Hollywood Beauty Reigns in Asian-American Eyes
From WFUV
| 00:04:02
Producers: George Bodarky
Hollywood offers the world an idealized form of beauty -- a standard that is largely Caucasian and definitely Western. With a lack of role models walking the red carpet, some say Asian women face more pressure than others to achieve Western standards of beauty. Others say Asians who get eyelid surgery just want to look "prettier." Who is right? Why are so many Asian-American women going for the Hollywood look?
Broadcast History
Airs for the first time during the "Think Global" Public Radio Collaboration May 16-22, 2005.
Transcript
SUGGESTED HOST INTRO:
For years Marilyn Monroe personified Hollywood glamor to the rest of the
world. Today the faces on the silver screen are a little more diverse.
Still, few non-Westerners are walking the red carpet, and that's putting
pressure on young Asian women -- even in a city as culturally diverse as
New York. WFUV's George Bodarky (BOH-dark-kee) reports as part of "Think
Global," public radio's week of special coverage.
(NAT SOT – NYC’s Chinatown parade – Fade Under Tracks)
If you’re looking for ethnic flavor, you’ll find it in New York City’s Chinatown, the largest of its kind in the U-S. Every year, hoards of people crowd the streets to celebrate the Lunar New Year, with traditional lion and dragon dances. Many young Asian-Americans turn out to honor their culture. But, despite their ethnic pride, some are willing to undergo plastic surgery to look more Weste...
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Additional Files
- Suggested Intro and Rundown (bodarkyrundown.txt)
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Additional Information
- Produced: Apr 11, 2005
- Added to PRX: Apr 08, 2005
- This piece is in English
Dmae Roberts
Posted on May 02, 2005 at 05:02 PM | Permalink
Review of Hollywood Beauty Reigns in Asian-American Eyes
I have so many problems with this piece. First off, one could argue that NYC is not the biggest Chinatown. I believe that San Francisco is larger in population. But really why do this piece? I'm tired of pieces that once again point to the "foreign-ness" of Asian Americans. So what if there is a blonde Asian American? Doesn't she have the right to have blonde streaks as a white girl has the right to have black streaks on her blonde hair? And is the surgery really being done by Asian Americans or Asian immigrants? There is a difference. And there are Asians who are of mixed descent who are born with creases who would like to have more Asian looking eyes. Where are the other perspectives? Why base an entire story on one author's book? If this is for the Global collaboration, then it's really not doing service to the theme. This piece doesn't say anything more than women are being conned into plastic surgery regardless of race or ethnicity.