You Should Read/Look At: Part Asian 100% Hapa

Whenever I'm at Borders or Barnes and Nobles I flip through this book. I have to admit I was initially kind of put off by the photographs being in the same vein as Michael Jackson's Black or White video. But I recently saw a interview with the author, Kip Fulbeck, wherein he explains his goal was to photograph the subjects uniformly and in their purest form, bare shoulders, without makeup and expressionless. Essentially, he wanted them to look like themselves, stripped of any artificially identity created by clothing and makeup. Now I get it.

I also just came across this video that I had not known existed. I think the video explains the project better than I have.



Being part Asian myself, I find the question of hapa identity particularly interesting. I guess the reason I keep coming back to this book is the same reason I always stare at the end photo display at the Japanese Culture Center here in Hawaii (in essence, the display is a pictorial timeline of Japanese in Hawaii. Starting with the Issei generation and ending with their grandchildren, many of whom are hapa or quapa-quarter Japanese). It's always been so strange for me that I can be so culturally Japanese, but physically not look it. Generally, people will be completely incredulous to my Asian ancestry or will know my exact nationality with out having to ask. The later tends to be people who have a similar background or grandparents who say I look exactly like their grandchildren. I guess this book offers me some reassurance that although I don't look completely or typically Japanese, I can still authentically be Japanese. Perhaps in the larger picture, the face of what we deem typical is changing.

Also, this book reminds me that hapa kids are super cute. Just saying...