Catfish and Mandala Pham Discusses Stereotypical Treatment

Catfish and Mandala Pham discusses stereotypical treatment he experienced in his briefly-held job and how that experience affected him deeply. When Paul, Pham's boss, makes stereotypical comments about him -- and "Orientals," in general -- Pham does not like it because he knows that a positive stereotype Paul makes about Asians "as good workers" may easily turn into a negative stereotype because both types of stereotypes are rooted in pre-judged generalizations. Indeed, by the time he resigns, Pham ceases to be a "good Oriental" in the eyes of Paul.

Paul's stereotyping is problematic on several grounds. By ascribing certain characteristics to "Orientals," he does not simply lump together people of an entire nation (which already is a problematic generalization), but peoples of many nations. And Paul's definition of a "good Oriental" is based what he expects from an Asian: hard-working, math-loving, obedient and meek, always-looking-for-an-advice-from-his-white-American-boss gentleman. But Pham obviously does not meet these requirements. And because of that, Paul no longer sees him as a "good Oriental." Pham, in Paul's eyes, must be an exception to the "rule."

The stereotyping by Paul deeply affects Pham. He resents it. He does not want to be seen as someone who only exists in the stereotypical mind of a white American. Pham does not want to be type-casted. Pham also does not like when his father reminds him that he is an "Asian man in America" and that "all his bosses will be white." This experience forces him to look at his roots and see that to be fully accepted one has to have the "proper" look, language, name, religion, and sexual orientation. Those who do not are unfortunately "dysfunctional." Pham may try to be a "real" American but he will not be accepted as such. And Vietnamese-American is out of place -- neither fully Vietnamese nor fully American.

A lot of what Pham writes and discusses resonate with my experience of living in the United States for the last two years. For example, I am from Korea but for many people Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and a few other Asian nationals are "the same." I am Christian and there is a sizable Christian population in South Korea but people are sometimes surprised to hear that. They initially think I am Buddhist. There have been cases when people with little knowledge of Japanese tried to speak to me in Japanese at the Japanese restaurant I work. Some people also seem to have a stereotypical idea that all South Koreans are rich people. If I were rich, I would concentrate on my studies instead of trying to earn some money in a restaurant.