Question:Since January 2020, the world has been battling against COVID-19 pandemic, which first started in Wuhan China in fall 2019. Over the past couple of months, we have witnessed how this pandemic has been unfairly used as a weapon in the USA to discriminate against people of Asian descent. For example, President Trump used various platforms (e.g., twitter, TV, etc.) to publicly refer to the COVID-19 pandemic with derogatory terms such as “the Chinese virus.” Likewise, all around the country the Asian community has reported multiple episodes of racist attacks, hate-crimes, and microaggressions.
Relying on Edward Said’s theory of orientalism, discuss the struggles of the Asian community in the USA in relationship to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, explain how pop culture platforms/artifacts/icons (e.g., social media, movies, actors/singers, etc.) can serve as a tool to help fight against racism that is impacting the Asian community. Make sure to provide examples/illustrations to support your argument. Use the PDF of ch. 9 below to help shape your answer.