Author: Sarah Spinuzzi
There has been a significant amount of controversy surrounding the “Xxxtra Credit” short film on CatAList. It is problematic that such a liberal, enlightened campus can watch one comedic short film that features an Asian woman and interpret the film as representing all Asian women, or women in general. Some students are offended by this short, some thought it was funny, others were neither offended nor entertained. In light of the controversy, people should remember that every piece of media depicting a minority or a woman is not a reflection of a racist or sexist climate, and entertainment should be taken for just that — entertainment.
The students offended by this short film have expressed the opinion that it was both racist and sexist. It is said that the video portrays Asian women as hypersexual and depicts women as using sex to succeed in the professional world. The video however, simply showed a female teacher who was trying to have sex with a student during an exam. The male student had no idea that she was trying to have sex with him and only wanted to finish his exam. In addition to claims of sexism, it does not make any sense that a female professor needs to use sex to succeed in the professional world. The only way this claim could possibly make sense is if a female student were trying to have sex with a male professor.
The larger issue is the argument that the short portrays Asian women as hypersexual, thus reinforcing a stereotype. Many are sick of seeing this age old depiction of Asian women. It is important to be aware of such feelings and recognize the stereotype as annoying and perhaps even harmful to the Asian female community.
However, the role does not require that the professor be Asian, and according to Matthew Salus (junior), a producer of Chili Flakes, the actress was “simply the best actress that auditioned for the role.” As for the accent, “The actress was from China, that’s how she talks. The script was not written for any particular race.” People do not see white male actors as portraying all white males, so the idea that an Asian actress portrays all Asian women seems a bit racist. This line of reasoning implies that all Asian women act the same way. Regardless of whether a person is white, black, Asian or a purple-people eater, the person that actually believes stereotypes represent an entire class of people or that a comedic short film represents an entire class of people is the real racist in this story.
In the world beyond the Occidental bubble, the media makes jokes about race, religion, political affiliation, gender, hair color and anything else that distinguishes one human from another. Saturday Night Live made ruthless jokes about the blind governor of New York, David Patterson. Naturally the blind community was offended, while others thought the skit was funny. I am blonde, and there are stereotypes that blondes are stupid. I am a woman and there are stereotypes that we want to get married and have babies, and if we don’t we are cold bitches or “femi-nazis.”
But in the real world, people make jokes out of stereotypes. In the real world, people don’t change their last names to initials because their name is offensive. Many students at Occidental have made a habit of turning every piece of print, film, clothing, etc. into a large-scale racist or sexist issue when that was never the intention. If comedy is going to exist, then people have to be prepared to be objects of humor.
Sarah Spinuzzi is a sophomore philosophy major. She can be reached at spinuzzi@oxy.edu
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