Misdirected Blame

Vincent (Tuong Le)
ASA002-A02
5/4/14
Response to: "Monster, Terrorist, Fag: The War on Terrorism and the Production of Docile Patriots"

Something I noticed as the most significant part about the article was how terrorists were discredited due to their psychologies, thus allowing the society to blame the terrorist actions on parenting or sexual deviancy rather than the issues specifically brought up by the actions of the terrorist. This is similar to how many murderers, serial killers, and rapists are also discussed in psychoanalytical ways rather than in ways regarding their actions. In the case of terrorists, it surprises me that people could attribute terrorist actions primarily to parenting or sexual deviancy over political unrest or motivations, as these forms of political terrorism seem to clearly be a statement against America itself (in regards to 9/11.) I feel like this is a way for people and countries to avoid facing the issues brought to face by these terrorist actions. It reminds me of the logical fallacy of ad hominem, in which the speaker is attacked, criticized, or scrutinized rather than their argument, thus causing me to question portrayals of terrorists by society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=592EiTD2Hgo

This video is a trailer for "Big Trouble in Little China," a comedy movie from 1986 that a coworker showed me recently. While I did my best to watch the movie as a comedy and not take it too seriously, I found myself noticing many of the stereotypes I've been learning in my ASA001 class, so I thought it might be interesting to bring up in this class also.

How should one view media such as this? Should it be taken more lightly due to its comedic nature or should it be criticized for its perpetuation of stereotypes?