On top of the immense stress of striving to become a soloist, Hodges feels the added pressure of being a "model minority." "Fail to make the most of your opportunity, and all your family's sacrifice was for naught," she writes.
How does her experience as a Korean American shape her relationship with classical music? How do the internal pressures of her family and the external force of assimilation influence her identity?
6. How do culture and family pressures shape Hodges’s identity and musical journey?
Forum rules
Our program is here to foster an inclusive, welcoming environment for all readers. To keep our community respectful and engaging, please follow these guidelines:
• Be kind and considerate to others.
• Stay on topic, keep discussions constructive, and use appropriate language.
• Trolling, spamming, harassment, or hate speech will not be tolerated.
• Share only original, non-copyrighted material and appropriate content.
• Do not post or share personal details about yourself or others, including real names, addresses, or any other identifying information.
• Do not post anything illegal, threatening, or otherwise harmful.
• Moderators reserve the right to remove content or suspend users who violate these guidelines.
• Users are responsible for their own posts, and our platform is not liable for user-generated content.
• Report issues instead of escalating, and respect moderator decisions.
Our program is here to foster an inclusive, welcoming environment for all readers. To keep our community respectful and engaging, please follow these guidelines:
• Be kind and considerate to others.
• Stay on topic, keep discussions constructive, and use appropriate language.
• Trolling, spamming, harassment, or hate speech will not be tolerated.
• Share only original, non-copyrighted material and appropriate content.
• Do not post or share personal details about yourself or others, including real names, addresses, or any other identifying information.
• Do not post anything illegal, threatening, or otherwise harmful.
• Moderators reserve the right to remove content or suspend users who violate these guidelines.
• Users are responsible for their own posts, and our platform is not liable for user-generated content.
• Report issues instead of escalating, and respect moderator decisions.
-
smkelly
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2025 7:35 pm
-
lanlynk
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue May 20, 2025 5:12 am
Re: 6. How do culture and family pressures shape Hodges’s identity and musical journey?
The view that Asians have an affinity for classical music is a stereotype, almost a cliché. Since Hodges already felt pressure to honor her parents' sacrifices for her future success, this expectation about Koreans just added more stress. She longed to just be "American," yet still wanted to live up to her family heritage. Often it was difficult to merge the two desires/drives. She began to lose personal fulfillment and sense of self in this tug of war. Finally, Hodges had to make a choice in order to preserve her own wellbeing. As the old song goes, "You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself."
-
Coreyrdot
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat May 17, 2025 12:15 am
Re: 6. How do culture and family pressures shape Hodges’s identity and musical journey?
Reading from the perspective of a a POC, I saw bias and self esteem play as weightier factors in Hodges identity and musical journey than those of culture and family pressure. Her grandmother and mom seemed to want Natalie to just feel free to "be". It was an abusive dad and imposing biases from school that demanded more without saying they demand more. And how would Natalie try to be more when no one's really saying what that "more" is or whether it's even possible to accomplish that "more"? By trying to follow the example of two women who themselves tried to answer those questions in their own way.
It seems to me that when she gets lost in time and enjoys the application of physics to her personal circumstance, Natalie is, in a sense, saying that she found herself and a connection to - or place in - the universe when she was able to silence the biases imposed on her by people outside her culture.
Culture and family are smaller pressures in comparison to the bias imposed from the outside and the mistake we all make of lending a listening ear.
It seems to me that when she gets lost in time and enjoys the application of physics to her personal circumstance, Natalie is, in a sense, saying that she found herself and a connection to - or place in - the universe when she was able to silence the biases imposed on her by people outside her culture.
Culture and family are smaller pressures in comparison to the bias imposed from the outside and the mistake we all make of lending a listening ear.