Who decides? - Reflections on Project Mulberry

In the beginning of the novel, Julia is ashamed of her Korean ancestry and she tries very hard to stay “Americanized.” “I wanted a nice, normal, All-American, red- white, and blue kind of project.” (30). I found myself wondering if Julia would feel the same way about herself had it not been for the reactions she received from her peers. “I’d made friends with a girl named Sarah. The first time she came over to play, she stopped dead in the entryway and said, “Eww! What’s that smell? “I didn’t want my house to smell like kimchee. I didn’t want kids to yell “Chinka-chinka-Chinaman” at me.” (30).

It is no surprise to me that Julia was hesitant to make visible, aspects of her Korean ancestry. With the warped views that many still hold about what it means to be a “true” American it’s only natural for a person who doesn’t fit within that category to feel inferior. Who could really blame Julia for feeling this way? This is the twenty first century and although we’ve made so many strides in technology; I feel as if we have come so little with issues concerning the marginalization of historically underrepresented groups of people. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for us to let go of our archaic ways of thinking.
Worse yet, everyday whether through magazines, television, or other forms of media I see people within these marginalized groups being subjected to stereotypical representations of themselves. Little regard is shown for how damaging these misrepresentations can be. For instance, if a young African American girl watches television only to see that people of her race are never expected to make anything of themselves; she may decide that working hard in school is pointless, while other young girls might see the same images in media and believe that all African Americans are worthless and should not be employed. I think it’s important to remember that what we introduce to children affects their beliefs more than we could ever imagine. Children are bright and absorb much of what they hear, so we have to act accordingly. We need to stop this narrow minded way of defining a perfect family unit. When are we going to acknowledge the loving and supporting households of same sex partners, single parents, foster parents, etc… We’re beyond the “Wonder Years, but the question that remains is when will our way of thinking change? When will our ideology reflect our era?