Linsanity: Identity for second generation model minorities.

 Linsanity was a short-term moment in American sports history, but one that was highly important to Asian-American young men. Traditionally, AsianAmerican men have played in the shadows of all the stereotypes that they are education focused and athletics is way down the priority list. Linsanity, some have said, was the arrival into popular American sports culture of an AsianAmerican who could hold his own amidst his black counterparts. This was met with disdain by some in the black establishment basketball community who did not appreciate this intrusion into their social subculture of professional basketball. Whether this was true or imagined one will never know. The movie Linsanity profiles this short but quite historic moment in American sports. It also shows a commonality with religious belief that is not uncommon among Asian Americans, with some critiquing it as a means to become “more Western”. In a 250- to 500-word (1-2 pages, double-spaced), respond to the following: 1. What is your view of the Linsanity Phenomenon? Did it present a case for eliminating educational stereotypes about young Asian-American males and in what ways? What stereotypes are sustained? 2. Describe your understanding of the cultural conflict between first generation and second generation Asian-Americans and how does this apply to other immigrant groups? 3. How is the model minority stereotype a help and a hindrance to Asian-American progress in contemporary society? 4. Is there a new yellow peril in the rapid advancement of Asian Americans into other American social strongholds such as basketball, education, professions, and wealth?