In the TV show Fresh Off the Boat, set in the mid-1990s, Eddie (the main character) is a Taiwanese teenage boy who moved from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Florida with his father Louis, his mother Jessica, his two younger brothers Emery and Evan, and his grandmother. Honestly, itās almost as if the writers of the show sat with us in ENC2305, took notes, and went ahead and made Fresh Off the Boat because the show in its entirety is an absolutely blatant depiction of several concepts discussed in class.Ā
One idea discussed in class that Fresh Off the Boat emphasizes is that tiger mothers are not just very conscious about their kidsā academic success, they demand that their children be elite! In this particular excerpt from the show, Eddie celebrates his successful quarter at school after realizing he had achieved straight As. Eddie, thinking his mom would be happy, is in disbelief when his mom heads to the school principalās office and not only demands that school be more challenging, but also that Eddie be enrolled in āextra schoolā at a Chinese Learning Center (CLC). The episode then proceeds to show the logo of the CLC institution which appears to be a doodle of an unhappy kid with Cs for eyes, an L for a nose, and A pluses on its head. This temporary display of the logo is important because itās a quick portrayal explaining that the current unhappiness of the children lead to great results, thus summarizing the entirety of the tiger-mothering ideology which is that temporary unhappiness for children equals to their long term success. We are then shown the children inside of the learning center, most likely put there by their tiger-mothers, who all appear to be absolutely miserable. Keep in mind that itās not called a learning center, but a āChineseā one, which reinforces this concept even more. Jessicaās demand for more schooling despite her sonās success, the Chinese Learning Centerās symbolic logo, and the childrenās misery at the learning center all show that Fresh Off the Boat reinforces concepts discussed in class about tiger-mothers.
Another concept discussed in class that Fresh Off the Boat reinforces is the ideological contrast between eastern and western parenting. These two forms of parenting are different from their very core, and we discussed how western parents tend to take into account different personal traits and emphasize ābeing the best you can beā whereas eastern/Chinese parents explicitly demand academic success from their children regardless of individuality. In the beginning of this excerpt from Fresh Off the Boat, Eddie was standing with a neighbor waiting for their report cards to be delivered. Eddieās neighbor had a report card with straight Cās while Eddie had a report with straight Aās, and their reactions to their drastically different report cards were two equally resounding yeses. Eddieās neighbor is white and is assumed to be raised under western principles which means that when he brings that report card home, his parents will assume he was the best he could have been for that quarter and then theyāll maybe suggest that he tries even harder next time. Eddie on the other hand is raised under eastern parenting principles and was happy because he had reached strict pre-established expectations. The episode then proceeds to show Eddieās younger brothers showing their colorful, sticker-filled report cards to Jessica and talking about how their āschool doesnāt give out gradesā because āit fosters unhealthy competition.ā These two report card scenes, show how eastern parenting emphasizes āexcuselessā maximum potential and how western parenting take individual feelings into account and emphasizes individual potential instead.Ā









