Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture » asian-american

What’s in an Asian American Name?

Guest Contributor — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:00:43 +0000

by Guest Contributor Theresa Celebran Jones, originally published at Hyphen

I’m a full-time remote worker. Most of the people I work with on a daily basis have never seen my face, and know me only by my emails and my phone voice. I often wonder about what these people picture, of the face they try to attach to my name. And I wonder if they’d be surprised to know I’m Asian.

I’d been a little conflicted about my name since getting married (as evidenced by this comment I posted on this blog long ago), but my maiden name did not sound particularly ethnic either, and since the baby came before the wedding, I had, in my mind, changed my name to match my family’s — not just my husband’s.

Before all that, my husband (then boyfriend) and I had tons of added baggage about naming our daughter. We didn’t want to give our child a name too similar to any family members, and we wanted to steer clear of any names on a Top 100 list. We wanted to ensure our kid wouldn’t be stuck in a class with five other people of the same name, and have to take on an awful nickname like “Mike Jones 2.”

Additionally, I wanted a meaningful Asian-sounding name that would flow well with Jones, the 5th most common surname in the United States. Truthfully, and probably because I went to a predominantly white school system in the 80’s and 90’s, I was picturing a teacher reading “Firstname Jones?” off of a roster on the first day of school, seeing an Asian kid raise his or her hand, then saying, “That’s not funny; where is Firstname Jones?”

When our daughter was born in December of 2007, we had already agreed on a name that miraculously melded Filipino and Korean cultures. In one culture, it was the name of an ancient goddess; in another, it translated to “new one.” The name had come easily to us and it fit her perfectly.

Well, we’re expecting our second child’s arrival in February of next year and having this debate all over again. We haven’t started seriously considering any names yet, as it’s still too early to tell if we’re having a boy or girl, but I’m revisiting all the questions I’d previously asked myself about what made a good name.

I’m unexpectedly having to face some old prejudices too.

Of the boys’ names we’ve thrown around so far, we’ve strangely been agreeing on Biblical ones. And we’re still trying to steer clear of any Top 100 names, meaning no Aidens, Jadens, Haydens, Bradens, Maddoxes, Jaxons, Hunters, or Camerons.

But back then, I was concerned about choosing a name that sounded “too white.” Admittedly, I wouldn’t have had a problem naming our child “Michael” if we had a Korean last name — even if it were as common as Lee.

I’m tempted to drop the “ever-so-slightly ethnic” rule of we end up having a boy, but mostly because it really narrows the pool of desirable names. I felt (and still sort of feel) that more liberties can be taken when naming a girl. Although I have no evidence to back this up, my extended family has told me that boys with “weird” names would be more susceptible to ridicule, more subject to beat-downs. But this also comes with the baggage of growing up Asian American in a predominantly white suburb.

And maybe it is because of those ingrained prejudices, but when first considering names, I had come to think that those just-different-enough boys’ names — something like “Bayani Jones” — somehow sounded un-masculine, even though Bayani means something as badass as “hero” and is considered a “truly Filipino” name predating Spanish colonization.

I find it mostly troubling that I think it would make a beautiful name for a girl-child, but not for a boy, and it is documented as a boys’ name. I’m trying to unpack why I feel that way, although I should mention that Bayani did get vetoed by my husband, simply because he didn’t like the name.

If you’re a parent, did you consider or struggle with the idea of giving your child an ethnic name? Do you think this is an issue unique to third-generation babies, or multi-ethnic households?

“The Census: Get Counted” PSA by Arowana Films

Guest Contributor — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:01:34 +0000

By Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man

Last night, I filled out my Census form. Have you filled yours out yet? Here’s a fun PSA just launched by our friends at Arowana Films, who try to break it down in a way people can understand: it all comes down to $$$.

Asian Americans are one of the most likely groups to throw out their Census forms. This only hurts our own community in the long run. Less numbers, less money. Let’s get it right this decade and make sure we GET COUNTED!

The PSA features folks like Far East Movement, Wong Fu, Randall Park and more. With goofy voiceover work from Anson Ho. Watch it here. And spread the word! In 2010, make sure the Asian American community gets counted.

Secret Identities Superhero Contest Winner: Hush

Guest Contributor — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00:19 +0000

By Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man

I apologize that this took so long… At long last, here’s the final winner from our Secret Identities Superhero Contest, where readers were asked to submit their own original idea for an Asian American superhero. We would have posted this sooner, but understandably, superstar comic book artist Bernard Chang is a busy man. So without further ado, here is Hush by Juli Martin, as rendered above by Bernard Chang.

EDITORS’ NOTES

We apologize for the long delay, but we were set on having Bernard Chang, the superstar artist behind Greg Pak’s THE CITIZEN in SECRET IDENTITIES, bring this last winning hero to life–in part because he also happens to be the artist for DC’s WONDER WOMAN, making him the perfect guy to visualize this powerful female hero. Unfortunately, as you might guess, Bernard’s a busy guy!

As for why we picked Hush as a winner in our contest: We loved the uniqueness of Hush’s background–how many other lesbian, transracially adopted superheroines are there in comics? Not enough!–and the rich emotions at play in her characterization. We did end up editing aspects of her power and origin, however, both to make her code name make sense and to bring her power away from that of other characters.

We also liked the notion of turning a vulnerability into a power: In this edit, Jane goes from self-imposed isolation and emotional repression to becoming superhumanly empathic; we thought that it was really interesting that such an ability would turn her into a formidable opponent. Think about it: If you could instantly read a person’s emotions and responses, and react with exactly the right physical or verbal cue, you’d be both a killer hand-to-hand combat artist and a devastating manipulator, wouldn’t you?

All in all, a great character, like the other three we discovered through this contest. With any luck, this won’t be the last we’ve heard of any of them!

HERO DESCRIPTION

Abandoned as a newborn, Jane was adopted from Korea by a wealthy white couple at four months. After unexpectedly having two biological children, Jane’s adoptive parents feel they have no use for her, and when she comes out as bisexual at age 13, they kick her out. She is shuffled through the foster care system until aging out, at which point she moves to The Center, a cooperative home for homeless LGBTQ youth. Abandoned so many times, she now calls herself “Jane Doe.”

Jane is a queer femme woman, slim build, 20. Her black hair is cut choppy and asymmetrical, streaked with electric blue. Her style is edgy and futuristic, in black, gray and blue.

Corrupt governmental wheeling and dealing put The Center in the hands of multibillionaire Elliot Rush, whose biotech firm GenFX needs secret human testing. Believing the residents of The Center are “throwaway” people – people no one will miss – Rush uses them as human guinea pigs.

GenFX’s serum takes prexisting traits in the host and amplifies them to a superhuman level, operating under the theory that if a body has a predisposition towards a certain ability, enhancing that trait will give the individual intuitive control over it. Jane has a keen emotional awareness that allows her to read people, situations, feelings and intentions, so when exposed to the serum, her body reacts by amplifying her existing emotional intelligence. She becomes telepathic, and in addition to being able to read others’ minds, she can speak to them in their thoughts and share images or sounds. When experiencing strong emotions, these feelings “radiate,” positively or negatively affecting those around her.

Because it is not immediately known what powers are developing within each subject (and how), Jane’s telepathy allows her to learn more about Rush’s intentions than subjects were supposed to know. Using her abilities, Jane informs the others that Rush plans to destroy them once he has the data he needs. She and the others secretly develop their powers and plan an escape. Their plans are interrupted, however, when Rush, suspicious of Jane, separates her from the others.

While being held by Rush, Jane learns that he has called for armed reinforcements. She pleads with the others to get out and leave her behind, but they refuse. Instead, they risk everything to rescue her, and when the battle is over, Jane feels claimed and protected for the first time. From that moment on, her commitment to the others and ensuring their safety is solidified.

Rush manages to escape the fighting, but not without sustaining severe burns in the process, and slips into a coma. When he awakes, he has been disenfranchised by his company and insane from a virus in his skin grafts which ate away the logic and reason portions of his brain. Engraged, he begins to assemble a crew of bio-engineered villains to seek revenge and destroy all who inhibit his rise to power.

. . . . .

And there you go. Congratulations to Juli and the rest of the winners. And a big thanks to Bernard and the other Secret Identities artists who contributed such great work to this contest and made it happen.

By the way, I just heard some very cool news about the next Secret Identities book. Here’s the skinny on Volume 2, straight from co-editor Jeff Yang:

Sales on vol 1 have been excellent–in fact, our publisher, The New Press, said we were the one of the best-selling books they released last year, and we’re now headed for our third printing. Given that, they outreached to us and told us they definitely want to do volume 2. We’ve told them that if we were doing it, we’d want to do it bigger and better–more pages, more color–and to both continue some of the storylines/characters from the first book, as well as introduce new ones. As for the hook for the new book: As we’ve hinted at in the past, the natural extension of a book about Asian American superheroes is a book that looks at the dark side of the mask.
So volume two will contain stories that explore Asian American super-baddies, seeking to add authenticity and richness to the portrayal of villainy (though not necessarily sympathy). In the process, we hope to disrupt some of the tired stereotypes of evildoers that we’ve seen through the years–the one-dimensional gangsters and Fu Manchu clones with no motivation and no internal life. After all, superheroes are nothing without great supervillains. (Where would Batman be without the Joker? Spider-Man without The Green Goblin? Superman without Luthor, or X-Men without Magneto?)

Great to hear that the first book has done so well, with brisk sales and multiple printings. But even better, that they’re in the planning stages for another volume. The editors are currently working on the outline for the book, so they’re not yet ready to accept submissions. But I’m sure that will come soon enough. Optimistically, they’re aiming for a Spring 2011 release. To learn more about the anthology, visit the Secret Identities website here.

Freaking love this target commercial

Guest Contributor — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:00:04 +0000

by Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man

Spotted this awesome Target commercial on the tube last week and absolutely fell in love with it. I just watched the 30-second spot like five times in a row. It features Shannon, a Cool Asian Mom doing all sorts of Cool Asian Mom stuff for her family (with the help of products she purchased at Target, of course). She does it all…

Playing tetherball, working at the travel agency, beatboxing for her groovin’ kid, taking fabulous all-American family portraits. Sure — nobody’s mom is this cool, but it’s so friggin’ cute, you cannot resist. It’s just refreshing to see a nationally-televised commercial where Asians are not the butt of the joke.

In McDonald’s New Japanese Ad Campaign, The Wacky Foreigner Joke’s on Americans

Guest Contributor — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:00:33 +0000

by Guest Contributor Jen, originally published at Disgrasian

Put on your glasses or pop in your contacts and get a good look at the picture below, because this is what karma looks like:

Meet “Mr. James,” new face of a McDonald’s ad campaign in Japan. Mr. James is a Wacky Foreigner in Japan who speaks broken Japanese, wears the archetypal nerd uniform of glasses, a short-sleeved shirt with a tie, and ill-fitting khaki pants, has bad teeth, and–we’re only guessing here–is probably someone who’s never gotten laid. Sound familiar?

Clockwise from top left: Wacky Hiro Nakamura from Heroes, Wacky Engrish-Speaking Kentucky Fried Chicken-Grilled Chicken Lovers, I Survived a Japanese Game Show‘s Wacky Host Rome Kanda, Wacky Engrish-Speaking Six Flags Guy

Oh right. Usually THAT GUY has slanty-eyes.

Interestingly, there are some foreigners and non-natives in Japan riled up about this humiliating depiction of themselves, going so far as to compare Mr. James to Stepin Fetchit. Because there aren’t enough positive depictions of beautiful and sophisticated foreigners selling things to the Japanese, apparently. Arudou Debito, née David Aldwinckle, an American who’s become a naturalized Japanese citizen, writes:

“I think a strongly-worded letter from registered NPO FRANCA to McDonald’s USA HQ regarding the issues of stereotyping here would be warranted. Hell, you think McD USA would start putting up a full-body “ching-chong-chinaman” with funny glasses and protruding teeth, saying ‘Me likee McFlied Lice.’ You think that would fly over there? If not, it shouldn’t be allowed over here.”

Guess he hasn’t seen this Six Flags commercial, which began running last year, or this KFC commercial for their new Grilled Chicken, which has been running all summer.

Karma’s one wacky bitch, isn’t it?

[Japan Probe: Mr. James: McDonald's Japan has a gaijin clown]
[Mr. James's Official Blog]

Thanks, Josh!

Update: Jen received a lot of pushback on this post from people who, well, generally don’t think about racism unless it happens to them. In a post titled “We Don’t Care About White People,” Jen responds:

But let’s get back to me not caring. I provided examples of Asian versions of Mr. James in my other post so as not to say, And now we’re even, but rather, Open your eyes, racial stereotyping is all around us, and actually, it’s often tolerated or ignored or dismissed, and yes, it’s sometimes even tolerated or ignored or dismissed by YOU. And that’s why I call Mr. James the face of karma. He’s getting people who don’t want to think about race issues or don’t have to think about race issues to think about them. He’s getting people who can’t be bothered or don’t see what’s wrong with stereotypes so long as they’re stereotypes of other people–the very thing Japan Probe accuses me of–to suddenly declare that negative stereotyping is bad all-around and, by golly, everyone oughta do something about that.
Well good. It’s about time more people did.

DISGRASIAN OF THE WEAK! Asian-American Women Most Likely to Attempt Suicide

Guest Contributor — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:00:48 +0000

by Guest Contributor Jen, originally published at Disgrasian

Asians love being the best. But here’s one superlative we don’t love–Asian-American women are most likely to think about and attempt suicide, more than all other Americans, according to a new University of Washington study.

The study, published in the current issue of the Archives of Suicide Research, found that 15.93 percent of U.S.-born Asian-American women have contemplated suicide in their lifetime, as opposed to 13.5 percent for all Americans, and that suicide attempts among us were also higher than the general population, at 6.29 percent vs. 4.6 percent. It did not attempt to explain why Asian-American women have more suicidal tendencies, however:

“It is unclear why Asian-Americans who were born in the United States have higher rates of thinking about and attempting suicide,” said Aileen Duldulao, lead researcher of the study.

But if you’re an Asian-American woman who has struggled with depression her whole life like I have, it’s not unclear to you, is it? You don’t need this study, published in 2007, to tell you that we own some of the highest rates of depression and suicide because we’re pushed to achieve. Or this one, published in 2008, to tell you that Asian-Americans are less likely than any other group to seek treatment for mental health disorders. You know this already. You know it in your bones. Personally, not scientifically.

You know it because, growing up, there was no such thing as “depression.” Because feeling blue always had something to do with you “not trying hard enough.” And feeling like you wanted to yell at somebody or start crying in class over nothing was the result of “not having enough self-control.” And wanting to feel better simply involved “doing better.” How could you be unhappy when your father hugged you? (His father beat him with a stick.) How could you feel sad when you had your own bedroom, your own phone, call-waiting for Christ’s sake? (Your mother had her ancestral home stolen from her, pillaged, plundered, sold for scrap. Top that.) What is this “therapy”? What are these “drugs”? If you really think you have problems, could you please keep quiet about them? Better not to advertise your own failure. Best to keep silent, lock up those feelings in shame, and, while you’re at it, lose a few pounds, your moonface is starting to look fat.

I don’t really know how to end this post without sounding like a PSA. I’ve been in therapy for 12 years, and I’ve been medicated for all kinds of things–anxiety, insomnia, depression. At times, I think my family has viewed me as “the crazy one” because I’ve been open with them and the rest of the world about how I’m dealing with my depression. And you know what? I don’t give a fuck. On the subject of mental health, I not only talk, I tend to ramble, because keeping silent and being ashamed of it, that’s really the crazy thing.

[Science Daily: US-born Asian-American Women More Likely To Think About, Attempt Suicide, Study Finds]

(Image Credit: Angry Asian Girl)

Parsing the Politics of Caricature, e.g., Rich Lowry Is a Moron

Guest Contributor — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:00:56 +0000

by Guest Contributor Jeff Yang, originally published at the Secret Identities Blog

Oh, man. As if we needed another reminder as to why cartoon art is a medium that can be used for evil as easily as good, comes now the next installment in a series of racist National Review covers trafficking in Asian stereotypical imagery.

You’ll remember, of course, that back in March 1997, the National Review released the infamous “Manchurian Candidates” cover seen here (which, due to the fact that the Internet was just a tot when that slice of tripe hit the newsstands, I was only able to find in greyscale — embedded in a journal article written by Darrell Hamamoto, w00t!)

Asian Americans understandably reacted with stunned rage at the depiction of then-President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Vice-President Al Gore in stereotypical Chinese garb, their features warped into exaggerated Asian caricatures (slanted eyes, buck teeth).

The National Review was unrepentant in the face of charges that the cartoon was offensive and inflammatory, responding, in part, that:

“Caricatures and cartoons … require exaggerated features and, where a social type is portrayed, a recognizable stereotype. Thus, a cartoonist who wants to depict an Englishman will show him wearing a monocle and bowler hat, a Frenchman in beret and striped jersey, a Russian in fur hat, dancing the gopak, etc.”

The first point can’t entirely be disputed: The cartoon medium often uses simplified, exaggerated features for emphasis, for satirical purpose and for ease in depicting broad emotion.

But it’s one thing to exaggerate features — Obama’s protruding ears invariably become giant jug-handles when he’s rendered, for instance. (The Mike Ramirez cartoon below actually essentializes Obama’s appearance down to his ears — and still manages to make its point clear.)

It’s another to incorporate racialized features that weren’t there to begin with: For instance, consider these images — a caricature of Obama from an “Obama Waffles” package, as gleefully sold during the right-wing “Values Voters Summit,” and a close-up of Obama’s official portrait from his days as Senator from Illinois.

Apart from being overtly racist, the caricature on the box doesn’t remotely resemble Obama — with its pop-eyed expression, darkened skin, enormous, toothy grin and thick lips, it looks a lot more like…well, the picture below can speak for itself, I guess.

Going back to the National Review “Manchurian Candidates” cover now, what you see is that there’s more going on in the images of the Clintons and Gore than the typical flamboyant exaggeration used in cartooning. In addition to Bill’s bulbous nose and Gore’s pursed, almost sneering lips (both typical of their respective caricatures), you see…hmm…narrowed eyes…oversized, bucked teeth…a Fu Manchu moustache — hey, just about every racist synecdoche in the anti-Asian propaganda library! (At least the stuff that belongs above the waist.)

Just to be clear here: It’s one thing if they were simply drawn in Chinese clothing or doing quaint folkdances, as suggested by the National Review in its disgenuous response. That would arguably be in-bounds satirically (regardless of whether you find the political point being made to be fair or accurate).

But layering yellowface-propaganda memes into the picture transforms the caricature from an act of humor into an act of war. The images above are examples of what I’m talking about.

Even if you’re insensitive enough to racial propriety to want to give white people Asian features in order to prove a political point, that simply isn’t what Asian people look like, and never has been. The squinty, buck-toothed Asian person with bright yellow skin and eyes angled at ten minutes to two does not exist in nature. However much you soften it, those false features are in fact weapons of mass destruction, artifacts of an era where it was used to dehumanize the enemy enough so they could be killed without compunction.

For that reason, there’s no acceptable way they should be invoked in a casual popular context, any more than minstrel stereotypes or anti-semitic “Elders of Zion” caricatures have a place in everyday culture. Discouragingly, they remain persistent in media today — from entertainment (see left: Rob Schneider in 2007′s “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry“) to news and commentary. Well, actually not most news and commentary — it’s really only the profoundly racist right-wing organs that still blithely fart out the yellowface imagery. Like, for instance…the National Review.

This cover to the right is the current issue of the magazine, on stands now. As you can see, it depicts Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as the Buddha. Despite the fact that Sotomayor is Catholic and a Latina woman. While the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, was Hindu (before the whole Bodhi tree thing), and an Asian man.

The caption, “The Wise Latina,” frankly offers no real f*cking explanation for the image. I suppose it’s because the Buddha was wise, although you could just as easily have depicted Sotomayor as King Solomon if you’re looking for a legendary figure of wisdom; maybe it’s because to the raving radical Right, Buddha is seen as a proto-hippie and probably a pansy too, while King Solomon, that guy threatened to cut babies in half — not very pro-life, but not “empathetic” either. Badass!

But seriously: If they wanted a figure of wisdom and empathy, why not caricature Sotomayor as someone who’s of the right gender and a coreligionist, at least: Mother Teresa? That would have preserved the necessary level of corrosive offensiveness, right? Too close to home?

Whatever. As it is, the cover is just stupid and meaningless, as well as offensive — to women, to Latinas, to Buddhists of all backgrounds (note: The National Review guys are of the same ilk that went ballistic when Rolling Stone depicted Kanye as Jesus), and yes, to Asians. But it bears mentioning that it registers as EPIC FAIL even in the offending Asians category.

Because, unlike their “Manchurian Candidates” cover, where at least they picked the correct racist stereotypes to parade, the “Wise Latina” cover puts the hideously slanted eyes and bucked teeth of East Asian yellowface stereotype onto an image inspired by a Northern Indian man of Brahmin descent.

In fact, to the left here you can see the original image of Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha that the artist used as a reference (it’s actually quite a popular icon). Notice any differences?

As usual, National Review has been quick with a completely absurd and totally disingenuous retort to the appalled reactions they’ve been getting from, you know, everyone. From editor-in-chief Rich Lowry:

“I take it the theory is that we don’t think Latinas can be wise so we had to make her look somewhat Asian. Or something like that. What these people don’t understand is the entire concept of caricature (or of a joke). Caricature always involves exaggerating someone’s distinctive features, which is all that our artist Roman Genn did with Sotomayor. Oh, well. Keep it humorless, guys, keep it humorless.”

No, Rich, the theory is that you took a Latina woman and turned her into a North Indian man with horribly racist East Asian-stereotypical features because you guys are clueless morons. And actually, that’s kind of funny, in that Lowry and the National Review don’t quite get that the joke, ultimately, is on them.

Silicon Valley’s Bamboo Ceiling

Guest Contributor — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:02:22 +0000

By Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man

Here’s an interesting article in the San Jose Mercury News that pokes some holes in the generally accepted notion of “success” among Asian Americans living and working in Silicon Valley: Despite their success, Asians not rising to heights of Silicon Valley’s corporate world.

A survey of local executives reveals that while Asians make up more than a third of the work force at some of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies, they only represent about 6 percent of board members and about 10 percent of corporate officers of the Bay Area’s 25 largest companies.

According to a new study, among the 25 largest Bay Area companies by revenue, 12 had no Asian board members, and five had no Asian corporate officers. Despite the growing prominence of Asians at Silicon Valley tech companies, they’ve made no gains in the share of seats on the boards of large tech companies since 1999. What’s up with that?

It’s the dreaded Bamboo Ceiling, of course. You’d think that of all places, the Bay Area, where Asians are at least 23 percent of the work force at Silicon Valley companies like Cisco Systems, Intel, Sun Microsystems and eBay, we’d see more Asians at the upper levels of management. But it’s
the same old story!

–
Photo of Palo Alto employees Buck Gee and Wesley Hom from the San Jose Mercury News

Menace II Society (Allen and Albert Hughes, 1993)

Latoya Peterson — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:16:47 +0000

by Guest Contributor Geo, originally published at Prometheus Brown

Sixteen years after its release, its easy to look back and pick apart Menace II Society, even easier to accept it nostalgically as the dope film we all thought it was back then. But the feeling of being in your early teens watching this flick, surrounded by folks who bang (pause) or did knucklehead shit remains, and it’ll always be a classic to me. Moreso these days for being a historical document than a dope film.

There are plenty of memorable scenes in the film affectionately known as Menace. But today, on the 17th anniversary of the 1992 LA uprsising/Sa-I-Gu, I’ll dwell on one in particular: the opening scene. For those not familiar: two young Black men, Caine and O-Dog, stop for some 40s at the cornerstore run by a Korean couple in South Central L.A. The lady spies em and utters the first of the films countless immortal quotables, “Hurry up and buy.” After a tense exchange at the counter, the Korean dude makes a fatal mistake, uttering the second quotable under his breath, “I feel sorry for your mother.” O-Dog turns around and asks “what you say about my momma?” before murdering them and robbing the joint as Caine watches in exasperation. O-Dog grabs the surveillance tape as a souvenir he’d later show to the homies.

A powerful, graphic scene (except for the fact that you can see the filming crew in the mirrors: FAIL). But what did the Hughes brothers intend to say with this? That Koreans are racists who deserve this cinematic execution, perhaps a fantasy retribution for Latasha Harlins? Or to jar and shock the viewer into feeling sympathy for the Korean couple who are merely trying to get by in the same fucked up conditions that the Black community lives in? Does it advocate or justify violence, or does it condemn it? Whatever their intent, this is the effect on others I saw: no sympathy for the Koreans, fanning the flames of Black/Asian tension (to this day: look at the comments on the YouTube clip) and convincing everybody that Larenz Tate is actually a G.

This scene reminds speaks volumes about how much those tensions still remained after April 29, 1992. In retrospect, mainstream media did everything to fuel this tension, which was a very real thing. And still is, even though it’s no longer evening news material. Too much of it bought into that myth that Koreans (and all Asians) and Black folk are just natural enemies like that. I refuse to think so, and though I question the Hughes brothers’ intent with this scene, I still find it telling and deserving of revisiting, to ask ourselves: how far have we really come?

Secret Identities: Parry Shen Unmasked

Guest Contributor — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:00:48 +0000

by Guest Contributor Jenn, originally published at Reappropriate
The Backstory: This interview is the first in a series of interviews with the editors of Secret Identities, an anthology of comic short stories about Asian American superheroes from Asian American writers and artists. Secret Identities hit bookshelves last week, and in case you haven’t heard, it’s awesome.
In This Issue: I spoke with each of the editors one-on-one for about an hour, chatting about a variety of topics from the making of Secret Identities to their favourite comic books when they were a kid. These interviews are based on those conversations.
I thank each of the editors for taking time out of their busy schedules (and their jam-packed book tour) to chat with me.
I first met Parry Shen back in the spring of 2004, when he visited my undergraduate alma mater for a workshop on his experiences as lead actor in Justin Lin’s debut film, Better Luck Tomorrow. At his workshop, I learned a lot about Shen’s experiences as an Asian American actor in a predominantly non-Asian Hollywood. I learned about the difficulties for minority actors in the casting process and the sense of futility, cynicism, and defeat that many Asian American actors ultimately succumb to before leaving the industry altogether. And, I learned about the breath of fresh air that an independent film like Better Luck Tomorrow represented for a large community of struggling Asian American actors, directors and producers. Better Luck Tomorrow was a shot of pure adrenaline; it established to a disillusioned community of Asian American entertainers that a socially-conscious, Asian American-focused project could be made in a profit-driven mainstream Hollywood, and that our community would come out in full force to support it.
Six years later, Shen is hoping to do it again.
Although Shen is the first editor I interviewed for this series, he was the last editor to join the board of Secret Identities. A daily reader of Phil Yu’s Angry Asian Man blog, Shen was thrilled when Yu posted a call for submissions for a collected anthology of Asian American superhero comic stories written by Asian American comic book legends and fanboys alike. A long-time comic book fan, Shen immediately responded to the call for submissions (two of his pieces appear in the book: Hibakusha, a story about a group of young Hiroshima survivors who develop awesome powers, and 16 Miles, a story based on the death of real-life Asian American hero, James Kim). The anthology’s editors were so impressed with Shen’s creativity and enthusiasm, that they invited him to join the board as Managing Editor.
“I have been an actor for twelve years,” says Shen. “And, I was getting extremely frustrated with the roles I was auditioning for… [I felt like] I was going out for the same type of guy: this tech guy who works at this firm who is really good at what he does but as soon as a woman walks by, he clams up. [I kept asking myself] How many times will I have to audition for this guy?”
It was during this period of soul-searching that Shen decided to contribute to Secret Identities.
“The top comic book artists are all Asian American,” explains Shen. “How come they hadn’t yet banded together to create a project like this? [This anthology was asking Asian American comic fans to] create some cool people who are masculine and who are saving the day. That really hit home for me, and I [already] had a story in mind — the Hibakusha story. I pitched the story, just wanting to be a contributor, but (and I don’t know what talks they had) but all of a sudden, I got editorial duties! I’m pretty good with organization skills, so that was definitely my strength [on the board]. Maybe I filled that need.”
Like many fanboys and fangirls, Shen’s interest in comic books started in his youth, which of course begs the question: DC or Mavel? “I’m a Marvel guy,” states Shen without hesitation. “When I was a kid, I was attracted to Marvel because of how they humanized their characters, whether I knew it or not. DC’s characters were stuck in a rut where they had the villain of the day and [the heroes] had to foil their plans for world domination. Spiderman and the X-men were the first to delve into stories that featured real people with powers. The X-men were trying to help society, but society hated them and were scared of them. But, I have to say, my first comic book was The Picture Bible, which my mom gave me. It told Bible stories in comic format, complete with superheroic feats like the parting of the Red Sea. I’m not Catholic, but when I went to Catholic school, thanks to that book, I knew all of the Bible stories. It was really cool how this comic presented the Bible in such a digestible format, and that it tricked me into learning. The last page of Secret Identities follows along that theme — it shows a timeline that maps the stories against Asian American history. Hopefully, readers will get to the end and say, ‘holy cow, this was based on something real?’”
During college, Shen became an officer in his on-campus Asian American organization when he decided to enter the entertainment industry. He interned at Marvel Comics, working in the licensing department, but ultimately chose the route of an actor. When I ask whether Shen ever considered becoming involved in the comic book industry full-time, he laughs, saying: “I didn’t see where I could fit into it, except as an editor or a writer. I couldn’t draw!” Ironically, had Shen stuck with Marvel Comics’ licensing department, he might have become a full-fledged comics insider: several years after Shen’s internship, Avi Arad rejuvenated the Marvel Comics franchise via expansion of that same licensing department to oversee film adaptations of Spiderman, X-men and the Fantastic Four.
Perhaps fulfilling his earliest suspicions of where he might fit into the comic book industry, Shen has surpassed all expectations in his role as Managing Editor for Secret Identities. Speaking about the editorial process, Shen expounds on the difficulties the board faced trying to build a cohesive anthology from a wide array of talented writers and artists with varying styles and experience in the comic medium. “Secret Identities had a lot of contributors, because we had somebody write a story and another person draw it. We had to coordinate the schedules for over 60 creators.”
The risk of anthologies is that they can come off as disjointed — certainly, Secret Identities occasionally suffers from that problem. However, Shen points out that a great deal of effort and attention was put towards ensuring that the whole book “gelled together”. “The essence of an anthology is that different styles and different writers come together to produce a beautiful work. We focused on pairing people according to their strengths and their styles of writing and their styles of artwork.”
The editors, too, seemed to play to one anothers’ strengths. Keith Chow, a freelance writer coached contributors in script-writing, while Shen notes that both he and Jeff Yang (columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle) offered different perspectives originating from their experiences in the mainstream entertainment industry. And it was Jerry Ma, founder of freelance graphic design studio Epic Proportions, who literally saved the look of the book. Initially, the editors struggled with the 4-6 page limit placed on each submission. “We fudged [those limits] a little,” says Shen, “but it shows why everyone’s favourite story is Blue Scorpion & Chung. It needs that length.” The problem was that with each story trying to make the most of 4 pages, all the artwork became little boxes. “Midway through, Jerry realized that the book was beginning to look like a street map! He was the one who said, ‘visually, this book isn’t looking very good’, so [based on his comments] we re-wrote some stuff and gave the artists room to breathe.”
The primary challenge for Secret Identities’ editors was working with creators with such vastly different skill levels. According to Shen, the editors worked closely with many writers to help them take full advantage of the comic format. Some artists, too, were inexperienced with the comic medium; Ma helped those artists to literally “think outside the box”. In addition, many of the editors were inexperienced in publishing a book. Shen confesses that before this project, he didn’t know that pages were published in sets of eight. “That’s why we have only eight full-colour profile pages. Originally, we had twelve submissions we wanted to use, but we couldn’t get to sixteen, so we had to chop those four off.”
Despite all this backroom tinkering, Secret Identities appears to come together almost effortlessly, showcasing an impressive array of Asian American talent including pieces from the editors, themselves. Shen talks about this inspiration for his story 16 Miles. “I became Managing Editor [for Secret Identities] in October 2006. The death of James Kim happened a month later, in November or December of 2006. Heroes and Asian Americans were on the forefront of everything I was doing at the time. I was like, ‘he’s the real deal.’ All the stories we have are fictionalized; but this is someone who did a real heroic act. This guy can’t not be in this book in some form. But since this is a superhero anthology, I wanted him to have a superpower he couldn’t use, so he had to rely on his human strength. And that’s the true source of his heroism.”
As for the other stories in Secret Identities, one of Shen’s favourites is Meet Joe. In it, an Asian American guy (average in every way) showcases an array of superpowers only to be confronted by other Asian Americans from his past who reveal that all Asian Americans share those superpowers, and that Joe puts the community at risk by revealing these abilities to the outside world. Shen says, “everyone’s frustrated about being portrayed as the weak guy. This story points that out by embracing it in parody: as if all Asians know computers and martial arts… It’s such an offbeat story, and the artwork matched it perfectly. My favourite character is the Chinese delivery guy (one of the three characters who confront Joe) who has this cigarette dangling out of his mouth. Looking at him, you can’t not laugh! Once [the editorial board] saw the initial sketches, we just busted out laughing!”
Another of Shen’s favourites is S.O.S., by Tanuj Chopra (art by Alex Joon Kim), another parody comic about superhero outsourcing.
For Shen, this latest foray back into the comic book industry began as a side hobby. But with the expected success of volume one, Shen has begun to explore the possibilities of connecting Secret Identities to his day job as an actor. Shen is currently working on a screenplay adaptation of his story Hibakusha, and is excited about the possibility that he might one day have the opportunity to play one of Secret Identities’ 52 Asian American superheroes on the big screen. “It’s become more of a passion than acting,” confesses Shen. ”I can control the content and have my say. We’ll have to see what the public interest in [Secret Identities] is. I’m still auditioning, but the roles don’t really excite me as much as the possibilities for a Secret Identities, volume two.”
A volume two? Do my ears deceive? Shen jokes: “Much to the dismay of my wife, we’re definitely talking about a volume two.”
Among a few logistical changes, Shen thinks that a volume two might have fewer contributors, each being given the space to write longer stories. “Fewer contributors would be more manageable,” says Shen. “[Then we could] double the page content and increase the overall page count. Everybody, including us, wanted to see more of each story.” In addition, Shen drops a tantalizing hint. “While we were at New York’s ComicCon, a fan said to us, ‘I love the premise, but doing heroes is kind of easy. It’s more difficult to do a compelling villain.”
Perhaps Secret Identities, Volume 2 will be a supervillain anthology? Shen says his imagination is already running wild with that notion. Mashura (a villain in Secret Identities) could be one of the forefront characters. “Maybe he’s trying to control all of these young supers!” says Shen, excitedly.
Nonetheless, the possibilities for a volume two depend on the success of the first book. Shen encourages each of us, whether we’ve purchased a copy of Secret Identities already or not, to contact our local comic book stores and bookstores, requesting that Secret Identities be ordered and placed on the shelves. “Let them know you’re interested,” says Shen. “The editors aren’t making a dime off of this book. This book was truly a labour of love.”
Act Now! Purchase your copy of Secret Identities and then tell everyone you know how awesome it is and how they should get their own copy. Also, visit your local bookstores and comic book shops and pester the owners and managers to carry the book, just ‘cuz it’s so awesome.

DISGRASIAN OF THE WEAK! Hipster Runoff

Guest Contributor — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:00:00 +0000

by Guest Contributor Jen, originally published at Disgrasian
From time to time, we use satire to talk about race issues. Often we do so because life is so unfunny, it’s a joke. Or because the only way to get people to think about uncomfortable things is not to beat down the gates but to distract them with some kind of Trojan Horse. Other times, it’s simply the most expedient way to spit out the metallic taste of bile and blood that ignorance leaves in our mouth.
This week, Hipster Runoff, a satirical blog about all things “alt” and “authentic” (“What is the most authentic body part 2 do blow off of?”) that reveres hipsterdom while simultaneously underscoring how it’s just as full of mindless followers as the mainstream, published a post called “Should I h8 AZNs?” Here are a few excerpts:
Sad about the economic crisis, and how AZNs have been smarter than us about saving ‘money’ and only spending what they have. I think America is beautiful. We’ve had a good run, but maybe we’re not as special as we thought we were. Kinda sad. I still feel ‘cooler’ than a lot of foreigners, and like smarter…
Is it cool to ‘be better’ towards AZNs who live in America, or are they ‘one of us’? Or should we construct some ‘internment camps’ in the middle of the USA where we force all AZNs to live and do manual labor, even if they are respected within society? Not trying 2 be radical, just know that we have 2 hold some1 accountable for our crisis, and it might ‘unite’ our country if we single out a group of people who are responsible. Kinda like when they had 2 find communist actors in Hollywood.
I don’t really know much about China, except that they are ‘commie reds’, violate a lot of human rights, and pollute a lot. Learned that from the newspaper…
Should I h8 azns and hold them responsible for the destruction of my country? Or should I move out of the USA and move to an authentic city like Paris/Beijing/Tokyo/Cairo?
There are several Hipster Runoff posts that begin similarly with a question–“Should I Vote?” or “Is it ALT 2 watch the Super Bowl?”–where the answer is patently obvious, and “Should I h8 AZNs?” was probably intended to fall into that category.
Unfortunately, “Should I h8 AZNs?” is not satire.0 It highlights a very real cultural anxiety and its attendant racist backlash without taking it to task in any substantive way. While some of the post’s defenders brand it as satire in the comments section, others take it for what it really is–license to be a dumbass:
lets kills all AZN males.
and all the AZN woman can clean are houses and get naked for us
when the end comes the asians and jews will be left to rule mwuahah
think maybe we should make the ayzns and mexicans and non alt girls slaves again
funny… i love AZNs love em. but thats a problem too.
it’s called reverse racism.
I love the bcoz their azns. with their petite frames and slanty eyes! amazing…
It’s a fettish.
even economic turmoil doesn’t stop me loving them.
A number of commenters on the post do protest that “Should I h8 AZNs?” crosses the line, but that’s precisely the problem. It doesn’t cross the line–the line into satire–it toes the line of reality. That China is taking over everything, and people are really fucking bitter about it. And it’s okay to turn our cultural anxieties about not being the Number One Superpower into outright xenophobia, and it’s acceptable to hate when you feel like somebody else is downsizing your dick.
If “Should I h8 AZNs?” had been satire, the answer to its central question would have been an obvious, resounding “no.” As it stands, the feeling you’re left with is far more murky and unclear. The post does nothing to dissuade the reader from saying “yes” to the question or from thinking that h8ing Asians is okay. The only thing that is clear to us after reading “Should I h8 AZNs?” is that these AZNs h8 Hipster Runoff.
Source

Interracial Marriage Rate Declines Among Asians

Guest Contributor — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:43:42 +0000

by Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man
The Washington Post has an interesting story on recent trends in interracial marriage in America — specifically, a decline in the rate of Hispanics and Asians marrying partners of other races in the past two decades: Immigrants’ Children Look Closer for Love.
Sociologists and demographers are just beginning to study how the children of recent immigrants will date and marry. Conventional wisdom has it that in the open-minded Obama era, they will begin choosing spouses of other ethnicities as the number of interracial marriages rises.
But scholars are coming across a surprising converse trend. According to U.S. Census data, the number of native- and foreign-born people marrying outside their race fell from 27 to 20 percent for Hispanics and 42 to 33 percent for Asians from 1990 to 2000.
Scholars suggest it’s all about the growing number of immigrants. It seems that the large immigrant population fundamentally changes the pool of potential partners for Asians and Hispanics. Thus, the second generation is more likely to marry people of their own ethnicity.
It’s not quite like it was before, when there were only two Asian kids in your school — you and this other boy/girl — and everyone thought you two should go together to the prom. Forced coupling. Now half the school is Asian, so it’s not such a big deal. Something like that.

Binary Soul

Guest Contributor — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:24:35 +0000

by Guest Contributor John Jihoon Chang
I often feel as though I’m two men living one life. Many of my peers and contemporaries from an immigrant background have learned how to blend their twin heritages, their cultures passed down from their parents and their cultures locally acquired and somehow become a coherent whole. In my case, an Asian American or more specifically, a Corean American. I won’t say this is true for everyone or even most people, but many have navigated this tricky path or perhaps have chosen one culture to adhere closely to in neglect or abandonment of the other.
Growing up, I was one who had never nurtured the Corean in me, rather concentrating on the present reality that I faced as a young person growing up with almost entirely white American peers. There was little value in my Coreanness, especially as it served to distance me from the only society I’d known. It was an inescapable part of my identity, as my genes had mapped my Asian roots upon my face, but it provided little to no advantages in my daily life, rather often distancing me as a “stranger”, though the life I’d known was, outside of food, language and minor household traditions, largely the same as my peers. Nevertheless, the appearance of difference combined with the few elements that my household practiced always seemed to divide, even as each white American household, I found, had different sets of cuisine, traditions and even occasionally the use of language.
As such, I was an all-American type, as it proved the path of least resistance. My sister naively would label me as “whitewashed” or a “banana”, claiming my abandonment of my Corean heritage while she, all the same adopted the similarly American “AZN” identity, one of the Asian American subcultures defined by heavy adoption of urban mainstream American media tied together with that of a mainstream Asian media as well.
Such a moment left me defensive at the time, but to some extent, she was correct.
Back to that later.
After high school, I’d move on to college and discover my Asian American identity. I found myself socializing a lot more with other Asian Americans, built upon the shared experiences of being differentiated from mainstream white America and often (but not always) upon the shared upbringing by immigrant parents. It’s certainly a comfortable place, where those around you don’t expect you to be different and share the same racial angst as you. And it also created a space for a new part of me to grow: the Corean me.
As I came to more fully embrace the Corean in me, I found myself insatiably curious about my heritage, the differences that used to exclude me. I was drawn to the stories of my parents and the history that they had grown up with. Being authoritarians, they weren’t very forthcoming with stories of their own lives prior to their roles as parents and failing to have good relations with them, I turned to the artifacts of their culture; its history, its media and its present state. I found that it all came easily to me, the identity. It was never anything I struggled with, but rather, absorbed it as though it was always a part of me.
And that’s where my sister’s words came in. But, rather than suppressing or abandoning the Corean me, I had just simply ignored it. But it was always a part of me as my parents ingrained the culture deep into me by their own practice of it, even as I myself was rarely a participant. As my typical 20-something identity crisis occurred, this hungry soul within me gobbled up all which it had been deprived and continues to do so to this day.
At the same time, a new thing occurred. You see, my father lives in Corea and to see him, I often have to travel there to visit. The new thing that occurred to me was that I became comfortable there, although initially, I approached the place as any other non-Corean American, the more I drank from the wellspring of my heredity, I found myself more and more understanding of it, to the point of seeming innate. Now, when I walk the streets of Seoul or the gardens of my father’s home province, I feel a strange sense of belonging that I’d perhaps never felt in the United States, a country that accepted me by my birthright, but continues to struggle with me as a true constituent.
But the one thing that failed to happen, is for these two components of myself to synthesize into a whole. As such, I constantly feel like I’m trading my body between two different selves. These days, an American me primarily walks in my shoes. Though some do occasionally question my grasp of English before speaking with me, my tongue speaks the language with ease. I stand in its norms and while I still grapple to be accepted as a member, different from the mainstream as I might be, I’m at ease here, as this nation is the one I’d known the most of my life.
But the other part of me lives all the same. In fact, the Corean me is a very different me. My mindset is different when he comes out. The things that amuse and interest him are different. He’s more respectful, less sly. And I can’t seem to reconcile the two mes. Each feels more comfortable in their respective homes; I’ve become a man whose heart’s been divided by the sea.
I don’t feel whole in Corea. When I’m there, the Corean me lives and breathes and the American me lies dormant. Here, in America, the Corean me is a perpetual foreigner, misunderstood and unaccepted, unable to communicate with society. And so, the whole of me becomes a binary soul, either one or the other, divided but with a solitary presence.
I’m not certain what it will take to incorporate me. I often long for someone else who understands these two separate strands in me. For, while I am Asian American by definition, I’m not entirely comfortable with the moniker, for as much as one of me feels American, another feels Corean. I feel ownership of both, but being incapable of being both simultaneously.
Anyone else out there feel me? That in-betweenness, that binary soul that divides the presence from the present?
A mode-switch that turns you from one person to another, but never the twain meet?
Finding others unable to relate to you completely, since no one understands the other part of you?
I can’t be the only one who dreams in two languages, of two countries, with two hearts, two minds and two souls.
Identity is something that’s always shifting; we grow, we change, and if we look closely enough, we’ll always find something new about ourselves as well as parts of ourselves that have molted away. Have you incorporated? Do you live a binary life? What are your stories?

Quoted: Jaemin Kim on Stereotypes, Asian Women, and Hate Crimes

Latoya Peterson — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Excerpted by Latoya Peterson

During a one month period in Autumn 2000, the predators abducted five Japanese exchange students, ranging from age 18 to 20. Motivated by their sexual biases about Asian women, all three used both their bodies and objects to repeatedly rape – vaginally, anally and orally — two of the young women over a seven hour ordeal.
In Spokane, one of the attackers immediately confessed to searching only for Japanese women to torture and rape — and eventually all pled guilty and were convicted. It clearly was a racially-motivated criminal case. The victims also believed they were attacked because of their race, the prosecutor told me.
What is astonishing, however, is that the district attorney failed to bring an additional charge that would have tagged the crimes as motivated by racial bias. The police also neglected to report the crime as a “hate crime,” as demanded by the Justice Department to keep accurate statistics of all bias-driven crimes. Although the attackers all received long sentences, an important opportunity to raise the nation’s consciousness was lost. We, as a society, were told that it’s not a hate crime to rape an Asian woman because of her race.
In most states, as well as the federal justice system, crimes committed against a person because of the victim’s race, ethnicity or national origin (as well as other protected classes) are considered “hate crimes” or “bias crimes.” Such a label doesn’t always add much to a sentence, but this enhancement to the charges is considered an important public policy matter and receives greater press coverage than standard crimes. A bias-driven crime is particularly egregious, say the laws, and must be defined as such.
But in rapes and sexual assaults targeting Asian women, I can find no instance of prosecutors or police bringing “hate crime” charges. It seems our society frowns on the rape itself, but accepts the racial motivation behind it. Mainstream society simply is blind to this type of racism. Indeed, the Spokane police detective handling the case wrote in an email to me: “It was felt that there was no hate involved instead he [the lead rapist] was very infatuated with the Japanese race.” (sic).
[...]
The attackers in the L.A. and Spokane rape cases did not use typical “hate speech.” But the biggest obstacle to bias crime charges in those cases is that society at large thinks it benign to hold sexualized stereotypes about Asian women. The woeful abandonment of “hate crime” categorization when Asian women are sexually attacked comes from the mistaken belief that weight should be attached to the attacker’s claim to an “attraction” or “fetish” for the victim’s Asian race. There is a disconnect: while authorities do not see the “fetish” as an excuse for the rape, they see it as an excuse from hate crime labeling. Like society at large, they fail to see that this is a form of racial discrimination.
— From Jaemin Kim’s Huffington Post entry “Asian Woman: Rape and Hate Crimes”
(Thanks to reader Kristin for sending this in!)

Miley Cyrus Thinks It’s Cool to Mock Asians

Latoya Peterson — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:00:52 +0000

by Latoya Peterson
Now, what did the Spanish Olympic basketball team say when they did it?
Oh, right, it was a “wink.” A sign of “affection.”
Here’s what other bloggers are saying – I don’t really have any words on this one.
Angry Asian Man:
For those who don’t know who the most popular teenager in America is, Miley’s third from the left. Is this how kids are posing for photos these days? Hey! Look at us spoiled punkass hipster kids making racist gestures! Because it’s fun, and we just don’t care. And it’s, like, totally ironic or something, you know? Our friend here is Asian and the rest of us are white! Get it? Watch us all do the silly squint-eye!
Who is the Asian guy, anyway? Sitting there like a tool and letting his “friends” getting away with racist gestures. Not funny. And is it me, or is he actually trying to make his eyes look wider? Couldn’t resist getting to hang out with the cool kids, I guess. Even if it means having to deal with this idiocy. Or maybe he’s forgotten what it feels like when some jerk on the street does that out of real-ass hate.

Rachel’s Tavern:
As a culture, Americans need more avenues for young people to talk openly about racism and racially insensitive behavior. I wish we didn’t totally avoid race as a topic of discuss with the youth. As I write this I’m trying to think how I would explain the problems with this to a 9 year old Hannah Montana fan like my step son.
Disgrasian:
Maybe when you first peeped it, you were like us, and commented on the one Asian schmuck in the picture. Like any douche worth his seat next to Hannah Montana–the tool undoubtedly bit his lip (“Yeah! Slanty! Hee! No, it’s funny cuz I’m here! You guys are great!“) and giggled while his friends talked to him in buck-toof. And then wondered at night why he doesn’t get laid.
Exactly what part of post-racial America are we in again? Think we got turned around somewhere…

To Gloria: Ching Chong. Love, Amy Sedaris

Guest Contributor — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:00:59 +0000

by Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally Angry Asian Man
A reader named Gloria sends in this juicy little scan… She informs me that actress/author/comedienne Amy Sedaris did a show last week at Haverford College. Gloria’s brother (who happens to be Chinese American) got a copy of Sedaris’ book I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence signed for her.
The above scan is what she apparently inscribed on the inside of the book. Yes, you’re reading that right. As if “Ching Chong” wasn’t enough, the rudimentary buck-toothed chink-eyed caricature is sort of icing on the racist cake.
What the hell, Amy Sedaris? Is that supposed to be clever? Are we supposed to write that off as “quirky”? I’ve never been a huge fan of hers… but I’ve never disliked her either. That has changed. I have to wonder what Gloria’s brother thought when she handed this back to him. Not cool. That’s racist! (Thanks, Gloria.)
UPDATE: Amy Sedaris apparently has a bit of history with the ching-chongery… Check out her opening remarks in this video posted on BlogHer back in 2007. Doesn’t take very long for her to bust out that “ching chong.” Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? Like it ain’t no thing.
Also, check out this Believer interview from several years ago where she lists her turn-offs as: “The beach, having to pay for things, racist people, Orientals.” Is that supposed to be funny?
A little more Googling reveals that she actually has a habit of referring to people of Asian descent as “ching chong” at appearances and events. She also regularly signs her books with “ching chong” and a sketch of the buck-toothed ching chong thing. Oh, I get it. She’s supposed to funny and off-the-wall, and so we’re supposed to excuse her for playful, asinine racist mockery.

Asian American Employees Underreport Discrimination

Guest Contributor — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:06:39 +0000

by Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man
My fellow Asian Americans, stand up for yourselves in the workplace! According to a new report from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Asian American employees are underrepresented in the senior ranks of federal agencies, and likely are underreporting instances of discrimination on the job: Asian-American employees underreport discrimination, report finds.
The report, which was released earlier this month, says that Asian Americans face a number of misperceptions and stereotypes, factors that have become “the framework of barriers establishing glass or bamboo ceilings which present [Asian American and Pacific Islanders] from moving into the upper tiers of an organization.”
A 2005 Gallup poll found that 31 percent of Asian respondents said they had experienced discriminatory or unfair treatment on the job. But the EEOC noted in its report that enforcement actions reveal that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders file only 3.26 percent of discrimination.
Say what now? We already have enough problems with people thinking we as Asian are passive, good little citizens who do what we’re told. It does us no good to let people walk all over us. It’s one thing to be discriminated against — it’s another thing entirely to stay quiet about it. And we wonder why we’re so conspicuously absent from executive and senior management levels…

Blog Scandal in San Francisco Public Defender’s Office

Guest Contributor — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:00:38 +0000

by Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man
Some intriguing news out of the San Francisco public defender’s office… A MySpace blog entry written by former intern Carrie Wiplinger has prompted the superior court and Public Defender Jeff Adachi to investigate whether a lawyer in Adachi’s office was once told to keep Asians off a jury: Intern Blog Alleges Juror Racial Bias.
In the blog entry, posted September 3, Wipplinger wrote about a case involving a drunken man whom authorities found receiving oral sex in a car:
“I got to listen in on a conference regarding jury selection,” she wrote. “My bosses gave the following advice to the lawyer …don’t pick any Asian jurors, because (and I quote): ‘Asians don’t drink, they love Jesus, and they’re creeped out by everything.‘”
She wrote that the lawyer followed that advice, and the client was acquitted. But the attorneys who worked her deny making such a comment, and say Wipplinger got several other facts wrong: the jury hung and the defendant was not acquitted; there was no testimony or evidence that the man was drunk; and there were at least one or two people of Asian descent on the jury.
Adachi said the deputy public defender assigned to the case, Lateef Gray, and his supervisor, Kwixuan Maloof, both denied that they or anyone else made the statement about Asians. Well, of course they denied it. The question is whether or not the blog’s claims, even if she got some of the facts wrong, is based on something that actually happened, or if she just made the whole thing up.
One thing is probably for sure. Everyone involved, including the intern, is not happy that this damn MySpace blog has suddenly received so much attention. And if what she says happened is indeed true, and the lawyer did give this advice, well… that’s racist!

Avatar: Get a tan, become asian

Guest Contributor — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:06:33 +0000

by Guest Contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man
There was a lot of uproar last month when it was announced that M. Night Shyamalan’s movie adaptation Avatar: The Last Airbender would star a lot of pretty white people, with no Asians in sight. The animated Nickelodeon show takes place in an Asian-inspired fantasy realm. Hollywood, of course, is a Caucasian-inspired fantasy realm.
The controversy hasn’t really died down. Avatar fans are still angry. And one of the movie’s actors, Jackson Rathbone, who will play Sokka, seems to think he can easily pull off playing Asian with just a new hairstyle and a tan: ‘Twilight’ Star Jackson Rathbone Hopes To ‘Show His Range’ In ‘Last Airbender’.
Due in theaters in summer 2010, “Airbender” has already begun to face a bit of controversy over the casting of white actors like Rathbone, Ringer and McCartney to play Asian characters – a concern the actor was quick to dismiss. “I think it’s one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan,” he said of the transformation he’ll go through to look more like Sokka. “It’s one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit.”
No dude. The audience will have to suspend disbelief a lot. Or just not go see the movie. This is just another obvious, ridiculous example of how Hollywood studios are really not interested in casting Asians in roles, even when the parts clearly call for it. That’s racist!
As I mentioned last time, a loud, vocal letter-writing movement, spearheaded by this site, is mobilizing to protest these casting decisions. We’re talking real paper snail-mail letters, because online petitions and emails are easily ignored. Write to:
Mr Mark Bakshi
President Features Production
5555 Melrose Avenue
Shulberg Building
Suite 211
Room 115
Los Angeles, CA 90038-3197
and
Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall
Kennedy/Marshall Company
619 Arizona Avenue, Fl. 2
Santa Monica, California 90401
If you wrote in the first time when this news surfaced last month, you may have noticed that these addresses are different. That’s apparently because both Paramount Pictures and M. Night Shyamalan’s office returned-to-sender the first wave of protest letters. Do they really not care that much? Everything you need to know about the Avatar letter-writing campaign is here. I’m seriously that the studio gives a crap, but it’s still worth speaking out.

White American Culture is General Tso’s Chicken and Chop Suey

Guest Contributor — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:00:59 +0000

by Guest Contributor Restructure, originally published at Restructure!
Finally, somebody summarized the myths that non-Chinese Americans have about Chinese food. Most of what White Americans consider “Chinese food” is mostly eaten by white people, and would be more accurately described as “American food” (and perhaps even “white people food”).
Jennifer 8. Lee has a great video on TED Talks titled, Who was General Tso? and other mysteries of American Chinese food.
Here are some important points from the video:
Fortune cookies are almost ubiquitous in “Chinese” American restaurants, but they are of Japanese origin. Most people in China have never seen fortune cookies. Fortune cookies were “invented by the Japanese, popularized by the Chinese, and ultimately consumed by Americans.” Fortune cookies are more American than anything else.
General Tso’s chicken is unrecognizable to people in China. It is the quintessential American dish, because it is sweet, it is fried, and it is chicken.
Beef with broccoli is of American origin. Broccoli is not a Chinese vegetable; it is of Italian origin.
Chop suey was introduced at the turn of the 20th century (1900). It took thirty years for non-Chinese Americans to figure out that chop suey is not known in China. “Back then”, non-Chinese Americans showed that they were sophisticated and cosmopolitan by eating chop suey.

“Chinese” take-out containers are American.
There is Chinese French food (salt-and-pepper frog legs), Chinese Italian food (fried gelato), Chinese British food (crispy shredded beef), Chinese West Indian food, Chinese Jamaican food, Chinese Middle Eastern food, Chinese Indian food, Chinese Korean food, Chinese Japanese food, Chinese Peruvian food, Chinese Mexican food (which look like fajitas), Chinese Brazilian food, etc.
If McDonald’s is Microsoft, then Chinese food is Linux.
These myths that most White Americans have about “Chinese food” are not trivial. Generally, false assumptions beget false conclusions and distorted worldviews. When most White Americans believe that American foods like chop suey, General Tso’s chicken, and fortune cookies are “foreign” and “Chinese”, some effects include:
Most White Americans think that there is no such thing as “American food”, and that Americans are cosmopolitan and worldly, because they are exposed to foreign foods. For many White Americans, an example of “foreign food” is chop suey. This is ironic, because it actually reveals American insularity.
When White Americans think of “Chinese culture” (and assume that all Chinese Americans have retained their ancestral culture), most White Americans think of “Chinese” American food like chop suey, General Tso’s chicken, and fortune cookies. However, chop suey, General Tso’s chicken, and fortune cookies are actually examples of how Chinese culture has been lost and replaced by commercialism.
Many White Americans think that they are knowledgeable about Chinese culture (and not racist) because they eat at “Chinese” restaurants and order dishes like General Tso’s chicken. What many White Americans think as racial knowledge is actually racial ignorance.
In American movies and TV, Chinese identity is often represented by chop suey. For example, in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song (1961), which is arguably the only major Hollywood film with a predominantly Asian American cast as protagonists, the Asian American actors sang a celebratory song called “Chop Suey”. According to Arthur Dong, “Songs like ‘Chop Suey’ became an embarrassment for politicized Asian Americans. It didn’t matter that Flower Drum Song was based on a book written by a Chinese American; it was, in the end, a white man’s concoction.”
In American movies and TV, Chinese culture is often represented by fortune cookies. Sometimes non-Chinese Americans infer from the nonsensical messages in fortune cookies that Chinese thinking is nonsensical, mystical, and inscrutable. (That’s racist!) However, fortune cookie messages are manufactured in the United States for commercial purposes, to entertain mostly non-Chinese recipients. The messages are not ancient Chinese proverbs.
It is not uncommon for a White American to meet a Chinese American for the first time, and attempt to “relate” with her by informing her that he loves chop suey. This is offensive for multiple reasons. White Americans think of Chinese people as a stereotype (”Chinese” food), the stereotype is based on White American experiences rather than Chinese American experiences, the stereotype is not even accurate, the White American thinks that the Chinese person identifies with the racial stereotype, the White American thinks that Chinese ethnicity is represented by an American racial stereotype, etc.
LFO had a song called “Summer Girls” with a chorus that includes the lines, “New Kids On The Block had a bunch of hits. Chinese food makes me sick.” Many White Americans conclude that they “don’t like Chinese food” after eating one type of dish, and that dish probably did not originate in China. Whatever negative associations that White Americans have about Chinese food should actually be blamed on American culture (and American preferences for deep-fried food), not foreign Chinese culture.
Some White Americans use “Chinese food” as an example of Chinese people being unassimilable and not adapting to American culture. (Some White Americans even believe that the popularity of “Chinese food” in the United States shows how Americans accommodate and embrace minority cultures.) The reality is that “Chinese” American food is an example of how Chinese immigrants bend over backwards to create dishes customized for White American tastes.
Jennifer 8. Lee’s Italian friend was surprised to learn that fried gelato did not originate in China, and remarked, “It’s not? But they serve it at all the Chinese restaurants in Italy!” This incident illustrates the limitations of anecdotal experience as a source of knowledge. Even if the sample size is very large, anecdotal experience does not take into account selection bias. In this case, a biased sample lead to false conclusions about an ethnic minority group’s “culture”.
This incident also reveals that when the national culture is so pervasive, the cultural aspect of a practice that comes from the national culture is invisible to the ethnic majority. For example, White Italians do not see the Italian influence of fried gelato, only the perceived Chinese aspect of it. To Americans, however, the Italian influence of fried gelato is apparent, while fried gelato’s Chinese influence is not.
Similarly, Americans generally do not see the American influence of General Tso’s Chicken, only the perceived Chinese aspect of it. To non-Americans and observant Americans, however, the American influence of General Tso’s chicken is apparent, since it is sweet, (deep-) fried, and chicken. The dish known in the United States as “General Tso’s Chicken” is 100% American.
Perhaps the dish is also 1% Chinese, since the dish’s name was transliterated into English from the name of a Chinese person, and the people who serve it tend to be Chinese Americans.
However, fond memories of eating General Tso’s Chicken is a culture that is shared among more White Americans than Chinese Americans.