Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Letters to the Editor of Hyphen Magazine

Hello Harry!
I thought it was really awesome when you came to our classroom yourself to introduce to many of us who didn't know what Hyphen magazine was already. Reading through the latest issue of Hyphen magazine, I found the "Interrogasian" section of the magazine to be really interesting. It made me laugh reading about the razor one! The articles were really interesting to read. It was as if one of my peers wrote the articles in the magazine, because they were so easy to understand! One thing I enjoyed learning about was "The United States of Asian American". There are so many facts within those two pages that I didn't know so that was very educational for me. The pictures were very lively, they really caught my attention. From the two issues that I have bought, you guys do a great job. All your guys' hard work, put into the issues are really appreciated by readers like us. Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,
Abigail Burgos

Dear Harry,

Hi, my name is Leslie and i am one of the students that you visited in the ethnic studies class at SF State. I am really amazed about the articles that you guys put in this magazine. I had the road trip issue. I especially like the article "Commercial Success". Before i read this article, i also notice that alot of asians are in ads. I first noticed in yahoo news or feature articles. Then i started noticing in commercials in where you expect them. I thought i was crazy for noticing this but this article prove that i was not the only one thinking about this. I was an editor in my high school and i understand that the job was hard. This is great work and i hope you guys keep up the good work!!

Sincerley,

Leslie Lau


Dear Harry,

I really enjoyed reading the Hyphen Road Trip edition magazine. Reading through articles, what really caught my attention was the “Commercial Success” passage. Though most Asian American are only spotted for 30 seconds in a commercial, there are big words spoken as we are getting closer to be viewed as “Americans”. Being Asian American myself, I think adapting to the American culture is great, but I believe that there should still be a fair amount of traditional culture adapted as well; mainly because we are pursuing the American culture and not trying to sink ourselves in there. The idea of interviewing successful Asian actresses is a brilliant idea (Bobby Lee!). But when I read Asian actress, I automatically thought of Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Jet Lee and the wonderful success they have in their career. I think this American society is slowly starting to accept Asian American’s as true American because we practice their life styles and what not, but as I said, I think that there should be a boundary between being American and remembering your own ethnicity and culture. Randall Park brings up a really interesting point where he said, “sometimes the most powerful way to kind of change things for a community is not to bash people over the head with political messages but to just keep them laughing and it’s also a great way to humanize yourself as well as shoving a point in somebody’s face.” I have been to several comedian stand ups and they are really affective in what they do and what they try to communicate. In a sense of humor, you will find something more interesting as it is if you read or hear formally about it. There was the MasterCard commercial about the Japanese girl have her parents meet her white fiancĂ©’s family, just for me, I found it very interesting because it brings diversity and acceptance onto the table. At the same time, I found it very stereotypic because it almost seemed like it implied that, Asians, have to marry a white person in order to be “American”. And there is one last point I like to bring up. When I read Bobby Lee’s name, what else would you think of? MADTV. But that show is constantly using stereotypes generally against different races, and I don’t feel like it is a way to adapt to the American Society. Overall, this article hit me the most and I found it surprisingly interesting. I look forward to your future work.

Sincerely,

Alvin Yu

Hi Harry,

My name is Angelie and I'm from Irene Duller's Asian American Culture class at SFSU. I just finished reading the Road Trip issue of Hyphen Magazine and I really enjoyed it because it is focused on Asian Americans which is rare to find. It made me realize and think about how our culture is portrayed. There are many stereotypes of Asian Americans and I feel it's because people don't understand us or may have some idea but don't exactly know. Also, the Road Trip issue is an inspiration to those that want to help spread the knowledge about Asian Americans to not only the United States but worldwide. From the articles about commercials to driving across the country to share their words, we see that Asian Americans have come a long way. Hyphen Magazine is great for everyone to read, whether or not they are Asian American because we can all relate to the stories in our own way. Thank you for all your hard work!

Sincerely,
Angelie Angeles



Dear Harry,

Hey, my name is Ria and I'm in Ms. Duller's Asian American Culture Class. I bought the Issue 10 Hyphen magazine and the articles that most interest me was the section called the "Furious Five". The articles were about five individuals who either overcame different adversities and used hip hop as an outlet of escapism or just born prodigies of the hip hop lifestyle. This article touched me emotionally because hip hop music played an important role in my life growing up. The way the lyrics flowed through my head and the instrumentals combined to ease the pain helped me stay humble through out life. To see these Asian American hip hop activists make history is a beautiful thought. I feel like our people don't gain enough recognition for the contributions they've provided through out the years. Hyphen magazine makes it possible for these individuals to be recognized for their talented work and how they help today's youth by running workshops. I am proud to say I am an Asian American and to see them represent us in a positive way.

Sincerely,
Ria Espinoza

No comments: