Greetings, people of the internet. It is time, once gain, 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 Rebecca Sun.
Who are you?
Rebecca Sun. I'm a journalist, currently for The Hollywood Reporter.
What are you?
Ooh, I've dreamed about how to answer this Angry Reader of the Week survey question for years! The straightforward response is that I'm an ABC. My parents were both born in China but as young children left the country with their respective families shortly after the Communist Revolution. My dad first went to Hong Kong before moving to the United States at age 16; my mom grew up in Taiwan.
Where are you?
In southern California now, where I ping-pong between weekdays working in L.A. and weekends practicing filial piety in Orange County. But I left my heart in New York, where I was fortunate enough to spend my formative 20s.
Where are you from?
Born and bred in the San Francisco Bay Area -- I was born in the East Bay, went to elementary school in the South Bay and high school in the Peninsula. I will never root for an L.A. sports team!
What do you do?
I cover the entertainment industry for a major trade publication, which means that much of my job has been writing about and for the wealthy, white and powerful. But I'm thankful that I've had the opportunity to use this platform to illuminate the overlooked and underrepresented too, whether that means explaining whitewashing (for the nth time!) in an open letter to Tilda Swinton or interviewing brilliant emerging talents like Gook filmmaker Justin Chon.
What are you all about?
Building bridges through the power of rhetoric. It sounds idealistic and in these times feels increasingly naive, but you have to do your best with the tools you have. I still (mostly) believe in appealing to people's sense of reason and I also want to amplify stories and storytellers who are reflecting the lives and experiences of people who don't get to see themselves acknowledged in mainstream culture every day.
What makes you angry?
So much, but right now it's the hypocrisy evinced by self-described Christians (I'm a believer myself) who have no compassion and empathy for the families being forcibly separated by our government on the southern border. I'm also frustrated and sad when various disenfranchised groups are pitted against one another, especially among and involving our own community. That only allows the status-quo hegemony to remain in place, unchecked. And finally, the pollution of journalism with propaganda is terrifying, and we already are reaping the dangerous consequences of both careless and willful dissemination of misinformation. It's a more crucial time than ever to check your sources in everything you share.
