All right, with that, I hope everyone's holidays are brilliant and beautiful. I'm going to enjoy a much-needed break from the blog (except maybe one more year-end "angriest posts" wrap-up next week) for the rest of the year. Be safe, be awesome, and stay angry.
It's about time for Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. Our final Angry Reader of 2009 is Academy Award-winning writer/director/actor Chris Tashima.
Who are you? The guy who won an award many years ago.
What are you? American. Asian. Sansei. Actor, Director
Where are you? Office of my company, Cedar Grove Productions, in Los Feliz. Los Angeles, CA
Where are you from? Born on the East Coast, but grew up in California: Pasadena, Berkeley, Los Angeles
What do you do? Look for work as an actor. Try to create work as a director.
What are you all about? Establishing our place, as Asian Americans, in America, via media and entertainment. Examining and presenting history that includes our participation in the building of this country and our society.
What makes you angry? Being ignored or excluded. Arrogance of those who hurt or harm, ignorant because they belong to a dominate race, and their excuses for racist thinking or action. Discrimination against people because they appear to be different. Prop 8 and our country's fear of Gays and Lesbians.
In his latest "Movie Answer Man," venerable movie critic Roger Ebert briefly speaks out about the racist casting behind the upcoming The Last Airbender movie, which we have talked about quite a bit around here. Here's the question and answer:
Q. Regarding the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan vehicle "The Last Airbender," what do you think about the whitewashing of the production so that all of the original Asian cultural landmarks, architecture, philosophy, and costume design are being retained while they cast white kids to play the main characters? Arlene C. Harris
A. Wrong. The original series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was highly regarded and popular for three seasons on Nickelodeon. Its fans take it for granted that its heroes are Asian. Why would Paramount and Shyamalan go out of their way to offend these fans? There are many young Asian actors capable of playing the parts.
Yup, he gives it a resounding "wrong," as any normal, clear-thinking human being would agree. Big props to Ebert for shining a little bit of light on this issue, even just briefly at the bottom of his column.
Check out the premiere episode of On the Clock, a new web series from our friends at the Center for Asian American Media -- shot on location at the CAAM offices, and starring CAAM staff. In this episode, "Duke Gets a Job (sort of)."
It's a little rough around the edges, and might only be funny to folks who are familiar with the CAAM crew... but as someone who used to intern and work for this organization, I thought it was pretty funny. To learn more about the Center for Asian American Media, go to the CAAM website here.
Asian Behaving Badly... visa fraud edition! In Santa Ana, California, a pastor has been accused by immigration authorities of helping foreigners fraudulently obtain student visas and handing out phony diplomas at a fake graduation ceremony on a campus where they never attended class: Calif. pastor accused of student visa conspiracy.
65-year-old Samuel Chai Cho Oh surrendered to authorities this week and faces a charge of conspiracy to commit visa fraud for allegedly charging foreigners cash to help get them student visas on the premise they would attend the Christian university he owns in Fullerton.
But according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, more than a hundred students from countries including South Korea, Thailand and Japan never took classes at California Union University, which served as a shell for them to stay in the country legally.
Oh reportedly charged students between $600 and $10,000 over the last decade -- raking in between $40,000 and $50,000 a month -- to file paperwork on their behalf to certify they had been accepted to the university and would be attending class in order to obtain valid student visas.
Busted! Looks like he had found a way to circumvent the system, and had a pretty good (and really profitable) scheme going. Meanwhile, no criminal charges have been filed against the students. Those who are not eligible to stay in the country legally will face deportation proceedings.
Recently got turned on to the YouTube videos of musician Lillian Bui. She's got this great, jazzy-style voice from another era. In the spirit of the season, here Lillian doing a little holiday ditty, a cover of Zee Avi's "No Christmas for Me This Year." Enjoy. And check out the rest of Lillian's videos here.
There's a good chance that the much-anticipated fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. might not be happening. According to promoter Bob Arum, it won't go down unless Mayweather's camp drops its insistence for Olympic-style blood testing: Promoter says Pacquiao-Mayweather likely off.
The match up -- planned for March 13 -- would've been the richest fight ever. But Mayweather's camp is demanding the fighters submit to Olympic-type drug testing in the weeks leading up to the bout. If Pacquiao doesn't agree to blood testing under standards followed by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the fight is off.
Arum is accusing Mayweather's camp of raising the issue not because they were worried about Pacquiao taking performance-enhancing substances, but because Mayweather never wanted to fight in the first place. He also accused Mayweather of trying to play mind games with Pacquiao.
According to Arum, Pacquiao would agree to testing by the same agencies that test pro football and baseball players, but not for random tests by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. More here: Blood remains issue for Pacquiao-Mayweather.
With the two camps at an impasse, and time running out, it looks likely that this megafight is not going to happen, at least for the time being. Then again, maybe not: Still hope for Mayweather-Pacquiao megafight.
This lovely toy, a "Butthead," was recently spotted being sold at Spencer's Gifts. If you can't tell, it's a butt. Shaped and dressed up like a stereotypical buck-toothed Chinese coolie. And as if that wasn't enough, there's an audio component! When you press the "head," it apparently says stupid things in a terrible accent about passing gas. That's racist!
Look, there's even a brown butt wearing a turban... and, oh hell, is that a bindi? It's astounding how ridiculously offensive they are -- a million dollar idea, no doubt. Someone out there is actually manufacturing, selling and making money off these damn things. And that makes me sad for humanity.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised they're being sold at Spencer's -- that store's whole inventory is full of godawful garbage like this. (Thanks, Jason.)
Some disturbing news out of Denver, where the South Asian community is concerned about recent a series of attacks targeting recent immigrants from Bhutan, Burma and elsewhere.
Earlier this month, a group of men beat and robbed teenage refugees from Bhutan in east Denver, after following them from a bus. Six were beaten, with one sustaining injuries requiring emergency room treatment. This apparently isn't the first the community has faced assaults and robberies this year.
The U.S. government granted the refugees special permission to enter the country as protection from persecution in Asia. So they come to Denver... for this? To get robbed and beaten? I'm sure this isn't what they were expecting.
But now they have cell phones. The hope is that the police-issued emergency-only phones, which require no payments, will help refugees reach paramedics and police to prevent future trouble. A dozen refugee victims of recent attacks now carry the phones.
Police are talking with a potential corporate partner to supply 50 phones, and ultimately, they aim to give phones to all refugees, along with orientation information and safety tips. That's great, I guess. Every little bit helps. But how about catching the guys who are doing the robbing and beating?
Hey, check out Jenna Ushkowitz from Glee appearing on the Today Show. She was there to announce that the company -- celebrating Hello Kitty's 35th anniversary -- is donating $100,000 worth of gifts to Today's holiday toy drive.
Good for her, I guess. I'm not really sure what her connection to Sanrio is (maybe because she, too, is Asian, cute and successful), but hey, at least she also got to briefly plug Glee'sDVD release next week.
Another one of these articles on the great lengths Asian people will go to in order to enhance their appearance. This time, it's South Korea, where people are apparently really, really obsessed with being and becoming taller: South Korea Stretches Standards for Success.
It's not just about looking more attractive. Swayed by the increasingly popular conviction that height is crucial to success, parents are trying all manner of remedies to increase their children's stature, from hormone shots to traditional Eastern treatments and special exercises.
And like all beauty crazes -- fueled in part to the proliferation of Western models of beauty and success -- the whole thing has become a booming industry, with parents shelling out thousands of dollars to "growth clinics" for a chance at changing their kids' height... and their fate.
Ms. Seo spends $770 a month on treatments for her daughter and her 4-year-old son at one such clinic, Hamsoa, which has 50 branches across the country and offers a mix of acupuncture, aromatherapy and a twice-a-day tonic that contains deer antler, ginseng and other medicinal herbs.
"Parents would rather add 10 centimeters to their children’s stature than bequeath them one billion won," said Dr. Shin Dong-gil, a Hamsoa doctor, invoking a figure in Korean currency equal to about $850,000. "If you think of a child as a tree, what we try to do here is to provide it with the right soil, the right wind, the right sunshine to help it grow. We help kids regain their appetite, sleep well and stay fit so they can grow better."
...
At his clinic, Kim Se-hyun, a fifth grader, walked on a treadmill with her torso encased in a harness suspended from an overhead steel bar. The contraption, the clinic maintains, will stretch her spine and let her exercise with less pressure on her legs.
Nearby, sweat rolled off Lee Dong-hyun, 13, as he pedaled a recumbent bicycle while reading a comic book. Behind him, his sister, Chae-won, the shortest girl in her first-grade class, stretched to touch her toes on a blue yoga mat, squealing as an instructor pushed down against her back.
These sound like weird, elaborate torture rituals. Seem like a lot of time, effort and money to force change something that shouldn't necessarily be changed. The worst part is, there's no clinical proof or other evidence that these treatments really work.
I get the fact that a lot Korean families only have one child, and there's an impulse to do everything possible to ensure that kid has a shot at success in this world. But damn, when you step back and look at this situation, doesn't all this pushing and stretching just seem really foolish?
The 26-year-old was named most stylish for her "Brit-girl-abroad quirky sense of style." She has pioneered a demure "old lady" look, accessorised with mannish shoes and endless legs. I don't know what the "old lady" look is, but she seems to rock it enough to get the honor.
Wait a minute. Who the hell is Alexa Chung, you ask? Which probably means you are way out of her demographic. I am too. Earlier this year, she got her own MTV show in the United States, aimed at revitalizing the network and make it "relevant" again.
Hey, here's funnyman Ken Jeong all up in the trailer for Furry Vengeance, which, as far as I can tell, kind of looks like the worst movie ever made. Just terrible.
The movie's a family comedy about an ambitious developer who faces off against a band of angry animals when his new housing subdivision pushes too far into their part of the wilderness. Hilarity ensues when nature proceeds to attack humanity.
I like movies about stinky skunks and rapid-fire crapping birds as much as the next guy... but damn, this movie smells like all kinds of awful. Dr. Ken, you are a funny guy, and your career is red-hot fire right now... but what the heck are you doing in this movie?
This isn't necessarily Asian-related, but I it found amusing (and kind of sad). Here's a video by two co-workers explaining how the face-tracking video feature on their "state-of-the-art" Hewlett Packard computer's web cam does not recognize black faces.
It's hilarious. It's also sad, because it appears to be true. As he hypothesizes, then clearly demonstrates, his blackness is interfering with the computer's ability to follow him. But when his white co-worker slides into frame, you immediately see how the camera is supposed to work. For white people.
It reminds of Joz's camera, which has a handy feature that supposedly detects when human subjects "blink." Except that Joz wasn't blinking -- she's just Asian, and her eyes happen to be small. Oh, technology. Like human beings, you still have a lot to learn about race.
In Cook County, Illinos, an off-duty Lockport police officer is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol -- nearly three times over the legal limit -- when he caused the fatal accident that killed 29-year-old Man K. Wong on the Stevenson Expressway: Cop accused of fatal DUI was 3 times legal limit.
Prosecutors say Edward Stapinski drove his Mitsubishi Gallant about 80 mph into a median on Interstate Highway 55 Sunday night, flipping his car into oncoming traffic and hitting a Toyota Camry head-on. Man K. "Mike" Wong was killed in the crash. Blood tests showed Stapinski's blood-alcohol level was 0.223, or about three times the legal limit.
Stapinski is charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence. If convicted, he could face 3 to 14 years in prison.
The officer's knee was hurt in the crash, and his face was cut up. All things considered, he was lucky to walk away from that wreck alive. The other guy wasn't so lucky. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead. And all he was doing was driving down the expressway, coming home from work on a Sunday night.
The guy's been a cop for seven and a half years -- he, of all people, should know better. Now Wong's family is worried that the court will be lenient on Stapinski because he's a police officer. They obviously want justice. Shouldn't the fact that he's a cop be all the more reason to make sure he pays for what he's done? More here: Off-duty Lockport cop charged with reckless homicide, DUI.
Got a big kick out of this. I don't know where this video comes from, or who this kid is, but the little guy's seriously working it. Where'd you get those moves? Enjoy. (Thanks, Winston.)
Big news... Yesterday, the Board of Directors of UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco announced that after a nationwide search, it has selected Frank H. Wu as the school's new Chancellor and Dean: Hastings picks civil rights scholar as new dean.
Wu is Professor of Law at Howard University and the former dean at Wayne State University Law School, where he was the nation's youngest law school Dean. He will step up as dean of UC Hastings next July. Here's the press release from the school:
UC Hastings Names Frank H. Wu New Chancellor and Dean
Bold Step Marks New Generation of Leadership at Top California Law School
SAN FRANCISCO, December 22, 2009 - The Board of Directors of UC Hastings College of the Law announced today its new Chancellor and Dean, Frank H. Wu, Professor of Law at Howard University and the former dean at Wayne State University Law School, where he was the nation's youngest law school Dean. The selection of Wu, who is closely connected to high-level legal, business and political leadership in the Asian and Asian-American world, is viewed as a dramatic and bold step to bring an entirely new level of leadership to Hastings.
"Frank Wu is a brilliant, world-class scholar and national leader in higher education. He was selected because of his powerful strategic vision for raising our 131-year-old law school to a new level. He has the experience and commitment to develop unprecedented private support for the College," said Bruce Simon, Chair of the Board of Directors of Hastings and co-chair of the Dean Selection Committee, along with Professor Richard Boswell. "With today's significant fiscal challenges, UC Hastings needs dynamic, top-flight leadership fully engaged in the legal and greater community at large."
Chancellor and Dean-designate Wu, 42, was selected following an extensive and careful search among highly-qualified candidates. All of the final candidates visited the campus for two-day interviews with faculty, students, staff, and alumni. The Dean Search Committee, comprised of four board members and three faculty members, took into account opinions from a wide variety of sources. The Board was assisted in the search and selection process by the firm of Major, Lindsey & Africa.
Chancellor and Dean-designate Wu provided a compelling vision for UC Hastings, including a concrete three-point plan to build on the school's historical strength in scholarship and education. Wu said: "This is an exciting and extraordinary opportunity to elevate UC Hastings even higher on the national scene, and I am deeply honored and privileged to bring my experience and skills to bear on this challenge." Wu emphasized that higher education must prepare students for their careers by giving them the skills needed to succeed; that the lawyers and the leaders of today and the future must be ready to work within a global economy with a Pacific Rim emphasis; and students must be able to blend their technical abilities in analyzing doctrine with the strengths of other disciplines.
Wu called special attention to the need to increase private support to ensure talented students continue to have meaningful access to a quality legal education, and toward that end he intends to begin the first-ever capital campaign for UC Hastings. He is forming a transition team to advise him, ensuring all stakeholders are able to participate in implementing these ideas.
"There is no question Frank Wu's positive fund-raising experience at Wayne State and throughout his entire academic and legal career was a critical factor in our decision," Board Chair Simon emphasized. "He has the skills, energy and vision to make it happen." Acting Chancellor and Dean Leo Martinez added: "A figure of his stature and national presence is a huge win for UC Hastings. This spells success on a new scale."
Chancellor and Dean-designate Wu's biographical background is extensive and distinguished.. He is currently a member of the law faculty at Howard University, among the nation's leading historically black colleges and universities. He also has taught as a full-time Visiting Professor at the law schools of Peking University, University of Maryland, George Washington University, and University of Michigan, in addition to having taught undergraduates at Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, and Deep Springs College.
Wu is nationally known for his leadership in higher education and human rights. He returned to his hometown of Detroit to be Dean at Wayne State. His extensive service also includes his role as a Trustee of Gallaudet University, the only institution of higher education in the world serving people who are deaf and hard of hearing, and Vice-Chairman of their Board since 2006. Last week, Wu was appointed to the U.S. Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), a high-level advisory body on accreditation. In 2009, he was appointed to the Congressionally-mandated Military Leadership Diversity Commission, and he joined the Board of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund in 2004. Chancellor and Dean-designate Wu was appointed by Mayor Anthony Williams as Chair of the D.C. Human Rights Commission for 2001-02, and by the D.C. Court of Appeals to its Board on Professional Responsibility, which adjudicates attorney discipline matters. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and he has been recognized for his work with the 2008 Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Award from the Asian Pacific Fund, named for the late Chancellor of University of California at Berkeley and selected from a national pool of nominees, and the 2007 Trailblazer Award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
Chancellor and Dean-Designate Wu is the author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White, which was immediately reprinted in its hardcover edition, and co-author of Race, Rights and Reparation: Law and the Japanese American Internment, which received major grants from the federal and California Civil Liberties Public Education Funds. Prior to his academic career, Chancellor and Dean-Designate Wu held a clerkship with the late U..S. District Judge Frank J. Battisti in Cleveland, and he then practiced law with the firm of Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, devoting a quarter of his time to pro bono representation. He received a B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan. He has completed the Management Development Program of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is married to Carol L. Izumi, a distinguished legal scholar and law professor.
Chancellor and Dean-designate Wu will assume his new position on July 1, 2010, and will have a salary of $350,000. He has already announced his intention to demonstrate his commitment to UC Hastings by donating $25,000 of his salary every year to the College for scholarships and academic support. He hopes that his example will encourage greater philanthropy among Hastings' alumni community.
Since the departure of former Chancellor and Dean Nell Newton in the summer 2009, UC Hastings Professor Leo Martinez has served as Acting Chancellor and Dean. "During the interim period, Leo Martinez has been providing Hastings with inspired leadership - applying his trademark cool, level-headed and thoughtful judgment, but also jumping with enthusiasm to grapple with every imaginable challenge in running UC Hastings. We are hugely fortunate in having Professor Martinez at the helm at this critical time," said Don Bradley, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors.
Hastings College of the Law was founded in 1878 as the first law department of the University of California, and today is one of the top-rated law schools in the United States. Its alumni span the globe and are among the most respected lawyers, judges and business leaders today.
You might recognize Frank H. Wu's name as the author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White, a book I have to admit I've never actually read, though it's sitting right there on my bookshelf. Nevertheless, this is fantastic news for UC Hastings. Congratulations to Professor Wu.
Here's the music video for "Never Fall 2010" by IZ, keeping it real with Los Angeles. Produced by LK and track by Soulspeak, with cameos by a couple of familiar faces, including Far East Movement and Ben Baller. Slick video, cool song. For more information about IZ and his music, check out the official homepage here.
According to police, the small fire was sparked by an electrical malfunction. There's no sign that the 7,000-square-foot building is a working fortune cookie factory, bakery or retail outlet anymore. It seems, however, that the facilities were recently being used as a very different kind of business. And someone just lost their stash.
None of the marijana plants were burned in the fire. According to police, they ranged from seedlings to four feet tall, and were being grown in a space of about 1,750 square feet. The building was apparently well-stocked with growing tubs, chemicals, lights and other accessories used for growing pot plants.
Whoever was growing the plants was pirating electricity to power the lights, ventilation and irrigation systems, tapping into an old line in front of the building. Alas, the faulty wiring was probably what eventually foiled their operation -- a pot farm... in a fortune cookie factory! Next time, don't skimp on the juice.
Oh boy. Yahoo! Movies just launched the trailer for the new remake of The Karate Kid, starring Jaden Smith (Will Smith's son) and Jackie Chan (as the Mr. Miyagi character). I kind of don't know what to say. There are many, many things wrong with this trailer... it just looks kind of disastrous.
Young Jaden stars as a Dre, who moves to Beijing to Detroit with his mother, falls for the wrong girl, becomes an enemy of the class bully, gets his ass kicked, befriends the local handyman/kung fu master, learns some martial arts, defeats the bullies, and lives happily ever after. You get the idea.
Moving the action from Southern California to China completely changes what's happening here. The trailer is overflowing with stereotypes -- yes, another narrative about a Westerner in the strange, exotic Orient -- not to mention capitalizing on America's current anxieties over a rapidly growing China.
Yay! Daddy just bought me a franchise! One of the many privileges when your dad is the biggest movie star in the world. Thanks, Fresh Prince.
It's an awkward mess. The only thing I'm looking forward to is watching Jackie Chan ("Mr. Han") training the hell out the kid, with sticks and large buckets of water. Then again... something about that "jacket" scene -- the new "wax on, wax off" -- is very wrong. (Say "Jacket off!" ten times fast.) New catchphrase?
This is for Hmong American high school students... Hmong Student Association at Berkeley will be hosting their 2nd Annual Pursuit of Higher Education event on April 10-11, 2010 at the University of California, Berkeley. This two-day, one-night outreach event will target Hmong high school students residing in the Sacramento, Marysville, and Stockton area.
HSAB's goal is to educate and promote awareness about higher education in the Bay Area. The event will include various workshops, a campus tour, and fun activities for high school participants. Students will be given a great opportunity to interact with different high schools, and learn issues affecting Hmong in higher education.
HSAB will only be accepting applications from high school students (grades 9-12). There's a limited number of space, and not all applicants are guaranteed a placement. For high school students who are interested in taking part, you can get an application form by emailing hsaberkeley@gmail.com
The deadline to submit an application is February 28, 2010. All chosen applicants will be notified approximately two weeks after the submission deadline. For further information, contact the Hmong Student Association at Berkeley at hsaberkeley@gmail.com.
Out on DVD this week... Alexander Sebastien Lee's award-winning documentary The Real Shaolin. This is not your typical martial arts documentary focusing on performance or history, but follows the personal journeys of four individuals pursuing their dreams.
Inspired by martial arts movies, two Chinese and two Westerners journey to the legendary Shaolin Temple in China to endure a year of rigorous martial arts training in the hopes of becoming kung fu warriors. But this ain't the movies, and they find that reality may be a harsh wake-up call.
What, you think you can just walk up to the door of the Shaolin Temple and become Gordon Liu? It's gonna hurt, son. To learn more about the film, and to watch the trailer, go to The Real Shaolin website here. And purchase a copy of the DVD here.
Did you know that there's a World's Best Santa competition? And as it turns out, the best Santa ain't a fat white man. 44-year-old Hong Kong native Jimmy Chan recently beat rival Santas around the globe to win the title of World's Best Santa in the annual competition in northern Sweden: World's Best Santa weaves Hong Kong magic.
Ironically, Santa Chan had apparently never even seen snow until last month. The event took place in sub-zero temperatures in the Swedish town of Gaellivare and included contests such as chimney-climbing, present-wrapping, porridge-eating, kick-sledding and reindeer-racing.
Chan, a slim guy who fills out his costume with large chunks of sponge, apparently impressed the judges with his magic tricks, acrobatics, and snowball-juggling along with his more traditional Santa skills. This is no ordinary Santa Claus. More here: The world's best Santa is a Hong Kong man.
Not much to say here, except that these Ed Hardy flip flips, spotted at the store last month, can only be described as butt-ass ugly. (Thanks, Corinne.)
An update on the The Last Airbender situation (not to be confused with the Avatar movie currently in the theaters)... As you know fans of the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender are upset over live action movie adaptation, where the cartoon's mostly ethnically Asian characters were cast with white actors.
Racebending.com, which has been one of the leading online voices protesting The Last Airbender, just posted an account of the Asian American coalition meeting with Paramount Pictures last month: APA Coalition Meets with Paramount.
The meeting, which came out of a previous protest over The Goods, included leaders from groups like the Japanese American Citizens League and the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, and Adam Goodman, President of Paramount Film Group:
Public Concerns over the casting of The Last Airbender
In an April 2009 letter from MANAA in response to the producers of The Last Airbender, MANAA raised several questions regarding the studios' decision to cast white actors to depict Asian characters, the discriminatory language used in the casting calls, and the culturally ignorant language used by members of the production, including the casting director and one of the film's stars.
MANAA was also concerned about the implications of featuring a villainous nation with dark-skinned, partly South Asian actors and a heroic nation led by white heroes who liberate the "Asian and African" nation, as well as the cultural appropriation of Pacific Rim cultures and the franchise's core Asian concepts, despite a glass ceiling blocking off Asian American actors from playing lead protagonists. Eight months later, these concerns remain unaddressed.
MANAA's Conversation with Paramount
Goodman told the coalition that if a sequel to The Last Airbender is made, "it will focus on the Asian nation." (Those who have followed the protest and the film know that the Asian fantasy world of the franchise has been modified so that only one nation, the Earth Kingdom, will be populated with actors of Asian descent. In the animated series, the vast Earth Kingdom was one of four nations in the setting, based on over thirty different Pacific Rim cultures and time periods.)
When MANAA raised concerns about the "Caucasian or any other ethnicity" casting call that Paramount released to cast the four lead characters of color from the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise, Katie Martin Kelly told MANAA that Paramount has since taken steps to make future casting notices more "consistent." Paramount's new casting policies now have more oversight over the breakdown services that draft casting calls.
Goodman told the Asian American community representatives that "Diversity is paramount to Paramount." Per MANAA's suggestion, Paramount promised to furnish the Asian American community with statistics on the number of Asian American actors, writers, and directors with the studio.
Goodman shared that after taking over for Lesher, he cleaned house and there is currently no head of Casting at Paramount. A new head of Casting will be hired early 2010, and MANAA and Paramount planned a meeting with this casting head next year to discuss The Last Airbender and Paramount's casting policies as a whole.
According to Paramount, M. Night Shyamalan is aware of criticism over the casting. Paramount promised to let the Asian American advocates at the meeting see a screening of the film before it was released. Goodman told MANAA that in all his years in the business, he has never seen such outcry over the casting of a character.
"Diversity is paramount to Paramount." That's a good one. At this point, production on The Last Airbender is a speeding train heading for the station -- the damage has already been done, and no one is changing a damn thing.
This movie is happening, and next summer, audiences are going to see what a ridiculous world they've created, where Caucasian heroes run around and fight, while Asians hang around in the background selling vegetables and weaving baskets and stuff.
If this makes you angry, and you'd like to join in the effort to raise awareness about The Last Airbender (and other projects like it), find out how you can help Racebending.com as a volunteer here.
Jang recently sent me this link to his blog, where he describes a run-in he had with the police last May, during which he claims he was racially profiled. The entire traffic stop was captured on the police cruiser's dash cam.
The cops thought he might have been driving under the influence, though it's pretty clear he wasn't, since he passes each of the officer's inane sobriety tests with relative ease. (Were those even real tests? It looks like he's making them up as he goes along.)
The real questionably racist moment occurs when Officer Hoppie goes back to his car to check Jang's driver's license, and makes a comment about Jang's eyes (at around the 6:00 minute mark): "And he's Asian so you can't even see his freakin' pupils."
Now, I don't think Jang got pulled over because he's Asian -- his car did drift over the right side a couple of times, though certainly not "weaving all over the place" as the officer claims. But I think he's out of line making that comment. Read all about it here.
Received an email from Dor Zhang, a senior at Pitzer College who's putting the call out for some help. For her Gender/Feminist Studies senior project, she wants to interview and photograph self-identified tattooed Asian American women. Her goal is to create a tattoo magazine -- think Tattoos For Women -- with an Asian American focus.
As Dor puts it, "I don't see a lot of Asian American women being represented in the media, let alone in tattoo magazines and in the tattoo community. In addition, I think it would be so interesting to see how gender and race (amongst other factors) intersect to shape the artistic and expressive choices of Asian American women."
So... she's looking for some participants. Are you a tattooed Asian American woman? Dor wants to hear your story. If you're willing help her out, you can get in touch with Dor at doris.zhang.2010@gmail.com or dzhang@pitzer.edu. Your help is appreciated.
I found this trailer mashup mildly amusing. It cuts together visuals from Up with audio from the Gran Torino trailer. Funny, because both movies essentially involve cranky, curmudgeon-y old guys taking wayward Asian kids under their wing. I wonder who'd win in a fight -- Carl Frederickson or Walt Kowalski?
Zhu pleaded guilty to first degree murder in connection with the death of 22-year-old Xin Yang, a graduate student from Beijing. She had only begun her studies at Virginia Tech two weeks before she was killed in the University's Graduate Life Center.
At the time, according to school officials, the two were believed to have known each other, based on emergency contact records maintained by the university, but witnesses saw no sign of an argument before Xin was attacked.
According to prosecutors, Zhu had written a love letter to Xin, but she told him she was engaged to another man. He apparently purchased the knife used to kill Xin the morning of her death and attempted to call her 12 times. Yes, all the psycho signs were there. Dammit.
The whole thing was just gruesome. Like I said when this news broke last January... just when you thought people were kind of letting go of the notion that Asian men are violent crazies, this happened. At Virginia Tech, of all places.
Zhu will be sentenced on April 19. His murder plea doesn't qualify for the death penalty under Virginia law, but the prosecutor said he would seek the maximum penalty. More here: Ex-Va. Tech student pleads guilty in decapitation.
Enjoy this cool cover of Lady Gaga's "Speechless," courtesy of San Diego-based alternative hip hop band afterschoolspecial. That's our friend Dan aka Dan doing his emcee thing in the middle. To hear more from afterschoolspecial, check out the band's website here.
News flash. A new study reveals that the seemingly passive activity of watching television may lead to actively damaging effects, particularly when it comes to issues of race -- and we might not even realize it: Study: TV May Perpetuate Race Bias.
Led by Max Weisbuch, a postdoctoral student in the lab of Tufts psychology professor Nalini Ambady, researchers designed the multipart study to examine the communication of race bias on television to white college-age volunteers. Weisbuch and his team were intrigued by the fact that despite a significant reduction in overt expressions of racism in modern American society - the country has, after all, just elected its first black president - studies consistently find that many people still show biased or negative attitudes toward African-Americans, primarily through nonverbal means such as facial expressions, crossed arms and averted gazes. The psychologists wondered how such biases could persist in a society in which racism is socially unacceptable and indeed publicly denounced.
So the group decided to examine the medium of television, which connects the vast majority of Americans, and through which many people predominantly receive their social and cultural cues. The study looked at 11 popular prime-time TV shows, such as Heroes, Scrubs, House, CSI: Miami and Grey's Anatomy, whose casts include both white and black recurring characters of equal status.
The researchers found that subtle racial biases are often expressed by characters on popular television shows, and that viewers not only pick up these attitudes but allow them to shape their own outlooks on race. And the most insidious part? The transmission of race bias appears to occur subconsciously, unbeknownst to the viewer.
In the first of a series of four studies, researchers showed participants TV clips in which a white character and black character interact - but the segments were stripped of sound and the black character was digitally deleted. The idea was to ensure that neither race nor dialogue would color viewers' analysis. The exercise was repeated with the white character deleted. Researchers then asked the viewers, white college students, to evaluate in each circumstance, whether the unseen character appeared to be treated positively or negatively by the seen character, and how well liked he or she appeared to be. In the end, across the majority of TV shows, viewers consistently said that the white characters had received more positive treatment and were better liked than their black counterparts.
What fascinated Weisbuch was that the viewers' judgment of the characters was based purely on nonverbal cues, from facial expressions to body language. In fact, when participants were given transcripts of the verbal content of the clips, they saw no difference in the way black or white target characters were treated by speaking characters. These expressions may have been scripted into the show by writers, or by productions editors or the director, but nevertheless, researchers say they demonstrate unfavorably biased attitudes toward black characters.
Next, researchers tried to figure out whether this nonverbal bias was being communicated to people watching the show. Researchers created two sets of short, silent clips, one pro-white and the other pro-black. In the pro-white set, white characters were treated positively and black characters were treated negatively; in the pro-black clips, the reverse was true. A separate group of students was asked to view either the pro-white or pro-black TV clips. Afterward, the students completed a questionnaire that was presented as a different study, but actually served as a measure of their racial bias. The results suggested that students who viewed the pro-white clips were much more likely to demonstrate racial bias than those watching the pro-black clips. "That suggests that exposure to the nonverbal behaviors affects bias," says Prof. Ambady.
The scientists went on to demonstrate that the viewers were unaware of the clips' effect. In another part of the study, students were asked to watch the same pro-white and pro-black clips, but this time they were also instructed to be on the look- out for evidence of subtle biased behavior. Afterward, viewers were asked to determine whether white characters or black characters were treated better.
Because each set of clips was created to favor one group or the other, there was only one right answer to the question. The students had a 50-50 chance of responding correctly - and that's exactly how well they did, no better than chance. In other words, the patterns of bias expressed in the characters' nonverbal behavior were not obvious to the viewers. "The effect [television has] on viewers might be something less than conscious," says Weisbuch.
Read more about the experiment here. Of course, I'm curious to see what would happen if this experiment was replicated with Asian television characters introduced into the equation. Would viewers see these characters being treated positively or negatively? What would be the effect on viewers? Then again, are there even enough actual Asians on television to make this experiment even work?
Okay, I think I've watched this clip more than ten times now, and I'm still scratching my head over whether it's fake or legit. Basically, it's emcee Dumfoundead battling "some random cat," until the guy takes it a little too personally, things get physical, and Dumb has to get Jet Li on his ass. Did I just see that right?
I don't know. I'm inclined to believe he's just messing with us (complete with Twitter commentary)... but then again, what if it's real? You just saw something crazy. Either way, it makes for some interesting discussion -- which I guess is the point of posting it in the first place. Watch and decide for yourself.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has a good story recognizing 18-year-old Wei Chen, one of the more courageous and outspoken student leaders who stood up, spoke out and took action to address the ongoing violence against Asian students at South Philadelphia High School: Standing up for victimized students.
Chen, 18, is articulate, smart, and frighteningly organized. He's never on time for meetings - he's there early, to help set up.
He possesses remarkable poise, stony determination, and a more than ample quantity of guts. When many Asian students hid their faces behind protest signs, afraid they would be identified and beaten up, Chen stood front and center.
Mostly, having been swept to the streets of South Philadelphia from the shores of southeast China less than three years ago, he's someone pushing the school district to address long-standing problems of violence. Within a week, starting with that tense Dec. 4 news conference at a Chinatown church, he emerged as a leader.
"He is always calm," said Xu Lin, an organizer with the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. who often translates for Chen. "When some of the students were losing their tempers, he'd calm them down."
As you know, this month's attack sent seven students to the hospital and sparked an eight-day boycott of South Philly High by about 50 Asian students.
While many of the students hid their faces from cameras behind protest signs, afraid they'd be identified and beaten up, Chen was front and center with nothing to hide, testifying with confidence and composure in front of the school board. This kid sounds like an impressive leader -- the kind of guy you want on your side. Props.
4C The Power is a nonprofit organization committed to connecting youth to their schools and community by engaging then in contemporary visual and performing arts. They do this by facilitating workshops led by professional artists like Far East Movement, Wong Fu Productions, David Choi, Gamblerz Crew and many more.
This Wednesday, December 23, they're having a benefit show for the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute for autism and the Little Red Scarf project, which provides life-saving heart surgery for children in China. It's an Acoustic Holiday Party hosted by FM, and featuring guest performers AJ Rafael, Vudoo Soul, Lydia Paek, IZ and other special guests. Some details:
Acoustic Holiday Party hosted by the Far*East Movement
The Far East Movement will be hosting this benefit event for the UC Davis MIND Institute for Autism Research, and the Red Scarf Project which providee life saving heart surgeries for children in Asia.
AJ Rafael, Vudoo Soul, Lydia Paek, IZ, Kevin Ko from the 4C the Power workshops will be performing. Other special guests will be stopping by as well.
This is an intimate event with very limited tickets.
Tickets go on sale:
Dec 23rd at 3:00 pm
4C the Power Office Hacienda Center 1669 S Azusa Ave Hacienda Heights, CA
$10.00
For more information contact: 4cthepower@gmail.com
Twitter: @4CTHEPOWER
PLEASE BRING A SMALL SCHOOL SUPPLY FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE RED SCARP PROJECT. THEY WILL BE TAKEN TO CHINA ON DEC 26TH BY THE EAST VILLAGERS ORGANIZATION. WWW.EASTVILLAGERS.ORG
This is going to be a really small, intimate show, so make plans to be there early to get your tickets. Great artists, great causes -- should be a really fun evening, and a nice way to kick off your Christmas. For more information, take a look at the flyer above, or go to the 4C the Power website here.
In Surgery, a Tangled Tumor Meets Its Match: Last week in New York, a team doctors, led by Dr. Tomoaki Kato, successfully removed a huge cancerous tumor from the abdominal cavity of a 59-year-old man, after an epic 43-hour operation.
Bilingual Newspaper Folds, Leaves Void in Japanese-American Community: The Hokubei Manichi, one of the last bilingual Japanese-English newspapers in San Francisco, recently announced that it is ceasing print publication and will likely end its internet edition in the near future.>
'Pacman' Pacquiao Gives Filipinos Reason To Cheer: Here's an interesting NPR commentary on boxing champ Manny Pacquiao, and what his extraordinary success in the ring signifies to Filipinos around the world, and what's at stake in his upcoming "dream bout" with the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Why it's time to lighten up about "weird" Japan: This recent Boing Boing post by Lisa Katayama is about the festishization of "weird" Japan, and how her own all-in-good-fun writing about the wackier side of Japanese popular culture regularly attracts racist comments and reactions, both from Japan-haters and Japan-obsessors alike.
Yip receives his dream call: Last week, Brandon Yip of the American Hockey League's Lake Erie Monsters got the news he had waited his whole life to hear -- he was going to Colorado to play his first NHL game Friday night for the Avalanche.
Bow to the Jeremy Lin Movement (b-o-w = Based On What?): It's the Jeremy Lin Movement! Here's a very thorough, extremely detailed breakdown of why Harvard's Jeremy Lin is not only one of the best players in NCAA Division-I basketball, but has a legitimate shot at being a first round NBA draft pick.
The Funny Man: Joe Wong: The Boston Globe has named standup comedian Joe Wong, who made his national television debut last spring on the Late Show With David Letterman, as one of the "Bostonians of the Year 2009."
John Woo: Every Director's Dream: The Asia Society interviews director John Woo, who discusses his latest film, the massive historical epic Red Cliff, and describes the creative process behind his legendary action scenes.
Some inspiration for your weekend... LIFE has a gallery naming its "Sexiest Men of the '50s, '60s, '70s." Among the list of sexy dudes: Bruce Lee. I think everyone can agree, the guy had a hell of a physique. Bow down.
Hey! Looking for a job? Apply now to work for the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the largest and most prestigious event of its kind in southern California.
Visual Communications, the nation's premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, seeks outstanding, motivated individuals for employment opportunities in preparation for the 26th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, April 29 through May 8, 2010. The following positions are available:
You'll be a part of the team that produces the ten-day festival, taking place Directors Guild of America and Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre in Hollywood; National Center for the Preservation of Democracy and Aratani/Japan America Theatre in Little Tokyo, and the new CGV Theaters in Koreatown. For more information about all the job openings, go to the Visual Communications website here.
This is awesome story from the Washington Post... Twenty years ago, two teenagers found an abandoned baby on a doorstep in Fairfax County. Earlier this month, they received a Facebook message from that baby, Mia Fleming -- now a college student -- looking to say thanks: Woman abandoned in Fairfax as a baby finds her rescuers.
If you're in Los Angeles, here's a last-minute, desperate plea for bodies to take part as extras this weekend in a short film called K Town Cowboys. It's being put together by a bunch of guys I know -- Lanny Joon, Danny Cho, Bobby Choy and Daniel Park of FRA. They need extras for their last day of shooting tomorrow. Here are some details:
Saturday (Dec. 19): will be divided into two time frames: 8:30am-5pm and 2pm-10pm (you're welcome to do longer hours)
La Defence 3701 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles 90010
Wardrobe (for both days): club attire- however you would dress when going out to a club.
GUYS: nothing too flashy. Fitted clothes for the guys who can get away with it, otherwise complimentary fits. Lots of solids with layers would be nice. Blazer, button up T, jeans, dress shoes.
GIRLS: Show skin but don't look like a go-go dancer :] and they need to come camera ready (guys and girls).
There won't be any pay, but meals will be provided, and there will be union points for SAG actors. Also, if there are any Twilight fans, Justin Chon will be on set.
What -- Justin Chon?! I'm so there. It's a big last minute, but if you're free on Saturday, and willing to help these guys out, they'll be extremely grateful. I guess you can just show up tomorrow at the address above... and dress like you're going out for a night of clubbing. For more information contact Mike Lee at emailmike101@yahoo.com.
This PSA spot, featuring some very cute kids talking about Hepatitis B vaccinations, will start airing on Bay Area stations next month. It's produced by HepBMoms.org, part of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University, in an effort to get the word out about Hep B immunizations. Here's another cute one with just two of the kids.
There are 370 million people worldwide chronically infected with hepatitis B, the leading cause of liver cancer. The majority of those with chronic infection acquired it from mother-to-child transmission at birth or during early childhood.
Like the kid says, one in ten Asians have chronic hepatitis B -- the leading cause of liver cancer. One in ten! A million people die of this disease every year, but it is entirely preventable through vaccinations and protective shots given at birth.
HepBMoms is an online resource for pregnant mothers, perinatal hepatitis B prevention program coordinators, health care providers, and anyone who is concerned about hepatitis B. On the site you'll find interactive discussion boards, the latest up-to-date information, news about what's being done in your area, downloadable videos and educational materials, and ways you can help.
This is for all you Secret Asian Man fans out there. Just in time for the holidays, Secret Asian Man: The Daily Days by Tak Toyoshima is now available. Ths 232-page book collects every Secret Asian Man strip syndicated through United Media. Just $20.00.
The book is conveniently available through Amazon, but here's something special to sweeten the deal if you order directly from Tak...
Starting right now, the first 25 orders from you, the good readers of this blog, will receive a free piece of original daily comic strip art signed by Tak Toyoshima. He'll even tuck it into the page where it appears in the book. Here's what you have to do:
1. Make your payment via PayPal (credit cards accepted too) to tak@secretasianman.com. Books are $20 each (+$4.95 priority shipping).
2. In the shipping comments field please write "SECRET ANGRY ASIAN MAN SENT ME!"
3. Enjoy.
It's important to note that this is a self-published book, which mean that Tak is paying for the whole print run out of pocket. Support the strip and get your copy today! To order, and for more information about the Secret Angry Asian Man Special, head over to the SAM website here.
This story can't be real. If so, it is awesome. Real or not, this photo alone is pretty awesome. That's Lo Wung, a guy in China who apparently trained his monkeys taekwondo. Hold on right there -- I think you already know where this is going: Taekwondo monkeys attack trainer.
But I'll keep going. Lo Wung's taekwondo monkeys have become a regular feature outside a shopping center in Enshi, Hubei province, where they were trained to show off their martial arts skill on each other, much to the delight of onlookers.
As you can imagine, it was only a matter of time before things went very, very wrong. The martial arts monkeys got their chance to rebel against their master when Lo slipped, and one quick-thinking monkey caught him with a flying kick to the head:
Hu Luang, 32, a bystander who photographed the incident, said: "I saw one punch him in the eye - he grabbed another by the ear and it responded by grabbing his nose. They were leaping and jumping all over the place. It was better than a Bruce Lee film."
At one point the monkey trainer grabbed a staff to hit the monkeys, only to find himself facing a stick-brandishing monkey that cracked him over the head.
It was a badass martial arts monkey rebellion. Please tell me there is some video of this out there. Alas, Lo managed to get the monkeys under control by tangling them up in a rope, and they were apparently punished for their disobedience. But you know, it's only a matter of time before the monkeys rise up again... Lo Wung better watch his back.
A call out to friends, readers and opinionated souls... Jeff Yang is compiling his annual Asian Pop "Best & Worst of 2009," and he needs your help coming up with some ideas.
He writes, "Please be generous to me with your wit and wisdom, and the karma will be repaid sevenfold in 2010, I can nearly guarantee it. Tell me, with humor, passion and verve":
What Asian/Asian American events, people or phenomena made this year worthwhile?
What Asian/Asian American events, people or phenomena made you gasp/cringe/scream?
Man, it's been an eventful year. I've got a few ideas for Jeff's column. I bet you do too. You can leave a comment here or email Jeff your suggestions and comments at originalspin@gmail.com. And spread the word.
For those of you in Southern California, Sarab Singh Neelam's award-winning debut feature Ocean of Pearls opens this Friday, December 18 for a week-long theatrical run at Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood. Here's the film's synopsis:
Amrit Singh is of two worlds, but belongs to neither. A turban-wearing Sikh, he has lived his life in North America out of sorts and out of place, cast adrift at an uneasy crossroads between East and West. But when he is offered a prestigious position as a transplant surgeon in a Detroit hospital, the young doctor sees it as a opportunity to start fresh. He struggles to be the man he believes he is and at the same time the person he wants to be. His ambitious pursuit of success, however eventually leads to tragedy and it is only in defining his singular identity that he finds peace.
It's a great story, with a lot of heart. View the trailer here. The film stars Omid Abtahl, Hather McComb, Ron Canada, Navi Rawat and Ajay Mehta. Here's some more information about the Los Angeles theatrical release:
OCEAN OF PEARLS Los Angeles Theatrical Premiere
Laemmle's Sunset 5 8000 Sunset Boulevard West Hollywood 90046 323.848.3500
Tickets: $10.00 Students with ID: $8.50 Seniors Over 62 and Children Under 12: $7.00
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and thematic elements.
The director will be present at the 7:30pm show for a post-screening Q & A. For more information about the film, go to the Ocean of Pearls website here. If you're not in the area, but still want to see the film, they're looking for folks to support the grassroots DVD release. To learn more, go here.
This article is a couple of weeks old, but I wanted make sure people saw it... The Chicago Tribune recent ran an intense multi-part investigation on the long-lasting, harmful effects of the chemical defoliant Agent Orange, decades after the end of the Vietnam War: Agent Orange: A Lethal Legacy.
Both veterans and Vietnamese nationals who were exposed to Agent Orange and other dioxin-laced defoliants are still experiencing devastating health effects, while birth defects have brought the impact into a second generation. Yet the United States government has yet to make full amends, either in the U.S. or overseas.
It's one thing for those who were directly afflicted by Agent Orange -- both those who lived and served in Vietnam during the war now suffer health problems. But imagine the next generation born into this lethal legacy -- kids who weren't even alive during the war, but now suffer birth defects linked to defoliants. It's infuriating.
To report this series, the Tribune interviewed nearly two dozen civilians and former soldiers in Vietnam as well as researching thousands of pages of government documents and traveling to the homes of veterans in the U.S. Take a look at the story, along with video and photos, here.
next week.
