this can be viewed as a result of “Americanization,” which is defined as an effort by social workers to teach immigrants American customs. Moreover, Wil’s mother’s ultimate rejection of the Chinese belief that only a man and a woman should be together – rather than supporting homosexual relationships – is an example of her rejection of heterosexism, or the preference for straight relationships and the view that same-sex ones are unnatural.

In essence, as was described in Takaki, second- and third-generation Chinese Americans had the experience of living in two worlds at once: holding a preference for the country of their family’s origin (China) or for the country they were born in and likely know better (America). This was contrary to first-generation Chinese Americans, who were born and raised in China and have grown accustomed to the Chinese way of life, and thus typically reject American customs more so than their decendants.