The Zeitgeist: The Changing Face of Cultural Wealth
From left to right: Daniel Dae Kim, Jensen Huang, Mukesh Ambani, and oprah winfrey - taylor hill/kevin dietsch/ Prodip Guha/Kevin Mazur
James Joyce wrote in his semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man that his mission as a novelist was to “encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and forge in the smithy of [his] soul the uncreated conscience of [his] race.” His novel was first published in the United States in 1916, a time of rapid social and cultural change for the world. Two years earlier, World War I had broken out in Europe, pitting the consciences of all the races on the continent against one another. James Joyce’s native Ireland was not spared from the conflict.
During that period of the early twentieth century, Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom and ruled by Great Britain. Emboldened by the anti-imperialist projects of colonized peoples at the time, many Irish, including James Joyce, rejected British authority and strove for political independence and autonomy. Yet Joyce saw that Ireland’s project for independence needed to address not only its political status but also its social and cultural identity. Joyce saw an Ireland yearning for a state of freedom that it didn’t know how to articulate, for while the vigor toward autonomy existed, the social and cultural expressions by which a race envisions and enacts that autonomy did not yet exist for the Irish people.
Nearly a century after Joyce’s era, we are once again in the midst of profound social and cultural transformation—this time driven by technology and globalization. When once the face of the world’s foremost cultural representatives were distinctly European, today, this visage is undergoing a metamorphosis. Five musicians on Billboard’s top 10 list as of this week are members of the Black or Asian community. Entrepreneurs like Jensen Huang and Mukesh Ambani are breaking new ground in the arena of business and finance. A new rom-com set to be released this upcoming month features a Latino-American lead. When we think of the people who symbolize the values of our culture – wealth, fame, power, love, happiness – we no longer think in one color.
This evolution has opened our imagination to new possibilities within our culture. In the American cultural milieu, in which status and roles are so fixed by monetary wealth, the introduction of new faces from different backgrounds can offer something of a renewal. Cultural diversity creates space for new voices in the public forum and empowers those who might otherwise feel unheard—simply because their identities differ from the dominant majority.
Take, for instance, Korean American actor Daniel Dae Kim. An immigrant who moved to the States at a young age, Daniel Dae Kim started his career with a smattering of television spots before breaking out into the mainstream with his cast role on ABC’s Lost, a critically acclaimed show that ran from 2004 to 2010. Throughout the show’s time on air, Kim and the cast won numerous awards for their performances, such as the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble. Individually, Kim was lauded with multiple honors for his performance, as well as a place on People Magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive” list in 2005. After the show’s finale, Kim continued to star in major television and theater productions, such as Hawaii Five-0 and The King and I, up to his present-day role in The Good Doctor, in which he also works as a producer.
In a field where Asian American male representation remains limited, Daniel Dae Kim’s work has empowered young Asian American boys to see themselves on screen and pursue acting—drawing inspiration from a role model who reflects their own identity. With the introduction of Kim diversifying the makeup of mainstream actors, those who aspire to similar heights can give themselves the license to follow their dreams without bogging themselves down with the self-conscious weight of their difference. Kim’s presence can validate their aspirations, which can no longer be berated as unrealistic, unattainable, or unsustainable solely because of their cultural background. They can believe in the kind of hope that is the foundation of hard work and diligence, rather than an excuse for despair and negligence, and when they are discouraged, they can look to the ones who came before them and be encouraged by their pioneering bravery.
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey represents another of these figures who have molded the face of media into something new. Now a household name who needs no introduction, Winfrey grew from a teenage co-anchor at her local evening news radio station to a globally renowned television star and host of her own talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show. With the rise of visual media, Winfrey’s charisma and energy connected with millions of viewers through the screen. In a nation where political and economic institutions have thoroughly attempted to dehumanize Black people, Winfrey’s charm reminded the public that its hopes and struggles were something to be shared and felt together, regardless of race. Winfrey’s show allowed common Americans to empathize with one another across racial boundaries, and her presence made urgent the true purpose and responsibility of media: to provide an outlet for connection with one another.
While Kim and Winfrey still retain much mainstream recognition, they are past their heyday. As the work of their generation recedes into the past, the paths they have worn are eagerly being trodden by new soles. Many of these new representatives continue Kim and Winfrey’s legacy of encouraging a diversity of cultural backgrounds. Yet it remains crucial to examine how this diversity is articulated and how to shoulder the responsibility of this newfound cultural wealth. The spark of aspiration is undeniable, but it takes further work to establish a cultural identity.
The face of those who represent our time’s social and cultural mores is transforming, and as it does, our collective aspirations are broadening. Like in Joyce’s era, our imaginations are becoming more concerned with the issues of an individual’s identity. And as the audience looks to the representatives of our culture and sees a diverse mixture of faces, more can think of themselves in the mold of who they aim to be, rather than who others think they are.
