Author Archives: Kevin

Gran Torino – Impressions

Gran_Torino_poster

POP !

This movie is pretty interesting, mostly due to the metamorphosis that Walt goes through. At the start of the story, Walt seems like a relic from an old time – lost in the modern age and disconnected from the progression of the world. His friendship with Thao and Sue allows him to break through these old war-time prejudices and embrace new aspects he never thought were possible. His need to protect Thao and Sue serves the need to fill a gap in his life – he is the “man of the house”, the fix it dude. With his wife gone and his relationship with his sons rocky at best, his two neighbors fill the void left in his life.

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I think Walt saw in Thao the relationship he desired from his sons, which is why I think he left the Gran Torino in the end. His need to sacrifice himself made for a very powerful scene, and I’m glad the story took a different turn with the whole ‘revenge’ angle. Instead, Walt solves a problem without violence, something that spoke volumes about his personal changes considering he spent much of the film pointing his guns in the faces of others. All to all, I really enjoy this movie. It was only the 2nd time I’ve seen it but I appreciate it more now that we’ve studied more of the Asian American history.

 

Strangers from a Different Shore – Chapters 10-13

Chapter 10 – The Watershed of World War II

Coming from a class that focused primarily on the Japanese American experience of WW2, it was pretty refreshing to hear about the experiences of other Asian Americans through the horrid events of the war. Of course, there were common themes that these Asian American communities experienced – unfair work conditions, blatant racism, less pay, etc. – but it was enlightening to read about some other perspectives as each group really went through their own struggle. I didn’t really know too much about the Korean experience, but learning that they were pretty ecstatic about the Pearl Harbor bombing and how it brought the United States into the war was kind of an eye opener because it’s a point of view you didn’t see too often. I also have to comment on the bravery showed by S.Chandrasekhar who, as quoted on pg. 368, compared America’s current dealings with Asian Americans with that of the Nazis – our enemy. Instead, he uses the Nazi ideology as the primary reason why they must combat the then-current immigration policy. Comparing America to that of our enemy, especially during war time, seems like such a major deal but  people are just too interested in the facade or image that America is supposed to represent, which in this case is Lady Liberty with her thumbs in her ears.

Chapter 11 – “Strangers” at the Gates Again

Moving on to the second wave, which ties closely with the Civil Rights Movement, shows more active and responsive Asian Americans. We also saw an influx of people immigrating to America post 1965, all in search for something more. In the case of the Vietnamese and Cambodians, the relocation to North America wasn’t something desired, but when left with no choice the path forward was clear – and even then, if you didn’t die from starvation or a bullet, the journey to America was torturous indeed. Reading about the Pirates who boarded these ships to rape and pillage is horrible. The way the women described it, there is a definite darkness that lies beneath here – an ugliness of mankind that needs to be fought against. I could hardly imagine what the journey and conditions were really like.

Chapter 12 – Breaking Silences

The Asian Americans are now starting to emerge more into the light, and as we reach the 1980s, we see a completely different point of view. Asian Americans became the “model minority”, a group of people put on a pedestal because of their academic achievements. All of sudden, it seemed like everyone was now acknowledging the mistakes of the past and thus the media began to paint a much better picture of Asian Americans. This reinforced a stereotype about Asian American students, and it’s something we still see to this day. The racism and hatred still burns unfortunately and reading about those horrible murders – largely due to “mistaken” ethnicity – shows an ignorance that we saw time and time again throughout our history. I hope that these racist views continue to decay further and further as generations progress.

Chapter 13 – One-Tenth of the Nation

As Asian American populations began to settle, acceptance of the cultures appears to have become more seeded in American culture. Racism persists, and through the L.A. Riots we saw a new level of vitriol when many Korean businesses were burnt to the ground. This exposed so much about the tensions between African Americans and Korean Americans, something which I had heard about but didn’t really know too much about. Both communities have had their fair share of suffering here on the soils of America, which brings me to a quote on pg 465 (chapter 11 again) in which a Hmong refugee stated “Only when I came to the country of America I had to beg”. For a long time, America was painted as a place of opportunity and equality, but time and time again has proven that as great a country the United States can be, there is still so much more to go when it comes to race and prejudice.

 

The Obsession

For this class, I decided to focus my obsession on the subject of music. I love to listen to music and come from a musically inclined family, so it seems like a natural fit. This is in part inspired by a class I took last summer quarter with Chico in which we examined five seminal albums from the 1960s through the lens of the 33 1/3 book series. This process challenged me to write about music through a variety of means, like using the album cover as a jumping off point or examining the chaos of a live show. So for my obsession, I’m gonna look at a few different bands and albums which are influenced by Asian culture or have some direct connection.

pinkerton

One album I really want to examine is Pinkerton by Weezer, which was heavily influenced by Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and tells a similar story of an outsider’s view of Japan. Lead singer and songwriter Rivers Cuomo is known for his obsession with Japan as well as his blatant attraction to Asian woman, something which is documented quite heavily within the lyrics of Pinkerton. There are other bands (like Deerhoof and Blonde Redhead) which feature female Asian lead singers and have been prominent in the independent circles for some time. Deerhoof in particular were signed to Olympia label Kill Rock Stars, and they are definitely one of the more unique bands I’ve heard. Anyways, I just spent the last 10 minutes thinking of the right sentence to end this blog, and since I failed miserably I’m just going to end this awkwardly. Bye!

News & Blues

Paull Shin

I didn’t know who Paull Shin was before searching him up, but I’m glad I know who he is now because he seems like a very brave man. It takes a lot of courage and confidence to come out in the open and talk about his disease, and it takes real gusto to know when to quit. Reading about his accomplishments (like fighting to remove the word “oriental” from state texts and using “Asian” instead) shows that he is not just a beacon for Korean Americans, but for all Asian American communities in general.

Challenger

I grew up hearing all about the Challenger Disaster, but since it happened two years before I was born, my only experience was through pictures and school. However I didn’t really know anything about Ellison Onizuka (or the rest of the crew for that matter), who just happens to be the first Asian American in space. Like Paull Shin, Ellison was definitely a role-model for Asian Americans and it’s pretty sad what happened that day. After looking him up a bit, it seems as though he was very beloved indeed – there’s all kinds of places named after him, from street names in Little Tokyo to museums and centers for astronomy.

World War II Stragglers

Japan declared him the “Paragon of the Japanese Soldier”, a man so loyal that he sacrificed 29 years of his life participating in a war that didn’t exist anymore. This man is Hiroo Onoda and what a crazy story he has, and now all these years later in 2014 he departs this life for good. Onoda’s story really feels like a testament to the strict obedience and discipline found in Japan at the time, and it seems ripe for someone to turn it into a film or something. His story reminded me of The Cats of Mirikitani, mainly because Mirikitani was lost in limbo after World War II just like Onoda was. They both disappeared into jungles for years, the difference being that Mirikitani’s jungle was that of concrete and tall buildings.

How I Met Your Mother

I still can’t believe that after all these years, nobody realizes that when you do blanket stereotypes on television or film, you’re going to piss a lot of people off. I don’t understand why the writers/producers of How I Met Your Mother could really think that an episode like this would be met with…what…applause? I understand why they wanted to do a Kung Fu homage – it’s a great genre that a lot of people enjoy – but there could have been a much better way to go about it. That being said, How I Met Your Mother isn’t a bad show or anything and I think this should be chalked up to a stupid brainfart.

Better Luck Tomorrow – impressions

In the dark, a gun was heard, a baseball bat was swung, and there was blood everywhere.

This is the moment where it all goes to hell. Ben stares blankly, free from a rage that consumed him only milliseconds prior. The others remain still, the horror of the situation only beginning to settle in. Through the dark, a light illuminates only the group and the mass of a human body. Jesus enters, a plan is made, and then suddenly. . .

 

. . .the body twitches.

If ever there is a change in tone, this is THE moment. This is one of the big reasons why I enjoyed this film – it has the ability to shift so strongly and quickly that it becomes an entirely different animal at the end of it. It reminded me of “Nisei Daughter” and how that author was able to shift the tone of a chapter within the context of her story, like when the main character goes off to be hospitalized for TB. The film itself showed a lot more than I was expected, such as the drug use and nudity, but it really wasn’t a big of deal. Instead, I felt the film really examined the stereotypes (not just Asian American but maybe “nerdy” students in general) and kind of threw them out the window. Ben, while conforming somewhat to the “model student” stereotype, really stretches beyond all of that. He himself doesn’t care if he’s cast as the “token Asian” on the basketball team, and is subjected to the whims of those who take up that cause in his place.

I’ll finish this later!

 

The Beautiful Country – impressions

Just some quick impressions about The Beautiful Country -

First of all, the movie was a decent flick. Very artistic, slow and demands some patience, but altogether I enjoyed it. The film does not pull any punches when it comes to showing how miserable these people’s lives can be and I thought it was interesting how it didn’t offer closure or happiness for everybody – Binh loses his little brother Tam and Ling, despite ending up in America, continues her life as a prostitute. Binh and Ling’s relationship was very interesting as well as they are two outcasts clinging to one another in a world of strangers. I had half expected them to stick together until the end, but there really isn’t a happy ending here – they go their separate ways with the feeling of so much left unsaid. I also enjoyed the ending very much. In a Hollywood ending, you would probably see the son reunite the father and the mother or something, but I love how it just ends with the two joking around with each other. To me, this had more heart than the traditional happy ending because it kept it very simple.

Two more observations -

- Movie felt very episodic, with each part having it’s own feel, characters and scenario. Binh is the only constant of course, but the story goes through different chapters – Vietnam, the Refugee Camp, the Ship, New York City, Binh’s Journey to Texas, and ultimately that Texas Ranch or whatever. When I saw Nick Nolte and Tim Roth’s names, I expected them to be more frequent through the movie, but was surprised to see them really confined to a single scenario of Binh’s life. You could really take each chapter of Binh’s journey and analyze it on it’s own because they are very distinct.

- I have to ponder this one for a little longer but I felt that “shoes” were an important, recurring image throughout the film. There are numerous shots of people’s feet throughout the film as well as references to Binh becoming a shoemaker or something like that. Binh is a barefoot servant in Vietnam with his mother, and I remember a shot of him looking at people’s shoes in the Big House. I think shoes can be seen a sign of status or class, and perhaps serve as a metaphor for who we are? Or perhaps the phrase “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” plays a role here?  At one point in the camp, Binh is looking at Ling’s dressy shoes, but then when he sees her barefoot when they are working (I think it’s when it gets all muddy or something) he says he sees who she truly is. I dunno, just something I picked up on. This movie definitely has a thing for shoes.

Pre-Impressions of 47 Ronin

I honestly don’t know a whole lot about this film and haven’t seen a single trailer outside of just passing by it at a store or something. I haven’t seen Keanu Reeves in a film since, I dunno, the Matrix movies so it will be kind of cool to see him on the big screen again. Whoa.