Collective Memory

I am curious about the uniqueness of the circa 1970s LA Asian American dance scene and how it compares to the party and social outlets embraced by later generations.

I asked is my 22-year old nephew, Allen, a recent graduate from UCR. The survey session went something like this, not really verbatim:

Betty: Allen, I want to find out what the younger generations are doing for socializing. Are there Asian dances? Do people cruise?

Allen: Cruise? Define cruising?

Betty: When we used to go to dances, there was cruising before and after the dances. The cars included American hot rods and modified Japanese cars.

[My two brothers, who were present, interrupted with their comments, so I forgot Allen's answer, but I gathered that the activity of cruising as we knew it was negligible for people of Allen's age.]

Betty: Do you know of dances where you and other Asians can get together?

Allen: We go to bars.

Betty: Do you listen to DJs? Are there live bands?

Allen: No, there are no live bands.

Betty: But where do you go dancing?

Allen: We go clubbing, that's where you can dance, but there are no "dances."

[I began to suspect that the term "dances" is not part of Allen's lexicon.]

Betty: So these clubs have people of all ethnicities?

Allen: Yes, there are people of all different backgrounds.

Betty: When you attended UCR, were there Asian American academic organizations or fraternities that threw dances?

Allen: There were groups, and they threw parties, but not "dances."

* * *

Granted, today gasoline is too expensive to fiddle away driving aimlessly. And back then the phrases "carbon footprint" and "emissions control" were not in our daily vocabulary. In the 1970s, young people tinkered with their cars as a creative outlet - and their wheels expressed who they were. There was a certain uniformity: the wink mirror, the lowered chassis, the wide tires, the chrome wheels, the loud exhaust pipe, and for extra coolness - a car roof topped with a ski rack during the winter season.

Kids today still love their cars, but the drivers back in the 1970s just happened to flaunt it a little more during the dance gatherings. Young people today have other distractions: computer toys and electronic music gadgets; today young men have a lot of fashion choices to express their vanity.

I have yet to interview more people from younger generations, but as it stands, our experiences from the Asian American dance era provide a distinct collective memory. Anyone who was there back then is automatically "in the know" today when they hear a song like "Summer Sun" being played. The song brings back sights and sounds like the bands, specific places, restaurants, and cars.