The "fortune cookie" was an  American invention develop -ed as a dessert to be given at  Chinese restaurants. Designed to be radically different from  anything American, just like  Asians  themselves.

Physical and cultural differences have been used in American society to distance and separate Asian Americans as foreigners.  Since the times of early immigration, focus on the “strange” appearance and behavior of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean immigrants led to differential treatment in society.  Depictions of Asians in their exotic traditional dress were popularized to emphasize the foreign aspects of Asians and create a sense of that they do not belong in American society.     This portrayal of Asian Americans as “perpetually” exists even in contemporary American society.  Often disguised as interest in Asian culture and sociological study, this categorizing of Asians as fundamentally different is abundant in mainstream society.  From fortune cookies to the popular stereotype and portrayal of the “camera-toting Asian tourist,” American culture exhibits how deeply embedded the idea of Asian American foreignness is in society.

The persistence of this stereotype is commonly used in film and television.  Asians are often limited to certain small roles in American movies (ignoring the martial arts action movies), usually introduced as a small sample of comic relief.  Take for example Mickey Rooney’s dawning of “yellow face” in the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” a scene in which we have a white male actor pretending to be Chinese and using every available stereotype to exaggerate the strangeness and foreign qualities of “Asians.”  Furthermore, notice that in popular culture, “Asian” characters are usually portrayed as Chinese restaurant workers with thick accents or martial arts heroes to further the exoticism and foreignness of “Asian” culture.

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