(no subject)

I just watched the first episode of the new Dallas.

For some reason, I have absolutely NO concept of Dallas. Who Shot JR? I had heard the phrase before but I knew nothing about it at all. I had no idea what the show was about (was this the one that everything was a dream, or something like that?) and somehow I managed to catch reruns of practically everything except for Dallas. Did they have Dallas reruns? I have no idea. I saw a ton of old stuff on Nick at Nite but I don't recall Dallas being in it.

Anyway, I saw they were doing an updated version (continuation?) and I generally try to try every new show just in case I might like it. So I watched the first episode of Dallas. And Patrick Duffy was there!

Okay, so I didn't know he was of Dallas fame. I didn't know he was of any fame, outside of Step by Step, a show my family adores. For many years, it was like we would spend our summers watching Step by Step reruns. And of course, we watched Step by Step when it originally aired, from beginning to end. We were TGIF kids. Thinking back on it, it was a brilliant move by ABC -- we would tune in for that entire time on Fridays for years and years... It's something inconceivable now, spending that much time on one channel and not changing it. And it was Fridays too. Nowadays, shows get moved to Fridays to die.

So anyway, I liked it. Feuding families makes me uneasy (it reminds me of TVB dramas where everything is just messy) but hopefully it won't be too crazy... But from what I'm somewhat hearing about Dallas, maybe that is too much to ask for... :\

I have two more episodes to get through but I think I might space it a bit. I think I can only take so much backstabbing and treachery. Besides, I have Suits to watch. For some reason, I'm not starting it back up again even though I really enjoyed it last season. It's just one of those I know I'm gonna love it so I want to savor it and I don't want it to end so I don't want it to start it because that would mean it would end sooner. It's weird logic. I'm also avoiding the tenth episode of the Legend of Korra right now, just until the last two episodes air this Saturday morning (god, I'm watching a Saturday morning cartoon, I really am a child) so I can do them all at once. I just know it'll be a cliffhanger and at least if I get the next two, one of the cliffhangers won't be as bad since I'm guessing they'll end the season with some sort of crazy plot twist. But the show I'm avoiding the most? Eureka. It's the last season (shortened too! T_T) and I have only seen the first two episodes. *sigh* I just don't want them to end!

(no subject)

Wait a minute, is it okay to say "Oriental" in the UK?

That word has been associated with such negative connotations and has been part of my banned list of words for so long that reading it in a H/D fic was rather jarring.

I personally wouldn't want to be called Oriental. Ever. Or that my family is from the Orient. Ever. (What does that even mean?) Or anything even remotely close to that. But then again, I'm an American and I've found Americans to be more sensitive to these sort of topics. I don't necessarily find that a bad thing since I've always thought it was better to be polite rather than offensive but I know it bugs a lot of other people to have to take the time to change their behavior when they themselves don't think they're doing anything wrong. But I try since I know I would want others try to do the same for me, even if not all of them care.

But it's interesting. It's a bit like the word "quim" from a month back. Americans don't seem to find it offensive (probably because they have no idea what it means) so it gets no reactions from being uttered in a big summer blockbuster movie but would elicit gasps from a British audience. Still, it's rather dissimilar considering the fact that if you explained what "quim" meant to an American, I think most would say it was a bad word. I'm not so sure you would get the same reaction from "Oriental." Maybe, if you explained the history and the connotations the words have, you might get some understanding but from my experience, it's hard to understand and care about something that doesn't deal with you personally.

It's like when I was in high school and this one girl asked not to be called "Hispanic" rather to be known as "Latina." I'm not Hispanic or Latina, I have don't really understand the difference between the two terms other than "Latina/o" seems to be more preferable. It's partly why I've dropped the word "Hispanic" from my vocabulary since then because like I said earlier, it's better to be polite. If one person expressed the opinion that "Hispanic" was an incorrect term, then I doubt they're the only ones. And of course, I've met Latino people who don't care. Just as I'm sure there are Asian people who could care less about the word "Oriental."

So at what point do I make a big deal out of it? Do I tell people not to call me "Oriental"? Surprisingly, it still happens. Mostly with people who are of a certain age, and generally not from a typically liberal state -- the South, Midwest, those sort of places... Do I let it slide even though it does bother me? It's not like it's "chink" after all. Am I being too sensitive? Not sensitive enough? Am I failing my race if I don't think it's all that bad or are my feelings of uneasiness wrong because I'm simply been told to be more and more PC?

I wonder about these kind of things... I wish there was someone out there who can tell me how to be a good Asian. Or a good Asian American. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not just absolutely failing at it.