The pilot came off a tad stilted as all the characters were trying to be developed beyond the color of their skin. However, regardless of how "bad" this makes white people seem...it's not untrue.
I grew up in an incredibly white city - and my parents owned a restaurant, too. It was both cathartic to see my life experiences on the screen, as well a tad traumatizing to remember it all again.
Throughout elementary and middle school, I threw away many of the lunches that my parents made for me because kids would make fun exactly in that way. The way that they handled the "chink" comment is a tad exaggerated, but I believe it is valid. For some reason, when it's the Asian kids being bullied, everyone expects the parents and the kids to just accept it. Standing up for yourself is...well overrated.
I absolutely loved the second episode as it portrays the tension of owning a family restaurant very well. As for the employees, well - I won't lie - my parents had the same idea that their white customers would be more comfortable with having white servers. My mom definitely struggled in managing them because she was 100% sure that they were trying to take advantage of us (and that they looked down on us because they weren't able to speak English well), while my dad was always the happy-go-lucky one, always striving to prove that we would be able to succeed. Totally remember after-school lessons with my mom too, and doing them at the restaurant.
I'm so happy that this show is being aired, even if it's rough at its edges. And heh, for those of you who think the show's portrayal of white folk is unfair - I would point you to all the unfair portrayals of Asians in other shows. We are not all kungfu masters or nerds. And how often do we see yellowface on the screen. And at the end of the day, I remember a lot of well-meaning white folks at home who constantly said offensive things...and my parents and I would just have to swallow, smile, and proceed...because we knew in our hearts that they meant well - but they come from a different culture.
This show has a lot of promise, and it may be uncomfortable for some to watch - but all in all, I think it's a great show - and a good day for some Asian kids to see their life experiences on the screen too.
I grew up in an incredibly white city - and my parents owned a restaurant, too. It was both cathartic to see my life experiences on the screen, as well a tad traumatizing to remember it all again.
Throughout elementary and middle school, I threw away many of the lunches that my parents made for me because kids would make fun exactly in that way. The way that they handled the "chink" comment is a tad exaggerated, but I believe it is valid. For some reason, when it's the Asian kids being bullied, everyone expects the parents and the kids to just accept it. Standing up for yourself is...well overrated.
I absolutely loved the second episode as it portrays the tension of owning a family restaurant very well. As for the employees, well - I won't lie - my parents had the same idea that their white customers would be more comfortable with having white servers. My mom definitely struggled in managing them because she was 100% sure that they were trying to take advantage of us (and that they looked down on us because they weren't able to speak English well), while my dad was always the happy-go-lucky one, always striving to prove that we would be able to succeed. Totally remember after-school lessons with my mom too, and doing them at the restaurant.
I'm so happy that this show is being aired, even if it's rough at its edges. And heh, for those of you who think the show's portrayal of white folk is unfair - I would point you to all the unfair portrayals of Asians in other shows. We are not all kungfu masters or nerds. And how often do we see yellowface on the screen. And at the end of the day, I remember a lot of well-meaning white folks at home who constantly said offensive things...and my parents and I would just have to swallow, smile, and proceed...because we knew in our hearts that they meant well - but they come from a different culture.
This show has a lot of promise, and it may be uncomfortable for some to watch - but all in all, I think it's a great show - and a good day for some Asian kids to see their life experiences on the screen too.