I connect to this movie so much having been one of maybe three Asians ("Orientals", at the time) in a nearly all-white school and the only well-known Asian was Bruce Lee. People really did call me Bruce.
Being the smallest in the class year after year, I was often picked on. However, also being Asian probably got me out of potential trouble too, for some feared I may have known some kind of martial art.
To this day, I still say, "Look at my face, I'm an Oriental" to people for a laugh, as most people I know have not seen or even heard of this movie.
Side notes: My cousin played the young boy http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0521829/ in the beginning of the film and in response to the Texan character in the bar who asked Bruce if his name was "Wong or Dong", my real last name is indeed Dong. Can't even begin to describe the hell I've been through with that name.
And yes, I love "Sixteen Candles" but I hate the fact John Hughes picked that name for his Asian character. :)
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RobBase086-1
12 years ago
That is good that you can connect to this movie in a lot of ways. I sure do have to say though that the times have changed a lot because when I was growing up as a kid there were very few ethnic cultures where I live at. As time went on and every year that I would advance to another grade I did start to see things begin to change especially when I got into junior high and high school. The hispanic population is starting to grow a lot more where I live even though I do not see that many Latinos in school though. Even with me in college I still do not see that many latinos and I am getting ready to turn 40 in March.
Dedicated to USA UP ALL NIGHT and the fans! http://usaupallnight.webs.com
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