Upcoming CSA show about culture, inclusion
By David Wonpu
Perhaps the best way to describe this year's Chinese Student Association's cultural show is as "The Breakfast Club" through Joss Whedon (creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") through Asian people. The combination of music, acting and dancing is meant to bridge gaps between individuals, cultures and communities while expressing Chinese heritage.
It's modern, edgy and Asian, and at the same time taps into a part of us buried deep inside, crafting something that's all about bulldozing normative boundaries and getting at what truly lies beneath.
It is of utmost importance to the club to encourage those not normally involved in Multicultural Center events to attend this production.
This show has no bias toward any particular viewer. The over-arching message is really an invitation to everyone, as a community, to celebrate our differences as well as our similarities.
The play, "Forget About Me," seeks to present an image of Asian-Americans as modern people facing modern issues. This is an image the media has failed to portray.
Through the deja vu-inducing setup of a group of strangers stuck in detention together, (a la "Breakfast Club") "Forget About Me" confronts the stereotypes, myths, and what one must do in order to break through what other people unfairly expect of them.
At its core, the show is really anti-prejudicial. We judge everyone: People we don't know, people we do, and even ourselves (often the most harshly of all).
As idealistic as it sounds, many social issues would be eased, if not eradicated, if people recognized that no one has the right to pass judgment on anybody based on appearances or assumptions alone. And this is what the cultural show is all about.
The dances are absolutely essential to the message of the entire show. They have been choreographed to provide an historical context rooted in cultural awareness.
The idea is to juxtapose traditional, classical dances with more modern pieces expressing the emotional hardship of assimilation and the struggle for a true Asian-American identity, relating memory to modernity.
Likewise, the accompanying music runs the gamut from traditional Chinese to David Bowie to Gwen Stefani. Since producing this show, everyone involved has truly experienced an appreciable sense of the community beyond CSA and the MCC.
Both Associated Students and the Center for Multicultural Learning have extended their support and provided much-needed financial resources, enabling us to put on a show that will bring an integral part of the CSA community to the entire student body.
Another reason it is important to have non-MCC individuals attend is because many of the people involved in the show are indeed those who don't normally attend MCC events themselves.
The point is to share our communities with each other in order to foster appreciation, understanding, and the construction of an even greater, general community.
The show is designed not only to entertain audience members, but also to move them. It's being put on by fellow Santa Clara students who are passionately trying to say something, and hopefully that's enough. And hopefully someone will be listening.
Contact David Wonpu at dwonpu@scu.edu.