and I meant to ask this in class.
It seemed we agree that Sui Sin Far is a reliable author to give us insight into the lives and traditions of Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans. She is both an INSIDER and an OUTSIDER in that she is both white and Chinese, and can PASS between the barriers of race and class when she writes.
However, in, "Its Wavering Image", the class seemed to be upset with the character, Mark Carson, who "used" Pan to get his story about lives in China town.
What is the difference between Mark writing an article about China town, and what Sui Sin Far is doing (IGNORE the seduction of Pan)? Does the mere fact Sui Sin Far is half Chinese allow her to be a reliable authority, while Mark's whiteness makes him a thief of culture and tradition?
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7 comments:
There is a major difference between Mark writing an article on Chinatown and Sui Sin Far's writings because of the simple fact that Sui Sin Far is Asian. It doesn't matter that she is only half, it is a part of her. Also, she spent majority of her life surrounded by other Asians in different parts of North America. Because of this, she witnessed the struggle of her people on a daily basis. Some may consider her an insider AND an outsider but her stories prove that she was well aware of what was going on with HER people. In class, several people asked how old she was when she got here, but I don't think that this is as important as her life experiences as an Asian American.
Mark on the other hand was a complete outsider. He NEEDED Pan to write that article, unlike Far who surely could've used her own experiences for writings if she needed to.
I agree with mighty franso in that there is a difference between what Mark Carson did to Pan by using her to gain access to her culture and what Sui Sin Far does in her writings about Asian-Americans because she is half Asian herself. But I do think it is possible for a member of a culture to do what Mark Carson did. An Asian person can be an unreliable authority if they exploit their own culture for their personal gain like Carson did to the Asian culture. So it is not just the fact that Far is Asian that makes her a reliable authority. I think a writer has to have a certain amount of integrity about the way they write.
I agree with the previous posters that a large part of the difference between Sui Sin Far and Mark Carson lies in the fact that Sui Sin Far is Chinese herself. Sui Sin Far, due to her heritage, learned about the Chinese customs with a certain level of respect. This respect is evident in the manner in which she describes the Chinese customs, and in the fact that she does not try to use her culture as a means of personal gain. Mark Carson, on the other hand, was not Chinese, and, as seen in his interactions with Pan, did not seem to like or respect the Chinese culture. therefore, it was relatively easy for him to exploit the culture in an effort to move forward in his own career.
Excellent resonses to this question. I think the points you all raise illustrate how the insider/outsider relates to Mark and Sui Sin Far's affects their writing.
It's kind of like that old rule where a comedian can't tell a joke about another race unless he himself is of that race. These days it doesn't matter with the likes of Dave Chapelle and Carlos Mencia, who rib into all races pretty equally.
The problem I have is this; We never really get to see Mark Carson's article. I don't think race should even become an issue until we know how objective his article was. If we are ignoring the fact that Carson exploited Pan in order to get information about Chinatown culture, and he wrote a fair article without prejudice, I don't really see what the problem is.
I don't think your race makes your writing valid, what you write makes your writing valid. Being a member of both races and slamming one of them doesn't make your writing objective. I'm not saying Sui Sin Far did this, but until we know Mark Carson did do this, he has as much validity as she does. He was only writing about his experiences, albeit experiences he unethically became privy to.
I would have to agree with Alex Stone on this. Primarily because we really do not know what Mark wrote in his article about his experiences with Sui Sin Far. They could have been positive occurrences. Also, I don't consider race an issue if the writings took place in Chinatown. Mark yearns to learn about Chinese Culture and hypothetically speaking, if Sui Sin Far was all white (not half Chinese, half white) Mark can still learn an abundance of things about the Chinese culture from the mere fact that she grew up in Chinatown.
If the article was included in the story, we would have a better picture of what Mark thought about his experiences in Chinatown. Just like you can't "Judge a book by its cover", you can't judge Marks prerogatives until you have read what he wrote.
I agree with certain things that everyone has posted, in that the difference between Mark writing an article on Chinatown and Sui Sin Far's writing, is that Sui Sin Far is writing on experience, feelings and emotions felt and lived as a Chinese American. As for Mark, he is only an observer of the culture. Being that we do not know exactly what he wrote, you can kind of have a feel that it was more for glory than for Pan's well being. Also, since it was for his self exposure he might have made false statements or emphasized on certain things about the culture just to make the story appealing.
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