I am at a very chinese time of my life right now

At our core as Americans, we are consumers. Everything from the songs we listen to, to the products we eat, to the celebrities we follow, is a commodity. Particularly, what we love to do, is turn other cultures into consumables. Let's take a walk down recent memory lane, shall we? 

in fashion, the dupatta becomes the famous "scandinavian scarf"!! so hot

the NEW starbucks MATCHA LATTE FROM JAPAN!!

love doing korean skincare with the GIRLS!! an yong ha say o!!

let's not forget our legacy  

and finally, the newest wave of culture is trending in the states! 

you've met us at a very chinese time in our lives

Chinese culture has been doing numbers on social media at the moment, as everyone wants to get a taste of our 30 degree celsius (see how I use celsius because im super chinese) water!! Suddenly, it's not just the 12 year old WWII loving boys that are obsessed with China (social credit haha xi jinping) its Jenny across the street who is enjoying hot pot and putting ginger in her tea. Ironically, it's a complete 180 from the rampant racism against Asians just six years ago. China is no longer filled with dirty communists with small eyes, but glorious, delicious culture!

But this new wave is no different from what we've been doing. Apparently being chinese is just about eating chinese food and washing rice. Americans have a talent for flattening culture into something easy on the eyes, just exotic enough to be exciting, but just palatable enough to find savory. And similarly to every other culture we've sublimated into a trend, we've turned being chinese into something that can be chewed, swallowed, and shitted out. Let's also not forget that it, of course, must be bought first. 

After all the analysis we've done this semester, I've arrived at the conclusion that there is no such as thing as "American Culture". I mean there's country music and whatever Golden Corral is, but everything else is just a haphazard mish-mash of other cultures. You could argue that that is our culture, but I don't think we do it well enough for it to count.

Like our Vegas weddings, we are so good at forging these facsimiles of culture. We've got Eiffel Tower replicas in Nevada. We have bubble tea stores and matcha in every cafe. However, underlying every "culture" we sell, is a thick stench of plastic. It's all been processed, like the cheese on the McDonalds quarter-pounders products that we love so much. 

Nevermind what we do to the immigrants that bring this culture into our country. We eat their food (the same food that we used to plug our noses at) and tell them to assimilate, romanticize their fashion and tell them to take a shower. 

Any culture that passes through the Great American Digestive System is just a trend that lingers until the next shiny thing comes around. In doing so, these cultures lose both their authenticity and their depth.

 As a Chinese American, I'm confused about this just like every other thing in my entire life. I'm not nearly Chinese enough to comment on this, because to be honest, I've been ordering bing shui --ice water -- for as long as I can remember, and some of these white people speak better chinese than me. I'm the prime example of how culture gets Americanized, I'm the Panda express of Chinese people, etc. etc.  

Plus, I'm from Troy. I've never experienced a day of racism in my life.

Yet, the "actual" Chinese Americans online aren't happy about the trend either. No one wants to be a killjoy, but watching the culture that you've been ostracized and bullied for suddenly become a trend that everyone exalts must be some crazy whiplash. The same thing happened with K-pop, when suddenly BTS and Black Pink blew up everywhere. 

There is a lot more nuance and politics (apparently the increased Chinese social media presence is part of a government plan to increase tourism to the country by catering to westerners) to unpack with this trend, but I don't have the brain power to explore all of those things. 

In conclusion, American culture is the sound of the cash register. We're not cultured like we think we are, we're capitalist consumers. All we do is consume and consume, voraciously, until there's nothing left. And like a swarm of locusts, once one field is ravaged, we move to the next. Even in our own country, we are the epitome of annoying tourists. I can say this because I too, have bought overpriced matcha from concentrate. Like a true american <3

What do you guys think? I feel like I've gotten my fill of the Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and China. Should we try the Philipines next? 

i want one of these beautiful oriental shawls!