Ashton Kutcher in Brownface for Popchips Commercial
So this is neat. Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) did a promo video for a faux dating website called WorldWideLovers.com–in BROWNFACE. Calling himself “Raj” and pretending to be a Bollywood producer, Kutcher does the Indian-est accent he can muster. He points to a bag of Popchips and goes, “This is the Bombay!” Bah-dah-bah-psh!
If the product placement wasn’t clue enough, a visit to www.worldwidelovers.com takes you to a Facebook app page, presumably launched by Popchips as a clever marketing ploy.
I didn’t laugh once during this video, but maybe you’ll find it funny. You know, if you’re kinda racist. I wonder if Fes would’ve thought this was funny…
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On the Oakland Shooting + Friday Muse-Sick Fix
Oakland Shooting / One Goh
This past Monday, a former student at Oakland’s Oikos University shot and killed seven people and wounded three others. According to Reuters, “the attack was the deadliest gun violence at a U.S. college since a Virginia Tech University student killed 32 people and wounded 25 others before taking his own life in 2007.”
For all involved, and for everyone watching, the shooting is a tragedy. Unfortunately, it’s also an opportunity for the media and netizens alike to speculate on possible motives and complicated factors like race, mental health and gun control. For the Asian American community, it’s a bitter reminder of past tragedies that we’d sooner forget–a looming specter of angst, shame, self-reflection, fatigue and other shitty feelings.
Because yes, like at VT the shooter is Asian. Korean, to be specific. And because we’re not living in a post-racial America that one fact means a helluva lot more than it should. Yes, One Goh was bullied and othered–which is HORRIBLE AND SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO ANYONE. But in this case it doesn’t excuse him from taking SEVEN LIVES.
Anyone who condones either bullying or murder is part of the problem–and we all know (or should know) that.
So, please, I beg the media and you netizens to write and talk about about this issue with awareness, sensitivity and respect. And I hope we all keep the victims in mind as we try for the nth time to figure out what this means for the AAPI community–if it means anything at all.
Muse-Sick Fix
It’s Friday. And there are a lot of shitty, terrible things happening in the world. And sometimes when I feel like there’s no end in sight for the uphill battles that marginalized people have to fight, I put on pop music. Because that’s what you gotta do.
Today I’m listening to Korean rap star Yoon Mi Rae (real name: Tasha Reid) kill it (both literally and lyrically) in her latest single, “Get It In.” Check out the official music video below, which I’d describe as Kill Bill + ill rhymes and beats.
Yoon Mi Rae is an American performer of mixed race (Black and Korean) who moved to South Korea and rose to fame as “Korea’s best female rapper.” She first debuted as “Tasha “or “T” and was highly regarded for releasing a song called “Black Happiness,” in which she discussed the difficulties of having a mixed heritage.
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Daily Texan Posts ‘Apology’ for Racially Insensitive Trayvon Martin Cartoon
The University of Texas at Austin is my alma mater, so it thoroughly disappoints me when something like the racist Trayvon Martin cartoon is born in our hallowed halls, is published in The Daily Texan, is pulled off the site (not due to the public’s reaction but due to server issues), is put back on the site, continues to spread a crappy message and be a failed attempt to make the students and faculty of UT think about the media and racial issues.
What’s worse is that Daily Texan student adviser Doug Warren, who has spent 30+ years in journalism posted an “apology” on the site today that has been swiftly removed, though the page still pops up on the Interwebs if you search for it. I’ve taken the liberty of making some marginal notes. Just “take a deep breath” before you click on this thumbnail…
The newly minted journalists and self-appointed judges of racism might want to ask themselves what is more “yellow”–actual journalists using neutral language to relay facts, or cartoonists who use racial slurs that drive traffic to their online newspaper?
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SXSW Panel on K-Pop and the American Pop Music Market
Yesterday kicked off the music portion of SXSW 2012, Austin’s annual clusterfuck Interactive/Music/Film festival, and everyone in the heart of Texas is excited for all of the free-flowing booze, swag and celebrity encounters that are bound to happen. As the live music draws in the hipsters, the music industry panel discussions draw the movers ‘n shakers. One intriguing discussion that’s happening this Friday is on on K-pop (or Korean pop): Do Music Moguls Know a Secret About K-Pop? Here’s the description:
More and more, American artists are being drawn to the culture, fashion and music of Asia. Will.i.am is producing tracks on 2NE1‘s next album, Kanye West is working with JYJ, and Wonder Girls recently opened for the Jonas Brothers. It’s been said before, but this may be the year that K-pop breaks through into American pop culture. Can K-pop cross over or is it exclusive to an Asian population? Do K-pop artists need to have an English language single or can an in-language song make it in the U.S. market? What exactly is K-pop anyway?
Without having attended this panel, I can already provide some answers.
What exactly is K-pop anyway?
K-pop is Korean pop, and there’s nothing quite like it. It’s a plethora of beautiful, stylish, well-trained, well-groomed, heavily managed, hard-working, talented, likable boy bands, girl groups and solo acts. It’s a bubblegum fantasy land. It’s an ethnic-themed issue of Tiger Beat. It’s the hypothetical lovechild of Katy Perry and Forever 21 mogul Do Won Chang. It’s delightful.
Can K-pop cross over or is it exclusive to an Asian population?
Yes, it can. And, it has. Korean pop has crossed over to America–it’s just that nobody, nobody noticed. K-pop artists like Se7en and BoA came over here several years back and worked with people like Lil’ Kim, Flo Rida, Bloodshy & Avant and Sean Garrett. They sang in English, produced slick music videos and received absolutely no airplay. In 2007, Rain defeated Stephen Colbert in Time‘s online poll for most influential people, and he appeared on the Colbert Report in 2008.
Do K-pop artists need to have an English language single or can an in-language song make it in the U.S. market?
The former. Nobody speakin’ the ching chong ever gets on American radio! Maybe we should ask Seacrest.
Lest you think I’m overly pessimistic and dismissive of K-pop’s American success, I’ll go ahead and unabashedly and non-ironically admit that I’m K-pop’s biggest fan. Can you blame me? In the absence of groups like Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child, K-pop groups like Girls Generation (or SNSD), Wonder Girls, and 2NE1 fill a void that many of us who came of age in the 90′s have been looking to fill–the sight of women working not against each other but together–a flashy, superficial and highly debatable symbol of feminist youth. These young women are doing for the East what the Spice Girls once did for the West, spreading a message of empowerment–despite being managed by a patriarchal pop music industry and its expectations–and succeeding in their own right because of their talent. Get on board! If you’re new to K-pop, here are some videos to check out:
BoA — “Eat You Up”
BoA is the reigning pop princess of South Korea and all of Asia. “Eat You Up” was her American debut single.
Wonder Girls — “Nobody”
The Wonder Girls hit “Nobody” took over everyone’s iPods a couple of years back because of its infectious beat and retro feel. I’m not sure how their style fits exactly with the Joe Bros, but they totally deserve all the exposure they can get.
Girls’ Generation (SNSD) — “The Boys” on David Letterman
Girls’ Generation (a.k.a SNSD in Korea) is a nine-member girl group made up of American-born and Korean-born singers and dancers. This video is of their appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman in January 2012.
Contestants on TV competition show K-Pop Star cover “The Boys”
There’s a competition show on Korean TV right now that really showcases the talent of young Koreans and Americans, who’ve traveled all the way to Korea from places like L.A. and NYC in the hopes of becoming the next big K-Pop star. Check out SuPearls cover of Girls, Generation’s “The Boys”:
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‘Seeking Asian Female’ and Other SXSW 2012 Films
SXSW 2012 (The South by Southwest Interactive/Film/Music Festival) is upon us all today in inexplicably dreary Austin, Texas, and there are a lot of exciting events going on in the coming week. A lot of people have already been talking about the films coming out this year at the fest. One screening that caught my attention was that of a documentary called Seeking Asian Female by San Francisco filmmaker Debbie Lum that will be shown next week. Here the synopsis:
Seeking Asian Female is an eccentric modern love story about Steven and Sandy — an aging white man with “yellow fever” who is obsessed with marrying any Asian woman, and the young Chinese bride he finds online. Debbie, a Chinese American filmmaker, documents and narrates with skepticism and humor, from the early stages of Steven’s search, through the moment Sandy steps foot in California for the first time, to a year into their precarious union. Global migration, Sino-American relations and the perennial battle of the sexes, weigh in on the fate of their marriage in this intimate and quirky personal documentary.
Doing a doc about yellow fever is pretty ballsy, since it will very probably unearth some heavy creepiness, awkwardness and cringe-inducing moments. But I’m confident that it’ll prove to be much more intricate and sensitive than we’d expect. Watch the trailer here:
Another film called Eden, directed by Megan Griffiths, stars Asian American actress Jamie Chung as a girl abducted into the sex slave trade who struggles to free herself from captivity. Here’s the synopsis:
In 1994 Korean-American teenager, Hyun Jae, went to a bar in New Mexico where a handsome young man posing as a firefighter offered her a ride home. Then she was abducted and smuggled into Las Vegas where she was imprisoned as a sex slave for two years. During her captivity, Hyun Jae (dubbed Eden by her captors) ensured her own survival by steadily carving out power and influence within the very organization that imprisoned her. Inspired by the complex and harrowing true story of human trafficking survivor Chong Kim, “Eden” peers into the darkest corners of America and attempts to discover the humanity within.
Sounds like a heart-wrenching and inspiring story. I’m glad that women filmmakers are tackling such complicated subjects as yellow fever and sex trafficking, but I do wish there were more comedies out there that give AAPI actors a chance to show their comic chops.
If you’re going to South By this year (or if you’re not and are simply a filmgeek), which films are you most excited to see?
See the full schedule of SXSW 2012 films here.
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