“Step up and Whistle” demonstrates the correlating
lives of Randy Tran, a member of the 1.5 generation, and his uncle, Barry Le.
Having lost his family upon steps, Uncle Bay travels for refuge without his
family and is later heartbroken, learning of his wife’s arrangements. Nonetheless,
he still continues to live life, with the desire to be with those that he
loves. Suffering from Tourette’s syndrome, Randy Tran embarrasses him, yet he
also embarrasses himself. From which point he decides to run. In the drawing
above, the dress shoes and pants figure is Barry Le and the exploding lines
represent his troubled past and sudden jerks due to his disease. The running
shoes are representative of Randy as he decides to run regardless of the
weather. The rain in his section is symbolic of the sadness he puts himself in.
Regardless, they both climb in order to let go of their past. Barry Le is
walking less steep stairs significant of his old age, and unlike Randy who is
walking the steeper stairs in order to recognize his mistakes and the karma of
having a child with TS.
By Alfredo R.
I thought this was a really cool picture, and enjoyed how you captured the points of the story with the image of the steps that has left a man heartbroken and an entire family shattered. This paired along with the running shoes as a symbol for attempting to run from one's past made for a great image. Shoes and walking have never been so filled with deep and impactful meaning. The image of the two generations facing the same uphill battle with each step was cool to point out in this picture, demonstrating that although there are many generation gaps, many Vietnamese refugees all started with the same hope for assimilation. This was a very cool picture, which I thought captured the essence of 'Step Up and Whistle". Great job!
ReplyDelete-David T.
The stairs metaphor really grabbed me in this piece since it runs so counter-intuitively to the common expectation that gen 1.5s possess an easier time reconciling with their past than first generation refugees. Even though both types of people possess an uphill climb towards self-satisfaction, in "Step up and Whistle", Randy arguably faces the steeper climb as he empathizes with the emotional pain of his uncle and daughter in addition to wrestling with his own karmic guilt. In flipping the paradigm of our expectations, I felt that Lam really captured the weight that personal criticism possesses in determining our willingness to accept our past traumas and failings.
ReplyDelete-Michael J.
Similar to David and Michael, the image of the stairs struck a particular chord for me. The fact that both Randy and Uncle Bay share the same stairs suggest that they endure the same struggles. This juxtaposition proposes an interesting thought that though Randy and Uncle Bay are from different generations, their struggles (or stairs) can serve as a bridge to share empathetic experiences. This reminds me of the quote in the beginning of Birds of Paradise Lost "Anything is bearable as long as you can make a story out it" suggesting that the generational gap can be mended through the obstacles and incline of difficulties shared by stories of both generations.
ReplyDelete- Lauren S.
I loved the fact to reconcile begins at home, the irony is that we believe that process is usually an outward expression of conciliation. When in reality, its an inward process because in "Step up and Whistle" the characters comes to an understanding that he is not like everyone else, he happens to be part of family who not just different in culture but by their family dynamics. Those struggles are exhibited where the family reconciles not just with his uncles disability, but his siblings also. Usually we are expected to look away because one is considered DIS ABLE D. Andrew Lam forces the conversation to look at a family who is not considered the norm juxtaposed with the issues of the stairs that has brought many Vietnamese to the US by air. This story forces one to question the narrative not just about the incident that occurred in the Gerald R. Ford museum but also those Asian American families who are not able to confront an issue that permeates many Asian American lives. - Xavier P.
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