Culture
‘Sesame Street’ Teaches Children how to Deal with Anti-Asian Verbal Harassment in new song ‘Proud of Your Eyes’
On June 23, 2021, Sesame Street released a YouTube video titled “Sesame Street: Proud of Your Eyes Song | #ComingTogether” to platform AAPI stories and voices. The goal of the video is to teach young Asian viewers how to accept their physical features and deal with racism.
The video opens with Alan Muraoka, a Japanese American actor and recurring character on Sesame Street as owner of Hooper’s Store, and newly introduced African American Muppet, Wes, making family scrapbooks together.
A young Filipino American girl, Analyn, approaches them with a look of despair. She explains that a boy had made fun of her by calling her eyes “slanty,” a racialized insult often received by Asians and Asian Americans.
Alan and Wes respond with empathy and condolences, reassuring Analyn that she is a beautiful, good person and that the boy was wrong to have described her eyes in that way. “Your eyes are the perfect eyes for you,” Alan says warmly.
Sesame Street / YouTube
Alan then suggests that they sing a song because he finds singing therapeutic, which segues into the centerpiece of the video: the “Proud of Your Eyes” song. In the song, Alan continues to praise Analyn’s beauty and strength of character despite the boy’s comment, causing her to perk up and replace her downcast expression with a smile. Alan also continuously connects one’s unique physical traits to familial heritage, singing “your eyes tell the story of your family, they show where you come from, and how you came to be.” Like the title suggests, the song teaches children to be proud of their eyes and other physical characteristics because they are beautiful no matter what.
After joining in towards the end of the song, Analyn excitedly compares her eyes to her grandmother’s, who she finds beautiful, and Alan responds by saying that his eyes are similar to those of his father too.
When Wes joins in to say that his eye’s aren’t similar to those of his father, Alan is quick to assure him that his eyes “still tell the story of [his] family” even if they aren’t an exact paternal match. The video ends with the three joining together in a loving embrace.
“Proud of Your Eyes” is an important video and song for young Asian and Asian American children. While such children are just beginning to form an understanding of their racial identity, they are also experiencing quotidian forms of racism in the classroom. By teaching these children to love themselves unconditionally despite what traditional Eurocentric beauty standards may enforce, Sesame Street takes in vital step toward combatting racial stereotyping. It is also especially crucial to have Asian and Asian American representation in the media so that young Asian and Asian American kids can recognize themselves on screen and feel seen and heard. Sesame Street sets a great example for other TV shows and media outlets to follow in introducing racialized topics at a young age.
Viewers seem to agree, personally resonating with Analyn through similar experiences:
For more resources on racism against the AAPI community, take a look at https://stopaapihate.org/.
Lunar New Year has officially been named a holiday for public schools in New York.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation this past Saturday making the designation official. A bill had been passed by New York lawmakers this past June.
Hochul said, “By designating Lunar New Year as an official school holiday, we are taking an important step in recognizing the importance of New York’s AAPI community and the rich diversity that makes New York so great.”
Culture
Remembering 9/11 Hero Betty Ong, the Flight Attendant That Alerted the World to the Events on Flight 11
On September 11, 2001 at approximately 8:20 am, Betty Ann Ong spoke in a hushed voice on an Airfone from the back of American Airlines Flight 11. In a calm manner, she told employees on the ground, “The cockpit’s not answering. Somebody’s stabbed in business class — and I think there’s mace…I think we’re getting hijacked.”
Betty, 45, was working an extra shift on Flight 11 in order to join her sister on vacation. But 14 minutes after the plane took off, it made an abrupt U-turn and headed towards New York City. Together with fellow flight attendant Madeline Sweeney, Betty relayed the seat numbers of the five hijackers, allowing authorities to quickly identify them.
Because of their bravery, the world knows the events that took place on Flight 11, how the hijackers took over the plane, and the identity of the hijackers. Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower at 8:46 a.m. Betty’s last words: “Pray for us. Pray for us.”
Betty, whose mother emigrated from China, was born in San Francisco and was the youngest of four siblings. When her family heard the story about a brave flight attendant who had provided information from the plane, they knew that it had to be Betty.
They eventually spoke with Nydia Gonzalez, the American Airlines employee that Betty had spoken to on the ground and learned the details of her heroic actions. Cathie Ong-Herrera, one of Betty’s older sisters, told the New York Post that her sister “gave her life for her country.”
In 2004, the Ong family created a foundation in Betty’s honor. It funds summer camp for kids and social programs for seniors at the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center in San Francisco. “We continue to keep her legacy alive by the work we’re doing,” Cathie said. “We want to mirror who Betty was.”
Nescafé Harajuku in Tokyo, Japan is planning to offer unique sleeping pods that will allow you to nap while standing up.
The sleeping pods, named Giraffenap, will feature pads and platforms that support your head, butt, shins, and the soles of your feet while you sleep.
Images of the pods can be seen below.
McDonald’s Japan Just Added Shrimp Nuggets to the Menu
Netflix and Eiichiro Oda Confirm That the Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Series Will Return for a Second Season
Hayao Miyazaki to Continue Making Films as ‘The Boy and the Heron’ is No Longer His Last
-
Music2 weeks agoBTS’ Jungkook is Set to Headline This Year’s Global Citizen Festival in NYC’s Central Park
-
Music1 month agoBTS’ V Shared Two Songs From His Upcoming Debut Solo Album
-
Videos2 months agoSteph Curry Talks His New Documentary Underrated
-
Food2 months agoBurger King Thailand Launched a New Burger That Includes 20 Slices of Cheese and Nothing Else
-
Culture2 years agoOG Asian YouTubers That Defined Your Childhood
-
Entertainment1 month agoFirst Look Images for Hayao Miyazaki’s Final Film ‘The Boy and the Heron’ Were Released
-
Entertainment3 weeks agoStudio Ghibli Released New Images From Hayao Miyazaki’s Final Film
-
Music1 month agoCalvin Klein Debuted a New Campaign Featuring BTS’ Jungkook
