kip fulbeck clips in Discover Nikkei's Real People video archives
For kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa which opens at the Japanese American National Museum on June 8, staff conducted a video interview with artist Kip Fulbeck. 19 clips were selected and included into the Real People section of this website. The clips are really interesting and shed light on Kip's sense of identity as Hapa growing up and now, as well as provides background and insight into his Hapa Project. 
My father was half Filipino, which makes me 1/4 filipino and 3/4 (or so) of European descent. I consider myself a hapa, but don't feel a strong attachment to either identity of being hapa or Filipino due to being raised exclusively by my mother's family (all of European descent). As I have gone through college and have taken courses in Asian Pacific American Experience, I can find more attachment, but still feel like an outsider looking in. But, as you have said, identity is more and more self-determined, and I could change my identification down the road as I grow more in touch with my Filipino culture. As far as the experiment goes, hapa identity (or any other identity) can never really be fully explored as it is always changing- to me that is exactly what Kip has been wanting others to understand. I can just hope that more such experiments and research are conducted on, like you have mentioned, this ever-growing group. Brandon My name is Tyler Yates and I am a student at Arizona State University. I am currently in a multicultural class at ASU. My response is to the work of Kip Fulbeck in the Hapa project. We as a multicultural class actually tried the question ourselves “what are you?” In our own handwriting, as an exercise, which worked equally as well to the introduction about speaking of identity for my course. After reading more about this question you posed and the origins of its purpose I now better understand the true layer of identity Fulbeck was trying to reach. I am really intrigued by identity in general because it is defined and seen so differently through everyone’s eyes. The oddest part about the question is it was so simple when said but not when applied. This exercise brought back defining monuments in my life that I can say further defined my as a person and as a fellow being. It was also a cleansing exercise for me because it let me sit and think until I pulled back the layers built over time to get to the true essences of my own personal identity. That was my experience to the question “what are you?” I would like to know how others felt when answering such an unassuming question. How did the internal conflict go when confronted with the question what are you. I am Tyler Yates Yes, we are both taking APA (Asian Pacific American Studies) 360: The Multicultural Experience at ASU. Alot of the ideas that we have studied during the semester also tie in really well with Kip's discussion, and we were prompted by the instructor to respond on this board. Not many people have posted, but I personally think that sharing some of our ideas here allows us to better understand the concepts, while allowing our views to enliven the discourse about identity, race, etc.
Differing responses by gender to the Hapa Project As I learned in Sociology class, I took at Arizona State University, feminine characters are more likely to open about their life than masculinity. It doest not mean all the men volunteered in the project are more toward femininity, women are just more openness toward their lives then men do. I agree with in the sense that this country does not value strength such as nursing elder parents or playing violin or piano. The good example would be “Male Nurse”. Difficulty responding to the question "What are you?" I think “What are you” is the most complicated question for some multiracial people. However, as you mention, I do not think most people have not thought about these things before. Most people have to choose a single word what they are. In order for them think as a single word, it is just too cruel for them. Especially with a mixed raced between Caucasian and other minority(s), it is too difficult for them to name as Caucasian because the community accept you as a minority even though one of the parents is Caucasian. Discomfort at being labeled by others People do label on people. It may be because we live in the multicultural city or the environment force us to label. If you see one of the suspects on a crime sence, one of the first questions you are going to be asked is not how he does look like. It more likely question would be “what is he/she”. In other word, is he/she White, Black, Latino or Asian?
I am a student at ASU taking multiracial class and I have some comment on the topics of "Discomfort at being labeled by others" and "Difficulty responding to the question "What are you?""I think identifying oneself is important. It is hard to avoid others labeling and juding against a person. Instead the person should really know what he is and what he stands for. All Hapa are not the same. Neither are Asians nor whites. But there are "standardized" stereotypes for all the races. We are being labeled and stereotyped all the time. It would raise so many questions to us if we do not know who we really are. Not all Hapa are good-looking as well as not all Asians are passive. Although these stereotypes may be correct to a certain extent, every human-being is different. Therefore, it is important to know what and who we are. My name is Kanami Saiki. I am taking the multiracial experience class at Arizona State University this semester. Hello my name is Martin Li, I am taking an Asian Pacific American studies class at Arizona State University. In response to his videos about being labeled as a hapa. I in some respects, are a Hapa but not to an extreme extent. My Dad is 3/4 Chinese and 1/4 White and My Mom is full Chinese. Therefore I am 7/8 Chinese and 1/8 white. I have found that much like Kip, I have been labeled by my chinese relatives at times mainly because of my part white. In America, unintentional passing is very easy for me, I look Chinese and most am Chinese so it is easy to pass unless I tell otherwise. I dislike how if I decide to admit that I am part white that white people respond with "oh! your one of us!" At most times, I don't tend to associate myself with being white, because growing up I always lived in a very Chinese home. It is not a racial concept but as only a small amount of white, I see myself more as chinese but with American tendicies. I have been told that I am "white-washed" etc but for me it is not a matter if being white but acting white in America. The culture in which you live in affects who you are as a person and so I see that as a reason for how I act. I guess I never thought that I supressed being white, because since the majority in America is white, American tendenices seem more white to me. |
Hello, I am currently a student taking a multiracial experience class with the asian pacific american studies program at arizona State university.
In our class, we have watched a film from Kip Fulbeck titled "Banana Split" (1991). In these articles, I can see a definite maturing of Kip's raw ideas of being hapa as well as asian and white. In "Banana Splits" Kip narrates some important life experiences that show he has a conflict resolving his identity as either Chinese or white, or even Chinese and white. In these short interviews, Kip shows he has embraced the hapa identity as one that can encompass many different types of people.
Hapa identity does not have to be static, as Kip has discussed in these interviews. The Hapa identity is an identity that changes as more people identify with it, taking on many aspects of culture. However, one person that identifies as hapa does not have to follow any strict culture defined by any other person, and allows that one person to define him/herself in his/her own terms. Kip himself says in one of the interviews, he more strongly identifies with Japan than with his Chinese side, something that he chooses regardless of his racial or ethnic identity.
Thank you all for reading this! If you have any questions or comments, I would be glad to answer or respond.
Brandon Gavino