Monday, March 10, 2008

My Not So Divine Providence

I just saw this over at Angry Asian Man and had to just go ahead and pull the whole post down and copy and paste it here. It's so sad when I see stuff about my hometown that just annoys me.

From AngryAsianMan.com:

Got this from a reader named Wen last week... it's an ad in for a new "fusion" restaurant called Chinese Laundry in Rhode Island. I think it pretty much speaks for itself. Definitely something to get your Asian fetish on. Goodness. It's such a perfect example of , sexist objectification in advertising. And then you call the restaurant "Chinese Laundry," to top it all off. Please tell me the wait staff wears coolie hats, because that would be so fabulous. Really, what does a headless, naked, tattooed woman have anything to do with Asian food? It's ridiculous. Then again, the ad seems to suggest that if I dine at this restaurant, I will get to see actual Asian nudity. It's blatant exoticization. Come and get it.

Ooh, it's so exotic and new and different. It's even more insulting considering the history behind this particular restaurant. In the space where the restaurant now stands, there used to be an actual Chinese-owned laundry shop, Sam Sing Laundry. But the building was sold, and the family that ran the laundry, the Lais, were evicted in 2002, closing the doors on a significant part of Chinese American history in the area: The Last Word. Enter the Chow Fun Group, appropriating the Chinese laundry concept and turning it into an oh-so-clever restaurant theme. And employing , advertising. I wouldn't call myself a prude, but I'm surprised this ad even got published.

Jenn has a couple of good postings on the ad over at Reappropriate. If this image disturbs and angers you, and you'd like to voice your disgust to the appropriate people, contact the "Maestro" of Chow Fun Food Group, John Elkhay:

John Elkhay Chow Fun Food Group 201 Wayland Square Providence, RI 02906

Also consider writing to the , who published the ad:

Providence Monthly 167 Valley Street Providence RI 02909 Phone 401.521.0023 /// Fax 401.521.0024 providencemonthly@providenceonline.com

Give 'em hell. Hopefully they'll get the message that this is not an appropriate way to sell "Asian" food. Hell, it's not an appropriate way to sell anything. (Thanks, Wen.)