'Looking For YLLOGRL' Sets the Path Toward Shattering Stereotypes

By Chihye Chung & Ronald Tansingco

Courtesy of APA.

If a bright yellow Buick convertible with the top down and a license plate reading "YLLOGRL" whizzed by you, wouldn't you notice? What would you assume?-It has got to be an Asian girl? Wouldn't you want to find out? After hearing about this seemingly mythical figure of Southern California from a few friends last September, Daisy Lin Shapiro set out to find the truth on her own. But this wasn't just a lame, pointless project that came clear out of left field. This filmmaker was on a mission to break stereotypes about Asian American women. On her journey to find "YLLOGRL," Lin Shapiro made a documentary about a beautiful array of Asian American women who had a thing or two to say about the concept of "YLLOGRL."

On the evening of August 26th 2003, Cinespace in Hollywood hosted a VIP cocktail reception benefiting the documentary, "Looking for YLLOGRL." In the trendy, jazzy club, an affluence of people scattered around the rooms and anxiously awaited the screening of the new film. Among many of the guests were, actress Keiko Agena, Denise Dador and Kathy Vara of KABC, news anchor Ted Chen, and comedian Suzanne Whang. The turnout for the screening was very successful and many patrons were interested in the idea of a documentary based on changing common stereotypes about Asian American women; some of these include: passive, subordinate, soft-spoken, geisha-like manicurists and martial-arts experts who dare not ever think a single sexual thought.

A crowd assembles to preview Lin Shapiro's latest project. Courtesy of APA.

As the overwhelmingly dominant Asian American crowd watched the premier screening, many found the quest to find "YLLOGRL" to be quite a hilarious one. The documentary featured many women, ranging from innocent bystanders, whose opinions were caught on tape, to professors of Asian American studies with long, serious theories on these issues.

In the documentary, one of the women Lin Shapiro speaks with is Natalie Nakase, a UCLA basketball player, whose participation in collegiate athletics is a blatant contradiction to the general public's expectations of Asian American women. This is especially true considering her role as a point guard, which requires her to call plays and lead the team. In considering Nakase as a "yellow girl," she clearly does not exude the timidity or passiveness which is so often characterized to Asian women. It is clear to the viewers that she is confident in who she is as an Asian American female athlete.

Though "yellow girl" has a potentially offensive connotation, its repercussions were not as negative as is usually expected at the screening. Comedian Suzanne Whang channels the emotions that result from racial, namely Asian, controversies into a comedic routine that manages to spark the audience's curiosity about such issues. Though raised in the United States with an American lifestyle, Whang couples a hanbok, a traditional Korean garment, along with a fan to open up her act. Her scenes in the film provoked some of the audience's biggest laughs.

Audience members taking their seats in anticipation of the film. Courtesy of APA.

Imagine a woman, wearing traditional Asian attire, hiding her face behind a fan with her hair tightly pulled back in a bun onstage at Hollywood's Improv Club. The visual would surely send a few chills up my spine. Not knowing what to expect from Whang's act could be quite nerve-racking, especially if the point is to make a complete mockery of Asian Americans. However, Whang executes her comedic act with humorous irony and leaves all races feeling comfortable about learning truths about Asian American culture. I spoke with Whang after the screening and she gave a surprising comment about her audience members' reactions.

"They sometimes come to me after the show and slowly enunciate the word, 'CON-GRA-TU-LAY-SHUNS' (at a few thousand decibels louder than normal conversational speech), assuming that the whole act was really who I am… So… I just say, 'Hey thanks a lot, I appreciate it' (with proper pronunciation). And then they look at me with the most astonished look on their faces."

Interestingly enough, the film identifies clothing as a potential means of combating Asian stereotypes in more ways than one. Though Whang's hanbok serves as a tool in breaking away from the assumption that Asian American women are traditional in both manners of dress and moral values, clothing plays a very different role for Sophie Chea, who is introduced in the documentary as a designer of her own clothing line. Chea's business sense is anything but coy and diminutive. She makes her living by selling apparel inspired by Asian popular culture. Her store features the typical tanks and T's with random Chinese characters that, according to Chea, sell really well to Asians and to mainstream consumers alike.

In the film, Chea expresses her own interpretation of the word "yellow." For her, "yellow" is more indicative of a way of life as opposed to the hue of a person's skin. Her attitude exemplifies a newer approach to the term, which embraces and redefines its meaning, as opposed to accepting it as a derogatory term.

As intriguing as all of these individual stories are, the credit is definitely owed to Lin Shapiro for compiling these unique anecdotes, opinions, and jokes. Her approach to the term "yellow girl" is one which seeks a thorough understanding of the various meanings of the words to different individuals. Her visually-recorded attempts to talk to people and to actively seeking out answers are simultaneously entertaining and insightful. The result of her efforts is a film that brings a new perspective on what it means to be an Asian American woman.

Lin Shapiro cites the goal of the film as telling, "interesting stories that just happen to be Asian American." She seeks to show "Asian Americans as real people… A lot of stereotypes result from a lack of understanding… (The women in "Looking for YLLOGRL") are not superwomen; they are just themselves." Lin Shapiro's attempt to redefine the Asian American woman's image is admirable for its hard work and persistence. She takes a potentially awkward experience and transforms it into a period of self-enlightenment. Fortunately, the cameras keep rolling and bring the viewers along for the experience.

Lin Shapiro's drive is certainly present on film. By the end of the screening, the uncomfortable feeling in everyone's stomachs seemed to have been assuaged by a good dose of reality: Asian Americans need to take actions to advance their culture in a positive way, free from the restrictive barrier of stereotypes.

August 29 2003