Gil Asakawa's Nikkei View | asian american
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November 8, 2010

visualizAsian is back for November with a killer fun live conversation, an hour with Jeff Yang and Bernard Chang on the role of superheroes and comics, and why there aren't many Asian American superheroes. The chat will be Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 pm PT, 10 pm ET, and if you haven't registered for a visualizAsian call before, you...

November 2, 2010

This ad from Citizens Against Government Waste, called "Chinese Professor," hit the fan just a few weeks ago as the campaign season was hitting its fever pitch, and it fanned the flames of outrage among Asian Americans across the country. It's not subtle: The commercial obviously perpetuates an ugly, evil vision of Chinese as grim, committed enemies of America, gloating over a fantasy collapse of US world power and the rise of a gray-tinted China... with a gigantic visage of Chairman Mao glaring over an auditorium where a professor gloats to his students. Here's Angry Asian Man on the ad, and the original post on The Atlantic that analyzes the spot. Angry Asian Man also tracked down a couple of extras who were hired for the commercial, and they explain that they knew the commercial was conservative, but they had no idea their stint sitting in an audience and laughing on command would be put in such a grim, stereotypical context. There's not much more to say about this ad, except it turns my stomach -- and it aired tonight while we were watching election returns.
November 2, 2010

The Girl in yellow Bootsis the opening night film of the Minn/St Paul Asian film Festival The Denver area used to have an Asian Film Festival held in Aurora; Erin and I loved attending it. It attracted a loyal core audience of film lovers of all ethnicities. But our Asian communities didn't support the festival as much as they needed to. Unfortunately, the programming was too cautious, because the Denver Film Society, the folks who bring us the annual Starz Denver Film Festival (which starts this week), had to get approval from various groups. And, the various groups would turn down any movie that might show their homeland in a light they didn't like (such as showing sex and violence, or a negative image of the country). During the festival, each community attended their movies but didn't show much interest in movies from other countries. Erin and I would see Japanese at the Japanese movies but not Chinese, or Filipino, or Vietnamese movies. We'd run into Chinese friends at Chinese movies, and so on. In the end, the festival couldn't generate enough interest across all Asian communities, in addition to non-Asian movie fans, to keep going. So I watch wistfully as I get emails and Facebook event invites or a plethora of Asian and Asian American Pacific Islander film festival across the country -- Philadelphia, New York, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Tonight I got an email from a blogging pal, Slanty of Slant Eye for the Round Eye, about the first-ever Asian Film Festival in his hometown of Minneapolis/St. Paul. So even the Twin Cities, land of chill and Prince and the Replacements and Prairie Home Companion, land of a significant Hmong community, and land of Slanty (who wrote about the festival last week), has an Asian film festival. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Asian Film Festival, which has the tagline "In Search of Asia," opens tomorrow with "That Girl In Yellow Boots," an Indian film (photo above). Here's a description:
October 31, 2010

learn how to make curry laksa from New Asian Cuisine I should have written about New Asian Cuisine a long time ago, since I've been subscribing to the site's email newsletter for years. Seriously, I don't know what I'm thinking. NAC is just plain cool, and worth visiting. Regularly. The site is a treasure trove for foodies who love to cook, and who love Asian cuisine. You'll find a fabulous array of diverse recipes, both traditional and contemporary, authentic and fusion. Here's how the creators of the site describe it:
October 31, 2010

I Am Korean American It would be cool to see sites like this for every Asian ethnicity: I Am Korean American, a site launched a year ago for Korean Americans to share in their own words about themselves and their sense of identity, has just expanded. The site is now inviting KA entrepreneurs and musicians to submit their photos and stories about how they found their careers, as a way to inspire other Korean Americans to follow the same path. I Am Korean American 2.0They've just launched the 2.0 version, with the new sections for Entrepreneurs and Musicians. These sections don't have any content yet. Here's what the founders say about the new sections:
The Entrepreneurs section requires participants to answer specific questions about how they started their business, what they learned, and advice they can share with others. The aggregation of such content will result in a database of knowledge that can inspire and educate potential entrepreneurs. The Musicians section allows musicians to upload their music video and/or up to two tracks to give readers a sampling of their talent. This section will eventually showcase the broad range of musicians in the Korean American community and also help musicians gain more exposure through the site.
October 30, 2010

I'm passing this text along from an email sent out, trying to reach Asian Americans, Native Hawai'ians and Other Pacific Islanders: Did you know that 20% of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs), and 17% of Asian Americans (AAs), are uninsured? That’s higher than the national uninsurance rate of 16%. Did you know that 30-31% of Korean-Americans are uninsured? That’s as high as the national uninsurance rate for Hispanic-Americans and Native Americans. Did you know that 24% of Native Hawaiians, 21% of Vietnamese and 20% of South Asians are uninsured? That’s higher than the national uninsurance rate for African-Americans. Did you know that 1 out of every 3 AA NHOPIs is Limited English Proficient? That's 20 times the rate for non-Hispanic Whites. Did you know that 1 out of every 8 AA NHOPIs lives in Poverty? That's higher than the non-Hispanic White poverty rate. America’s 2.4 Million uninsured, and 14.2 Million insured AA NHOPIs, have a vested stake in the Affordable Care Act. Wellness Matters. Informed Choice Matters. In fact, if you were to ask America’s 2.4 Million uninsured and AA NHOPIs “What does the Affordable Care Act Mean for You?” the answer would be:
October 27, 2010

HapaVoice.com celebrates mixed-race Asians Erica Johnson is a woman on a mission. Earlier this year, she launched a blog called Hapa Voice where she posts submissions from hapas -- mixed-race Asians -- with photos and short autobiographies that explain a little about themselves. The titles of each post are a simple rundown of the submitter's ethnic mix. This elegant, straightforward approach to stating one's own identity is both powerful and moving, especially for hapas because their identities have been a central focus all their lives, even more so than other people of color. Being mixed adds a layer of richness for themselves, and too often a lare of confusion for others. So it's really cool to read entry after entry on "Hapa Voices" and see so many people who are finding their voice... and their identity. HapaVoice.com founder Erica Johnson Johnson has been inspired by the work of hapa writer, filmmaker, artist, activist, standup comic and lifeguard (really) Kip Fulbeck. His "Hapa Project" and books such as "Part Asian, 100% Hapa" are clear antecedents for "Hapa Voice." In the book, Fulbeck traveled the country shooting portraits of mixed-race Asians accompanied by statements of identity by the people posing. He recently published a new book of adorable portraits of little hapa kids, "Mixed." But as an ongoing website project, "Hapa Voice" takes Fulbeck's inspiration and breathes it more life. Johnson explains the origins of the "Hapa Voice" blog on its "About" page:
October 5, 2010

President Obama awards the 100th Battalion/442nd regimental Combat Tea, the Congressional Gold Medal President Obama today signed legislation at a White House ceremony to collectively award the soldiers of the 100th battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team the Congressional Gold Medal. Individual members had been awarded Medals of Honor but as a group, this is the first time the bravery of the mostly Japanese American troops of the 100th/442nd has been acknowledged with such an honor. Outside of Japanese American and Asian American circles, and probably military history buffs, I bet not many people know of these soldiers. The 100th/442nd, nicknamed the "Go for Broke" regiment, is the most highly decorated military unit for its size and length of service in the history of the United States.