03.31.08
Posted in Culture at 8:31 am by william_lee_intern
Chilly weather and an overcast sky didn’t stop the grills from smoking at the Asian barbeque Saturday. About 70 people attended the event, which started at 1 p.m., to show their support and get a taste of the free food prepared hot off the grill while grooving to the sounds of a DJ playing Asian hits and American music alike. The barbeque was the kickoff for Asian American Heritage Month. It was sponsored by Student Development-Multicultural Programs and Services, Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity, International Student Council and United Asian-American Council.
Click here to read the original article
Permalink
03.29.08
Posted in Editorial at 8:21 am by epistateIV
Most movie reviews focus in on the how great the special effects were in the film or how great the acting. My review will not focus in on those two topics but on the basic facts to which the film “21″ is based on.
Hollywood has always exploited minorities.
From the first gigantic money making blockbuster D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation where African American stereotypes were exploited to make money by white film makers.
To the casting of John Wayne as Genghis Khan, Omar Shariff again in the remake of Genghis Khan, Anthony Quinn as a Filipino freedom fighter, Yul Brynner as the King of Thailand, Ben Kingsley as Mohandas K. Gandhi.
My point is simply this:
The main characters in Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
03.28.08
Posted in Media and Entertainment at 4:02 pm by admin
I was pretty blown away by this article, which isn’t written by an Asian American person, and was not published in an Asian American publication (it’s from the Boston Globe):
According to this article, one key problem with the movie ‘21′ is that:
- Ethnics go to the back of the bus. The name of the hero of Mezrich’s nonfiction bestseller, “Kevin Lewis,” was an alias for student Jeff Ma; the real MIT team was primarily Asian-American. “21″ waves the wand and turns them into three Anglos
Case in point: Who are the most important people in this advertisement?
Permalink
Posted in Community Alerts at 3:53 pm by william_lee
Guy Aoki of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans states in this press release:
- Asian American actors rarely get the opportunity to shine by playing meaty roles, and even when there’s a project crying out for their casting- like in 21- they get pushed aside so white people can play them instead.
###
MANAA Press Release on “white-washed” casting in 21
MANAA BLASTS WHITE-WASHED CASTING OF KEVIN SPACEY’S “BASED ON A TRUE STORY” NEW FILM “21″
Organization raised concerns with Sony Pictures back in 2005
LOS ANGELES–Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA), the only organization solely dedicated to monitoring the media and its depiction and coverage of Asian Americans, is upset that 21, the new film starring Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth and based on the best-selling novel “Bringing Down the House,” chose a white male lead instead of an Asian American and that Asian American actors were denied the opportunity to get meaty roles in a true-life story that featured mostly Asian Americans.
Ben Mezrich’s 2002 book was based on the true story of an MIT professor who taught 10-12 of his students how to count cards and beat Las Vegas casinos at blackjack. The majority of the players were Asian American, and the lead member of that student team was Jeff Ma, an Asian American. Although the filmmakers were aware of Ma’s role (he served as a consultant), the producers chose to give his part to a white British actor, Jim Sturgess. Two smaller, undeveloped roles went to Aaron Yoo and Liza Lapira.
MANAA had been aware that producers Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti were “white-washing” the project back in 2005 when Mezrich told a forum at MIT that he was disappointed that Sony executives had decided to make most of the students white. On October 21, 2005, MANAA Founding President Guy Aoki raised the organization’s concerns with Brunetti, who said he did not care about realistic ethnic casting and was merely looking for “the best actor for the role”- a common excuse producers use to cast white people in place of minorities. Brunetti said talking about casting was premature as he hadn’t locked in a director.
MANAA Vice President Jeff Mio attempted to speak with executive producer Elizabeth Cantillon, but his calls were ignored. Mio expressed concerns about the film in a letter to her, which was cc’d to Amy Pascal (Sony Pictures chairwoman), Doug Belgrad (President of Production), and Devon Franklin (Director of Development). It was also ignored.
After Australian Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) had been secured as director in 2006, Mio wrote to the same executives and once again tried to speak with Cantillon but was rebuffed. Sony publicist Steve Elzer contacted Mio only to tell him that the casting of the film was none of his business.
Says Aoki, “Asian American actors rarely get the opportunity to shine by playing meaty roles, and even when there’s a project crying out for their casting- like in 21- they get pushed aside so white people can play them instead. Brunetti said he was only looking for the best actors for the roles. Yet clearly, the producers and director exemplified nepotism and a lazy approach to casting: Producer Kevin Spacey got to play the MIT professor, Spacey asked Kate Bosworth, his co-star in two movies (Beyond the Sea and Superman Returns), who had also been directed by Luketic in Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, to be one of his students. The Australian director picks a British actor, Jim Sturgess, as his lead, who, with Jacob Pitts (another student on the 21 team), were both seen in Across the Universe.
“Were Asian American actors even seriously considered for the lead role? How many got to audition for it?
“What’s frustrating is that many of the executives involved with this film also worked on successful projects featuring Asian and Asian Americans as the stars: Producer Michael De Luca was President and COO of New Line Pictures and created the successful Rush Hour franchise starring Jackie Chan. Executive Producer Brett Ratner directed all three Rush Hour films. Executive Producer William S. Beasley executive produced another picture starring Chan, The Tuxedo. And Director of Photography Russell Carpenter shot the two Charlie’s Angels movies starring Lucy Liu.
“All of these people are aware that films with Asian and Asian American stars can be successful. So why did they chicken-out and go with a primarily white cast? ’Bringing Down the House’ was a best-seller which sold over a million-and-a-half copies, not hurt by the fact that most of its characters were Asian Americans (in fact, Mezrich said a white person betting a lot of money in Vegas would stand out while an Asian would be less conspicuous). A film that accurately reflected that reality would not have turned off movie-goers; it would’ve drawn them more toward it. The filmmakers didn’t even bother using many Asian American extras to create a believable MIT student body, which is 26% Asian American. In 21, you see maybe two faces in a math class taught by Kevin Spacey. How hard is it to find Asian American people who don’t have to utter any lines? It doesn’t take any acting talent. Ah, but it takes some intelligence on the part of the filmmakers.”
Permalink
Posted in Media and Entertainment at 3:47 pm by william_lee
According to this article, Jeff Ma indicated that:
- “I was more interested in having someone play me who captured my personality and I think Jim did that very well.”
My heart is saddened by the fact that not a single Asian American male lead could be found to accomplish the goal of capturing Jeff Ma’s personality.
Permalink
Posted in Editorial at 1:21 pm by william_lee
I was so relieved when I learned that the JabbaWokeez (an Asian American male dance crew) won the grand prize and title of America’s Best Dance Crew. I was on my cell phone sending in my votes via txt message all day. Part of their unique style is the matching masks which served as a vehicle for delivering some of their pantomime-like (the art or genre of conveying a story by bodily movements only) dance routines. They showcased their precision “bodily movements” week after week without fail. As one judge mentioned, the JabbaWokeez “set the standard for the next 10 seasons” of America’s Best Dance Crew.
Is this merely a blip in pop-culture on some two-bit dance show that nobody watches? I don’t think so. This is a sweet victory for Asian American men. Why? What kind of message does this single victory show? Think about what dancing represents– physical mastery, coordination, teamwork, competence, charisma, and sexual prowess. Yes, sexual prowess. Ladies, let’s not pretend that a man who is good at dancing is not thought of as being 100 times sexier than a man who isn’t.
But it’s also a bitter-sweet victory, because the masks enabled this crew to be seen for what they are– awesome dancers. It allowed them to not be pigeon-holed as “the Asian dudes.” It’s kind of sad that the masks were needed in order to convince the public that, in the end, they really weren’t just “the Asian dudes”.
I can’t begin to tell you how great I felt to be Asian at the very moment that they completely tossed the masks aside during their final performance. More than a physical gesture, it was a symbolic gesture to exert their dominance as the winners of this competition, despite their total and absolute humility. When asked to give a victory speech, what did the JabbaWokeez do? The very first thing that came out of their mouths was to give props to the other crew.
Permalink
Posted in Media and Entertainment at 9:53 am by william_lee_intern
The Seed, a short film produced and directed by Linkin Park DJ Joseph Hahn and presented by Shorts International has made its debut on iTunes. Hahn, whose directorial credits include such award-winning videos as Linkin Park’s “In The End” (2002’s VMA “Video of the Year” winner) and “Somewhere I Belong” (2003’s VMA “Best Rock Video” winner), as well as music clips for Xzibit, Story Of The Year and Alkaline Trio, makes his first foray into directing short films with THE SEED. Hahn recently directed Linkin Park videos for the smash hits “What I’ve Done” and “Bleed It Out” off their ouble-platinum-selling Minutes to Midnight album. I like this guy!
Click here to the original article!
Permalink
Posted in Politics at 9:38 am by william_lee_intern
Tang, who lives in Austin, teaches Asian American history at Harvard University, specializing in refugee migration and resettlement. As the war in Iraq enters its sixth year, he thinks The United States should help Iraqis by resettling refugees.
Click here to the original article
Permalink
Posted in Fun Facts at 9:24 am by william_lee_intern
It was surprising when Gene Yang’s graphic novel, “American Born Chinese” was nominated for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2006. With accolades like a nomination for the National Book Awards pouring in, there’s no doubt that it’s going to be landing into the hands of a lot more readers.
Click here to the original article
Permalink
Posted in Media and Entertainment at 9:09 am by william_lee_intern
Check out the Asian archipelago– music, dance and other performances at the Columbia Museum of Art, starting Friday, March 28. there will be performances, poetry readings, puppet shows, lectures and dance workshops.
Click here to the original article
Permalink
« Previous entries · Next entries »
