This work examines three common practices—yellowface in Cloud Atlas (2012), whitewashing in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and absence in Firefly (2002)—employed in popular science fiction that represent Asianness and disregard the Asian body. Though the creators purport to have progressive ideals at the center of their production choices, their works call on Techno-Orientalist and Orientalist tropes and divorce them from the Asian body, implicitly continuing the Orientalist argument of Western supremacy even in representing Asianness.

The Japanese American internment in Arizona proved to be one of the greatest assaults on the civil liberties of American citizens in the 20th century. Families lived in shabby facilities, had meager food, fought isolation, and strict military control. However, they overcame these challenges and built a strong community relationship and courageously sought to prove their loyalty to a government that deemed them untrustworthy. With time, their fortitude and solidarity helped bring an end to World War II and create new lives afterwards.

This thesis investigates the role of colorism and the practice of skin whitening for women in China. By analyzing the historical evolution of ideal skin beauty in China, this project found that the cultural fixation with women's skin tone was used as a sociopolitical tool to regulate women's agency. Furthermore, this thesis also examines current skin whitening advertisements to understand modern impacts of Westernization and consumerism on contemporary discourses of femininity and beauty. Finally, it concludes with a discussion on skin whitening's ability to empower but also subjugate women within the confines of patriarchal expectations.