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Angry Little Asian Girl
With Lela Lee
Cartoonist and Actress
Friday, Aug. 31, 2001; 2 p.m. EDT
"I created this comic strip, to address everything that I had to go through growing up. My parents couldn't coach me through the racism I got as a child . . . The reason I keep doing this comic strip is because not only do I really feel strongly about the subject matter, but with the positive feedback I have gotten, it has made me understand that I have hit on a nerve of some sort."
In 1994 Lela Lee first created "Angry Little Asian Girl" after viewing offensive and chauvinistic cartoons in the Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation. She sent a collection of short episodes to Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted and ironically was asked for exhibition rights. The shorts were reviewed by the LA Times and the LA Weekly, both giving the video sparkling reviews. Inspired by the buzz, Lee decided to make a batch of 300 "Angry Little Asian Girl" shirts and sold out. In 1998, Lee launched www.angrylittleasiangirl.com to meet request demand.
Currently, Lee is working on getting the strip syndicated as well as finishing her graphic novels with each of the characters starring in their own book. (6 total) Lee also acts and appeared in "Charmed," "Friends," "Felicity," "Scrubs," and "Rude Awakenings."
Lee hopes
her comic strip will help readers realize that angering situations can have a positive outcome.
A transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Lela Lee: Hello and good morning. I (Lela Lee) am going to start 5 mintues early since I'm staring at my computer monitor and there are some interesting questions already queued.
Arlington, Va.:
Ms. Lee: I really admire the way you express yourself in such a constructive, thought-provoking way. I'm an aspiring cartoonist and was hoping you might talk about how you learned to draw and color your cartoons. Though your characters are simply drawn, they are very expressive and unique, which to me is great cartooning.
Lela Lee: I only began seriously drawing because the short film "Angry Little Asian Girl 5 Angry Episodes" got such a great response. People referred to it as a comic strip, and at that point, I did not know how to draw really. I wasn't even really into comic strips. I mean I read them, but not like I do now. When I started to teach myself about comic strips, I did have natural drawing abilities. When I was in grade school, my teachers always said I colored in the lines very well, but who knows what that indicated. I basically went to the libray a lot and read all the books they had about cartooning and the cartoonists.
EraserheadGuy, D.C.:
Hi, Lela. I adoooooooore Angry Little Asian Girl. Like my namesake film (hopefully an influence of yours), ALAG is a fine commentary on this great wrong world of ours. Maybe I missed it, but is there an archive of past comics on your website? I can only find the current one.
Lela Lee: I only archive 10 weeks worth of comics. Maybe later I will archive more, but right now, I only keep 10 at a time.
Arlington, Va..:
Who did you play on "Friends?"
Lela Lee: I had a tiny tiny part. I was at Monica's cousin's wedding to which Monica was not invited. Monica asks me how I know the bride and I reply "I used to work with her." And then she gets mad. Tiny.
Fairfax, Va.:
You have a great site! You mentioned ALAG was created in response to some offensive comics you had seen. Has anyone ever commented that they found your comic's characters offensive? For example, I noticed that Deborah, the "disenchanted princess" has a Jewish surname. Some might find this offensive.
Lela Lee: Thanks! I haven't had any remarks really about Deborah. I did have one fellow who wrote in and wished that I might dispell the myth that everything is owned by Jewish people. But other than that, that's about it. I want the racial element to be something that's secondary to their emotions and personality. I think the personality and moods that they have is what I relate best with, because I can only really speak honestly about what has occurred to me as an Asian-American, and even weith that, I can't speak for all Asians. I just speak from my point of view and how I relate to the character's emotion/personality.
Silver Spring, Md.:
Your film is being shown at the Freer Gallery in Washington D.C. sometime in October. Will you be making a special appearance and sign autographs by any chance? washingtonpost.com:
Information about Lela's film and the D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival in October can be found on the Freer Gallery Film Calendar website.
Lela Lee: No, unfortunately I will not be able to attend.
Mt. Rainier, Md.:
I found it so sad that someone could be that angry so young. I saw the panel where she yells 'Stupidhead' at a fuzzyminded teacher who is assuming that she's a foreigner. I'm trying to see where the positive comes in here. Is this supposed to be our 'teachable moment' for the teacher who is probably somewhere between shocked and scared? So much anger, how does the healing come in?
Lela Lee: Good point. I did that video in 1994, when I was a young angry college student. I was revisiting humiliating moments in my past and sort of reclaiming them thru the video-"if it could be different, I wish I would have said this." Now as I've aged, I see what you are saying and firmly agree. Also because I have an audience (which I never thought about when I first created the video) I do have to be careful of what I say. I've changed ALAG and the strip a lot. I want it to be a positive read.
Anchorage, Alaska:
I first started reading your strip from A. Magagine. love it!
Do you get more compliments from readers or complaints from offended folks?
Lela Lee: Thanks! I get both.
City of the Fallen Angels:
Hi Lela,
I checked out ALAG a while a ago and keep checking up periodically. Is it just me, other chatters chime in here, but she doesn't seem particulary angry to me. She's not mad enough for the title and not funny enough. At times I feel like its a multicultural "family circus."
Its great that you are finding success doing this, great that there's an audience, but let's move out of this tired colonialist/patriarchical critique.
I'm a Chinese American woman, for what its worth.
Lela Lee: ALAG started off really angry. But I grew tired of making it so angry in tone all the time. I felt it wasn't a true dimensional character if she was just one note all the time. So I mellowed it out and also let her be angry. I know sometimes my strip's punch lines aren't the funniest, but I try.
Virginia:
Actually, I was rather offended by the character of Deborah. Why is it bad for other people to make assumptions about Asians, but OK for you to make references to "Jewish Princesses"? I am personally tired of this stereotype.
Lela Lee: I call her the "disenchanted princess." I want the word "disenchanted" to be the emphasized word. She may seem to be a princess, but she is actually quite unhappy with things. The opposition of those words can bring to light some ironies. I too, am tired of all those little girly things that say "I'm a princess." I mean it's great to feel feminine and see yourself in a royal light, but I'm trying to make fun of that.
Baltimore, Md.:
Here is my angry Asian girl sentiment: As an American-born Asian, it is frustrating when white Americans question my ties to my culture, or act surprised that I can speak a language other than English. If they've never experienced growing up in a traditional Asian household, how can they make such ignorant judgments? What is the best way to communicate this to them in a manner that educates them without offending them?
Lela Lee: I think the best way to communicate is just to tell them when it occurs. Or even after the fact. Just make sure to voice it in a way that they can hear it. I think culturally as Asians, we're taught to not say what we feel and to brush things under the rug. If you say your frustration in a non-confrontational way to the person who you want to speak it to, I think that might be the best and simplest way to deal with that. People are suprisingly willing to at least try to understand.
Philadelphia, Penn.:
What future plans do you have for ALAG? Someone pointed me towards your website but I haven't seen in it newspapers. Do you hope for this strip to be as wide read as Peanuts? Or is acting your main career?
Lela Lee: I dream of "Peanuts!"
Wouldn't that be great!
I have been working on getting syndicated in papers. But the odds are really tough. Tougher than acting. Syndicates get about 3,000 to 10,000 submissions a year and can only launch about 1-2 strips. Then there's the task of getting space in the comics page. Once a strip is in papers and has a following, it hardly ever leaves. So it's tough. I definitely want to be syndicated. I just have to be patient.
Berkeley, Calif.:
Hi.
What year did you graduate from Berkeley. And did you ever work at the Daily Cal?
Lela Lee: 1996.
No I never worked at the Daily Cal. Though I did read it daily!
Arlington, Va.:
Hey Lela,
Speaking about "Friends", my APA friends and I think there should be a similar show called "Rice" with the cast being from different ethnic groups. You know, rice is a staple in the global diet. -Eleanor
Lela Lee: Good idea!
Virginia:
Hi,
I was just reading some of the comics on your Web page, and one of the things that confused me was your discussion of the use of the word "oriental." You said that
"oriental" is offensive because it means "from far away," while "occidental" means central. In fact, these words (both Latin derived) mean "eastern" (oriental) and "western" (occidental). This is, in fact, still the meaning of these two words in both Spanish and Portuguese. So I don't really see how describing someone as "eastern" or "western" is offensive, except in that it is sort of unspecific.
Lela Lee: I realize I was touching on sensitive ground. Definitions and history is always based on a perspective. I read a book called "Orientalism" by Said in college which was discussed by college professor at length. It's just a theory I learned which I thought was interesting and valid in my eyes. I made it into a comic strip to provoke thought. But it is a theory. I think I'm going to stay away from theories since it lit off a huge discussion which I admittedly am not a historian nor am I a professor.
Washington, D.C.:
Hello Lela!
Could you talk about how anger can be a positive response to prejudice, in real life and not just in comic strips? What do you say to critics who claim that anger should be suppressed because it just worsens race relations?
Lela Lee: I think when one gets angry, one can be motivated to do a lot. That is if they don't resort to violent things. Hopefully, after one is angered, they can think logically and work out a plan of action. If one is happy or just content, nothing ever gets done. Anger is not a bad thing. It can make one get so fed up, that they will act against the thing that angers them.
Somewhere, USA:
In reponse to the Asian-American from Baltimore, I tend to think that most people who are rude do not mean to be. Frequently someone may not know that a particular subject is a sore-spot with you. When someone says something to me that is rude or culturally insensive, I usually just try to correct them and then move on. Or if they are just asking rude questions, I just offer a non-answer and change the subject. It usually works pretty well.
Lela Lee: Yes, I do think people are mostly kind hearted and don't mean to offend others. Your response to just correct them and move on is a great and simple solution to unintentional rude remarks.
Arlington, Va.:
Some comments and questions.
First, I really dig what you're doing. I think there is merit in just depicting the anger because that's real. I can think of countless times I wish I had gone off on someone for making a "Stupidhead" worthy comment but didn't say anything. Second, even though you focus on feelings and situations, people are going to be hypersensitive about anything you do even hinting at race, and will misinterpret you when their hackles raise. How much do your detractors legitimately take issue with you as opposed to just having a misguided knee-jerk reaction to your work just because there's racial (not racist) aspects?
Lela Lee: Thank you.
I wish too that I was able to respond in those situations.
I think both happens, I think some have a knee-jerk reactions because the strip has a colorful cast. But I do think everyone has a legitimate issue if they have an issue. I was never an activist, but I did have experiences that were less than savory. I started the strip to go back and reclaim those things, and when I did, a lot of peole took notice because they probably had similar experiences. I think most of the people who have issues are sensitive about race. But I do thank you for seeing that the strip has racial elements and is not racist.
Arlington, Va.:
Unfortunately, it's not just Asia and Asians that Americans are uniformed and misinformed about. I'm originally from Ireland, and you should hear the questions I get, from "Aren't Ireland and England all one big island?" to "Are you in the IRA?" to "My great-great-great aunt Ann O'Neill came from County Cork. Do you know her?" to "Are you an alcoholic?" These are actual questions that actual Americans have asked me. I'm not making these up.
But at least no one forms an opinion about me just based upon my physical appearance.
Lela Lee: That's funny! you should do stand-up with those stories.
Philadelphia, Penn.:
How much of your everyday life goes into your characters senarios?
Lela Lee: Sometimes I'll remember an incident and put that in, but it has to fit the story line for the comic strip. Or if I am with someone and they say something funny, I will write it down. But usually I don't tell them until afterwards. THat way they don't think they are doing a stand-up routine and on the spot. I like it when things just come out naturally.
Maryland:
When I was growing up we used to tease a Chinese-American girl who lived in our neighborhood. We liked her but we would make fun of her name because it was different and we didn't know any better. None of the adults ever corrected us either.
After living and traveling in Asia, now I know better but I hope we didn't give her too much baggage! So I am glad that you are educating people to look beyond stereotypes.
Lela Lee: I think that girl wrote into the angry board last week. ;)
Alexandria, Va.:
I don't really have a question I just learned about your site mere days ago but I LOVE IT! I can't wait for the books, tv show, and anything else you can think of. I think this is a great comic strip that is so important to girls and women! I just wanted to thank you for letting girls where black when they are gloomy and saying "f*** you" when they want to! Keep up the good work and great merchandise!
Lela Lee: Thank you!
Bethesda, Md.:
Lela Lee,
Do you feel that it's more acceptable to make racist comments/assumptions about Asians than most other ethnicities in this country?
As an Asian-American, I continually find myself angered at racist comments made throughout the media. I am doubly angered at the lack of outrage. I am relieved when people speak out about anti-African-American and anti-Hispanic-American remakrs, but outraged when people consider anti-Asian remarks no big deal.
As 4% of the population are we too small to care about? Or is it the old stereotype of Asians as the "model minority" that makes us such acceptable targets?
Thanks,
Disenchanted woman
Lela Lee: I think the lack of outrage is a cultural thing with Asians. It's really up to Asians to be vocal.
Rockville, Md.:
How did you like working with the cast of 'Friends'? I would assume they would be a great group of people to work with, but what did you think?
Lela Lee: The cast of "Friends" was very nice. I only met Courtney Cox and David Scwhimmer-both were really nice. Especailly David Schwimmer!
Washington D.C.:
I love the comic and the characters. Do you think that the development of the characters will create a larger audience and if so what is your target audience?
Lela Lee: I created the other characters because I was given the feedback "sorry, there's just no market for Asians." I also knew from selling shirts out on the streets, that a lot of non-Asians really got the sentiment, but felt unable to partake because it was an "angry little asian girl." So I expanded it for that reason. I hope anyone will read my strip!
Everything isn't visual:
I'm Jewish, but don't 'look' it--all my life I've gotten surprised looks when I observe or mention Jewish holidays and traditions.
I try to be kind, and usually succeed, but many times I've wanted to reply, 'Looks can be deceiving--you don't look like an idiot!'
Lela Lee: That's a great comeback!
I.T.B.:
A recent "Angry Little Asian Girl" strip contained some inaccurate information about the meanings of "oriental" and "occidental." The strip said they mean "far away" and "center," respectively. Actually they just mean "eastern" and "western" and derive from ancient words referring to rising and setting (of the sun). I like your strip a lot but it did grieve me to see an urban legend make it in like that.
Lela Lee: Yes I know. I got a lot of emails regarding that comic strip. It was inspired by a book I read in college and the professor talked at length about the theory posed by the author of that book. I realize now it is a theory and that definitions, history and theory can be very debatable. But there IS a difference between calling someone Asian and Oriental. The latter can be taken as a slight.
Arlington, Va.:
Not a question, but just an annoying occurrence on the elevator this morning that your strips sum up perfectly.
A guy gets on the elevator and starts speaking Japanese to me, thinking he's just such a clever guy. Wish I spoke some African language so I could show him how stupid his assumption was.
But we all look alike, don't we? Like blacks all speak an African language or jive talk.
Grrrr. Sometimes other minorities don't think about their own experiences.
Lela Lee: Very true!
Alexandria, Va.:
I just wanna say YOU ROCK. Keep the lil' one angry and keep me smiling! Hi-Fiver's!
Lela Lee: Hi five!
Springfield, Va.:
Don't you think that due to P.C. hyper-sensativity, comedy has become more based on bodily fluids rather than wit, and that it only adds to the polarization of the country?
Lela Lee: Political correctness has made some forms of entertainment a little bland. And it has made people feel like they are walking on eggshells. But I think it has been good for educating people about what is acceptable nowadays. Who knows what PC does to the country...
Rockville, Md:
Hi,
I just found out about your comic strip a couple of hours ago and haven't read it yet. But does the theme only deal with Asian American stereotypes/prejudices in general or does/will it deal also with female inferiority in old asian cultures? Just curious.
Lela Lee: Hopefully both. I'm going to introduce her parents which will tie in traditonal Asian beliefs.
El Cerrito, Calif.:
Thank you for providing an outlet for Asian Americans to release their pent up frustrations at the stereotypes that abound. Do you draw mostly upon your own personal experiences or do you research others' experiences? Please keep it up, it is an invaluable contribution to our free speech in America and hopefully will make this more enlightened for my sons (2 yrs old and 2 wks.)
Lela Lee: I intend to keep it up!
Takoma Park, Md.:
You Go Girl! There's alot of Angry Little Asian Girls out here! Love the strip, am sending away for a tee shirt!
Lela Lee: Great! Thank you!
Lela Lee: Thank you for your questions! I am grateful to have had an outlet so my intentions could be better understood. I realize this strip has touched many nerves in irritating ways and in good ways, but what I aim for is a dialogue and for these situations to not be brushed under the rug. Mostly, the strip has racial elements-there is a cast of colorful characters, and for that reason, a dialogue has begun. I grew up with no reflections/images of myself and no guidance from my parents with regard to misunderstandings and slights, so in college I made a short video to revisit those events. That short video set off a buzz. People called it a comic strip which at that point, I hadn't done. So I made it into a comic strip because I felt that too many people wanted to hear more. Hopefully, with time, I will be in syndicated in newspapers and the fact that they are colorful is not such an issue. The comic strip can be about girls who happen to be colorful and the lives they lead. Thank you very much! I have to eat lunch now. (It's 12:40 pm here in CA)
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