Read These Blogs

I Love America. That's Why I Have to Tell the Truth About It
"In claiming that defiant Vietnamese self, one that disregards anyone else's definition, I claim my American self too. Against all those who say “love it or leave it," who offer only one way to be American, I insist on the America that allows me to be Vietnamese and is enriched by the love of others."

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Feeling Conflicted on Thanksgiving
Viet Thanh Nguyen ponders the meaning of Thanksgiving as a Vietnamese refugee and a father of a young son.

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Toning Down Asian Stereotypes to Make 'The Nutcracker' Fit the Times
With New York City Ballet and the Balanchine Trust encouraging modified choreography to the Chinese Tea segment of The Nutcracker, many hope that other companies will follow suit.

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I'm Adopted, But I Won't Be Celebrating National Adoption Month
"Everyone asks me -- an adoptee -- what I'm doing to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month. As if I should rejoice each November because I'm so "lucky" to have been adopted."

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Google Translate for My Asian Parents
"Have you eaten yet?" means "I love you."

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50 Years Later, Former UC Berkeley Students Celebrate the Asian-American Movement They Began
"I went in Oriental and left Asian-American."

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Who is Andy Kim? Meet N.J.'s first Asian-American congressman
Andy Kim had never run for elected office before deciding this year to take on two-term incumbent Tom MacArthur in New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. But he did. And he won.

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Lost and Found With Hansol Jung
With plays like Wild Goose Dreams -- currently at the Public Theater in New York -- Korean playwright Hansol Jung is making a splash on American stages with stories of displacement and hope.

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How Silicon Valley's Favorite Chinese-American Restaurant Was Born
Since opening in 1970, Chef Chu's has played host to tech elites and numerous heads of state.

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Henry the First
Crazy Rich Asians wasn't supposed to be the biggest rom-com of the past decade. Henry Golding was never supposed to be an actor. So what expectation is he going to shatter next?

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Steven Yeun, A Star On Both Sides Of The Pacific, Talks Toggling Between East & West
For Steven Yeun's latest role in the film Burning, the actor tapped into his feelings of isolation as a child.

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An Alien Invasion Was Happening in Searching, You Just Didn't Notice It
Most people think Searching is just a movie about John Cho looking for his missing daughter that takes places completely on a computer. That's true, but it's also an alien invasion movie... Kind of.

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Stan Lee's final superhero was inspired by a Chinese pop star
Just weeks before Stan Lee died, the comic book legend's movie studio unveiled his final creation: a Chinese pop star who tours the world by day and saves it by night.

Angry Reader of the Week: Bao Tran

"Andy Lau's forgotten half-brother."



Hello, internet! You know what time it is. It's time to meet the 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. This week's Angry Reader is Bao Tran.

When You Gotta Avenge Your Master, But You've Got Day Jobs

Bao Tran's indie feature 'The Paper Tigers' is an underdog story about three out-of-shape kung fu fighters.



This one's for the underdogs. The Paper Tigers is an upcoming martial arts action movie about three out-of-shape kung fu fighters who have to avenge their master... except they've got day jobs and kids to feed. The debut feature from writer/director Bao Tran, this cool-looking indie project is currently raising production funds.

A dead-beat dad, an insurance scammer, and an MMA coach find themselves in the middle of a gang war when they must avenge their kung fu master's death. But first... they need to call in sick at their 9-to-5 jobs. This is a story about family, both born into and adopted, and what you owe to keep those families together.

"Imagine Bruce Lee in his 40s, out of shape and divorced, estranged from his kids, trying to figure out his place in the world," Tran says. "Then imagine that same Bruce Lee's comeback. Family, career, and life might have consumed us, but there will always be a part of us that is dying to do a few spin kicks in the backyard. This movie is dedicated to those who are one kick away from pulling their hamstrings... one lap away from a smoke break."

Here's Bao and producer Al'n Duong with the more information about the film::

May You Find Summer Romance Aboard 'Love Boat: Taiwan'

Valerie Soe is making a documentary about the legendary Taiwanese cultural program, aka "Love Boat."



Here's a film project that could use your help... It's the final fundraising stretch for Love Boat: Taiwan, a documentary that looks at the allure of the Taiwan Love Boat, one of the longest running summer programs in the world, where young Taiwanese Americans get closer to their history, their culture and each other.

In the late 1960s, Taiwan's government established the Study Tour to Taiwan as an outreach program to college-aged Taiwanese Americans and Chinese Americans, to increase their awareness and support for Taiwan. Since then, young people from all over the world have attended this program.

Although it was advertised as a cultural enrichment program -- Mandarin language, martial arts, brush painting, etc. -- the Study Tour's popularity came from another source: its (somewhat notorious) reputation as an excellent place to find romance. Thus earning its more widely known nickname: Taiwan Love Boat.

Director Valerie Soe, who attended the Taiwan Love Boat as a college student in the 1980s, has been working on a documentary chronicling this important part of our community's history.

Read These Blogs

Why Do Asian Americans Remain Largely Unseen in Film and Television
There have been recent gains in Asian American representation in film and television, but Thessaly La Force thinks that Hollywood can do more. Bonus: classic movie casts re-imagined with Asian American actors.

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This 43-year-old running for president in 2020 wants to give everyone $1,000 a month in free cash
Part of entrepreneur Andrew Yang's platforms in his run for president -- of the United States of America -- is implementing a Universal Basic Income, granting $1,000 for all citizens ages 18-64.

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California politics must accommodate growing share of Asian American voters
Asian Americans, one of the largest immigrant groups and the fastest-growing racial group in California, account for one in every seven votes in the state. Yet they are often overlooked for their political importance.

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The War Inside 7-Eleven
7-11, the world's largest convenience store chain, has been battling its store owners for years over franchise matters. The company seems to have found a new tool: U.S. immigration authorities.

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What Wong Kar-wai's Films Meant to Young Asians in America
For Sophie He, Wong Kar-wai's films illuminated how to navigate that liminal space between tenderness and loneliness, connection and alienation, East and West.

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Kim's Convenience co-creator on anglicization, role models and comedy as a uniting force
An interview with Ins Choi, co-creator of the hit Canadian sitcom Kim's Convenience.

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How Awkwafina Went From Viral Vagina Video to Movies and 'SNL' Host
Crazy Rich Asians breakout star Awkwafina, aka "your average Asian trumpet player turned rapper turned actress," is seeking her path amid a meteoric rise.

This Virginia Tech flyer for international students doesn't feature any actual international students

Perpetual foreigner syndrome strikes again!



Virginia Tech recently printed up a promotional flyer urging international students to complete an upcoming survey to help make the campus better for international students. The flyer, posted around campus, featured a photo of smiling Asian students at Virginia Tech. You know, international students. Cool, right?

There's just one problem: none of the students in the photo are international students.

If you're wondering what the problem is, it looks like these students just got inadvertently smacked in the face with the perpetual foreigner stereotype -- the idea that no matter how long or how much or how far Asian Americans make our way in this country, we'll always be perceived as foreign -- never quite enough American.

In this case, whoever put together this flyer saw a photo of a bunch of Asians kids at Virginia Tech and erroneously assumed they must be international students. Not the kind from "here."

They Call Us Bruce - Episode 53: They Call Us Not Quite Not White (with Sharmila Sen)

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. Each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

On this episode, recorded live at the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance Summit, Jeff -- flying solo without me -- talks to Sharmila Sen, author of the book Not Quite Not White: Losing and Finding Race in America.