Katy Perry at the AMA's: American Dream Edition

Right after Katy Perry projectile vomited her full-on geisha fantasy on the 2013 American Music Awards, host Pitbull gushed about the American Music Awards and what it really represented. The American Dream, he said, the AMA's are all about the American Dream.

Because nothing says the American Dream like seeing the Japanese culture shamelessly and irresponsibly exploited on national TV by none other than Katy Perry herself. With the bulbous wigs, exaggerated costuming, and super original bowing, the term cultural appropriation does not even begin to describe this mess.

Guess what, Katy Perry? Nothing was new, clever, or edgy about any of this. Some of us have been subjected to this same kind of stereotyping, this bad joke of the "American Dream" our whole damn lives. Racism is old and tired. Try better next time.

Francois Chau Is Your Angry Asian Dad

                         

Here's Francois Chau in 21 and Over, playing a no-nonsense, strict, in-your-face dad with a facial expression that can strike every audience member with so much fressure (fear + pressure), they can essentially feel what it's like to be an Asian kid for 2 hours.

In this storyline, he has a son, which means—what else? Med school!

Bummer.

And here's Francois Chau in Chris Brown's video Fine China, playing...the same guy.

But this time, he has a daughter, which means—you got it! Your boyfriend is a THUG.

Oh, and triads. Francois Chau is leader of the triads.

My face too, girl.

I'll let his character speak for itself, "He's an outsider. Thug. You've shamed yourself. AND THIS FAMILY! I cannot continue to protect you. YOU WILL PUT AN END TO THIS!!! Orrrr I willlll."

If I've learned one thing, it's that Asian Dads are all about HONOR! and shame. and SUCCESS! and sadness. and FAMILY! and destroying relationships.

"Don't speak to me about what makes my family happy"- Francois Chau, Asian dad & triad leader

 Francois Chau is ALL THE DADS!

Note: Francois Chau is awesome. But can there please be more than ONE stock Asian dad caricature?

K-TOWN Part 1- “Asian B- Are Supposed to be Skinny!”

Oh, K-TOWN. A little background, K-TOWN is a reality show that premiered in July of 2012 and was running on LOUD’s YouTube channel. The show is about a group of 8 Asian American 20-somethings and their adventures in nightlife in Koreatown, Los Angeles. A little more background, this show is a flaming pile of trash. There’s the typical reality show group of “friends”; “actors” and “actresses” rounded up to pretend to have wild, chummy history- the producers just vainly scraping at the bottom of the Jersey Shore barrel. The title sequence of the show even has a qualifier for each person, such as “Scarlet, The Troublemaker” and “Jowe, The Heartbreaker” because otherwise, audiences for sure would not be able to distinguish between the “stars”, what with their glaring lack of personality and amorphous character traits. K-TOWN is all about the Koreatown nightlife, but more importantly it has chronicled 1. The fight at the bar 2. The fight at the karaoke room 3. The fight with the go-go dancer pre-club night. 

Asian American Women Portrayed in Pitch Perfect AKA I Am So Disappointed

       

I settled down to watch Pitch Perfect about two months ago. A little late in the game, I know, but this was a feel-good, sugary movie that I felt I needed to ease the pain of finals and papers. It looked so right, what with the college acapella and the Spring Awakening love of my life Skylar Astin as the male lead. And it is, objectively, a fun and easy film. But as minutes rolled by, I found myself increasingly let down and so incredibly disappointed at the depiction of the only two Asian American women in the film. 

Being Called American Isn’t The Ultimate Compliment You Can Give Minorities

In a continuation of the number one most asked question towards me ever, my Languages of Communication professor was going around the table last week, asking every minority “where they were from”.

“Well, I’m from here-“ I started.

“Right” he laughs, “From Colorado or something, right?”

“…But my family is from Hong Kong.”

This has become my answer crafted from years of being subject to the gamut of everything from “what ethnicity are you?” to the even more eloquent “what are you?” 

Frequently Asked Question: Who Cares?

“You put so much emphasis on race, why does it even matter so much to you?”

“Why do these situations make you so upset?”

“The more we talk about racism the more power we give it”

“Give me one reason why you care about racism so much”

That is a dose of friendship realness that I have received over the years about my passion for the Asian American community, racial politics, and my overall loathing of racism. 

I, for one, think it’s an outrage that people are not more outraged. 

Self- Racism? Asian on Asian Hate and the Internalization of Mainstream Prejudice

 

I remember first stumbling upon the viral video of the Asian American Chicago teen being violently beaten bloody and senseless by a group of six other teens behind an elementary school. (I will not post the video here because the sheer atrocities against humanity and all goodness in the clip are so severe it is tear and vomit inducing.)

Quick Thoughts on the Racists Over at Zadig & Voltaire

 

French brand Zadig & Voltaire is opening a hotel in Paris. This is what owner Thierry Gillier had to say about it:

“It will be a slightly private hotel, not open to everybody, with 40 rooms. We are going to select guests. It won't be open to Chinese tourists, for example. There is a lot of demand in Paris — many people are looking for quiet with a certain privacy.”

Perfect. 

On Cat Calls, Intersectionality and Being an AA Woman

Living as an Asian American woman in New York City, being attacked by racism is a daily situation. Being called “Chinadoll”, “cute Chinese girl” and the like is an everyday reminder of my extremely vulnerable position as an Asian American female in American society- constantly exoticised, sexualized and demeaned, all at once and with the expectation that we as AA females are just supposed to quietly take it. It is never just a “compliment” about your supposed attractiveness- it is attractiveness perpetually linked to the fetishism of the Orient, an Asian woman to fit in your box of assumptions and ideas of the exotic.

On Ni Hao and Being Chinese in America

Let me begin by saying that growing up Chinese American in the San Francisco Bay Area is really an amazing experience. The population of San Francisco is inundated with Chinese and Chinese Americans, especially in little niches and ethic enclaves like Chinatown and the Sunset District- many of these Chinese being Cantonese-speaking, much like myself.