“I believe our experiences can be understood with love, diligence and style. We can break through the veil of otherness. The foreign can become the new and exciting. People crave release from their prejudices,” said Micah Huang, composer and artistic director of “American Dreams/Asian Nightmares.”
“American Dreams/Asian Nightmares” melds technology and sonic art to build an unforgettable performance exploring the violence Asian Americans have experienced, as well as a look into what the future may hold. At the creative core of this audiovisual experience is the same team that brought you “Blood on Gold Mountain,” a narrative podcast delving into the cruelty of the Chinese Massacre of 1871.
Hao Huang is a professor of music at Scripps College who has long had an interest in forgotten Chinese American histories after learning the true history of L.A.’s Chinatown. Micah Huang, his son, is the creative mind behind it all, blending tech and music into a truly unique experience. Emma Gies, who is also Micah’s partner, brings the whole experience to life as the performer for “American Dreams/Asian Nightmares.”
The trio takes the audience through a triptych of sonic experiences, starting with “Other Bodies.” This electroacoustic piece explores the relationship between anti-Chinese rhetoric online and anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic through data sonification — a process that determines sound density using data from academic articles, departmental info from the FBI and state of California, and the Stop AAPI Hate codebook. Through an acoustic performance of the traditional Chinese plucked instrument, Pipa, of the piece 十面埋伏 (Ambush from Ten Sides), this opening act is a blend of spoken word and instrumental music.
Following “Other Bodies” is “Other Minds,” a piece that uses biofeedback based on Hao Huang’s real-time responses to anti-Asian rhetoric from social media. Huang’s heart rate will be monitored and processed through a custom modular synthesizer, giving the audience a glimpse into what Asian Americans feel witnessing this violence.
The final piece of this experience, “Other Futures,” is a musical reading of the I-Ching, which is an ancient Chinese text used to determine divine intent. The concluding segment was performed by Annie Zhou on the Guzheng and Yihan Chan on the Pipa, and Emma Gies performing a reading of the I-Ching. It thoughtfully explores what the future holds for Asian Americans.
The performance is not only a technical feat and artistic masterpiece, but also a reminder that Asian Americans are more than brutalized bodies to ogle at. While social media and traditional news outlets have moved on from Asian hate crimes, the brutality of racism remains a reality for Asian Americans.
“There were a bunch of headlines about anti-Asian American violence for a while and now it’s died down a bit. The cycle is gone,” said Hao Huang.
“It feels like the only good Asian is a dead Asian,” said Micah Huang. “To these people, in a certain way, we are only truly seen when we are a mutilated, dead body. We’re worth a lot more.”
“American Dreams/Asian Nightmares” pushes beyond the visual world of Instagram infographics and simple #StopAsianHate tweets into an auditory experience that the audience cannot ignore with a swipe of their finger.
Moving forward, the Huangs and Gies will continue to explore sound art as a means to amplify the voices and experiences of Asian Americans.
“It’s easier for people to shut their eyes to our lives, to our experiences,” said Micah Huang. “But it’s harder for them to shut their ears and that’s where the hope comes in.”
American Dreams/Asian Nightmares will be showing at the USC Pacific Asia Museum starting on Oct. 27.