Asian America came out in force for Fresh Off the Boat, if a Twitter party promoted jointly by AsAmNews, Angry Asian Man, Jeff Yang, Em Liu and a wide range of Asian American bloggers, is any indication.
Twitter listed #FreshOfftheBoat as the number one trending hashtag when I looked at 9:30 Pacific Time. Hundreds if not thousands of tweets were sent out. It was unanimous, at least for the people who turned out at the party, the show is a hit.
Many mentioned how Fresh Off the Boat hit close to home.
Growing up in a mostly Caucasian neighborhood I can definitely relate to the #FreshOffTheBoat show and all their stereotypes lol
— AronSunday (@AronSunday) February 5, 2015
✨Let's all talk about how @FreshOffABC is my life. I love every moment of this show. It's a throwback #FreshOffTheBoat ✌️
— Brenda Cheng ♡ (@Bendabrenda) February 5, 2015
Watching #FreshOffTheBoat, and it's like watching a documentary of my youth. We're even the same age. This show is perfect. #hilarious
— James Nguyen (@_nguyen) February 5, 2015
#FreshOffTheBoat was funny and hit so very close to home.
— Dave N. (@davenappy) February 5, 2015
The ending of the pilot also brought back some painful memories of being subjected to racial slurs during their life. Whether it happened in their childhood or more recently, those hurtful incidents have stuck with them.
That "chink" line hits hard, no matter how long you've been preparing for it #FreshOffTheBoat
— Audrey Magazine (@audreymagazine) February 5, 2015
I remember the first time someone called me a chink. It was a neighbor. In elementary school. #freshofftheboat
— Kat Chow (@katchow) February 5, 2015
But what made it less painful was the reaction from the parents. They stood up for Eddie when the principal threatened him with suspension for getting into a fight. Eddie’s parents demanded to know why the other child was allowed to call their son a “chink” without any punishment.
The principal office scene in #FreshOffTheBoat reminds me when my Pa told off my 8th grade teacher in English AND CHINESE. #Bilingual #BOOM
— Raymond Hsia (@RayHsia) February 5, 2015
These words to Eddie from his parents as they walked away from their school also drew cheers.
Quote of the night: "I never want you rocking the boat, but I will never get mad at you for standing up for yourself." – #FreshOffTheBoat
— Juliet Shen (@Juliet_Shen) February 5, 2015
While those at the Twitter party may not be a representative crowd, together with the overwhelming critical acclaim the show has been receiving, it is clearly off to a good start. There are still those who object to the show’s title and there are some who fear Fresh Off the Boat will end up perpetuating racial stereotypes. Those same people object to the Taiwanese accent used by co-stars Randall Park as Eddie’s father, Louis, and Constance Wu, Eddie’s mother, Jessica.
Fresh Off the Boat moves to its regular Tuesday night 8 PM/ 7 Central time slot starting next Tuesday.
The Snoop Dog – gie dog song/dance report card presentation had me
#FreshOffTheBoat is awesome.
— Brian Garces (CMP) (@MinxGuySD) February 5, 2015
One thing about #FreshOffTheBoat is that Randall Park is hot as hellllllll. SO, there's that.
— Angie Manfredi (@misskubelik) February 5, 2015
REL Fresh Off the Boat hits home with Asian American Twitterverse: Back in high school, I remember a friend who is of a spanish culture. She made a comment to me that I will never forget. You Chinese are never satisfied with just a 90 (A), you need to get a 95 or higher. We, however, are very happy with just passing which was a grade of 65. This show reminded my of those days. It’s in our culture to get higher grades.
RE: Fresh Off the Boat a hit with Asian Americans on Twitterverse: I must be the odd ball here. Didn’t relate to it but watched it and it did have it’s funny moments. Lots of stereotypical jokes both on Asians and white. Might get old quick.
I’m Chinese but grew up in Long Beach that has a large population of Cambodians. No one ever called me the C word. But I did get a lot of “dog eater” from Mexicans and guess who, the Cambodians! LOL
My parents weren’t strict on my grades. They were happy we all got A’s and B’s, but they weren’t pushing it on us. We basically did pretty damn good w/o the push.
However, our parents did love to “compare” their kids with other relatives. Like my Cousin who did get straight A’s and all these awards.
Long story short, we all have a College Degree, my brother has a Master in Civil Engineering, My cousin with his “Straight A’s” did become a Electrical Engineer!
Laugh all you want at how Asians focus on Education. In the end, we’re not living off the Government.