Saving Face

In the Film "Saving Face", A young female(Wil) finds herself engulfed by the many day-to-day hardships of her life as she struggles to find ease. Eventually, she accepts herself and falls in love with another woman(Vivian) who has persistently tried to gain her attention and get her to publicly accept their relationship with one another. Due to the ways of Wil's particular family and also Chinese culture, it is frowned upon to be gay and many paths are considered disrespectful when not pertaining to a standard man-to-woman relationship within that of the same age. Much Like Jade Snow in Takaki, a Chinese woman's life was greatly determined by that of their parents wishes. Whether it be marriage or career paths, they had little say in their future (Takaki pg.261.)

Addressing the CRT tenet #1, stating that "Racism is Ordinary" meaning everyone is guilty of being racist is greatly expressed throughout the film. Having Examined multiple peace's of the Takaki reading, it is apparent that Asian Americans have been subject to many racist remarks and discriminatory behavior by White people throughout their early immigrations and because of this it has made it very hard for them to settle down in the United States. Many Asian Americans were seen as direct threats to the American work force and were too foreign and different to ever fit in with the Whites. Thus, they were treated very poorly, like mentioned in Takaki, and given smaller wages than the White man working the same job and were verbally and physically abused. A great example of racism to the Chinese would be the "Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882" as it was a clear representation of racist efforts to get rid of Chinese in America. In Addition, racism was also directed towards other groups like the "Negroes, mulattos, or Mongolians" with the 1880 anti-miscegenation law. this law prohibited marriages with these race groups and whites entirely from the soul idea that whites felt it was not right for such a thing to occur, especially because they were not Caucasian. "Negroes usually understand how to act but these Fil's think they have a perfect right to mingle with the white people and even to intermarry" describes a Californian in Takaki on page 330. This sentence describes the racial turmoil of those ethnic groups discriminated upon by the whites for reasons that were completely unjust.

Although CRT tenet #1 is recognizably noticeable through Whites, it can sometimes be surpassed by the culture that is subject to the public racism done by the Whites. However, "Saving Face" does a great job of identifying the reality behind racism being ordinary. On multiple occasions throughout the film, many Asian characters show their dislike for other races. Wil's mother, Mrs. Pang is racist when sharing dinner with her daughter and her African American friend Jay. She proclaims in Chinese that the reason Jays skin color is so dark is because of all the soy sauce he had ate in his lifetime. In another instance, Mrs. Pang also recalls to her daughter that she will only go on a date if it isn't with an "Ugly White guy" but rather an Asian. These are both prime examples in the film proving that everyone can be racist and that racism is inevitable.