skyladong-blog

[skyladong-blog]

My Animation (21 December,2020)

https://youtu.be/RxbXpFcaBQc

Here is my animation <one drop>, I upload it on Youtube.

The main ideas are same as I described in the storyboard before. In addition, it involves vacancy, communication and social contact, which I think are the representative aspects to depict the situation of  abroad Chinese. In addition, the name of <one drop> is inspired by my creation process. At the beginning of the animation, a blue drop of water drops falls and the whole green world turns blue, including everyone except the leading role. Then the main character become more blue continually due to his adaptive actions and  gradually changing ideas. 

This process is very similar to the process of dropping water one after another. It is the water drops that make him bluer. At the same time, water drops can also represent the degree of adaptation of the protagonist to the new environment and culture.

Thank you for watching, if you have any advice, please comment me. :)

Best wishes,  Skyla

[skyladong-blog]

New reflection of “Alienation” (13 December, 2020)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwpbqiQ8jQ0

Here is the link of my interview record on Youtube. Before presentation, I change an interview to question “You can feel alienated in which condition?” & “When do you want to be home most?” As for the first question, the majority of answer is when they alone and cannot communicate with other smoothly. When they stay and go out alone they might not feel a sense of safety in foreign land. It might because there are less people on the street at night. Besides, when they do not communicate well some foreigner may impatient about them.

There are various conditions they can meet, but if they live with Chinese people and take care of each other, they should not feel alienated easily.

This may be the reason of existence of Chinatown and Chinese immigrant community.

In terms of the second question “When do you want to be home most?”

The answers much like above, in addition, when they miss homeland thing but they cannot find materials in any supermarket, such as Chinese snack and home meals.  At that moment, they miss home most and want to be home. 

[skyladong-blog]

New reflection recently (10 December, 2020)

As for the interview video I prepared the few weeks, I found an interesting aspect when I asked “What do you think is the most difficult aspect to adapt to?” there were two thirds interviewees responded: language.  Two respondents had experienced communication barriers caused by not mastering the language, that made them feel like they didn't belong. 

In addition, interviewees said they could feel alienated when they feel be treated differently For instance, it is no denying under the COVID-19 many foreigners think it is “Chinese virus”, therefore when my interviewee was walking down the street, an elderly lady immediately covered her mouth and nose using her clothes with an unfriendly look in her eyes , as if she was avoiding something.

Other than that, the most similar answer mentioned was culture.

it is an abstract concept, it involves the ways of communication, greeting and eating etiquette.

In conclusion, each person feels alienated and difficult from a different source. It's pretty much the same thing.

[skyladong-blog]

Reflection of conversation - 1 (8 December, 2020 )

Recently, I prepare a conversation video for symposium presentation this week and I set four questions to explore further information about Chinese living abroad. Therefore, I selected four interviewees who have similar experience as my conversation objects, such as have lived abroad and are living abroad. As for the first question: “What do you think is the most different aspect about dealing with people you know in the UK compared to dealing with Chinese people?” Three of them thought foreigners were better at expressing themselves and complimenting others. The Chinese are more introverted. Another student mentioned that compared with the Chinese, British are more accustomed to going Dutch and rarely treat someone alone. I think these are relevant to the two diverse culture.

[skyladong-blog]

Make connection between <Saving Face> and my “Alienation” theme (27 November, 2020)

I watched <Saving Face> today, it is a film talk about story of a Chinese family. I reflect three obvious features in the movie.

1-Language, is the widespread issue of abroad Chinese. It is an interesting phenomenon that elder generation can understand English but they do not say, the younger generation is switching between Chinese and English. According to Qin, Desirée B (2008) after migrate children choose English and culture to learn in the school as a faster speed than their parents. Besides, the heroine describe her mother “she cannot leave  Chinatown” and her mother’s social groups are also Chinese people, hardly to see foreign person. So do her friends. It like my animation indicates, the main “green” role cannot get “blue” easily (it means blend in the foreign local society). In such an unbalanced environment, it is easy for both sides to get alienated.

2-Concept, the majority of abroad Chinese elder people have quite traditional and conservative notion. There is a plot in movie, Wil’s  (heroine) single mother is pregnant. Then ostracized by her entire social circle, she was driven out of the house by her father. Her acquaintances feel she is profligate, her father thought her bad behavior had disgraced herself. But her daughter, the leading lady doesn't think so. She always encourages her mother. Obviously, the daughter’s concept is more compatible. Because her father (Wil’s grandfather) think that was a shame, a disgrace to the family. Under the attack of contrast notion, it is easy to feel separated like the single mother.

3-Social, in the beginning Wil was taken to a party by her mother. There were all Chinese in that activity. Additionally, Wil’s mother social circle are also all Chinese, the only two foreign roles are Wil’s neighbor a black boy and her colleague. Wil’s partner said that her first goal was to get out of Chinatown as soon as possible. Those cases indicated that Chinese people seem to find it difficult to join local social groups. There are two reasons above.

References

Qin, Desirée B, and Qin, Desirée B. "Gendered Processes of Adaptation: Understanding Parent–Child Relations in Chinese Immigrant Families." Sex Roles 60.7 (2009): 467-81. Web.

[skyladong-blog]

New reflection of “Alienation”-separate a sense of alienation as two parts, internal and external that people can feel. (20 November, 2020)

Recently I  read some articles and I found my previous thought was one-sided. I only noticed the external elements which can cause Chinese people feel a sense of alienation in foreign land. Besides I ignore that also has internal elements can cause people feel a sense of alienation.  

Those articles focusing on Chinese adolescents in immigrant families. 

Firstly, after migrant parents pay more attention to their work and they are provider of their family. But adolescents need warm, emotionally engaged and supportive parents now. Bilateral aims are not the same, therefore result in estrange.

Secondly, because acculturation gap. After migrant, parents and children are both in a new cultural environment, they need to adapt and integrate into it. Children often pick up English and absorb the new culture at a faster speed at school than their parents. Therefore in some families, role reversal occurs, where children become their parents’ parent. It might stimulate generation gap, as time passes it would evolve into estrange.

Finally, adolescents a sense of alienation is associated with a sense of burden as language brokers. Due to they have to switch between English and Chinese, which process make they trap in this mechanism and process. Therefore they have a sense of burden so that conduce to feel a sense of alienation.

However it also has positive effects, those teenagers could have high academic performance, academic efficacy and positive relationship between their parents, because of communicating and interacting.

Above thoughts are all internal causes, which can lead to people feel a sense of alienation.

[skyladong-blog]

New reflection and pace of “Alienation research” (15 November,2020)

This a part of video is a type of expression of my research, which I show the storyboards in the last blog. That is just a beginning.

In addition, recently I saw a film <Red Doors>, talk about a Chinese immigration family in New York. It involve a parents and three daughters.The conflicts are refer to wedding style (western or traditional Chinese), lesbianism and lack of a sense of belonging. But all the problems be solved at the end. In this movie, youngsters can integrate into local society easier than elder generation. In terms of the three daughters’ companions are all the locals but their parents social circles are only involve Chinese elder people. Therefore, the conflicts are the collision of old and new ideas at China and abroad. But finally because of the bond of kinship, family members compromise with each other.

[skyladong-blog]

New process of the last week(3 November,2020)

According to my start point I made a storyboard of short animation. It talks about Chinese people living abroad, the feelings, experiences and difficulties they faced. I created a role, which represent Chinese person, just a regular person could be everyone in my nation.

Besides, there are two different colors in my draft. Green means the features of Domestic Chinese people. Blue means changing to abroad features which affected by foreign people and surroundings. In the beginning, the role only has the domestic feature, but it is not beneficial for living, such as communication, finding job and so on.

This situation be optimized via the role gets touch with the locals, absorbs local culture and converts own mind continuously.

The role accompanied with two special features and there are coexisting.

In terms of the higher angle, our world are fulled of those green half blue person.

[skyladong-blog]

Recently reflection of the topic (alienation) --22 October, 2020

Recently, I read some relevant resources  an article researching “Chinese American adolescents” and a film <The Farewell>.

As for the article, I found the point that immigrant especially youngsters, they feel isolated and alienated because of they should be the language broker. It means they need to switch between Chinese and English. They cannot feel a sense of belonging, therefore it will impact their family obligation and so on.

In addition, <The Farewell>  is a comedy-drama film that talk about a grandma has cancer but nobody told her. All the family members organize a wedding, but the actual aim is to meet grandma the last time.

In this movie I saw the first Chinese immigrant in America. The leading lady named Billie, in her nuclear family they do not speak Chinese any more. But Billie parents speak fluent Chinese  in the Chinese family. I guess that is also an effected aspect that Chinese people living abroad. 

Besides, in the movie Billie is a college student and she already move out from her family to adapt independence and self-sufficient. I guess this another different aspect compared with China. Actually in China there are few adolescent remove to live alone when they were in college.

In conclusion, there are many impacted aspects of Chinese people who living abroad. They might experience different, surrounded by diverse culture background context. To explore more about that I still need to read a lot and see a lot.

Thank you for listening.

[skyladong-blog]

Further explore of  a sense of alienation. (17 October,2020)

According to the last blog, I feel that use metaphor in painting can gain frank effect.

As for “Alienation theory of Karl Marx”, because of it was capitalism society in that age, the workers can only get rewards for psychical labor, hence Marx divided workers’ sense of alienation into four types: from their product, from the act of production, from their Gattungswesen (species-essence) and from other workers. In my view the first three are interconnected, due to the production materials were controlled by capitalists, the factory boss. Workers manufacture movements cannot obey their own thought, only can comply with the wishes and orders of the capitalists. Therefore they could not feel satisfied in the working process. Such rules may cause workers to feel emotionally disconnected and psychologically alienated. Moreover, the last aspect is true of the workers themselves. While the capitalists were getting paid for their labor, they were also squeezing the surplus value of the workers and creating a competitive occupation environment. This makes competition between workers fierce and that creates alienation.

It reminds me of Chaplin's <Modern Times>, which inspire me drawing a draft below.

In addition, the content of Diaspora is also relevant to my topic idea: alienation. Historically “diaspora” refer to involuntary mass dispersion of a population from its indigenous territories, in particular the dispersion of Jews. In all cases, the term diaspora carries a sense of displacement. Generally, if homeland still exist in any meaningful sense its people have a hope, or art least a desire to return. Diaspora may results in a loss of nostalgia for a single home as people “re-root” in series of meaningful displacements.

Therefore in general, if their homeland still exist the scattered people always want to return back. 

I heard a lecture “cultural differences between China and the west”, it mentioned there was a tide of move abroad in last century and meanwhile Chinese people yearn for the west. But after experienced “Culture shock” they realized that they are still Chinese. So the early immigrants and overseas students tend to be more patriotic than domestic Chinese people. 

According to my understanding, the typical case of diaspora is Jewish immigration, besides other Atlantic slave trade is also an obvious reason.

Attaching image is a draft of today reflection. The left draft describes a heat be surrounded by gears and screws. The heat representative worker, which refer to Chaplin’s figure in <Modern Times>. The gears and screws indicate the factory and the industrial capitalist society.

The right draft shows a tearful figure as the Jew far from homeland and the background use dots and different colors to representative the remote homeland.

[skyladong-blog]

Outline of exploring the sense of alienation in the public. (14 October, 2020)

001- Good morning.

I intend to explore something about how people have a sense of alienation. Recently, I have noticed that the public not only have physical risk but also have crisis of their mental health under COVID-19. For instance, since the COVID-19 breakout there are increasingly number of people and city become isolated and lock down, the face-to-face chat time be reduced dramatically. People start to living alone or with their small family group, but in any case living in a simplex environment might not produce a healthy psychological status for human’s. Therefore, I want to develop more about this feeling. How could people feel a sense of alienation and isolation from society.  

 As for the two pictures:

The first picture, in terms of this theme, the original figure in my mind was a door, which can block anything whatever good or bad. It provide a vacuum surroundings, but doesn’t means absolutely good.

Therefore, producing the second picture, which is more specific one.