Jun

9

2008

(13) Comments

I came to Akihabara to Kill

07:00AM by lan

A 25 year old man named Tomohiro Kato killed 7 people in the Akihabara shopping district yesterday in Tokyo Japan. He drove a rented 2 ton truck into pedestrian at 70kph hitting 3 people. He stopped his truck and headed back to the victims while stabbing 3 people on the way in addition to a police officer that attempted to apprehend him. He then ran into the crows and stabbed more people injuring 10 and killing a total of 7. Witnesses say he looked like he was enjoying himself. He was later apprehended in an alley and stopped after police threatened to shoot him down. The reason he stated was:

I came to Akihabara to kill. Anyone would have been fine (I don’t care who I killed). I was tired of life.

Jun

5

2008

(5) Comments

AA vs. APA vs. API - should we care?

01:31PM by kevinlee

Back in my day as a college student, when multiculturalism and politically correct language was just starting to hit the streets, my peeps pretty much stood contentedly under the banner of “Asian American” to represent our cultural identity and interests to the campus at large.  Back in the good ol’ days when kids were raiding Salvation Army stores for vintage corporate logo uniforms and wearing them ironically as grunge apparel, I picked out a work shirt that had a ready-made brand to tell the world who I was (see left).

In recent years as I’ve been working with AA community groups in the NYC area, I’ve noticed that the terms Asian Pacific American (APA) and Asian Pacific Islander (API) are being used with increasing frequency in place of the good ol ‘AA. I didn’t really think too much about what these new acronyms signified, other than that the extra letter made them kind of cumbersome to my mind (a superficial observation, I know). I always considered Samoans, Fijians, Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders to be Asian, if not geographically, then certainly racially (moreso than Asians from the Middle East). But I was brought to think more seriously about a video I produced and posted on YouTube on behalf of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CAAF) announcing a new national health care partnership got the following comment:

Jun

2

2008

(9) Comments

article: ‘Shanghai Beauties Proudly State: We Belong to Foreign Men’

05:46PM by Alvin Lin

This is a Chinese language article, FYI.  Another translation I have heard on the title is ‘We Live for Foreign Men’.  Whatever the agreed upon translation is, there are some pretty disturbing mentalities right now in Asia, where people are looking down on other Asians and having ‘White is Right’ mentality.  Sadly, it will probably take at least another generation until self hate and White worship issues become resolved amongst Asian populations.

http://news.21cn.com/luntan/retie/2006/07/25/2661280.shtml

May

29

2008

(6) Comments

The Big B Stands for Blog

08:00AM by kevinlee

When you’re the biggest movie star of one of the biggest movie-making nations, your life spent being feted everywhere from Mumbai to Cannes while starring in six to eight features a year, you wouldn’t think you’d have much time to sleep let alone keep a blog. But blogging is exactly what’s been going on for the past month in the life of Amitabh Bachchan, who also goes by the nickname “The Big B” (as well as a dozen others - my personal favorite is “AB Baby"). While in America Bachchan’s stature may be no larger than an obscure reference in a Steven Colbert “Alpha Dog of the Week” skit, for nearly a billion movie buffs dispersed among the Indian global diaspora, the 35-year veteran of over 150 films approaches god-like status. And now the god is speaking to them directly online.

May

28

2008

(7) Comments

In China, Fame Comes Easier with a Foreign Face

06:46PM by Alvin Lin

Article link

“In China, fame comes easier with a foreign face.  If you’ve got the looks, the talent, and the Mandarin, forget Hollywood - the Chinese entertainment industry wants you. And even if you’re a foreigner in China who doesn’t have any of those things, don’t worry. You’ve got a decent chance of getting on television, anyway.

In cities nationwide, recruiters are prowling university campuses and expatriate hangouts in search of aspiring variety show performers, game show contestants, and film extras.Pretty much any kind of foreigner will do, with one exception: “They definitely prefer people that don’t look Asian,” says American expatriate Ben Ross.”

May

28

2008

(7) Comments

Found an Old Interview With Tak Toyoshima, Secret Asian Man

04:45AM by Alvin Lin

Q: What is your ultimate goal with the strip?

A: I want the strip to be a bridging text between Asian Americans and mainstream America. I don’t want to crap down people’s throats with stories of oppression and suffering. Okay, well, maybe sometimes I do. But I think there’s a lot of work to do on both sides of the fence and I’ve always had a knack for seeing both sides.

I also want it to be educational. Every now and then I do straight biographical or historical event strips that bring up things that may otherwise barely get any exposure. I’m very excited to have the reach of a daily strip to bring some of these stories to the masses. It’s like a big open Asian American history class.

Q: Many Asian Americans feel torn between their Asian ethnicity and their American nationality. Did you ever feel that way over the course of your life?

A: Absolutely. But Asians are definitely not alone in feeling like this and that’s where we should feel better about it. Internal conflicts arise when we are forced to choose between wanting to be treated just like everyone else and demanding special recognition for our differences.

Then there is the whole debate over the overly broad term “Asian American.” Asian Americans, as well as every other type of American, need to come to terms with the fact that whatever they do to express their cultural heritage should be considered American. That’s the beauty and hope of this country.

http://glamhub.com/2007/07/tak_toyoshima/

May

26

2008

(8) Comments

Adwatch: If you can read this, will you drink it?

03:20PM by kevinlee

I’ve been seeing this ad on the NYC subways for Oi Ocha, touted as the “original green tea” by Ito En, the largest green tea distributor in Japan (they also make the popular Tea’s Tea brand of bottled unsweetened tea). It’s hard not to notice how Japanese script features prominently in the ad, throwing its foreignness in the face of those who can’t decipher the characters.  It may take a moment to notice the red bubble near the top right with the English text: “If you can read it, chances are you already drink it.” Further down, next to the tea’s English name, is another blurb in red: “Japan’s #1 Green Tea.”

Taking all of these elements together raises questions about this ad’s target audience, cultural subtext, and bottom line effectiveness as advertising.

May

26

2008

(11) Comments

Justin Lin: ‘It’s all about marketing and distribution’

06:44AM by Alvin Lin

“That’s why Lin’s bottom line with his self-financed latest pic, the Bruce Lee mockumentary Finishing the Game, is control of marketing and distribution. Or at least significant input. He wants to learn how it’s done; figure out how to build a network for exhibition and distribution of Asian American indie film on his own, if necessary. “That’s the next step,” he says. “It’s all about distribution and exhibition and marketing--figuring out how to do that right. That’s what the growth of the Asian American cinema is going to hinge on. I’m not worried about the talent...I’m not even worried about the money. It’s about getting people to watch these films, and proving there’s an audience.”

http://instantyang.blogspot.com/

May

25

2008

(0) Comments

My Huge Problem with ‘Integral Theory’

04:43PM by Alvin Lin

It seems a lot of Asian Americans these days love ‘integral theory’ and ‘holons’, it sounds like new cult terminology, but anyways I have MAJOR problems with this theory. Look at the following link, an intro description of the theory:
http://holons-news.com/altitudes.html

Basically, I think the reason why Asian Americans have gotten screwed so much the past 200 years in the West, is because we actually need to lower ourselves to the thinking of Western society, and we haven’t yet. Western society, democracy, and market economy in targeting marketing segments, is based on: 1. Might is Right (whether it be political or economic or military), 2. Ethnocentric behavior among every other racial group in America except for Asians, 3. Egocentric, self interested behavior.

May

17

2008

(13) Comments

Asian vs Asian American Perception of Asian Beauty Treatments

10:33AM by Alvin Lin

The article is about an Asian American going to Asia, observing, and commenting or hinting on things like eyelid or nose ridge surgery being linked to Caucasian-centric beauty standards, as well as the many beautiful Asian woman with mediocre White men couples she saw in the cities as a symptom of ‘cultural repudiation’.

There is a link to the original article below, with comments in it. What is interesting is how emotional and strongly the Asian posters living in Asia deny or defend Asian beauty treatments, or about the AF/ugly WM couples, and also bash that writer as well as Asian Americans, for our views on this topic.

What do you guys think? Are we, Asian Americans, projecting our own Westernized viewpoint in a way that creates bias or incorrect observations on our part? Or, are Asians in Asia in denial or ignorance, over eyelid or noseridge surgery, or over the attractive Asian female / low quality White male pairings in Asia?  Article Link