“Stinky Lunch Trauma” and the Bind of Representing the Asian Diaspora in Media

Abstract

What does it mean to represent marginalized people and their experiences in media? What is the purpose of it, what does it accomplish, and who is it for? What is it meant to make us feel, not only as audience members but as people meant to be represented by these portrayals? This paper critically analyzes emerging tropes found in film, television, and media that are meant to represent the Asian diaspora and the broader immigrant/diasporic experience. Such tropes can be found in the Canadian independent film Riceboy Sleeps (2022), which paints an intimate portrait of a Korean immigrant family while also employing a common narrative known to some Asian audiences as the "stinky lunch trauma" trope. Through analyzing Asian audiences’ responses to Riceboy Sleeps, I examine the complexities and limits of representing diasporic experiences in media.