Left 4 Dead

I really need to find more time in the day. This is one of those “perfect storm” times of the year when tons of quality games come out and there’s simply not enough time to play them all. I saw a video for Left 4 Dead the other day and was convinced that [...]

Are Chinese Stereotypes True?

Posted on March 11th, 2007 by Ed Lau

I’ve been called “banana” more than once in my life. It’s not because I bear any sort of actual resemblance to the yellow, easily peal-able fruit but because I am considered to be yellow on the outside, white on the inside. Since I’m born and raised in Canada, I identify more with Canadian culture than that of Hong Kong. In fact, on my first visit to Hong Kong, the locals could actually tell I was from Canada. This may have been because of my horrible Cantonese tinged with English, my complete lack of knowledge of any Chinese pop culture or the fact that I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts in the middle of winter when everyone else has broken out the scarves and mittens. Seriously, Hong Kong is hot.

Although I break nearly every stereotype about the Chinese race, there are times when I’m asked if I know kung fu or if I’m really good at math. Personally, I usually think stereotypes are in fact, stereotypes because they are true and while most of us do not know kung fu, I am rather sure that a majority of Chinese folks are good at math, can’t hold their liquor and quite a few are terrible drivers. Not me, though. I’m awesome.

Michael posted this film on his blog recently and I actually quite enjoyed it. It’s called A Chink in the Armour, a short, 25-minute documentary made by Baun Mah, a student in Toronto. While some of his tests are not very scientific in nature (I mean…just because they can’t translate doesn’t mean they don’t speak the language…), the short is pretty funny and well made. I wish he would’ve differentiated more between bananas like me and more recent immigrants, though, to see if the stereotypes are more on a cultural basis.

And just so we’re clear…I speak Cantonese, I am a great driver, I can drink you under the table, I can do math but…not beyond a high school level and I don’t know kung fu…although I’m rather sure I can still beat most people up.

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