“Can texts ever be truly representative of groups of people?”
After the discussion last lesson, I thought that it is quite impossible to represent one group of people completely. Using “Crazy Rich Asians” as an example, some people might find it interesting and fascinating since it presented a different culture to people that are not familiar to Asian/Singaporean culture, however, many Asians have claimed that “Crazy Rich Asians” did not represent Asian culture at all. The background ad context of “Crazy Rich Asian” only apply to a few people, the majority of the Asian population cannot relate with the way they life, and therefore it cannot be called a representation of all the Asian culture. But it is a good start.
“Who gets to represent a group and who doesn’t?”
I believe that anyone can represent a group, as long as they put themselves in the right identity. For example, if “Crazy Rich Asians” isn’t targeting on the whole asian community, it will be more appropriate, because the background of the book does not apply to all the members in the “asian community”.
“Is the act of representation problematic?”
The act of representation can be controversial, however, I believe it is necessary and inevitable. A person can decide to represent a group through texts when he/she felt that it is time to speak out the voice of that community in order to let other people know about them. A good representation occurs when they are desperate of showing themselves, instead of representing themselves for diversity. The aim is different, and the outcome could be different.