Since the cancellation of ABC Family’s 1994 Korean American comedy, All-American Girl, the experience of being Asian-American has received little to no attention from mainstream media despite being one of the fastest-growing races in the nation. The upcoming ABC Family sitcom Fresh Off the Boat will finally give Asian-Americans some time in the television limelight. The series premieres this fall.
The comedy, which is based on the memoir of chef and restaurateur Eddie Huang, takes place in the 1990s and focuses on 12-year-old Huang’s experiences with culture shock after moving from Washington D.C. to Orlando, Florida with his family.
Personally, I am looking forward to seeing more Asian-American representations in our media. I grew up watching The Brady Bunch and Boy Meets World and never understood why those shows did not reflect my Filipina/Asian-American reality.
Because I did not see my own life reflected on TV, I grew up thinking that there was something wrong with me and that I wasn’t truly American. I feel that Fresh off the Boat can help young Asian-Americans navigate their lives and will lead them to stop questioning the validity of their experiences like I did with mine.
There is one thing I am skeptical of: the series’ title. The phrase “fresh off the boat” or “FOB” comes from an oppressive history and the normalization of it can trigger unwanted trauma.
University of Oregon senior Quang Truong, who emigrated from Vietnam when he was eight years old, shares his disapproval of the title. He believes it’s a negative connotation, implying that those labeled “FOB” are forever foreigners, and using it disregards its history.
“My grandparents immigrated to America by risking their lives escaping from the Vietnam War. They went to America by boat and went 30 days without eating,” he said. “I hope that the show does justice in portraying Asian-American struggles.”
After watching the trailer, he questions the comedic aspect of Fresh off the Boat and how it takes away the seriousness of the phrase’s traumatic history and the harmful effects of stereotypes.
“The trailer doesn’t reflect on the history to why these stereotypes are bad. People are going to be laughing at it without knowing the history,” he said. “I believe that they should make it funny but at the same time, thought-provoking.”
Senior cinema studies major Bryan Lau, a fifth-generation Chinese/Japanese American, is also skeptical about the series.
“I thought the title was so stereotypical,” Lau said. “But I think the name is a good way to catch an audience’s attention.”
Lau feels that since the title is based on someone else’s experiences, it’s okay for it to be used.
“You can’t really mess with the director’s experience,” Lau said. ” If that’s how he wants to portray his experience, you can’t really help it.”
In an inteview with Buzzfeed, Huang shared his thoughts on receiving Twitter backlash for his trailer release.
“There are people in every race who try to speak for everybody and try to legislate what you can think and what you can’t think, with no understanding of what it means to interpret an experience,” he said. “It’s ‘fresh off the boat.’ That’s a term that Asians call each other and we claim it and it’s worn with pride.”