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This blog was created by and for students in an Introduction to Cultural Studies class at the University of Washington. Through an investigation of urban experience and representation--in theory, in graphic novels and in our own "readings" of Seattle's University District--we considered the formation and history of cultural studies as an (anti)discipline, with a special emphasis on the questions, "What does cultural studies do, and how do you do cultural studies?"

If you'd like to know more about the class, the blog or our U-District artifact project, please contact Gabrielle Dean: gnodean@u.washington.edu.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Mail Order Bride

Mail Order Bride is a story of a young Korean girl name Kyung who is sent to America as a mail order bride. She is wed to Monty, a 30 something year old virgin who works and owns a comic and toy store. At first everything was fine, Monty had everything he had always wanted, but as things develop, Kyung's identity is developed and revealed as she explores artistic endeavors, the progression of her character through radical changes challenges the typical domestic female and Asian stereotype. The story proceeds to change both Monty and Kyung's and leads a disastrous clash.


The novel addresses so many topics; Identity, Innocence, Stereotypes, Gender & Race, and Sexuality. To describe and provide examples to these topics without writing pages and pages would be impossible. All of these topics are dealt with at many at a time.


I can generalize and say that there are two or three different styles used in the book. One style, which takes up the majority of the book, is the artist's style to portray the story; Cleanly drawn characters, few facial details, nothing elaborate so to say. The second style is drawn in a realistic manner, drawn like fine detailed pencil art, the kind you'd find in art galleries. These pictures are all of Asian women drawn in a very sensuous, seductive tone. The third style is much like first, but all of them are of the same Caucasian woman in two different forms, one represent as naked, spirited, freckled and “free” while many others are represented as clothed, uniform, cheerleaders.


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