This is a difficult topic to write about. Among the works in this unit, I cannot pick a specific one that affects me the most. Every piece of work is essential in gaining a deeper understanding about the relationship between arts and immigration in New York City. For this reason, I would like to discuss all six pieces of works. They come together to form a very important piece of work in presenting the arts of this special group of people in the city—immigrants.
To be honest, I don’t find “Intringulis” is especially effective to me. While I was attracted to Carol’s stories, I thought I would enjoy reading his autobiography more than watching his performance. “Intringulis” is Carol’s “live autobiography”. He presents his stories through music and monologues, which is an innovative choice. However, some stories such as the ones about illegal immigration are better presented in words than in performance, because people usually need some “space” to justify the characters’ decisions. By bringing the story into life, it would eliminate this “space”, and somehow force the audiences to accept the justifications that they might not think is correct.
The overall theme in “Maria Full of Grace” is a “never fading cliché”. Like my parents say to me everyday “We’re coming to America for the good of your future,” Maria stayed in New York for the same reason. The plot of the movie is routine, but the title is inspiring. What the title suggests is not simply the major theme of the “American dream”, but also the dignity, sacrifice, danger and struggles behind this dream. Despite Maria’s action was risky and foolish, she has stood up for her life. She is indeed full of grace in overcoming the hardships of her life.
I dislike “Yellow Face” the most in this unit. In my opinion, David Henry Hwang’s combination of fictional and real stories is not very successful. While the real stories about his father and the Asian American actors’ protest flow very well, his fictional story with Marcus is somehow meaningless. The whole story about wrongly casting Marcus as an Asian role, and found out he is not Asian does not convince me at all. It seems that Hwang doesn’t understand what Asian Americans truly need. Asian Americans need other people to understand their cultures, and to achieve equality through understanding. Other than the fictional story, “Yellow Face” is a great work in advocating the awareness of prejudice and inequality among Asian Americans.
“Asuncion” is my favorite piece, not because it is hilarious, but because it bravely brings up the issues which people always deny its existence. Unlike “Intringulis”, this play does not emphasize on the storyline but on the morals which the play centers. As a performance, “Asuncion” is more effective than “Intringulis” in that it gives the audiences more “space” on thinking about the moral behind the play. Yet, “Intringulis” definitely has higher artistic values, because Carol’s words are very successful in moving the audiences’ emotions, and leading them to explore his inner world.
“A View from the Bridge” is a more enjoyable reading than “Yellow Face” because the story is very convincing. Although immigration is not a major theme of the play, it shows the struggles and prejudices that immigrants are facing everyday. Just see how Eddie judges Rodolpho simply because he comes from Italy and wants to become an American. This play also incorporates the theme of the “American dream”. As the play suggests, the “American dream” may not always be a good dream. In Macro’s case, it was a nightmare, and in Rodolpho’s case, who knows. (Just a little digression, I truly think that Eddie was right about Rodolpho and Catherine; otherwise, it’s not a tragedy.)
“Do the Right Thing” is a movie which portrays the cultural misunderstandings and racial discrimination in New York City very realistically. Although I don’t think this movie is very artistic, it shows people a hidden aspect of the city that actually impacts people daily, especially the minorities.
Because I am an immigrant, my opinions on the artworks might be overly subjective because I am very aware of the immigration issues and how immigrants feel. As I mentioned before, all six pieces of works combine into one piece of work that makes the view of arts and immigration in New York City more complete. No one particular piece affects me the most, because all of them affect me in different aspects, and without any of them, I would not be enlightened on this topic, because my view would be very narrow.
