Echoes of Expectation

This AI film explores the microaggressions Kusano experienced in predominantly homogeneous communities in the American Mountain West, and how these experiences can lead to a form of self-orientalism. The work draws inspiration from the artist’s memories of a high school exchange program in the United States in the late 2000s.

 

In a conservative and religious region of America, Kusano, the only Japanese in town, struggles with complex emotions. She finds herself internalizing stereotypes associated with being Japanese and subconsciously relying on “Japaneseness” to gain social acceptance in the local community. This experience profoundly shaped her identity formation and continues to influence her career today. The woman in the film--whose face is modeled after the artist during her high school years--morphs between three different versions of herself: the expected self, the desired self, and the true self. These transformations include depictions of stereotypical Asian characters commonly seen in Hollywood films, vividly illustrating the impact of media-driven stereotypes.

 

The production process involves the use of AI-generated still images based on the artist’s facial features, which are then converted into a single moving image. The images created through generative AI emphasize stereotypes of ‘Japanese women’, highlighting the biases reflected in large-scale AI models. This work not only examines these models as collections of societal prejudices and their interplay with individual experiences, but also highlights the complexities of identity in a globalized world, encouraging viewers to reflect on the relationship between societal norms and personal expression. The work explores the impact of cultural stereotypes on individual identity formation through the artist’s identity crisis, while also examining the possibility of transcending these limitations.

 

Credit
Artist: Emi Kusano
Technical Assistant: Kanji Kyoda