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. (Almost) 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.
In this episode, we welcome our old friend, writer and educator Scott Kurashige, author of American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism. He talks about his personal journey into Asian American activism and movement scholarship; the erasure of anti-Asian racism and colonial violence, and why it seems we are constantly learning and re-learning this history; and why legislating and prosecuting hate crimes isn't necessarily the answer for multiracial solidarity. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of writing American Peril.
A Vietnamese immigrant died in government custody last week, marking the latest detainee death -- the 46th person to die in federal custody -- during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. 55-year-old Tuan Van Bui died at the Miami Correctional Center in Indiana. According to ICE, "onsite staff discovered Bui unresponsive." The cause of death is under investigation.
"Calling truth a casualty of war may imply, however, that truth survives between wars. But the reality is that militarism and the warfare state are sustained by lies which stretch over decades. The ideology of American exceptionalism is driven by the myth that U.S. intervention plays a unique role in spreading freedom and democracy around the globe. Keeping the public uninformed and miseducated has been a key tactic to tamp down dissent."
Mia Wenjen and Jolene Gutiérrez both grapple with the cruelty of internment and family separation in their new picture books Barbed Wire Between Us and Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp, respectively. The two authors spoke about depicting difficult subject matter for young readers, carrying on the legacy of late author and collaborator Minoru Tonai, and the importance of remembering painful pieces of history.
Emmy-winning Beef creator Lee Sung Jin is part of the team taking the latest crack at the reboot of X-Men for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The project, which re-introduces the mutant superhero team into the MCU, reunites Lee with Jake Schreier and Joanna Calo, who worked on the screenplay for last year's Thunderbolts.
The Grandmaster: Tony Leung
From Hard Boiled to Happy Together to Infernal Affairs to, of course, In the Mood for Love, Film at Lincoln Center presents The Grandmaster: Tony Leung, a career-spanning retrospective that gives audiences the chance to rediscover, on the big screen, why the world continues to fall for Tony Leung time and time again.
Kpop Demon Hunters took home two trophies at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night, capping off a triumphant awards season run for Netflix's most watched movie of all time. "To all the fans who got us here and for all of those who look like me, sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this. But it is here, and that means that the next generations don't have to go longing," said co-director Maggie Kang said while accepting the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. "This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere."
The team behind the movie's record-breaking hit anthem "Golden" won Best Original Song, becoming the first K-pop song to win an Oscar. "Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics," said EJAE, who co-wrote the song with Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park. "I’m so proud. And I realized, the song, this award is not about success; it’s about resilience."
Speaking of "Golden," here's that dazzling performance of the Oscar-winning song by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami -- the ladies of HUNTR/X -- on the Academy Awards stage, which included pansori performers, hanbok-clad dancers, traditional drummers, and an army of audience members wielding light sticks. Honestly, until I saw it, I didn't realize I had been waiting to see this moment since I was kid.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw won the Oscar for Best Cinematography for Sinners, making history as the first woman ever to win in the category. Arkapaw, who is of Filipino and Creole descent, is only the fourth woman nominated for the award, and the first woman of color. During her speech, Arkapaw asked for all the women in the audience to stand, saying, "I don’t get here without you guys."
Today, several members of Congress introduced a resolution commemorating the five-year remembrance of the Atlanta spa shootings. U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath of Georgia, Grace Meng of New York, Judy Chu of California and Nikema Williams of Georgia announced the measure, marking the anniversary of the 2021 attack, in which a gunman killed eight people, including six Asian women, and injured another person during shootings at two spas and a massage parlor in the Atlanta area. The violence occurred during a nationwide surge in anti-Asian hate crimes linked to rhetoric blaming Asian Americans for the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Five years after the Atlanta spa shootings, our city still carries the grief of the eight lives stolen in an act of anti-Asian hate," McBath said. "That tragedy shook our community and left lasting pain for the families, loved ones, and neighbors who continue to mourn."
"While individuals may harbor unconscious bias, this calculated form of erasure stems from the willful amnesia at the core of the U.S. empire. The ideology of American exceptionalism set in place the myth that the United States was born free and uniquely destined to spread liberty and democracy, acting solely out of virtue. Under Donald Trump, the U.S. government is brutishly acting to rewrite history to promote white nationalism. Overcoming this willful amnesia is a crucial first step in addressing the problem. We cannot expect better policies or leadership to stop anti-Asian violence until we develop a better understanding of its historical and contemporary causes and manifestations. But power emanates from historical consciousness. It can reshape collective identity and foster the shared awareness necessary to build multiracial coalitions linking our struggles to transformative movements for social justice."
Rep. Ilhan Omar's guest for the State of the Union address Tuesday night said she was hospitalized and arrested during President Donald Trump's speech. Aliya Rahman was removed from the chamber and spent several hours in jail following what she describes as an aggressive arrest by Capitol Police -- all for silently challenging Trump during the speech. "There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are sit down and stand up," says Rahman. "I was arrested for standing up."
Arden Cho, EJAE, May Hong, Audrey Nuna, Ji-young Yoo, and Rei Ami -- the voices behind the Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated blockbuster Kpop Demon Hunters -- go head-to-head with the Wings of Death on the latest episode of Hot Ones Versus. They have two choices: tell the truth, or suffer the wrath of the Last Dab. Whoever eats the most wings, loses! Highly entertaining.
A member of the California State Assembly has authored a bill that would establish May 17 as Bruce Lee Day, an annual, statewide observance honoring the martial arts icon. If adopted, it would make Bruce Lee the first Chinese American commemorated with a day in California State Law.
Not every K-beauty brand is benefiting from the category's viral success. In his own words, Good Light founder David Yi shares his story—and why, after five years, he's made the agonizing decision to shutter his brand.
Pre-order this book! Five years after the Atlanta-area spa shootings -- and amid renewed national debates over hate crimes, immigration, state violence, and American imperialism -- historian and activist Scott Kurashige offers a sweeping new history of anti-Asian racism in the United States in American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism. Hits shelves on April 7.
"Model minority ideology will keep biting us in the ass until we demolish it for good."
Greetings! Once again, it's time for everyone 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 Scott Kurashige.
