I only heard things about the show, such as what actors are playing in it or how funny this or that episode was, but never took a chance to watch it myself because I’m not a large fan of live-action series. The issue of the show’s episode “Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra” had the actors portray Asians via Fu Manchu mustaches and stereotypical Chinese clothing, along with accents that are deemed Asian. Sure the executives of the show apologized on Twitter, but I think the damage has already been done and this shows they did not think of everyone who would be in their viewing audience. Looks like Asians in media are still portrayed by old stereotypes since it’s so much easier for them to portray that rather than a normal Asian or Asian American today. Maybe we could be overreacting about this whole thing since it was all done for comedy, but did it not occur that maybe they could have hired Asian extras for the roles? Then again, how the executives tell them to act could still make it stereotypical.
Author Archives: Grier
The Man Known as Paull Shin
Paull Shin, a Korean American senator of Washington state, resigned on January 7, 2014 due to being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which causes problems with memory and thinking. Born in Korea, Shin lived out on the streets until an American soldier adopted him and took him stateside. He earned a GED, Ph. D, taught students for 31 years, and swore into office on 1999. Shin also served as a Washington State Representative. According to Senate Minority Leader Sharon Nelson, Shin would not be an easy person to replace since he was an “incredible, honorable leader.” A replacement for Shin will be announced on January 21 by the Snohomish County Council.
Challenger’s Ellison S. Onizuka
Born on June 24, 1946 in Hawaii, Ellison S. Onizuka was the first Asian American to travel to space. Before his career in NASA, Onizuka served in the United States Air Force in 1970. He was chosen to be an astronaut candidate on January 1978 for NASA. Before joining the Challenger crew, Onizuka served aboard the Discovery, which completed 48 orbits around the Earth and logged him 74 hours, or about 3 days, in space. Onizuka, along with the rest of the Challenger‘s crew, died on January 18, 1986 after a minute and thirteen seconds into Challenger‘s liftoff. After his death, he was awarded with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Chapter 13 Reading
Chapter 13
“One-Tenth of the Nation”
As time moves forward, the amount of Asian Americans continue to increase. The chapter mentions that if things continue the way it is, then 10% of the United States’ population will be Asian American by 2050. Other things talked about in the chapter include the misunderstandings between African Americans and Korean Americans after the 1992 Los Angeles riot. It came down to the Korean Americans not being very social with those outside of their family or friends and difficulty with the English language, while African Americans were poor and on the lower-class of America’s society. These differences caused tensions between Korean Americans and African Americans for quite some time. There was also the removal of affirmative action by Proposition 209, which hampered society’s journey to a society that did not just view things in black and white. Aside from that, the chapter went on to explain how Asian Americans are now mixing with other Asian Americans. For example, Hoyt Zia and Leigh-Ann Miyasato represent interethnic marriage, a Chinese American and a Japanese American respectively who married. Asian Americans have also begun marrying those outside the Asian ethnicities, resulting in a continuously growing amount of mixed-race children in the United States. Not only are the people mixing races, but traditions and music as well, creating something totally new in the process. The chapter reminds us that Asian Americans shouldn’t be treated as strangers, but instead as “Americans ‘from a different shore.’”
Chapter 12 Reading
Chapter 12
“Breaking Silences”
In this chapter, the Asian American as the “model minority” is explored. It became a stereotype among Asian American students that it later affected their acceptance rates to colleges and universities through “reverse racism”. It also generated more racism, such as colleges having non-official names like U.C.L.A. being called “University of Caucasians living under Asians”. Asian American students who graduated and entered the work field faced the concept of the “glass ceiling”, which prevented Asian Americans from moving up further in their career fields and put a limit on how far they can climb up the work ladder. Despite this, the success Asian Americans were enjoying turned sour when it made them targets to harassment, beatings, and even murders. These anti-Asian sentiments and misunderstandings resulted to the infamous case of Vincent Chin, which is the second time I’ve heard about this, the first being in Japanese American History in the Pacific Northwest. The impact of Chin’s murder got plenty of the Asian American communities to stop being passive about the misdeeds against them and to voice their opinions on the matter. This also caused many of the younger generations of Asian Americans to pursue knowledge of their origins to better understand why they’re being treated differently.
Chapter 11 Reading
Chapter 11
“‘Strangers’ at the Gates Again”
After World War II, Asian Americans started seeing changes in their communities. It started with the plantations in Hawaii when the segregated Asian workers formed labor unions and groups together to strike better and earn better wages. Thank to the contributions of various Asian Americans during World War II, their rights as Americans were beginning to come to light, causing America to become the land of opportunity that their ancestors envisioned years ago. Then the Korean War and Vietnam conflict arose. New Asian immigrants started migrating to America through coercion or fear. These included Vietnamese, Hmong, Cambodians, and more. They were the new “strangers from a different shore”, only residing in America for safety and hoping one day that they will return home, which was not the case for most migrants. Although Asian Americans were getting the rights they justly deserved, it did not come easily. The “threat” of Communism caused many Chinese Americans to be targeted by the government to ensure no Communist spies were on American shores. Even though 99% of them were innocent, it just didn’t seem justified to target mostly Chinese Americans just because China was Communist.
Chapter 10 Reading
Chapter 10
“The Watershed of World War II”
The chapter talked about the impact of World War II and how it affected the various Asian races throughout the United States. All of the Asian races joined the fervor to wage war against Imperial Japan so they can feel part of America, but were unable to join because of the government’s restrictions at the time. Some Asian Americans felt they needed to be in the fight for reasons other than winning the war for America. For example, the Koreans took this opportunity to get back at the Japanese for the oppression that occurred back in Korea when Imperial Japan took over. Asian Americans even adopted the behavior and ideals of the anti-Japanese sentiment created by the general American populace since most believed it be Americanism, which I thought was disheartening yet understandable at the time. Asian Americans also took this war as a time to get their rights set. Since many could not join because of their ethnicity due to government discrimination, new orders like Executive Order 8802 were put in to effect to allow Asian Americans to enlist into the U.S. military forces. This also worked in favor of America not only because it meant more manpower in the war, but also prevented an “alliance of Asiatics” that Imperial Japan imposed to America as a possible threat.
Impressions with Better Luck Tomorrow
Stu·pe·fac·tion
[stoo-puh-fak-shuh
n, styoo-]
Noun
1. The state of being stupefied; stupor.
2. Overwhelming amazement.
This describes the feeling that ran after the movie concluded. I will explain.
Before watching the movie Better Luck Tomorrow, I read over the plot on Wikipedia to get a general idea of what occurs in the movie. If there’s one thing that I can admit, it’s that seeing the movie is more in-depth than just reading the events. Aside from that, I thought the movie was very entertaining. Each character in the movie had a different lifestyle. Ben was a hard-working student, Virgil was the loose cannon, Daric was the brains and manipulator, Han acted as the transporter and extreme renegade, and finally Jesus was the supplier and kind of like a Zoidberg. It depicts modern Asian Americans who use their skills and talents to take advantage of the system around them to bring themselves fortune and power. Eventually it starts overpowering their lives and causes them to do harmful things, such as drugs. Seeing that this is not the way to live anymore, they “break their cycle” with only Virgil and Han still in the business. Steve inquires them for one more job, but it only ends with Ben and the gang murdering Steve when the plan falls apart. The movie concludes with Ben not telling Steve’s girlfriend that they killed Steve, only announcing that “there’s no turning back” after all the actions they did.
Overall, the movie was highly entertaining. There was plenty of tense moments like Virgil pulling a gun on everyone he associates with, but the mix of humorous moments made it more enjoyable. It seemed like Virgil was mostly the comedic relief for much of the film, but also the most vulnerable mentally as he breaks down after tense moments in the movie. I was amazed that Ben did not confess to his involvement to Steve’s “disappearance”. Usually we would expect a “good guy” like him to confess, but amazingly he played the clueless game so well and just decided to live with it. The aftermath of that film was left to the audience’s imagination, leaving to some of my friends voicing realistic to hilarious conclusions that involve Ben confessing to Steve’s girlfriend about his involvement.
One connection I’ve noticed between 47 Ronin, The Beautiful Country, and Better Luck Tomorrow is that the protagonist is always accompanied by a person of wisdom or greater knowledge. Kai has Oishi to guide and support him, Binh has Ling who helps him survive, and Ben has Daric who helps lead him through his schemes. One connection between 47 Ronin and The Beautiful Country is that both protagonists are mixed-race. Finally all the protagonists faced criticism based on their race. Kai and Binh for being mixed-race Asians while Ben was targeted by white jocks because he was an intelligent Asian American student.
Impressions on The Beautiful Country
The Beautiful Country was a movie I have not heard of or seen before Tuesday’s class. The movie told of a “bui doi” named Binh who leaves his village to find his mother, only to leave her soon when the mistress Binh’s mother worked for dies from an accident. With no choice to flee, Binh takes his new young brother Tam with him and sets off for America to find his father. The trip is hazardous and causes them to wash ashore to Malaysia, where they meet Ling, a Chinese woman who is kind, but works as a prostitute at night for favors. The trio escapes during a riot and reach a ship where they endure another perilous journey that costs Tam’s life. Once they reach America, Binh and Ling work in New York’s Chinatown district and try to make a living. Deciding he is wasting his time, Binh confronts that Ling has changed and leaves her with the rich man, setting off afterwards towards finding his father in Texas. Binh meets his father’s ex-wife, who does not help him at first, but eventually tells Binh of his father’s last whereabouts to make him go away. Traveling to Sweetwater, Binh applies to work at the ranch and meets his father, who is blind. Binh works with him and they both share accounts of their lives until the end where the father realizes the Vietamese working with hims is his son. It concludes with Binh happily cutting his dad’s hair while his dad jokes about doing the same to Binh too.
The movie was a journey that changed a man throughout his journey. At first, Binh was subservient and following what others told him due to his status as a “bui doi” or “less than dust”, but after Tam’s death he becomes more confident and less passive on things affecting him or Ling. The evolving of Binh’s character was great to see, including the diverse range of people he met along the way. The death of young Tam due to water sickness was one of the most dramatic scenes I’ve ever seen, probably more dramatic than Assano’s seppuku in 47 Ronin. I did admire how Binh dealt with Ling upon finding out she has her heart set on the rich man instead, going the route of “you’ll be happier with him than me” and reminding her he can’t wait forever to find his father.
Regarding the cast, the choices were actually pretty good. I did not recognize any of the cast members initially except Snakehead, the “other business” man aboard this ship who was later on killed by the British captain. The face and voice immediately told me it was Temuera Morrison, whom I remember as Jango Fett from Star Wars Episode II.
Other than him, Ling, played by Bai Ling, was also Miss East from Wild Wild West. I don’t know any of the other cast members, but Binh’s actor, Damien Nguyen, surprised me the most since he confessed the hardest part of working on The Beautiful Country was actually trying to be fluent in his native language. Overall, the movie was excellent and it gave me a different view on how other immigrants handle the challenges of coming to America. I’d recommend my friends to watch it.
Impressions on 47 Ronin
After seeing 47 Ronin in 2D before, seeing it in 3D did not change much. Aside from the 3D effects at some points, the visuals were good for the setting of feudal Japan. The plot mainly followed the story of the real 47 Ronin, but with some fantasy elements thrown in such as witches and bird-eyed magic monks. The comedy relief for the movie, according to the audience, was the fat man of the group, who also earned a dramatic on-screen death later on. The thing that stood out the most though was Keanu Reeves role in the movie. I don’t know if his role was actually in the story or not, but he does play the role of the white hero who saves everyone. This reminds me of another movie called The Last Samurai in which Tom Cruise plays an American soldier who is captured by a rebellious Shogun and raised in the ways of the samurai, finally to the point where he fights alongside them and restores their honor in the end.
Despite as being flashy and having all these fight scenes, the movie was okay. Nothing too spectacular, but nothing too insignificant. Cast was alright, but the acting was a little odd at some parts. Despite the fantasy elements adding a sort of flare to the movie, it maybe could have done well without them anyways. Besides the visual entertainment, I did find the music intriguing enough for me to look up some of the songs to listen to. Strangely, the ones I found fascinating were the ones that played on both seppuku parts, which is probably due to those moments being the “powerful and dramatic” parts of the movie. Other than that, I did like the fact that this showing actually showed a trailer of Godzilla. The first one I went to showed the Hercules movie trailer first instead.
Note: I’m not a qualified critic.