JKFilms

It wasn’t until recently that JKFilms’s videos went viral. With their videos mostly addressing stereotypes , Asians specifically, through comical portrayals, it was no wonder their two videos “Shit Asian Dad Says” and “Shit Asian Mom Says” drew much attention. Because of this new trend in making videos that focus on stereotypes that address a variety of people, JKFilms produced a video which they believed most people of the Asian culture can relate to.

Having incorporated the common attire for both parents, including outdated glasses and a wig that appears to have a balding effect for the dad, JKFilms does their best to portray Asian parents. As an Asian myself I believe they do a somewhat spot on impression of Asian parents. JKFilms is in no way degrading Asians, but merely addresses common actions Asian parents tend to do from the perspective of their children solely for entertainment.

In these videos, they act as a typical Asian mom and dad do. While many of the statements mentioned in both videos could be seen as true , not all of them are relevant to all Asians. Taking into consideration the thick accents of both parents and some other actions mentioned such as tapping the different fruits in the store, speaking from my own experiences, I would say these are not applicable to my parents. However, other acts such as treating a son and daughter differently, stressing the importance of grades, and enforcing many rules on their children, I was able to agree with.

With the referenced actions and comments in their videos having been based off their own experiences, it would be no wonder not everyone would be in agreement. As each family has their own different stories, and there are many other ethnicities within the Asian race besides that of JKFilms, it would be even more understandable.

Most of the viewers of these videos all appeared to have the same opinion. It was funny and relatable. As one viewer wrote,

“My mom is Korean and does most of these things, the accent was Vietnamese but still most Asians can relate.”

Even those who weren’t Asian themselves also seemed to find it entertaining and could still relate because of their own experiences with their Asian friends. Surprisingly, many others such as Arabians, Mexicans, and Bolivians also stated their parents acted the same way as well. However, I did come across one comment that immediately caught my eye,

“man Asian kids don’t think much of their parents..this is the worst ethnic parody.”

These comedians don’t necessarily look down on their parents, but I could see the concern of this individual. This could be portrayed in a negative way. Maybe these comedians are actually ashamed of their parents and conceal their shame through comedy. We don’t know. So where do we draw the line with this new phenomenon? As Racialicious addresses in “Exploring the Problematic and Subversive Shit People Say [Meme-ology],” some of the “people [who partake in these videos could be] using the meme to advance their racist opinions of certain groups.” What are these people’s true intentions? Many could be taking advantage of this new popular activity, yet viewers brush it off as entertainment as they find it to be relatable and true. Nevertheless, there are others who view it as offensive.

While I don’t believe this is the case with JKFilms, through the power of these Asian American issues, they were able to rise in YouTube fame. When first viewing the videos, did you find some or all of the stereotypes to be discriminating? Or did you find this video to be purely just for laughs? For those that are Asian, did any of the mentioned stereotypes relate to you? Or were they completely irrelevant to you?