Hakuna Matata

Blog #13 - What I got out of the class - Russell L.

*That Blog #11 you TA’s may be looking for is that Iron Chef blog Krishna made for us. (A big thank you to her!) If you guys need me to renumber my blogs, I’ll ninja that in some other time so other people won’t get confused about the previous order. Anyway, onto the blog!

It is with a great pain in my heart that our time together as a class has come to an end. The class felt a little unorganized at the beginning, but Irene really brought the class together as a community. I think her positive personality really reflected on us, indirectly making us give our all during the projects. I really enjoyed the class overall, as we weren’t forced to study or memorize like the other classes, but rather think and present our own findings in an entertaining way. I feel like this class is effective at making students retain what they learned in class, allowing them to gather ideas and bringing them all together from scratch. The things we’ve learned in this class will likely stay with us for a long time, as we created our own little lessons and well as experienced similar teachings from our fellow classmates.

I really liked the way the class was laid out. There were funny presentations, a couple cool events, and those reflection blogs wrapped everything together nicely. I felt much more active in this class when compared to those robotic “memorize this ‘n’ that” classes that we’ve become so accustomed to. The class felt new and alive and taught us a good deal of the misconceptions of the Asian American culture. That blurry line that separates Asian and Americans became much more clear after this class.

I feel like I became much closer to my group mates when compared to other classes and it’s sad to see them go. I kinda wished there would be another day as the semester ended much quicker than I would’ve liked and there were many words left unsaid. If I could experience it all again, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Anyway, I wish the best to the AAS class of 2013 and especially to all of my group mates! Thank you guys for such a wonderful time.

Keep being awesome and all the best wishes - Russ

Blog #12 - Intro - Russell L.

Well, I super derped and thought my first post was an intro. Here goes nothing. I’m Russell Leong and I’ve been living in SF for most of my days. I’m in a family of four, with a good mom, a good dad, and a good lil bro. The background of my family is primarily Chinese, my grandpas and grandmas coming from China. Even though I come from a Chinese background, I still can’t really speak Chinese. I feel a bit Americanized, being a bit distant from my home language. Feels a little bad =(

Anyway, I’m currently majoring in computer science because computers are so fun. Many of my hours are sucked into that devil’s contraption, but the souls of many of my friends are there also so it isn’t too lonely! This is my second year in SFSU so far and I’m enjoying my stay here.

And, as you can see, I’m a bit unorganized at times.

Nice to meet you guys and see you around!

- RL

Blog #12 Alien Encounters -Robynn Jones

Dayvon Dunaway and I read and wrote a paper on chapter 4 ; Visual Reconnaissance. Originally we chose chapter 3; Homicidal Tendencies but it was kind of difficult to understand what it was about. Anyways the paper we wrote focused on Asian American artists and visual art.

“visual reconnaissance in relation to visual art serves as both a marker and a reminder of the importance of material form, its logic and its structure as active agents in project critique” -Joan Kee

Blog #11- let me introduce myself: Robynn Jones

I know this blog number eleven but its better late than never!

I am Robynn Jones, an African American from Sacramento, CA. I am a visual communications major and I hope to get into advertisement design after I graduate. I grew up in a predominantly white and asian neighborhood in South Sacramento. I moved to San Francisco for college in the fall of 2010 and I absolutely love it here! I am a visual communications major and I hope to get into advertisement design after I graduate. When I am not working or going to school I like to hang out in the city and explore different areas I haven’t been to before. 

BLOG 12- Alien Encounters (PULP FICTION) -Krishna Farol

James and I wrote an AWESOME pulp fiction story using the themes we read in the chapter! Check it out! (Warning: Language… and Blood.)

https://ilearn.sfsu.edu/sp2013/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=77696

This dramatic “pulp fiction” styled essay was believed by Krishna and James after reading Chapter 3: Homicidal Tendencies from “Alien Encounters”. The piece you have just read contains reflective symbolism of  all key points from the chapter, including Capitalism (Mr. Manopoly), Victims of Globalizaiton (Tim Chin and Co-workers), and Violence & Corruption (Detective Pulp). Chapter 3 introduces pulp fiction writing in Asian American culture with the works of Lee, Ghosh and See, who also did reflective pulp fiction in regards to societal issues. The themes mentioned in this short story are still relfective upon Asian American society today, especially the influence of capitalism.

We had not known the world of pulp fiction. While doing this paper we discovered that pulp writers from the 20’s were paid a penny a word. We also discovered that there was a certain believed stereotype to Asia and Asians that included “Orientalism” and had racist effects.  Overall, the chapter enlightened us to the Asian American pulp fiction genre.

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I think the class did a wonderful job in presenting their chapters! It was so creative the way these projects were displayed! Some of the best work I’ve seen, personally, from my fellow students.