Documentary Screening in SF Chinatown this Weekend

Chinese for Affirmative Action is looking to get the word out on this event they're sponsoring with the Chinese Cultural Center on Saturday:

THE CHINATOWN FILES: A Special Screening and Panel Discussion with Ling-chi Wang and Rolland & Kathy Lowe.


Saturday, July 7, 2007, 4:00 PM
Chinese Cultural Center, 750 Kearny Street, Third Floor
No RSVP required

Here are excerpts from the blurb:

"THE CHINATOWN FILES, a powerful documentary that charts the effects of the Cold War on Chinese Americans during the 1950s and ’60s, took director Amy Chen and her film crew over 10 years to make... Well-researched and stunningly honest, THE CHINATOWN FILES includes archival footage taken from Chinese and American propaganda films, old cartoons stereotyping Chinese Americans, home movies of Chinatowns, and old photographs. In addition, a group of Chinese Americans are interviewed throughout the film, and their stories deliver this historical, cultural narrative... An educational film telling an oft ignored chapter of America ’s past, THE CHINATOWN FILES is a rigorous examination of the effects of Cold War fears on an immigrant community."

48 Hour Film Madness

Just so you know right quick: occasional Hip Hapa correspondent Yasmine Gomez and a small group of friends participated in the 48 Hour Film Project this past weekend, and their work will be screened in San Francisco tonight. Check it:

Consumed by Subject To Change Productions
Tuesday June 19, 2007
6:30pm and 9pm (2 screenings)
Landmark Embarcadero Center Cinemas
One Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA 94111

Note: Accompanying image has nothing to do with this event, it's just our attempt at being clever. But that was a great movie, no? Man, Eddie Murphy was awesome back in the day.

Remembering Vincent Chin

Starting tomorrow, Asian Pacific Americans for Progress, in conjunction with a number of local organizations, will be hosting a series of events all across the country to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin. Each event will feature a screening of the must-see documentary Who Killed Vincent Chin?, along with a panel discussion of local community leaders. Here's the schedule:

NEW YORK
June 19, 6:30 PM
Museum of Chinese in the Americas, 70 Mulberry Street, 2nd Floor
Co-sponsored by the Museum of Chinese in the Americas, with appearances by John Liu (New York City Councilman), Liz Ouyang (Executive Vice President, OCA), and Darwin Davis (President and CEO, New York Urban League)

GRAND RAPIDS
June 19, 6:00 PM
St. Mary Magdalen Family Center, 1213 52nd Street
Co-sponsored by the Asian Victims Relief Fund, with appearances by Dan Levy (Chief Legal Officer, Michigan Department of Civil Rights) Pravina Ramanathan (Asian American Liaison, Michigan Dept. of Civil Rights), and Ingrid Scott-Weekly (Director, City of Grand Rapids Equal Opportunity Department)

CHICAGO
June 20, 6:30 PM
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, 800 South Halsted Street
Co-sponsored by the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, the Japanese American Citizens League, and the Greater Chicago Chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans, with appearances by Bill Yoshino (Midwest Director, JACL), Diana Lin (VP, Asian American Institute), Myron Quon (Legal Director, Asian American Institute), and Rima Kapitan (Staff Attorney, Chicago Council on American-Islamic Relations)

DETROIT
June 23, 9:00 AM (ALL DAY)
Chinese Community Center, 32585 Concord Drive, Madison Heights, MI 48071
Sponsored by the Detroit Chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans and the Allstate Foundation, with co-sponsors the American Citizens for Justice, the Governor's Advisory Council on Asian Pacific American Affairs, and Asian Pacific Americans for Progress. Organized as part of its Initiative on Hate Crimes, Detroit OCA has in addition to the film screening scheduled a series of panels and a visit to the grave site at Forest Lawn Cemetery. Panelists will include Frank H. Wu (Dean, Wayne State Law School), Roland Hwang (President, ACJ), Stephanie Lily Chang (ACJ), and many more.

WASHINGTON, DC
June 23, 10:30 AM
Martin Luther King Jr. Library, 901 G. Street
Co-sponsored by South Asian American Leaders for Tomorrow, the Japanese American Citizens League, the Organization of Chinese Americans, the Sikh American Legal Education and Defense Fund, the University of Maryland's Asian American Studies Program, and the DC APA Film Festival, with appearances by Eric Byler (Director, Americanese and Charlotte Sometimes)
and Larry Shinagawa (Professor, University of Maryland)

BOSTON (QUINCY)
June 23, 2:00 PM
665 Hancock Street
Co-sponsored by the Asian American Resource Workshop, the American Chinese Federation, and the Chinese Progressive Association

LOS ANGELES
June 24, 2:00 PM
The National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, 111 Central Avenue
Co-sponsored by the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, the South Asian Network, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council, with appearances by Hamid Khan (Executive Director, South Asian Network), Stewart Kwoh (Executive Director, APALC), Robin Toma (Executive Director, LA County Human Relations Commission), and Renee Tajima (Director, Who Killed Vincent Chin?)

SAN FRANCISCO
June 27, 6:30 PM
Chinese For Affirmative Action, 17 Walter U Lum Place
Co-sponsored by the Chinese Historical Society, with appearances by Honorable Yvonne Lee (Member of the SF Police Commission and former Commissioner of the President's Commission on Civil Rights), Malcolm Yeung (Staff Attorney, Asian Law Caucus), Kavneet Singh (Managing Director, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund

RALEIGH/DURHAM
July 14, 2:00 PM
Korman Communities Theater, 300 Seaforth Drive
Co-sponsored by the National Association of Asian American Professionals-North Carolina and the North Carolina Asian Pacific American Bar Association

If you live near one of the venues, please attend, and note that additional events in Salt Lake City, Portland, and Milwaukee are also on the horizon.

In the Cradle of Cinema

I'd meant to give some publicity to this before it started, but of course it slipped my mind and is now halfway over. Story of my life. In any case... the Visual Communications Filmfest (or as the subhead clarifies, The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival) still has four more days left. Looks like most of the high-profile events went down this weekend, including seminars with Dustin Nguyen, Justin Lin, and Wayne Wang, as well as a tribute to the late Mako. Nonetheless, there's still plenty of features to be screened this week, so head on over and check it out.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

From this:


To this:



Yeah, we're done. We most definitely are done.

More Film Festival Excitement

Since we've been all about the cinema lately...

If you plan on being in New York this summer (or reside there now), are a student, and enjoy movies (who doesn't?), you might apply for a gig with the Asian American International Film Festival (billed as "the first and longest running film festival of its kind." I guess when you're the first you don't have to list the city at the beginning of your festival name. Or maybe this is just a case of that New York-being-the-center-of-the-universe foolishness at work. Whatever.).

They are hiring for the following positions: Archives Assistant, Marketing Assistant, Hospitality Assistant, Box Office & Membership Assistant, Sponsorship Assistant, Youth Programs Assistant, and Administrative Assistant. College credit and a small stipend are available.

They've listed some info on the site, but the email announcement I got also encouraged interested candidates to inquire with festival coordinator Irene Cifra at (212) 989-1422.

Oh, and they are also accepting film submissions. HOOK IT UP.

Dispatches from the SF International Asian American Film Festival - Part V

Hip Hapa's coverage of this year's SFIAAFF features two intrepid hapa reporters whose skill, dedication, moxy, and insight will bring you the low-down on the hottest film festival in town. Today's entry is brought to you by Yasmine Gomez:

The World, Complicated (shorts program)--Several people recommended this shorts program to me, so I decided to check it out. The host warned us that this was not the "feel good" program, but that these films would haunt and linger, which they definitely did. Dreamtrace followed a couple in a strangely confined space, as they dreamed for a better future. I also enjoyed Windowbreaker which brought new light to racial profiling. In an amusing Hapa-related scene, the Asian mother warns her two young kids to lock the door after she leaves the house because of the "dangerous" Vietnamese teens that hang around the neighborhood. The daughter then whispers to her brother, "But we're Vietnamese," to which the brother replies, "We're HALF Vietnamese." Another interesting visual piece was the CGI-animated Doll Face, exposing society's desire for beauty as determined by the media. Luckily, it's on YouTube for you all to see for yourselves:



The End of the World As We Know It (shorts program)--Several humorous shorts capped off by a miserably long ninja mess. My favorites included Russian Hill Roulette, Equal Opportunity, Pandamania, and The Chinese Connection, by hapa director Aram Siu Wai Collier. Aram's clever short follows a Chinese American girl's search for love online in suburban America. I spoke with Aram after the program and he has since moved from the bay area to Toronto to work for the Toronto Asian American film festival there.

The Year of the Fish--a magical fairy-tale using rotoscope animation (as used in the film Waking Life). This film looked great and was an interesting story with strong acting performances, but I was a little uncomfortable with some of the portrayals. Sure, every fairy tale needs the dark witch or evil stepmother, but did they have to put them into a NY Chinatown massage parlor setting? I’m sure their lives are hard enough as it is without having to be portrayed as heartless dragon ladies.

Finally, I was able to attend the closing night gala, since I volunteered in the early evening. I didn’t get a chance to catch the closing night film, Dark Matter, which I’m sure got extra attention since it stars Meryl Streep. I did hear that the film was very good, but the ending threw people for a loop. I guess you’ll have to see it to find out! The gala was a fun time and also revealed the winners of the audience, narrative, and documentary awards. Hapa filmmaker Eric Byler was one of the winners for his film Tre.

In his acceptance speech, he called for more political action from the Asian American community--that buying a movie ticket is an important act, but not as important as voting.

That’s it for me! Until next year...

And that's it for our coverage. Thanks to Yasmine and Elli for filing these reports--you guys are hapatastic.

Dispatches from the SF International Asian American Film Festival - Part IV

Hip Hapa's coverage of this year's SFIAAFF features two intrepid hapa reporters whose skill, dedication, moxy, and insight will bring you the low-down on the hottest film festival in town. Today's entry is brought to you by Elli Nagai-Rothe:

I volunteered all day on Monday, March 19 (12:00pm - 9:30pm) and then caught a 9:30pm film, so I was pretty much at the VMS Van Ness theater for 11.5 hours straight. How's that for dedication to the festival?

There was a special screening for SF high school students (I think there were about six high schools in total that came) on Monday of American Pastime. It actually was a good film for high school students to see (in my opinion), balancing heavy issues of civil rights and social justice during internment of Japanese Americans during WWII and a passion for baseball that transcends cultural boundaries.

You can check out a summary of the film online, so I won't give you one. I found it to be very touching--perhaps it was overly simplistic in terms of the story with a happy ending, pulling the heart-strings sort of thing. Given that my grandparents were interned at Topaz (where the film took place, and was actually shot just outside of the old Topaz camp site), it was particularly moving for me. And I guess other people thought it was pretty good too, since it won the audience Comcast award.

I also saw Pig Fell into a Well, a Korean film that was originally premiered at the SFIAAFF ten years ago. I don't think I was alone when I left the film thinking and saying out loud: "Huh?!" Can someone explain what was going on in that film?

One of the nice things about volunteering (there are many reasons), is being able to catch films during your shifts. This is not always guaranteed--you may miss 1/2 of the beginning and/or end, but depending on your volunteer duties, you can usually catch several films (being an usher lends itself particularly well for this). I made the most of this opportunity and packed in as many films as possible, while making use of my volunteer vouchers and other free tickets offered to volunteers.

Monday night, I saw Blackout, a Filipino thriller. Really, that is the best way to describe it. A father of a young boy and a heavy alcoholic who lost his wife (though it's not clear if she left him, or she died... because as viewers we're unclear as to the mental stability of the father) regularly blacks out and can't remember what he does during his blackout periods. Anyhow, he thinks he accidentally kills his neighbor's daughter and then tries to hide her body... and the story unfolds from there. At times suspenseful, and at a few moments during the movie, I jumped in my seat.

Tuesday, March 20th, I caught Owl and the Sparrow, a very sweet Vietnamese film (also covered by Yasmine Gomez below). The story was beautiful and the young actress in this is just amazing. I really enjoyed this film, though honestly, I got really nauseous watching it--it's filmed with a hand-held camera and when it's up on the big screen, all the shaking and moving with the camera angles and shots gave me motion sickness. So despite having to close my eyes and steady my stomach during several parts, I still really enjoyed it. And it won best narrative feature, which is awesome.

My last volunteer shift was on Wednesday, March 21 and I was able to catch Love for Share, which is a very interesting look at the growing prevalence of polygamy in Indonesia. The film follows the stories of three main women, and very loosely ties them together. The last story drags a bit, but overall I found the film to be both informative and very engaging.

Wednesday night after my shift, I hung out with a bunch of the festival staff, who are all awesome people. This is the other main reason I enjoy volunteering--the people involved are very committed and interesting folk (volunteers and staff alike), and I've made several friends over the years through the festival.

I'm looking forward to next year's festival already! And I know that festival staff start their planning for next year about two weeks after the current year's festival ends. It's a big project, but I'm very grateful that the festival brings so many wonderful films to SF every year.

Stay tuned for one last update from San Francisco...

Dispatches from the SF International Asian American Film Festival - Part III

Hip Hapa's coverage of this year's SFIAAFF features two intrepid hapa reporters whose skill, dedication, moxy, and insight will bring you the low-down on the hottest film festival in town. Today's entry is brought to you by Yasmine Gomez:

The Mistress of Spices – Relied too heavily on the beauty of star Aishwarya Rai. No doubt, a gorgeous woman. Most of the film, she’s asking the spices to speak to her, while Dylan McDermott falls in love with her beauty. Example line: "Dylan: ‘So what's my spice?’" You understand. (Plays again tomorrow).

Shanghai Kiss – Very funny and entertaining. The dialogue was very witty and lead Ken Leung (Saw, X3) gives an impressive comedic performance. I'm not sure I love the story, which has the lead questioning his Chinese American identity, moving to Shanghai, then back to Los Angeles to reconnect with a 16-year-old blonde girl (Hayden Panetierre from Heroes). I heard David Ren wrote this script when he was 18, which may explain a lot. In the Q&A, he had submitted his script with a smart cover letter that got the attention of the Konwiser brothers who luckily bothered to read it. The film may get distribution, maybe straight to DVD. (Plays again tomorrow).

Owl and the Sparrow – A lovely delicate story about loneliness, love, and freedom set in the context of contemporary Vietnam. When asked about the budget for the film, which was an impressive DV to 35mm transfer, he said it was "low." Enough said. The filmmaker, Stephane Gauger, was born in Saigon and speaks Vietnamese at a "2nd-grade level," so the script was written in English and translated to Vietnamese. He spent a lot of time at the zoo there, which felt like a quiet sanctuary away from the noise and bustle of the streets. He got to know a family who ran the zoo, which partly inspired the characters in the film.

The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief – This has been covered on this blog already, but I have to say this has been my favorite so far. Fascinating. I kind of expected a one-note film which relied more on the gimmick of the subject matter, but the film kept going deeper and uncovering more layers as it went along, and I couldn't help getting drawn into this alternate reality dreamlike "space."
There are a lot of lies about love and devotion spoken in these host clubs, from both men and women, but on the other hand, it felt like such an honest exchange—money for attention, love, happiness, or sex. American courtships aren't too far off, just perhaps not as obvious. Oh, and in case you're looking for a career change, these hosts can make up to $50,000 a month. (Plays again tonight and Sunday).

It's clear I'm in the wrong line of work. Stay tuned for future updates from San Francisco...

Dispatches from the SF International Asian American Film Festival - Part II

Hip Hapa's coverage of this year's SFIAAFF features two intrepid hapa reporters whose skill, dedication, moxy, and insight will bring you the low-down on the hottest film festival in town. Today's entry is brought to you by Yasmine Gomez:

I volunteered for the opening night gala. My job was mainly standing in the cold outside the Asian Art Museum, checking IDs, and slapping on wristbands, all while donning my lovely teal Cathay Pacific windbreaker. Thank you Cathay Pacific!

The limo for the cast of Justin Lin's Finishing the Game arrived, and they all got out and stood there for a second, which reminded me of the scene from Swingers when the guys first arrive at a Hollywood party and everyone stares for a sec.

So anyway, I happen to be nearest to them with my handful of wristbands ready to go. Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street) was very nice and talked to me a bit. Sung Kang (BLT, The Motel) came up to me and just stuck his wrist out, without a word. He looked tired or bored or too cool to talk to this lowly volunteer, but hey, he was very pretty up close, no complaints here. The word on the street about the film: "It was... good. It was... interesting." You can read from that what you like.

After a while, I got to go inside and enjoy the party a bit. Toward the end of the night, I got to meet Richard Wong (director of Colma and the festival's musical trailer) and Eric Byler, who mentioned that he may be taking a break from filmmaking to pursue politics (supporting campaigns, initiatives, etc.). And oh yeah, MC Hammer walked by me as he was leaving. Where am I again?

I also volunteered for the filmmaker brunch… Other than setting up food, I got to just hang out. I think most of the filmmakers were out partying the night before so everyone seemed a bit tired or hungover. I chatted a bit with David Kaplan, director of Year of the Fish. He said he originally filmed it in video, but didn't like the look, so he decided to use rotoscope animation (as in Waking Life). With his small crew, this process took about a year.

Finally, I got a chance to attend the Ellen Kuras Master Class--she’s a famous cinematographer for many Hollywood films, including Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind. She gave related many behind-the-scenes stories from this production as she talked while the film played behind her.


Apparently, Michel Gondry wanted mostly hand-held shots, which posed a challenge for her since the actors had no marks for focus. Michel wanted the actors to have freedom of movement, so she definitely had to adapt quickly, and drew from her documentary experience. She talked a lot about looking for the meaning in her shots, using camera, light, and depth to create relationships.

Her main advice to aspiring directors: "Don't be an asshole."

Words to live by. Stay tuned for future updates from San Francisco...

Dispatches from the SF International Asian American Film Festival - Part I

Hip Hapa's coverage of this year's SFIAAFF features two intrepid hapa reporters whose skill, dedication, moxy, and insight will bring you the low-down on the hottest film festival in town. Today's entry is brought to you by Elli Nagai-Rothe:

I went to see Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula on Friday, March 16th. It was the first film of the SFIAAFF that was sold out. Indeed, the theater was packed and there was a large contingent of local hula dancers, fans, and supporters. So the energy in the theater was great--very appreciative and happy to share their enthusiasm prior to and during the film.

The film follows the oldest all-male hula group and among other things, addresses stereotypes about men dancing hula, and reveals the touching stories of many of the men in this hula group throughout the group's 30-year history. The highlight of the film is clearly Robert Camizero, the founder and leader of the group. His outspoken personality combined with the passionate dedication of the "hula brothers" over the course of their journey to the Merrie Monarch hula competition is engaging and draws us (well, me at least) into their journey in an way that I quite enjoyed. Also, plenty of hapas in this film!

I found the film moving and very well done. The director of the film, Lisette Marie Flanary, was present for the screening and received a standing ovation from the entire theater once the film finished and before opening for Q & A. I highly recommend watching Na Kamalei, and doing some hip-shaking of your own.

I also saw Dirty Carnival tonight, a Korean gangster film. I'm still processing this film, since it was pretty violent, but very well done. The characters were well developed and the story certainly had a "human" edge, in the sense that it dealt with some of the more complex layers of emotion and psychological investment in gang life. And a plus, the main characters are cuties. ;0) I left the theater thinking, "well, I guess the moral of that story is, gang life doesn't pay." If you like violent movies of gangster hierarchies, this Korean version of Goodfellas is for you.

I didn't get a chance to see Great Happiness Space: A Tale of an Osaka Love Thief, but I can tell you that it was sold out weeks in advance and that the rush line to see the film was ridiculous. So, clearly it's a film festival favorite.

Thanks Elli. Stay tuned for future updates from San Francisco...

Host with the Most: Osaka to SF to Chi-Town

The difficulty I usually have with film festivals is that I tend to get overwhelmed. If it were possible, I'd just camp out in the theater, but time, money, and personal hygiene issues prevent that from going down. Therefore, choices must be made.

For the upcoming San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, I'm turning to my friend Joanna (since she is a proven expert in cinematic awesomeness) for the first choice:

The Great Happiness Space: Tale Of An Osaka Love Thief is an award winning documentary that takes audiences behind the scenes of Osaka's Café Rakkyo, the city's most glamorous and profitable host bar. Presided over by the enigmatic Issei, not only Rakkyo's owner, but also its number one "host boy," the club offers a modern twist on the ancient Japanese geisha tradition. Here, slick and stylish male hosts entertain young female customers with money to burn by trading compliments and pick up lines for over-priced drinks and in-demand quality one-on-one time. To the denizens of this secret society, mostly made up of showgirls and prostitutes, an escape from their everyday lives complete with the heart-warming attention of a good looking guy is just a dollar away. But as this absorbing film suggests through poignant interviews with Issei's co-workers and committed regular customers, the line between work and life is easily blurred once emotional attachments are formed. And the real toll of all night parties and expensive bottles of champagne are more than most Rakkyo regulars can bare.

Jo is actually promoting the film for the Chicago International Documentary Festival, so if you happen to reside in the Windy City, you can catch a screening as well--schedule & venue information is posted here. For details on the San Francisco engagements, click here.

More SFIAAFF posts to come!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

If you're not out Mardi Gra-ing it up tonight, and just plan to kick it on the couch instead, you might want to flip on the tube and check out Byron Hurt's Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes on PBS. It airs across the country this evening (local schedules can be easily found at PBS.org).

Reportedly, the documentary sets out to give a contextualized analysis of the genre, with a specific look at its violence, homophobia, and, misogyny, yet in a way that ultimately takes the form of "a love letter to hip-hop in spite of its pointed critique."

Get Your Wushu On

Given that Hero is one of my favorite movies of the last five years, I find this particularly awesome:


To give a little clarification: that's my former coworker Joanna with martial arts megastar Jet Li. They took that photo when she met him for an interview, which I highly encourage you to read here. Props to Jo – she always seems to be doing big and exciting things with Hollywood types, and for me, this one takes the cake so far.

I went to see Jet's new film Fearless last night, and I thought it was pretty good. The fight scenes are of course brilliant, and the cinematography was breathtaking; I do believe I see what he means in the interview about the director's cut. Anyway, I'm not trying to write a review or anything, but I definitely recommend going to see it.

I'll throw in a couple more links just for fun: one to a recent New York Times article about the movie and Li's career transition, and one to Jo's husband's podcast (not because he has anything to do with this, but just because he's a cool kind of dude).

Asian American Cinema: Eric Byler & Shawn Wong

Just wanted to drop in real quick with a link to my recent interview with hapa filmmaker Eric Byler and writer/professor Shawn Wong that's on IMDiversity's Asian-American Village right now. The interview page links up to the home page for their recent film release, Americanese, as well as to a review by Stewart Ikeda and an article by Shawn. Plenty of good reading - enjoy!

Midwest Expansion

Need something to do this weekend? Come on over to Chicago from April 28-30 for a celebration of hip hop in all its glorious forms, featuring a special screening of one of the greatest movies of all time:

Director Charlie Ahearn will be on hand to answer your questions about how you too can rock ridiculous flavor like Fab 5 Freddy. Scooby Doo!

The rest of the events seem pretty dope as well. Sadly, I'll be out of town for pretty much the duration... but if you go, tell 'em Hip Hapa's new Midwest correspondent sent you.

Go For Broke

A few years ago when the game Medal of Honor was released my friends mockingly referred to it as Kill The Japs. After seeing advertisements for the game I understood what my friends were talking about and I worried about the message being given to young gamers. Though I do not know the intricacies of this particular game, it seemed clear that the primary objective was to go to war with Japan and kill Japanese. Don't get me wrong here. I am not trying to deny the historical fact that Japan and America squared off in the Pacific during World War II. What I feared was that this game, along with films such as Pearl Harbor which had been released the year before, would create a renewed hostility toward people of Asian ancestry - a hostility that seems to resurface in America every so many years. In the wake of September 11th and with the heavy sense of national pride permeating throughout the country, I did not want to see a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans.

But after reflecting a little more about these Pacific war themed games and movies, what concerned me the most was that they would over shadow the great accomplishments of Asian Americans during that time. In the Philippines, for example, Filipino soldiers fought bravely alongside American forces to help liberate Japanese P.O.W. camps. And in Europe the 100th Battallion/ 442nd Regimental Combat Team, comprised entirely of Japanese Americans, took on German forces while becoming the most highly decorated unit in United States military history. However, by playing such games as Medal of Honor one would never know about these heroic World War II events involving people of Asian descent.

So my question tonight is why not games about the 442nd or the Filipino soldiers? In fact, I just recently saw a new game from the Call of Duty line called Big Red One which seems to follow the efforts of another legendary fighting unit during the war. What makes it so hard to create a game where true red-blooded Americans have Asian faces instead of white ones? Why not a remake of 1951's Go For Broke which told the story of the 442nd? How could a movie about proving your loyalty - your worth - to a country that has imprisoned your family not appeal to audiences? I thought Americans loved the underdog story?

To be fair, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that last year's World War II film The Great Raid paid tribute to the efforts of Filipinos during the raid of the Cabanatuan P.O.W. camp. However, as one viewer commented on Amazon.com, the advertising made the movie seem like a testosterone filled "'rah rah' flag waving fest." Its a shame that the true story behind this film did not take center stage during promotion and gain the attention that it deserved.

But the fact remains that America has trouble acknowledging that those who die in battle for this country are not just white good 'ol boys. It incenses me that much of our society forgets that in recent wars minorities have lost a disproportionate number their soldiers in combat. And for what? I have trouble at times seeing how we benefited from these ultimate sacrifices. Not only do these efforts get bypassed in history lessons but our communities, instead of receiving compensation, are smacked with some of the highest unemployment rates and incarceration rates in the country (but that's another story for another day). So besides paying homage to these Asian soldiers via movies, games and textbooks, I guess I'm simply asking America, as the popular hip hop saying goes, to "Recognize muthaf*#kers!"

Oh Snap!

I would OFFICIALLY like to thank the Chinese government for sticking it to "the man" recently. The man in this case being the makers of Memoirs of a Geisha. The New York Times reported today that the Chinese government canceled the showing of the Memoirs due to concerns that the film would create even more anti-Japanese sentiment in the country. The government feared that the public would be angered by seeing Chinese actresses portray geishas, whom some Chinese, according to the Times, see as prostitutes. After reading today's article the decision to use Chinese actresses in the movie all made sense. As I pointed out in my previous posting, box office sales were of primary concern in the making of the movie and certainly not cultural authenticity or sensitivity. By using Chinese stars Ziyi Zhang and Michelle Yeoh as a draw, the movie's makers hoped to pack theaters in China, a country with a gi-normous market of over a billion consumers. Officials at Sony Pictures in Los Angeles, who planned to distribute the film in China, said they were disappointed by the decision. No shit?!! Ha! Deserves them right. Instead of increasing sales the decision to use Zhang and Yeoh actually ended up biting the filmmakers in the ass since the stars' roles in the film caused the cancellation in China. Finally, I would also like to give a very special thanks to all the hustlers running the streets of Beijing and Shanghai who are reportedly selling bootleg copies of the film for a dollar. Thanks for rubbing in an extra little "fuck you" to Sony, Columbia Pictures, Steven Spielberg and Rob Marshall.

Tonight... Appearing in Yellowface...

Today I ask the age old question, "are we all the same?!" I mean really, to average Joe Schmoe here in the U.S. are all Asians the same? The reason I ask is because apparently to the makers of Memoirs of a Geisha Asians of different origins and different countries are completely interchangeable with one another. What else could explain the use of Chinese actresses in a movie about JAPAN and one of its most well-known traditions?

I think one of the explanations used by the filmmakers is that the Chinese actresses used in the movie spoke better English than any Japanese actresses they could find. What I find most absurd and ironic about this explanation is that these actresses, cast because of their English fluency, were instructed to speak with accents (for a more "authentic" representation I assume). Its like there was a certain FOBiness level that the film tried to achieve - too much FOB and America gets disinterested; not enough FOB and America doesn't buy the story.

In a way isn't this usage of Asians and Asian culture in Hollywood almost like the minstrel shows of the Antebellum South where performers donned "blackface"? Now you maybe asking, "isn't' blackface where white performers imitated black slaves?" But as I found in the liner notes of the Little Brother's newest album, The Minstrel Show, "Blacks eventually broke into the act, but to participate, they had to play by the rules. They wore 'blackface', too, so as not to offend the white audiences, who preferred their Negro culture second-hand, and therefore insisted that their darkies dress up like whites imitating blacks." Memoirs of a Geisha seems to be such a film. A movie about Japanese culture as Hollywood would have it imitated by others. An "ethnic" film catered towards and made palatable for white American audiences with its slightly accented English. It could very well be argued that Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang were donning a "face" for these white audiences when they stepped into kimonos and danced (as choreographed by John DeLuca) for the cameras. Furthermore, the second-hand nature of the Japanese culture presented in the movie was made abundantly clear to me after reading an excerpt from a review in Japan's Asahi Times which stated, "While it's a shame that no Japanese actress could meet Marshall's (film's director) requirements, his choice of Zhang does not disappoint." There is no doubt that Ziyi Zhang is a brilliant actress, but what the fuck does Rob Marshall know about this ancient Japanese art!? Seeing that geishas are Japanese women from Japan how could he not find a Japanese actress that fit the role? Maybe Rob should have just gone old school Hollywood? Cast Paris Hilton and have wardrobe tape her eyes back so they would be slanted.

In the words of P. Diddy, "It's all about the Benjamins!" Cash, y'all! The plain and simple fact is that culture in Hollywood is to be bought and sold - nothing new. Yeoh and Zhang have world-wide star power that keep the registers cha-chinging. The two have proven themselves where it counts, box office sales, and their casting guaranteed success for the film's producers. So to answer the question posed at the beginning, Asians are all the same in Hollywood, especially when filmmakers get blinded by the green of the almighty dollar.