Category Archives: pop culture

“Voice” star Judith Hill’s cultural mashup combines African American & Japanese upbringing with artistic talent

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I was lucky enough to see Judith Hill perform during the 2010 convention in Los Angeles of the Asian American Journalists Association, when she played a set for opening night. Hill had a unique story as a performer: The daughter of an African American father and Japanese mother who are both professional musicians, she earned a degree in music composition. She woodshedded in France in 2007. Hill’s professional breakthrough was supposed to be as Michael Jackson’s duet partner for the “This Is It” tour.

Yes, that’s the tour that never happened because of Jackson’s sudden death in June 2009.

Although she was unknown at the time, Hill caught the attention of the world when she sang the lead on “Heal the World” during Jackson’s televised memorial service. Her remarkable talent as a singer was also showcased in the October, 2009 release of the film “This Is It” documenting the rehearsals for the tour.

Then she went largely off the grid.
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Susane Lee’s “Dream Big” video is a funny, biting, truthful look at how Hollywood sees Asians (NSFW)

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Asian American actress Susane Lee has had a number of roles mostly in theater and television, including series such as “Gilmore Girls” and “Young and Restless.” She’s also performed in a handful of indie films and had a supporting role in “The Soloist,” the 2009 feature film starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.

Now, she’s made a very funny and in-your-face rap video, “Dream Big,” that calls out the Hollywood stereotypes that hold back Asians from stardom.

Asian faces are much more common than even just a decade ago (thank you Sandra Oh, John Cho, Grace Park, Ming Na Wen, Kenneth Choi, Maggie Q, Daniel Dae Kim, Lucy Liu, Kal Penn, Mindy Kaling, Ken Jeong and many others), and those roles (mostly) don’t have to be played with thick accents and they’re not just martial artists or exotic sex kittens.

But we’re still in the minority in lead roles. We’re still too often the sidekicks and assistants.

And, it’s far too easy for the mainstream to marginalize us as the butt of ethnic jokes, like the racist stereotypes of the new Fox show “Dads.”

So hooray for Susane Lee for releasing this uncompromising and hilarious diatribe against Hollywood’s tunnel vision of Asians. Enjoy!

(Note: “uncompromising” and “in your face” means she drops the “F-bomb” a lot, so you probably don’t want to be playing this video loud at your office. If you wanna see it sans F-bombs, here’s a sanitized version of the video)

Offensive “Asian Girlz” by Day Above Ground angers Asians with sexual & racist stereotypes

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Los Angeles-based rock band Day Above Ground made a big deal of its July 27 debut video release of “Asian Girlz,” but it’s backfired and led to intense condemnation from Asian and Asian American groups and individuals. Add me to the list, please.

This song and accompanying video is offensive on so many levels I’m practically speechless. It traffics in lowbrow racial stereotypes and low-bro sexual braggadocio about its subject line, Asian women. The combined IQ of the group must be abut 10, given their pre-teen horniness and neanderthal attitudes. It’s hard to imagine any other intent — social satire commentary, a criticism of sexual objectification of Asian women, clumsy attempt at post-racial parody — than a bunch of dudes who fantasize about Asian women and their “creamy yellow thighs… slanty eyes” and other body parts.

I hate the ching-chong wonton font that’s used for the title credits. I hate the ching-chongy intro melody that evokes Asia Hollywood-style which crops up at various points in the song. It’s an aural code as immediately identifiable as buck teeth and squinty eyes. I hate the smug white privilege that oozes from the singers’ faces as they croak “You’re my Asian girl.”

And I hate the creepy strip tease participation of model Levy Tran as she goes from enjoying these pint-sized pinheads’ attention as they sing to her from a birdcage to letting them jump into the bathtub with her and swim between her legs. Yuck. I mean, really yuck.
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Montbello High School Drum Line to perform during CDBF 2013 Opening Ceremony

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It was at Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock’s suggestion that the nine members of the Montbello High School Drum Line got the chance of a lifetime — to take the second historic flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on United Airline’s new direct flight between Denver and Tokyo.

The students raised money for the trip with the help of sponsors, and they performed their synchronized drumming at the U.S. Ambassador’s home in Tokyo, and several times in Takayama, Denver’s sister city. The news report below is a sample of a half-hour special that airs this Friday, July 19 at 9:30 on KDVR Fox31. These students were cultural ambassadors for Colorado in Japan.

So the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival is proud to introduce the Montbello High School Drum Line as one of the highlights of this year’s Opening Ceremony.

The Opening Ceremony, which begins at 10 am on Saturday, July 27, also includes a spiritual Eye-Dotting Ceremony with chanting Buddhist monks to awaken the spirit of the dragon boats; a dynamic Dragon Dance; and an Olympics-style Team Parade. The Drum Line will get the chance to perform in front of Mayor Hancock, who will speak during the ceremony.
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