is everything just easier for everyone else or am i just super weak and pathetic. why can’t i do things everyone else is able to without issue. am i faking my struggles or are they real. is it all in my head or am i just in my head. how come everyone else is a person but im not
trying to make small talk when ur lowkey super mentally ill is like Yeah my weekend was good how was yours. i killed myself a million times in my head this month
Reading that article, the comparison between Ilya and Shane just doesn't make sense to me. Ilya is a Russian player who came to North America for hockey, while Shane is a 3rd gen mixed Asian-Canadian. You really can't compare their cultural connections on the same level.
Also, the comment about having spaghetti for dinner is honestly baffling. A 3rd gen mixed kid having spaghetti with his parents is incredibly normal. Expecting them to eat a "traditional Asian meal" just to prove Shane’s heritage feels like pushing the exact stereotypes the article is trying to critique.
Forcing Shane to show "gestural or cultural signs" of his Asianness just feels like demanding performative representation. Letting his mixed Asian heritage be a natural part of his identity, rather than his entire personality, is actually a very realistic portrayal.
Is the representation perfect? Probably not, and I’m sure it has its flaws. But as an Asian viewer, I honestly feel the show handles his background with a lot of nuance through quiet details.
Think about Yuna reminding Shane he’s a role model for Asian kids in the brutal hockey world, his underlying need to meet his parents' expectations, or his conversation with Rose, hinting at how having a Western name gave him a different experience than his childhood friend with an Asian name.
It might lack in some areas, but I’d take these authentic moments any day over the forced, performative stereotypes people seem to be demanding.