The Metropolitan

opinion

My Dead Frienemy Made Me Millions

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Reading Time: 2 minutes
Yellowface by R.H. Khang review

By Leah Moe, Entertainment Editor | The Metropolitan

Reading the contemporary book Yellowface by award-winning author R.H. Khang is like watching a 20-something white woman set her own life on fire. The story begins with Juniper, an unreliable narrator, celebrating with Athena, a Chinese American girl who has it all. Athena has book deals, M.F.A. programs, and now a deal with Netflix. Juniper contemplates their friendship, jealous of Athena’s success after her debut novel flopped. After a pancake-eating competition results in her rival suddenly choking to death. Juniper makes the split decision to steal Athena’s manuscript off her desk.

The reader is left with an entire book of Juniper’s murky justification of the theft. At first, Juniper dabbles with the idea of publishing Athena’s novel The Last Front in her memory but in the next breath explains, “I work so damn hard on it. I write every day from dawn to midnight.” Juniper’s strenuous efforts therefore meant she had a claim over the novel telling the story of the Chinese Labor Corps involvement with World War I. Heavy duty justification is needed when her pen name is changed from “June Hayward” to “Juniper Song” and when taking author portraits of when she was “extra tan.” She wasn’t trying to seem culturally ambiguous! She was simply trying to rebrand. June brings us through the epic success of her “reward bait” book— but the excitement of talking on panels and accepting numerous awards quickly sours when the controversy of plagiarism begins.

R.H. Khang’s book is an original representation of micro racism in the publishing industry. Although sometimes I craved more deviance from the main character, that might have given an excuse for some to rationalize their racist tendencies because “at least they’re not as bad as Juniper Song.” The focus on social media was surprising but also proved necessary to show the fragility of Juniper’s character. Social media defined the character’s mood, when the praise flooded, she was generous and happy but when the criticism came, she was cemented to her bed unable to face the world. The use of social media in this book also shows how Juniper never cared about being racially insensitive, she only cared about others’ opinions.

An important piece of this book is who has a right to tell this story. Is it okay for a white woman to spread the history of the Chinese Labor Corps or should it be saved for the veterans that went through it? Either way, Juniper never had that permission. This book showed the great power of the publishing industry to produce “the book of the season” and how there is no stability at the top. Especially, for those who steal a dead woman’s manuscript.

HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’: First Impressions

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

by Pierre Young, Editor-in-Chief of The Metropolitan Student Newspaper

HBO has brought hope to video game adaptations. “The Last of Us,” based on the video game series, has turned into a full-production 9-episode series on HBO Max. The story follows Joel, a hardened survivor who takes charge of a 14-year-old named Ellie, and the two of them go on an adventure in a pandemic-filled world with zombies called ‘the infected.’ 

Creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin took time to hear the voices of fans of the video game and created this universe that has the same story but different representations of characters than we originally saw in the game. There are LGBT, ASL (hard of hearing), and POC characters. Pedro Pascal (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent; Wonder Woman) portrays Joel, a challenging character facing trauma at the beginning of the game at the start of the pandemic. Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones; Judy) stars as Ellie, a wise-cracking teenager who was born during the pandemic and is learning about civilization and how it used to be with the guidance of Joel. 

Together, Joel and Ellie must face obstacles on their journey to find a cure to end the terrors of the pandemic that will be the key to civilization. I recommend this series to all gamers who might enjoy this adaptation since there are hardly any good video game adaptations. 

Remembering the life of Victor Rosenthal: Social Justice Advocate, Professor, and Executive Director of Jewish Community Action.

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

By: James J. Berreth, Government and Political Writer with The Metropolitan

In the picture: Victor Rosenthal

“As serious as he could be at times, he loved to laugh more than anything, especially with his family.”

Ben Rosenthal

St. Paul, Minn. – Victor (Vic) Rosenthal, a tireless advocate for social justice, and former professor at Metro State University passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 28th at the Beyond Hospice Home in Oakdale, Minn. He was 68.

Reading through news clippings, memorial tributes on his Caring Bridge site, and the beautiful obituary written by his son Ben Rosenthal paints a picture of a man unwavering in his dedication, advocacy for others, generosity, and relentlessness of spirit.

For instance, in an interview conducted by Bob Keller in 2013, Mr. Rosenthal describes the work he did during the recession of 2008 and afterward. In 2009, when Vic was the executive director of Jewish Community Action (JCA), he and other volunteers went door-knocking in North Minneapolis (an area where 1 in 4 homes was in foreclosure) and helped direct homeowners to foreclosure prevention specialists. In many cases, Vic sat down with African American residents and just listened as he wanted to know what was important to them, which helped forge real, lasting relationships that could be built upon. Through the JCA, and an arm of the JCA called the Northside Community Reinvestment Coalition, or NCRC, Vic and other organizers helped residents fight against banks looking to foreclose on their homes by interceding on their behalf with the banks and negotiating terms beneficial to these residents.

For Vic, it was all about the connections one could make with anyone and everyone. This same sentiment continues to echo in the virtual halls of Metro State University. In his POL 301, Citizenship in a Global Context class session on Mon. April 3rd, Professor John Porten instructed his students that the best way to combat racism, bigotry, and intolerance is by networking and forging relationships with immigrants and people who are from different cultures. This is how you build social capital; this is how we gain power, and this is how we change the views of those who oppose equal rights.

Vic was, by all accounts, a great father, and according to his son Ben, “To be loved by Vic meant to be loved without condition or limit.” I can think of no greater testament to a life well lived than by closing with this final sentiment, again, from his son Ben, “He was a passionate, intelligent, thoughtful, caring, inspiring, and generous man, but it was his capacity to love that exceeded everything.”

Vic Rosenthal will be missed by many and his legacy lives on in those who knew him best, in the organizations he helped grow, and by the thousands of lives, he touched. The State of Minnesota owes a debt of gratitude to Vic Rosenthal, his wife Chris, his sons Ben and Aaron, their wives, and two grandchildren he doted over, Harper and Henry.

A memorial service will be held on the Metro State University’s St. Paul campus in St. John’s Hall, room 154 at 4 pm on Tues. April 4th.