Analysis on Monkey Dance and Laotian Daughters: Working toward Community, Belonging, and Environmental Justice

Monkey Dance is a documentary about how Cambodian refugees utilize their culture in order to express themselves and integrate into society. Bindi V. Shah’s “Laotian Daughters: Working toward Community, Belonging, and Environmental Justice” describes about the environmental and societal struggles that the Laotian Community had to overcome in order to prove their worth in the American society. A major restriction that is placed on both the Cambodian and Laotion community is the ability to voice their opinions. One of the many reasons why some Asian Immigrants aren't able to find employment is due to their inability to speak English and communicate with the people in America. Similarly, the Laotians had to overcome was communication errors in regards to emergency situations. When Chevron had a Sulfur incident that contaminated the air, many of the Laotian members within the community weren't able avoid the situation due to the fact that some couldn’t understand the message or that they were also belittled. Although much progress has been made through social media to enable the voice and identity of the Laotian community to be heard and seen, the incident exposes many flaws and errors within the situation. First, the fact that the Laotian community couldn’t understand the emergency message shows a lack of voice and representation within the community for the Laotian perspective. Had there been a Laotian representative who could speak the language, many of the residents would have been able to be evicted in time. Similarly, more Cambodian representatives could voice and translate the opinions of the Cambodian community as well. This incident also reflects and parallels my own life, as only my mother, brother, and I can speak English in our family. Every other family member speaks Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, and Toysan) only and wouldn’t be able to understand the emergency message given to them unless it was spoken by a representative of our community. Overall, I believe that America is more of a conformist society rather than a melting pot, as they force the immigrants to speak English and conform to the European standard rather than accepting and embracing the cultures and traditions of immigrants. Similar to the Laotian and Cambodian Community, some Chinese residents such as my father and grandparents still have memories and associations of politics with Communism, so it would sometimes be difficult for them to participate within politics. However, it is beneficial for them to recognize that America isn’t similar to the Asian region counterparts and as a resident of the community, they have the opportunity to voice their own opinions. In a way, the ability to host organizations, think outside the box, and word to challenge the stereotypes and barriers placed on by the American Society is what makes Asian Americans resillient and successful in their pursuits. Unfortunately, the American media doesn't want to recognize the barriers and challenges that Asians go through and even extend as far as appropriating and belittling the narratives of the Asian American experience. As the Laotians are fighting for the health and safety of their community, in a way, they are also advocating for a sense of voice and identity for the community to recognize them. Advocacy for safety and health allows the Laotian residence to be understood and accepted by the community as well as expand their horizon in pursuing other careers and passions.