asianonymous: faces in the media

last post?

2007-05-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

So the semester is winding down, and you might be asking yourself where you can go to find other sweet Asian-Am conscious action.

Well, just check out my links, I've been getting most of my fill off Angry Asian Man. Dude is ON POINT!

Plus, this summer I will officially be starting my internship with DC Style Magazine.com and maybe helping out some other blogs, so I won't really have the time to update this one.

Kinda sad, I know, but maybe one day I just might reconsider. For now though, it's been a fun ride.

Heroes & American Born Chinese.

2007-04-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight is gonna be a really sweet episode of Heroes on NBC! Hiro and Ando are going to be in the future, and we get to see how messed up things have gotten!

In other news, I'm really glad Gene Yang's "American Born Chinese" is a featured book on MySpace.

But what I hate is that people are writing it off as racist. Um, hello, have any of you bozos read it? It's not racist! It's my life!

'oldboy' and virginia tech.

2007-04-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

I was at Video Vault the other day doing stuff for my Final Project and Jim McCabe was talking to me about how Park Chan-Wook's "Oldboy" may have influence Seung Cho's VT rampage.

Then today I was searching for more information and came across this article portraying Cho holding a hammer. Yeah, I'd bet he probably saw the movie, but I don't know if it was a direct motivator though.

Still wondering if there will be any major backlash towards the Korean-American community.

World War Hulk Set To Explode

2007-04-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Civil War came and went (but it was amazing!), Captain America died (apparently, although the pages of New Avengers say otherwise), so what else can Marvel Comics possibly throw at its story-hungry batch of ravenous readers?

Well, in May it plans to launch its next big event: World War Hulk. This event has to do a lot with the super-secret Illuminati, a fictional society consisting of the hero community's best and brightest, who sent the Hulk into outer space after he destroyed much of Vegas. However a wormhole lands the not-so-jolly green giant into the gladitorial world of Sakaar, which resulted in the exciting Planet Hulk storyline, by the awesome Asian-American team of writer Greg Pak and artist Carlo Pagulayan.

Next month, Hulk will return to Earth, and judging from the first issue's cover (below), he looks kind of pissed.

Asian-America: "We Need Church Up In Here!"

2007-04-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

According to ModelMinority.com, Asian-American churches are facing what the article refers to as "a crisis of leadership," citing that newer pastors will be unable to cross multi-cultural, multi-generational gaps in their congregations due to inadquate training in seminaries.

Some of the reasons contributing to this are the decreasing numbers of Asian-Americans in seminary, and according to some young pastors, that "immigrant churches demonstrate a 'negative expression' of Christian spirituality for the next generation."

For the full read, check out the full article.

Angelina Jolie: Womb Raider

2007-04-04T10:51:00.002-07:00

This trailer by the First Church of Christ is pretty amazing, and too good not to share.

You can check out more films by the First Church of Christ, including an alternate, decidedly sadder ending to Star Wars: Episode II.

World's Tallest Man Finds Short-Distance Love

2007-04-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

Bao Xishun, at 56 years old and 7-ft 9-in, is listed in the Guinnes Book of World Records as the world's tallest man, is ready to get married!

His wife, 29-year-old Xia Shujuan, stands a mere 5-ft 6-in, but both are pretty good examples of breaking the stereotype of short Asian people.

You can read more about their story on Yahoo.

Delivering Racism By The Rickshawload

2007-04-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

Tucson-based restaurant Eggrolls Etc. is receiving flak by the local Asian-American community for recent ads saying: "Every order is delivered via rickshaw by first generation Chinese immigrants... We really should charge more for delivery, old Chinamen are getting expensive these days." Check out the full article here.

Pretty racist, I'd say. No matter how much time has passed people still think it's okay to poke fun at antiquated Asian stereotypes for a cheap laugh.

As if that weren't enough, Hot Pockets is using a similar theme in their advertising, primarily through the Hot Pockets Dojo website. Oh man, when is corporate America going to learn?!

Where My Ninjas At?!

2007-03-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been addicted to Ninja Warrior a Japanese reality/game show that currently airs on unofficial geek network G4tv.

The show's premise involves a variety of people, from salarymen to Olympic athletes, tackling various obstacle courses.

Makoto Nagano, a fisherman from a Japanese province, successfully cleared the final stage, ascending a giant tower in matter of seconds. Of course, in a previous competition he had missed the goal by hundredths of a second, so his victory below is all the more sweet:

From "Saw" to "Silence"

2007-03-17T17:48:00.000-07:00

Asian-Am director James Wan is at the helm of the new horror flick Dead Silence, which launched in theaters yesterday.

Wan spills the beans about killer ventriloquist dummies in this interview with ComingSoon.net. He is famous for directing acclaimed cult classic Saw.

As for me, I've never been a huge fan of the horror genre, but I'm pretty glad that directors such as Takashi Miike and Fruit Chan are getting a lot of buzz.

On a final note, happy St. Patrick's Day!

Abe Denies Military Involvement With "Comfort Women"

2007-03-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denied the military's involvement with coercing numerous Asian women into sexual servitiude during World War II.

Many of Japan's ex-sex slaves protest and spill their guts in this New York Times article.

In the meantime, rising star Kal Penn, mostly remembered from his title role in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, a film that did more for Asian-American stereotypes than Better Luck Tomorrow ever did, both in the box office and cultural impact-wise, is interviewed in Newsday, and expresses his desire to quell Indian-American stereotypes.

The article also notes other successful minority thespians beyond popular African-Americans. Males of East Asian-American descent however, are absent from the list.

Angelina Claims Another Asian Boy.

2007-03-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

Angelina Jolie plans to adopt a Vietnamese orphan (via Reuters). The actress sings: "I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was... To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause!"

In other news, Tak Toyoshima's webcomic Secret Asian Man has been signed by United Features Syndicate to be published daily, including Sundays. Official launch date of the strip's publication is May 7th, 2007, so start writing your local paper if you want your daily dose of SAM!

Finally, The Arcade Fire dropped their new album, Neon Bible today, and of course, indie music elitists and those fortunate enough to get an invite to OiNK's Pink Palace have had it for weeks, but after hearing it myself it's pretty good. But in the words of Levar Burton: "Don't take my word for it!" Read the review over at the preferred website for pretentious hipsters: Pitchfork Media.

My Take On Kenneth Eng.

2007-03-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

So lately the talk of the Asian-American blogosphere has been Kenneth Eng, whose racially charged article Why I Hate Blacks stirred up quite a controversy.

AsianWeek.com, the publication that originally ran the piece, has since provided a letter of apology and fired Eng.

Bloggers like the cats at Hyphen Blog and Angry Asian Man aren't satisfied with that, and the latter has said:

"Not that I was much of a reader before all this, but I've pretty much lost all respect for the paper. See ya, AsianWeek."

Ironically enough, Eng did not receive as much heat for a previous article, Why I Hate Asians, a self-hating diatribe.

Olympic Skier Reunites With Biological Father.

2007-02-28T12:03:00.000-08:00

Bronze-medal winner Toby Dawson, a Korean-American who was adopted by ski instructors in Vail, Co., was recently reunited with his father Kim Jae-su.

Growing up in northern Virginia, it's not uncommon to know many Asian-American people who were adopted by white families. This interesting family dynamic is summed up by the Olympic skier:

"My life until now has been confused," Dawson said. "I looked at my parents and I didn't look like them. Then I also felt if I went to Korea I didn't belong there... I felt like I was still lost, stuck between two different worlds."

This USA Today article chronicles how Dawson was lost in a South Korean market in Busan, his father's quest to find him, and finally how recognition from his Olympic victory made their reunion possible. There's also a video.

Maryland Immigration Bills Spark Protest.

2007-02-27T00:14:00.000-08:00

Just caught this off of WashingtonPost.com:

More than 1,200 Latino and Asian immigrants and their advocates took to the State House last night to press Maryland lawmakers to expand their rights and fight legislation they say would take them away.

The rally, coordinated by CASA of Maryland, drew many day laborers, restaurant workers, housekeepers, nannies and other low-wage earners who could not take time off from their jobs during the day. Organizers said their sixth annual lobby day in Annapolis reflected a sense of urgency over federal efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, although the Maryland General Assembly has historically rejected such legislation. (Whole article here.)

The rest of it is pretty short, some quotes from the Hispanic demonstrators, but this April 2006 article from The Baltimore Sun covers an entirely different perspective:

As a Pakistani, Hamid Khan stood out among the Hispanics he marched alongside at a recent immigration protest. When he told a demonstrator where he was from, the man asked what he was doing there.

Khan was surprised. (Whole article here.)

Interesting stuff indeed.

Hiro Is My Hero.

2007-02-26T23:50:00.000-08:00

I love Heroes. I love everything about it, the online graphic novels, the message boards, and Hiro's blog. I even love reading about spoilers because I get too excited to speculate sometimes!

That show has got me watching television again, it's a perfect combination of comic book fanboy fantasies with the so-called "real world," that is, people's reactions to experiencing super powers is done in a very logical way.

At least, everyone except for Hiro Nakamura (portrayed by Masi Oka). Hiro is a total fanboy who reacts to having the power to manipulate the space-time continuum with pure glee, but still adheres to the tried-and-true Spider-Man adage of "with great power, comes great responsibility."

Of course there are other characters that use their powers for personal gain, but Hiro's the one who feels obligated to do good. Plus, his characterization is perfect for a fanboy. He's kind of chubby, which is the antithesis of Korean-American stud Daniel Dae Kim (of Lost fame), but Daniel gets props from me for being one of People magazine's Sexiest People Alive.

The only thing bugging me is the need for an accent, although there is this scene from episode 4 where a future version of Hiro Nakamura appears without an accent:

All in all I guess I can't complain though. He's the most popular character on the show, and race aside there's the non-geeky Ando to avoid stereotyping, not to mention the character of Mohinder Suresh, an Indian-American scientist without an accent, an education, and had a short-lived fling with character Eden McCain. Heroes, I think you just made a milestone in Asian-American portrayal. He does drive a taxi for the first few episodes though. Bummer.

I was pleased to see George Takei come on the cast though, but once again was kind of disappointed to have him in a Japanese-speaking role, in the context of the show it works, and for Takei, speaking only in Japanese provided a challenge, at least according to article on PopMatters.com. All in all, I'm excited to see where the season is heading.

On a final note, here's a behind-the-scenes look at the show with Masi Oka.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Discrimination.

2007-02-25T23:26:00.000-08:00

Hollywood always seems to be at odds with various members of the Asian-American community. Granted, although Ellen DeGeneres called this year's Academy Awards "the most international Oscars ever," the diversity she spoke of mostly belonged to European countries, Hispanics, and of course African-Americans. Not surprising that the only Asian country being represented was Japan, both by Supporting Actress nominee Rinko Kikuichi (for her wonderfully submissive role as a Japanese deaf-mute girl in Babel) and awards presenter Ken Watanabe (a great actor in his own right).

It just looks like the Academy is ten years behind the civil rights movement. If you think about it, it's only been in the past five years that two African-Americans have won Best Actor and Best Actress (or is that "Best Female Actor" now?), and when you look at last year's winner for Best Picture, the racially-charged, thoroughly problematic Crash, it's plain to see there's still a glass ceiling located somewhere before that podium.

Personal issues with Crash aside, I am glad to see the growing appreciation for international movies, as expressed by the arduously long montage of (once again, mostly European) foreign films, with only two coming from Asian countries: Kurosawa's Rashomon and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

If anything, I learned I should go watch The Lives Of Others, which managed to beat out Pan's Labyrinth for Best Foreign Language Film this year. I'm really glad Guillermo Del Toro received a lot of credit for his film though, and that it did manage to nab Best Cinematography and Best Makeup. So I suppose Hollywood is gradually becoming equal opportunity, but I won't be holding my breath to see Kal Penn being nominated for The Namesake anytime soon.

Making Up For Lost Time.

2007-02-24T23:22:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't been updating as much as I should lately, so hopefully these next few entries can try to alleviate that.

Recently I read an article in the Washington Post about aspiring Olympic Ping-Pong player Han Xiao. Now, I really don't dig sports as much as your average guy probably should, but I found it pretty interesting.

Xiao, a 20-year-old prodigy, currently trains in Maryland and is already a highly-ranked player. It seems like he's a shoo-in for the Olympic team, and could be what puts the U.S. on the map, or rather, the table.

Wii News Channel.

2007-02-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

According to PoynterOnline, those fortunate enough to land themselves a Wii can now get their news from it, thanks to the system's wi-fi capabilities.

What significance does this have to do with this website in particular? Well, the picture in the link depicts a young Asian-American male playing with his heavier, and decidedly much geekier Caucasian friend. It seems like a scene ripped from an anime convention, but I don't really see this as playing into any stereotypical representations since well, most gamers really are that geeky.

Most of this is inferred from personal experience, I myself being a veteran of several anime/gaming conventions, addicted to G4TV, and knowing some friends who actually compete in the professional gaming circuit. Because yes, some people actually play games for a living.

All in all, I thought it was a pretty interesting article, although I'm not too sure how many would rather read about Democratic exploratory committees rather than play a few rounds of Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Despite its kitschy anime look, it makes being a doctor look super fun!

I mean come on:

Doesn't that look awesome?!

Anyway, I digress, lest I give into the stereotype of Asian-American doctors. And on that final note, I'll leave you with Lu Xun's article off modelminority.com: Why E.R. Will Never Have An Asian Male Doctor.

Not So Invisible Anymore.

2007-02-01T11:47:00.000-08:00

Asian-Americans are starting to be a more dominant demographic among American airwaves. This blog is a document of "asian sightings" as seen on television, print, and the Internet.

I decided to focus upon this topic because with hit shows like "Lost" and "Heroes" featuring Asian-American actors in prominent roles, Congressman David Wu's speeches about "faux Klingons in the White House," George Allen's "macaca" remarks, and the growing number of Asian-American writers, journalists, and artists, there has never been a better time to comment upon our representation in the media now that we are finally getting it!

So this is my task, along with modelminority.com and the APIA Blog Network, to document the representation of our people and communities to the general public, to hold companies accountable for stereotyping, misrepresentation, and question the ongoing identity crises in today's Asian-American societies.

The name "Asianonymous" stemmed from an
old digital poetry project I made for a class ages ago. The poems focused on a lack of identity among Asian-Americans and a lack of representation in the media. It also played on the myth that all Asian-American look alike, and would rather continue living their lives quietly and peacefully as opposed to standing up for what they deserve as regular human beings.

Let's make some noise.