Don't Use Asians to Maintain White Privilege

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Don't Use Asians to Maintain White Privilege
The Justice Department's latest accusation that Yale University discriminated against Asian American and white students is an attempt to pit marginalized students against each other, using Asian Americans as the conduit, experts say. Several Asian American activists and scholars criticized the DOJ's letter sent to the Ivy League institution on Thursday. In lumping white students with those of Asian descent, the administration is using Asian Americans as a pawn to dismantle affirmative action.

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Love and Dignity at the End of Life
In 1997, Vu was wrongfully incarcerated and sentenced to 60 years in prison -- for a crime that would normally get a 10-year sentence. His friend later confessed that he was at fault for the crime. Still serving his sentence, Vu was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with less than a year to live. Due to COVID-19, he is not allowed visits and is dealing with medical treatment that leaves him susceptible to infection. Vu's family and friends are mounting a case to appeal to the state to allow him to live out his days around his loved ones instead of dying in prison alone. The've launched a GoFundMe campaign asking for assistance for their legal case. Read more about Vu's situation here.

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How Does a Restaurant Like This Happen in 2020?
"How do you mess up this badly? White people making Asian food isn't anything new, but this specific concept is especially inappropriate and confusing because this place doesn't seem to honor tradition or innovation. You usually open a restaurant like this and pick a lane: authentic or innovative. But they’re playing it straight down the middle. It's not authentic at all; it’s not executed to amplify well-made traditional or modern Korean food close to its authentic form. But it's not very creative or innovative, either -- just watered-down Korean food for white comfort and white taste buds."

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Open Casting Call: Korean Male Proficient in Korean, Japanese and English
This casting call for an unspecified series on a "major streaming service" is seeking "a Korean male actor in his 20s-30s that is very proficient or fluent in Korean, English, and Japanese. The language requirement is important because the character grew up in Japan and Korea, and came to the United States as a young adult." The series will shoot in Korea, Japan and Canada, and talent must be available September 2020 to March 2021. It doesn't mention the name of the series, but I'd put my money on the adaptation of Min Jin Lee's novel Pachinko, which is being produced as a series for AppleTV.

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Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang and Charles Melton To Star In Rom Come 'Love Hard’
Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang and Charles Melton are set to star in the Netflix romantic comedy Love Hard. Written by Danny Mackey and Rebecca Ewing, the film is described as When Harry Met Sally meets Roxanne, and "follows an LA girl, unlucky in love, who falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for Christmas, only to discover that she's been catfished. But the object of her affection actually lives in the same town, and the guy who duped her offers to set them up IF she pretends to be his own girlfriend for the holidays." Hm. I feel like I already know where this is all going.

Ignore Asian American Voters at Your Own Peril

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Asian Americans Are the Fastest-Growing Group in the U.S. Electorate
Asian Americans are the fastest-growing segment of eligible voters out of the major racial and ethnic groups in the United States. More than 11 million will be able to vote this year, making up nearly 5% of the nation’s eligible voters (for this analysis, U.S. citizens ages 18 and older). They are also the only major racial or ethnic group in which naturalized citizens -- rather than the U.S. born -- make up a majority of eligible voters, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.

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Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite, 92, Last of the 'Monuments Women,' Dies
Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite, part of a team of 345 people from 14 countries -- collectively known as the Monuments Men and Monuments Women -- who preserved cultural treasures and artworks during and after World War II, died on Monday in Michigan, from complications of the coronavirus. She was 92.

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The Paper Tigers Official Teaser
Martial arts movie fans, check out the first official teaser trailer for The Paper Tigers, an indie kung fu flick written and directed by Tran Quoc Bao. The action dramedy follows a deadbeat dad, an insurance scammer, and an MMA coach who must avenge their Kung Fu master's death. But first they need to call in sick at their 9-to-5s. The film is currently in post-production. For more info and updates, check out the official website.

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Cambodian Rock Band Cast Recording
New York's Signature Theatre just released the cast recording of its production of Lauren Yee's Cambodian Rock Band, featuring songs by Dengue Fever. The play with music tells the story of a Khmer Rouge survivor returning to Cambodia for the first time in thirty years, as his daughter prepares to prosecute one of Cambodia's most infamous war criminals. Backed by a live band playing contemporary Dengue Fever hits and classic Cambodian oldies, this story toggles back and forth in time as father and daughter face the music of the past. If you've seen the show and love the music, or if you haven't seen the show and just like dope music, check it out. Get it on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, and wherever music is sold.

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Jimmy O Yang: Good Deal
Comedian Jimmy O Yang's standup special Good Deal is now available on Amazon Prime. Performed live at the Neptune Theater in Seattle, Good Deal covers Jimmy's hilarious interactions with fans, his thoughts on Matt Damon, and whether ghosts will haunt one-bedroom apartments.

Korean Restaurant Gets Hit with Racist Graffiti

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Racist Graffiti Scrawled on Michelin-Starred West Village Korean Restaurant
Last week in New York, racist graffiti was found scrawled on the window of a West Village Korean restaurant. Somebody wrote "Stop eating dogs" in black marker on the outside glass at Jeju Noodle Bar, which has been closed since March 16. Chef and owner Douglas Kim is calling it a hate crime. You're damn right it is.

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Vietnamese Nail Salons Donate Thousands of Masks, Gloves to Hospitals
"Fighting this virus is a responsibility for every one of us. We don't work in the medical field, so we cannot fight the virus directly but we want to share our responsibility and share what we have with the community."

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Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits
Hell yes! This one's for the serious Bruce fans. Criterion Collection has announced a comprehensive Blu-ray box set collection that define Bruce Lee's monumental legacy. Available July 14, Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits includes The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon and Game of Death, and a seven-disc truckload of special edition features.

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Jeff Chan to Direct New Line's Asian-Centered Rom-Com 'Singles Day'
Jeff Chan will direct New Line's romantic comedy Singles Day, with his filmmaker partner Andrew Rhymer producing. Lillian Yu's spec script centers on the Chinese anti-Valentine's Day holiday that takes place on November 11. The interconnected ensemble of romantic partners, friends and family will be predominantly of Asian descent.

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Jimmy O. Yang: Good Deal
Comedian Jimmy O. Yang's new one-hour standup special Good Deal will premiere on May 8, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Performed live at the Neptune Theater in Seattle, Good Deal covers Jimmy's hilarious interactions with immigrant parents, his thoughts on Matt Damon, and whether ghosts will haunt one-bedroom apartments.

When Harry Met Sally... starring Asian Americans!

Film Independent presents a live read of the classic romantic comedy, directed by Randall Park.


Steven Yeun and Maya Erskine (Photo: Getty Images/Film Independent)
The origins of the Netflix romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe, starring Randall Park and Ali Wong, can be directly and indirectly traced to When Harry Met Sally... Park, who also co-wrote and produced Always Be My Maybe, has cited the 1989 Billy Crystal/Meg Ryan rom-com classic as his favorite film.

More directly, in a 2016 New Yorker profile of Wong, the Baby Cobra comedian mentioned that she and Park had always wanted to make a romantic comedy together -- "our version of When Harry Met Sally..." Overhwelming fan reaction to that single line, near the end of a 4000+ word piece, is apparently what got the wheels turning to get Always Be My Maybe written, produced, and dropped into your Netflix queue.

The influence of When Harry Met Sally can be seen all over the blueprints of Always Be My Maybe and dozens of other films in the genre -- a genre that, let's face it, has been traditionally very very white. But what if When Harry Met Sally... had actually starred Asians? What if Harry and Sally, rom-com icons, had been played by Asian American actors? On Sunday, we got a glimpse of what that might look like, and it was amazing.

Asian AF Presents: The Stars of Crazy Rich Asians

Monday, August 6 at UCB Inner Sanctum Cafe & Stage in Los Angeles.



Comedy fans in Los Angeles, you do not want to miss this one. In celebration of the upcoming theatrical release of Crazy Rich Asians, our friends at Asian AF have put together the Crazy Rich Asians Comedy Show, featuring standup from the stars of the Warner Bros. romantic comedy. The lineup includes Ken Jeong, Ronny Chieng, Nico Santos and Jimmy O. Yang, who are all part of the movie's cast.

This is going to be a blast. It's happening Monday, August 6 at the UCB Inner Sanctum Cafe & Stage in Los Angeles. Admission is free! But seating is first come, first served. So get there, and there early!

[UPDATE: Response to the show has apparently been pretty crazy, so in order to ensure a safe and orderly evening, they're instituting a RSVP list. Reserve yourself here.]

[UPDATE:] Okay, the show sold out in like five minutes.

Here are some more details about the show:

First Look at the Crazy Rich Asians Movie

New footage teases the upcoming full trailer for hotly anticipated romantic comedy.



At long last, here it is! Your first glimpse at the Crazy Rich Asians movie. The official full trailer drops on Monday, but Warner Bros. is first giving us a little tease of the hotly anticipated summer romantic comedy.

Based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians follows Rachel Chu, an American-born Chinese economics professor, who travels to her boyfriend Nick's hometown of Singapore for his best friend's wedding. Before long, she learns his secret: Nick's family is rich. Crazy Rich. Not only is his family impossibly wealthy, he's perhaps the most eligible bachelor in Asia, and every single woman in his ultra-rarefied social class is incredibly jealous of Rachel and wants to bring her down.

Crazy Rich Asians is directed by Jon M. Chu, written by Adele Lim and Peter Chiarelli, and stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Jimmy O. Yang, Chris Pang, Sonoya Mizuno and more.

Take a look:

Angry Reader of the Week: Jimmy O. Yang

"...better to disappoint my parents for a couple of years than to disappoint myself for the rest of my life."



Good people of the internet! It is 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 Jimmy O. Yang.