My identity as an Asian-American woman has been a constant battle between whether I identify as Asian or American- there wasn’t a crossroad between the two. Growing up in America, I had to assimilate to the American culture to feel a sense of belonging and to stray away from isolation from my peers. Author Ludwig Hurtado of “Country Music is also Mexican Music” says, “Mexican-Americans use country music as a form of assimilation into white American culture.” This emphasizes the importance of music and how powerful music can be to one’s culture and identity. But maybe almost so powerful that it becomes a tool of forgetting. Similar to how I forced myself to hate Korean pop music and listened only to hip-hop and mainstream popular music growing up.
Only was it too late for me to realize that my journey of cultural assimilation, neglecting my Asian heritage, made me more lost in my journey to learning about who I was and am today. I found it interesting when Dawes quotes, “We found that it was really weird, like there was this lack of history talked about that no one of our generation knew about.” This quote made me realize, unknowingly, my actions, behaviors, and attitudes of neglecting and hating my Asian heritage was only a means to erase my Asian heritage- hence, a lack of history and a loss of connection with my past generations.
The songs I chose this week emphasize the challenges faced during immigration and having to assimilate to the American culture. The artists sing about their fight against cultural assimilation and refinding their sense of ‘home.’
Bob Marley- “Buffalo Soldier” https://youtu.be/S5FCdx7Dn0o
Sam Kim- “Seattle” https://youtu.be/F_zem1MftbQ
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