When it comes to the issues of Asians and Asian Americans feeling the need to change their appearance to become more “Caucasian”, I think it is not good.  I mean, if someone doesn’t like something about themselves and they want to change it to be more confident, then fine.  But to only want to change yourself because you are too “Asian” looking; that is a different story.  Caucasian women have plastic surgery all the time.  Sometimes they are doing it for the wrong reasons; sometimes they’re not.  So, if an Asian women genuinely wants to change something then there’s technically nothing wrong with that, but if the sole reason is because either someone told them they need to, or because they think they aren’t pretty looking “Asian” then that is where the problem comes.

Another topic I talked about was skin lightening treatments.  I don’t think this is okay at all.  Because of the reasons why women and men feel the need to do it.  It’s internalized racism.  Just putting people down because of their skin color.  I just can’t say enough about how wrong I think this is.

Oh and in the picture above this post it’s me and my friend Mollie getting ready to go out, and I just think it’s funny because of how serious we look about it!

With Jeremy Lin being such a success, it’s gotta start somewhere right? Well we know Wataru Misaka was the first Asian to enter the game, but do we know that the two actually met?

Interestingly, I found out that Lin and Misaka met and Misaka gave Lin a lot of credit applauding Lin’s success by saying “He doesn’t need my encouragement. I’m just going to enjoy it like everyone else.” I Thought this was pretty awesome for another Asian basketball player to make a statement about Lin’s success; it showed how much of an inspiration he has been within America considering he has so many fans and a tremendous amount of success within the American sports industry. What an honor for the first to give such a huge compliment…I mean ultimately he is one of the reasons that opened the door for Lin to have the opportunity to be able to play in the NBA.

As I continued to look more into my obsession I thought it was pretty cool that with Misaka being the first Asian to play, he was also the first Asian to play for the New York Knicks, which coincidentally lead me another connection, remembering that Lin played for the Knicks too decades later.  I think it illustrates the importance of pop culture, and how prominent it has become-it is always around us.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/jon_wertheim/02/11/jeremy.lin.wataru.misaka/index.html#ixzz2vfob3BxS

Yao Ming was born in Shanghai, China who spent his entire NBA career with the Houston Rockets.  When he was 13 years old, he was playing with the junior team of the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association. At the age of 17, he joined the senior team, and four years later, in the 2001-02 season, he helped the team to their first CBA title, with the average of 32.4 points per game, 19.0 rebounds per game and 4.8 blocks per game during the regular season. That’s impressive!

The first time playing against players in the NBA was during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Although China lost to the United States, 119-72, and Yao fouled out early in the second half, the NBA was very interested in his talent. I mean how could they not? The man was 7′ 6”…that’s crazy height! This led him with the decision to enter the NBA Draft in 2002. After negotiations with the CBA, the agreement allowed Yao to play in the United States, as long as the Houston Rockets selected him with the No. 1 overall pick and that he agreed to continue to play for the Chinese National Team as well.

In Yao’s rookie season, he started 72 games, with the average of 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game during his first season. His adjustment to the toughness of playing in the NBA surprised many critics, including Charles Barkley (a former player in the NBA), who doubted Yao’s talent implying that that Ming would never score more than 19 points in a game. After his first season he became a unanimous NBA All-Rookie First Team Selection and after being named Western Conference Rookie of the Month in both December and February, he finished second overall after Amare Stoudamire for NBA Rookie of the Year honors. This was a huge accomplishment especially after switching from a league that you are used to playing in to another league that is brand new and not where you are from.

In the 2003-2004 season, Yao was one of only six players to lead his team in points, rebounds and blocks. He ranked seventh in the league in field-goal percentage and had 33 double-doubles. That’s crazy, considering, a double double is acquiring 10 or more in at least two of the categorized statistics for a basketball game. It’s always impressive for a player to get one.

The following season, he continued to establish a name for himself in the NBA . He was one of three players in the league to average 18 points and two blocks per game. Yao was quickly becoming an international fan favorite, as he broke Michael Jordan’s record for votes received, scoring 11 points and gathering eight rebounds in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game.

I think it’s pretty interesting to think about the connection that there is between Lin and Ming, they both have played for the Houston Rockets. Thinking deeper, these are two key Asian athletes that have been in the league and have made statements for the Asian community as well as the American community, many consider them to as role models.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1722/yao-ming

For those of you who have been following my blog, or those of you that haven’t, I have not kept up to what I said I’d do in my first post for my obsession. I have reasons but that’s not why you’re here. Not only did I not read as many articles that I wanted I also didn’t play through the game. However I don’t feel that either of those have really impacted me obsession over Zelda Ocarina of Time (Z.O.T.). Because I love this game, because me and my friends outside of class actually talk about what we’re doing in school, ad because I already know a lot about race and gender implications in media/popular culture/everyday life; I feel that I was still able to expand my knowledge and thoughts on Z.O.T. and so here are my thoughts gather through the quarter.

To start off I’d like to point out the name of this game and series is Zelda, yet she is not the character you play but the somewhat damsel in distress that you end up saving. Which is kinda messed up, I mean Mario games aren’t called Princess Peach because she’s not the character you play. Yeah Zelda sounds better than The Legend of Link Ocarina of Time, but at least make her the character you play. Now I say the somewhat damsel in distress because in this game Zelda takes on a different identity for a good portion of it, Sheik, who looks like a guy based off the other characters. Sheik is also pretty bad ass because she comes out of nowhere, teaches/tells you really important stuff and then *poof* is gone again. Not only that but Sheik saves Link’s ass before the Shadow Temple. And when Zelda reveals herself she not only supplies Link with the weapon he needs to defeat Gannon, but she also pins him down so Link can deliver the final blow, (with the Master Sword just so we’re clear because I once watched my older brother try beating Gannon with the Biggeron Sword and that fight would have kept going if he didn’t switch). So basically Zelda is good enough to teach, supply, and help Link, but not to be the actual hero of the game named after her. And that really goes for all the lady characters, with the exception of a few males (I think 4) Link is only able to continue his road towards Hero because of the support of women. Which goes with that saying that behind every great man is great women.

I know in a previous post I talked about the Gerudo race, and now I want to talk about the Hylian race. This is the race that both Zelda and Link are a part of. Now encase I haven’t mentioned in Zelda is is a princess, and both her and Link are white, blonde hair, and blue eyed…oh right and both of them end up saving the day. Not to mention that the leader of the Sages is also Hylian. So if you’ve been following me or know me you’d understand that this further perpetuating the white savior complex, and to the extant of  Aryan features. But I’ve been putting a lot of thought into this, and I kept asking myself why this might be? Especially after watching Cowboy Bebop The Movie, I was wondering why are these main characters pretty white looking? Besides the fact that as powerful countries the U.S., Great Britain, Spain, and France  have major influences in popular cultures around the world and due to their colonizing pretty much everywhere (but Antarctica cuz there’s only Penguins down there, you can’t really exploit them) they have influenced/left their legacy on those places. There was a point during last quarter and through out this quarter, that I started to really question not only world beauty standards but also the way we as the U.S. view other countries actions (I promise this isn’t me pointlessly dragging you down the rabbit hole).

From lectures and readings I’m very aware that Japan did not want western influences in their countries and that part of their involvement during WWII was because they wanted Asian countries to unite against the above countries. And these countries present themselves as being the best, the rulers of the world. So why is it that it was so horrible what Japan was doing during that time when they might have just been following the others lead on become world powers? I’m not trying to justify anything here, by the way just contemplating some reasons. Anyway back to Zelda, so that all being mentioned could the reason that Link is a Hylian (Aryan) saving the day could be because that’s the example being set and upheld by the rest of the world.

Plot:

The basis of this story is the relationship between the two main characters, and their relationship with the world around them. They are constantly being misjudged by their appearance, and this helps the two of them form a bond throughout the course of the show. This show holds itself pretty tightly to normal shoujo standards, like types of characters(which I’ll talk about more in the character section) and plot devices that they use. I don’t want to dive to deeply into them, mostly to avoid spoilers.

Artwork:

The artwork in this anime is pretty stylized. There are quite a few action scenes, leading to an interesting flow to character movement. The color palette tends to favor more bold colors, and the characters tend to be more or less proportioned. It is very detailed in its background work and they throw in a lot of unnecessary movements to the characters, which give it  a more realistic tone. The music in the show is actually quite nice, more edgy than cute and poppy.

Characters:

Ryuuji is an interesting character. He is seen by the outside world as a delinquent because of his appearance, but his heart is genuine and sweet. The show is focused more on him, and so the audience gets to spend more time in his shoes than in Taiga’s. Throughout the course of the show, we learn he is more of a hopeless romantic than anything, seeking out a relationship with Taiga’s best friend.

Alternatively, Taiga is misjudged based more on her actions. Taiga is also seeking out the romantic attentions of Ryuuji’s best friend, and as such Taiga and Ryuuji end up spending a lot of time together. Taiga turns out to be a tsundere character, and over the course of the show we find out that she is actually quite kind-hearted, she just doesn’t understand how to show it.

I found this show to be quite entertaining, though a little bland at times. I would recommend, regardless.

Well it’s week 9 now and I don’t know if I have an exact answer to my overarching question. 9 weeks just wasn’t long enough to study both Japanese and American culture…. but on the positive side I did make many revelations and  learned new things along the way. Here they are:

1.  There are very, very, very, few Asian American actors/actresses cast in zombie themed T.V. shows or films. I mean, I always knew there weren’t that many…but after doing this project I can’t deny that I’m shocked at the reality of the situation. It’s scary to know the only Asian American character I could find in a zombie themed show/movie was Glenn. That’s just sad….Fortunately, the show did a pretty good job at not stereotyping him.

2. Both American and Japanese shows/films usually have romance as part of the plot; however I noticed the relationships portrayed in the Japanese films are much less important to the plotline and are also much less sexual when compared to American films.

3. Like many American films, (from what I’ve seen) Japanese shows/films are typically sexist too, but sometimes in a different way. I also think that Japanese culture is way more open to the idea of a “strong and sexy” woman than American culture is. I feel like in American culture a woman cannot be both, it’s like she has to choose between the two. In addition, I think that maybe Japanese culture has more “fun” when it comes to portraying different types of relationships in films; this can especially be seen in the film Wild Zero where the main character Ace is convinced by Guitar Wolf that it doesn’t matter if his love interest was in actuality born as a boy.

4.  Japanese and American “cult” zombie films gain a cult following in very similar fashion… which includes; the main “heroes” having a “mock-heroic” type attitude and being connected to a different time period other than the one they belong in; having an “evil” force/villain present in the film, and the zombies knowing how to fight and make decisions for themselves.

Because I was left with just as many questions as answers, I have decided to continue my project well into the future.

Here’s a great pic of South Asian dresses and I would have really loved to maybe get into some of them. Also, this Tumblr, Asian National Costumes is great to look at various dress types.

If we let them I think that there are some games that really do have something to say. They both have the power to entertain and teach, as long as the player can read between the lines.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/Official_cover_art_for_Bioshock_Infinite.jpg

The flag you may of noticed on the background of my blog site is not the state flag of Hawai′i. However this flag is the  ”ke hae o ka mana o nā kānaka maoli, the “flag of the native Hawaiians’ power,’” or in a short version it is called kānaka maoli flag. I remember my Hawaiian buddies had one of these flags hanging up in the living room of the house therefore I thought it was fitting to make this flag and not the one we all know as the background to my site. The flag also coincides with an earlier post I did on the Hawaiian sovereignty movement because it symbolizes the fight for Hawaiian independence.

Below is a link to where I got my information.

http://www.kanakamaolipower.org/

Similarities:

1. The main “heroes” have a “mock-heroic” type attitude.

Versus: “It took five men to kidnap a girl? Hey, why don’t you let her go and lose the toupee?” (main character; prisoner KSC2-303)

“…Why did you save me?” (“The Girl” to main character)

“I didn’t mean to save you; it just pissed me off.” (main character to “The Girl”)

 ( prisoner KSC2-303; main character)

In Evil Dead: Army of Darkness, the main character Ash also possesses a very dry and sarcastic personality. On multiple occasions he calls his main love interest some sort of derogatory sexist term.

2. Both Ash and prisoner KSC2-303 are connected to a different time period other than the one they belong in/are originally from.

 (Ash Williams holding his “broomstick”)

Ash is from the year 1992 and is sucked through a time portal which takes him all the way back to the year 1300 AD. There, he has the upper hand especially because of his gun.

Sort of similar, prisoner KSC2-303 and the other main characters (from Versus) are reincarnations from 10th century Japan. Not only are both the hero and villain talented with weapons, such as the samurai sword and multiple types of guns, but they are also both extremely skilled in the martial arts.

3. There’s always an “evil” force/villain.

In Versus, “The Man,” is trying to open the “the darkness of death” for power.

“The darkness of death. That’s where the real world will begin. I’m going to open that doorway. Come with me?” (“The Man” talking to prisoner KSC2-303)

 (“The Man” from his first/original life)

Likewise, in Evil Dead: Army of Darkness, there are “Deadites,” magic that can go wrong, unseen forces, and a haunted forest.

 (Ash having an evil clone form due to shattered glass entering his throat)

4. The zombies know how to fight and make decisions for themselves

 (Evil Dead: Army of Darkness; the “Army of Darkness”/”deadites”)

This is something we rarely get to see in any type of zombie film. Almost always, the zombies are slow, cannot make conscious decisions, and do not know how to do anything else besides walk and eat people. So I think the fact that the zombies are pretty much opposite in Evil Dead and Versus easily pushes these films onto the map.

For example, even though the undead in Evil Dead are only united because of Ash’s evil clone they still know how to make calculated attacks. One of the flying deadites even soars down to grab Sheila (Ash’s love interest).

And in Versus, the zombies know how to fight martial arts style, and shoot guns. (Sorry, I couldn’t find a picture of this!)

….Yep. That’s it! So if you ever watch a “cult” zombie movie in the future look back to this blog and you’ll probably see it has one of these four characteristics. It’s almost like a formula… but obviously some end results are better than others.

(1st picture taken from http://reeleyes.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/versus-film.png)

(2nd picture taken from: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/57/28/78/572878dcef942b4d3c1198b2e7b3a71e.jpg)

(3rd picture taken from: http://www.fantastique-arts.com/photos/819.jpg)

(4th picture taken from: http://www.attackfromplanetb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/armyD2.jpg)

(5th picture taken from: http://www.dedfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Army_of_Darkness.jpg)