Analysis Of An American Sports Film “Linsanity”

Introduction

It is not a secret that a young basketball player Jeremy Lin has become a New York Knicks basketball team’s phenomenon. He is recognized as the NBA’s first American-born player of Taiwanese descent. Jeremy Lin, an Asian American Harvard graduate, arrived on the global sports scene in 2010. His professional basketball playing career is influenced by his Christian faith, education and cultural traditions which have significantly contributed to his success. According to researchers, “Sports have always functioned as a means of social integration, acceptance and conversation” (Sterns, 2012). Lin’s story is an interesting one as it reflects the role of stereotyping in career advancement and Jeremy Lin’s progress in confronting race issues. Actually, Lin’s success is supported by his race. The young man was not expected to win in this type of sport as basketball had always been dominated by black and white athletes. The term stereotype can be defined as the way to express a certain belief that targets a social group or an individual as a member of this group (Sterns, 2012). Jeremy Lin managed to break stereotyping due to his strong personality and leadership skills described in the movie Linsality, although stereotyping might have impacted his experience in the NBA because of the construction of Asian-American masculinity and the effects of the model minority stereotype.

The major goal of this essay is to explain how stereotyping and potentially stereotype threat and inclusion/exclusion might have impacted Jeremy Lin’s experience in the NBA, National Basketball Association. The examples are provided from Linsanity of 2013, a documentary film about Jeremy Lin’s career and personal life.

The role of race issues in Jeremy Lin’s rise to fame

Jeremy Lin encountered many racial issues in the course of his professional career which led to his rise to fame. Being an Asian American basketball player means to be a representative of a minority group in sport. For Jeremy Lin, his professional growth is associated with many challenges caused by stereotyping. Jeremy Lin became a popular player in the NBA in 2012, but his path to fame was a difficult one. The term Linsanity is used by fans to define Jeremy Lin’s splendid breakout performance when he served as a point guard for the New York Knicks. Due to Lin’s leadership, the team won many games. Actually, there are no many athletes with Harvard diplomas in the NBA. Besides, there were only four Asian American athletes in the league before Jeremy Lin.

Nevertheless, there is much evidence that Lin has broken stereotypes. He is represented as a strong leader in the movie, but not just as a hard-working man.  It is known that hardworking is one of the characteristics attributed to the representatives of the Asian American minority group in a stereotypical way. In the movie, Jeremy Lin is portrayed as a person with strong character, amazing work ethic, morality and religious faith. Besides, the filmmaker portrays Lin’s family, including his father Geiming and his mother Shirley, as well as his older brother Joshua and younger brother Joe, who influenced Lin’s decision to become an athlete.

Lin’s adolescence and his high school years made his personality strong to resists any barriers, leading to his decision to participate in state championship. For his efforts, the young athlete got no NCAA Division I scholarship offers of note. When Lin attended the Harvard University, he was focused on improving his skills. Lin starred for several years. He was employed as a free agent for different sports teams. Then, Jeremy Lin was signed by Golden State Warriors. However, he had struggled with stereotyping that affected the perceptions of his own talents (Chen et al. & Leong, 2013).

Researching the model minority myth and other stereotypes of Asian Americans

The model minority myth is based on the fact that the members of the model minority have an opportunity to achieve a higher degree of success than others. According to researchers, the model minority stereotype can be viewed as some form of racism targeted at Asian Americans and Asians providing a portrait of this minority group as  “consistently hard-working and academically successful” (Mok & Chih, 2015). In fact, the success of Asian Americans is based on the established cultural traditions, family bonds and dedication to obtaining new knowledge. Conservatives believe that “the poverty of Latinos and African Americans must be explained by their own “values”: they are poor because of their non-marrying, school-skipping, and generally lazy and irresponsible behavior, which government handouts only encourage” (Thrupkaew, 2002). Scholars criticized the model minority stereotype related to the representation of Asian Americans. Many scholars believe that “it also serves to obfuscate real problems that this heterogeneous group faces, including racism and hostility” (Mok & Chih, 2015, p. 64).

In addition, the term “yellow peril” is often used as stereotype that was developed during the early 20-th century. Today this term is utilized in the context of China’s leading position on the international market. Actually, stereotypes of Asian masculinity have been developed through the social construction of the members of Asian minority group as “the other”. The so-called “otherness” is focused on the representation of the images of the yellow peril and model minority as well as other controlling images of Asian Americans that produce stereotyping (e.g. Dragon Lady and China Doll) (Le Espiritu, 2008, p. 99). Asian Americans have a long history of stereotyping, which ranges from their denigration as “coolies” in 19-th century, political propaganda as “enemy race” during the World War II and to the intelligent, calm and hardworking immigrants as “model minority group” (Le Espiritu, 2008).

Explanation of how the construction of Asian-American masculinity might impact who is considered a viable NBA prospect

The construction of Asian-American masculinity might impact the individual who is considered a viable NBA prospect. In fact, the representation of Asian American masculinity in sport is perceived by the society as the way to improve race relations, as well as to reduce the negative effects of hegemonic masculinity on social interaction. Hence, the NBA basketball player Jeremy Lin’s personality is used to promote the image of Asian American masculinity in the area of professional basketball. He is the source of pride for all Asian Americans and Asians, living abroad, especially for males who encounter challenges associated with masculinity-related privileges in society.

Conclusion

Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the stereotypes of Asian Americans affect the representation of the minority group at the social arena. These racial stereotypes, such as the yellow peril and model minority, might have impacted Jeremy Lin’s experience in the NBA. The success of Jeremy Lin, a young American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, can be explained by the perception of his Asian American masculinity by others. The representation of Asian American masculinity matters is sports because of the need to balance racial hierarchy, reducing the influential role of hegemonic masculinity. Due to Jeremy Lin’s ability to break stereotypes, Americans treat Asian Americans with the “Linsanity”, which contradicts the accepted earlier negative stereotypes. Jeremy Lin managed to achieve success in sports through public recognition and unique talents as an athlete.

References

Chen, C., Lu, A., Sun, P., Stern, J. D., Kwok, S., Yang, B. (Producers) & Leong, E. J. (Director). (2013). Linsanity. United States. Ketchup Entertainment. Arowana Films.408 Films.

Le Espiritu, Y. (2008) Asian American Women and Men: Labor, Laws, and Love. Rowman & Littlefield.

Mok, T. A. & Chih, D. W. (2015) “The Intersection of Asian American Model Minority Myth and Sports: the “Lynsanity” Narrative,” in Modern Societal Impacts of the Model Minority Stereotype, ed. by Hartlep, Nicholas Daniel. IGI Global.

Sterns, J. (2012) “Jeremy Lin – Changing Asian American Stereotypes through Sports Media Culture,” Retrieved from:<http://www.yayayagetarty.com/2012/02/jeremy-lin-changing-asian-american.html>

Thrupkaew, N. (2002) “The Myth of the Model Minority,” The American Prospect. Retrieved from:< http://prospect.org/article/myth-model-minority>

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
close
Haven't found the right essay?
Get an expert to write you the one you need!
print

Professional writers and researchers

quotes

Sources and citation are provided

clock

3 hour delivery

person