By Michelle Shen
Did Hasan Minhaj’s joke on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon get lost in translation? The comic appeared visually frustrated when his story about his parent’s interrupting his therapy session with a phone call seemed to perplex the late-night host. Check out this clip courtesy The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and NBC and tell us what you think.
@asamnews Standup comedian Hasan Minhaj’s viral moment on lack of understanding on cultural differences in therapy #asian #news ♬ original sound – AsAmNews | Asian American news
Images from Wikimedia Creative Commons, Pexels, RDNE Stock Project and Mandee Johnson.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
We are supported through donations and such charitable organizations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. All donations are tax deductible and can be made here.
Please purchase your tickets to our fundraiser Up Close with Connie Chung, America’s first Asian American to anchor a nightly network newscast. For a limited time, you can get 10% off tickets. The in-depth conversation with Connie will be held November 14 at 7:30 at Columbia University’s Milbank Chapel in the Teacher’s College. All proceeds benefit AsAmNews.
It is true that many western therapists rely on a black and white definition of boundaries to the detriment of relationship. Your mom or dad are a hassle, you have to name that, and then create a “boundary” they say. Some Western therapists are extremely harsh, leaning into alienation from Asian parents completely. Sometimes cutting off an abusive parent is necessary, but managing the relationship can provide more traction for most. Setting limits, engaging when one has capacity, empathizing and naming the emotions in the relationship can bear fruit over time. Some therapists participate in creating a split against the parent and in effect amplifying their own power.
But all that said, helping Hasan explore why he takes the call, rather than saying he shouldn’t, would have provided more space for ambivalence, choice, and affirmation.