This is BRILLIANT! Thanks to Lisa Marie Rollins for sharing this link on her facebook page -- I missed it a year ago when it came out. Here we have two Korean adoptees talking about being Asian, as part of an HBO series, Asians Aloud.
This is how 8Asians describes the clip:
Meet Paul Fanelli and James Minger, two Korean adoptees interviewed on camera as part of HBO’s Asian’s Aloud East of Main Street series last year. While both are Korean adoptees, the interview is fascinating in how completely different in how they look, how they interact with each other — think an adoptee Abbott & Costello — and how they identity as Asian American. (Paul is especially entertaining to watch, as he’ll probably be the closest thing to a Korean guido you will ever meet.)
What do you think of it? I'm curious -- do you think your child will grow up to be Paul or James? Why?
Wow. That is hilarious and sad at the same time. I mean, really -- sharing an ID? They tell it in a funny way -- b/c it is ridiculous -- but you can tell that it was an unwelcome realization, for both of them, that despite all their differences people confuse them for one another b/c of their race.
ReplyDeleteI'm spamming you with comments, but one other thought -- people's self-identities do shift dramatically over time. Many of the adoptee blogs/memoirs I've read mention these kinds of shifts. So my kid (all of our kids) might be James at 5, Paul at 15, and James again at 50.
ReplyDeleteMolly, my kids have already experienced that "all asians look alike" thing -- just today, a mom at school pickup thought Maya was another China adoptee who USED to attend Maya's school, but who is 3 years older than Maya! Not to mention, they look nothing alike. . . .
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you guys enjoyed it! If you have HBO I hope you'll check out the 3rd installment of this series which features kids. Here's a link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbVqcXTR5Sc
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