When I think of the Third World Liberation Front (twLF), I get warm fuzzies. Why? Well, to me it’s the epitome of stick-it-to-the-man-ism. Come on, look at Richard Aoki in his fierce shades and tell me that’s not pretty kickass.
On a more serious note, the twLF represents a kind of unified activism that has become so rare these days. 2 weeks from now will mark the 40th anniversary of this epic student-led movement to instate ethnic studies classes in Berkeley and in SF State. I think that there’s so much to learn from this because it shows us that there’s not only strength in numbers but strength in multiculturalism and diversity. The basis of the movement was for different ethnic communities to acknowledge a common history of colonial oppression and to unite under that banner to promote ethnic education and equality in the eyes of a Eurocentric administration. We could use a little more of that today, no?
Interested in coming to some celebrations of the anniversary? Check it outtt
I am absolutely not going to refute the claim that Google is pretty much the reason why the universe functions these days BUT I do have to say that they could do a tad more to amp up their political correctness. It’s a total coincidence that Annie’s last blog is about Google because just last night I was watching the latest Wong Fu snippet (It’s hilarious and you should check it out!) when low and behold a couple Google ads popped up at the bottom of the youtube screen. Mind you this is no exaggeration:
Ad 1: “Want to date some sexy ASIAN LADIES? Go online to visit our dating website.”
(i am not going to list said website b/c some creeper will probably go visit it for said reason).
Ad 2:”Hot Chinese Girls” + link to stupid website #2.
(Once again, no free advertisement for you, racist “Hot Chinese Girls” website!)
Ad 3: “Enroll in Martial Arts Classes NOW!”
Yes, because Wong Fu = Asians = Bruce Lee = Martial Arts … duh.
Really, Google, really? Someone needs to fix that shizz asap.
Ahh yes, the impending doom that is budget cuts. Clearly, it’s going to be a lot worse than most people anticipated seeing how crappy the economy is. However, instead of just being a Debbie Downer and leaving it at that, hb really wants you all to do something about it.
The API Education and Languages NOW! (APIEL!) org is putting on open forum to talk about how to strengthen language education at Berkeley, recession or not. I know that it’s not necessarily easy for the administration because they do have the tough job of finding ways to make ends meet but we need to let them know that what we really can’t afford is losing language education. Come to the event to voice your opinions and learn something!
They’re going to have amazing speakers like Prof. Ling-Chi Wang (activist since the Third World Liberation Front), Prof. Elaine Kim, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, and Vice Chancellor of Equity and Inclusion Gibor Basri.
When: Thursday, February 19th, 2009 from 4:00-7:00 pm
Where: Heller Lounge, MLK Jr. Student Union
Got questions? Contact apielnow@gmail.com. Check out the fb event here.
author: ctran1023 category: culture tags: date: February 9th, 2009
Let me start out by saying that I always assumed that San Francisco would be a cultural epicenter since it houses a pretty diverse population. Naturally when my friend invited me to go to the Chinese New Year’s Parade this past weekend I was pretty excited since it is the biggest Chinese New Year’s parade in the nation. Well, I definitely had a blast… but for reasons I wasn’t quite expecting. The whole thing turned out to be an incredibly ridiculous and almost hysterical interpretation/reduction of Chinese culture mixed in with some good ‘ol American consumerist culture. Just to list a few highlights of the night:
1. A slew of, get this, dancing rice bowls (Sponsored by a Lucky’s near you!)
2. A white woman in pseudo-Chinese attire and a Confucius mustache
3. Reallyyy cute little babies dressed as oxen
4. 123812930 Southwest Airlines floats/banners/cars… (we get it, you paid for the whole thing!)
5. DRAGONSSS :)
6. Dragons hitting people the face as they went by
7. Irish marching band??
However, I do have to give props to the “Get a Life” marching band (really, that’s what they’re called). They were pretty kickass… any tambourine openings, guys?
Yes, this is yet another ridiculous martial arts movie to crush my spirit. It’s coming out at the end of the month and it looks completely absurd. The movie is based on a popular video game and its cast consists of predominantly white male actors …and Kristin Kreuk of Smallville fame. So there you have it– another over-the-top kung fu movie that will probably exotify and hypersexualize the cute, little (part) Asian girl. The blog, /Film, stated that they were happy that Kreuk does not don the Chinese outfit and ox horn hairdo that is in the video game. To that I say, “To hell with the subtleties, if you’re going to be cliche and racist than why not go all out?” (read with immense sarcasm).
The basic plot synopsis: Kreuk’s character seeks revenge after daddy is kidnapped, trains to be kung-fu warrior (by a white guy with black hair extensions?!), and kicks butt while looking pretty for the camera. Watching the trailer definitely reminded me of that awful show that premiered last year, “Samurai Girl.” Hey mainstream media, if you’re going to be racist can you at least get a little more creative? Yeah, thanks.
I know this movie has been out for a while but I just got around to seeing it yesterday and had to pitch in my two cents. The movie was highly recommended by a good friend of mine who is a big-time movie buff so I went in this expecting it to be a pretty big deal… but it didn’t quite deliver.
First off, I do think it was cool that Clint Eastwood tried to develop a movie around the conflicts in a Hmong community. It’s a pretty bold move for Eastwood to lend his star power to shed light on Hmong gang violence. But aside from the A for effort, the movie was pretty much a bust in my opinion. Would it really kill Hollywood to tell a story where a Hmong person was the one to resolve the conflict? Instead we get a snarling, macho, white guy (Walt Kowalski/Eastwood) who saves the Hmong women and children from their own kind. Likewise, it irked me that a huge part of the plot was about Eastwood teaching Thao, the teenage Hmong boy, what it means to be a man. According to the movie, a real man drowns his conversations in a stream of curses, totes a big gun, and works in construction. I know that Eastwood is supposed to play a very grumpy and abrasive character but it’s so overdone. Likewise, the interactions between Walt and Thao/his sister Sue (played by Bee Vang and Ahney Her) were awkward and unnatural. Even after they become friends and Walt comes over to have a barbecue at their house, he continues to call them gooks and somehow it’s supposed to be endearing… yeah, that doesn’t usually do it for me. Although it’s always good to have more Asian faces on the big screen, I’m still going to be critical of their acting abilities. True, they weren’t working with the best script but Vang and Her’s performances, to be honest, weren’t all that hot. But hey, if nothing else, at least this movie has helped a few more people pronounce Hmong correctly (that silent “h” is a trickster).
Agree or disagree? Leave me a comment and let me know :)
Because I am a huge fan of making lists, I definitely drew up a long list of things to do this break knowing fully well that I’ll only accomplish a fraction of it. At the top of the list were to become a little more cultured by doing more leisurely reading and watching classic films. What does this have to do with dragons and catfish? Ok, I’ll cut to the chase.
DRAGONS.
So my little sister convinced me to watch her entire box set of Bette Davis movies that she got for Christmas. While I reallyyyy recommend watching “Now, Voyager,” I can’t quite say the same for “The Letter.” Watching “The Letter,” I died a little inside for the following reasons.
1) It’s set in Singapore but the only Asians are plantation workers and murderers
2) The antagonist is a stereotypical Chinese dragon lady (get this) played by a white woman (it’s hilarious when she attempts to speak Malay though)
3) Lines such as when the American waiter says to the plantation owner: “It’s such a shame that sugar doesn’t grow in civilized regions.”
4) The Asian man with the most lines is a greedy, immoral, obsequious, and effeminate secretary
As you’ve guessed, my verdict for this thriller is that it’s not only racist but it just sucks overall.
CATFISH.
To start off my reading list, I picked up this memoir by Andrew X. Pham called Catfish and Mandala. It is fucking good. (This is coming from a girl who hardly swears). It’s artistic, maybe a little self-deprecating at times, but very honest. It’s a travelogue of his adventures throughout Mexico, the US, Japan, and Korea– on a bike. As in bicycle, not motorbike. Pham bikes 4,000 miles on a search to find his roots and cope with the death of a family member. Interspersed in his accounts are narratives about life as a Vietnamese American and his soap-opera worthy family history. It’s descriptive without being boring and poignant but never cheesy. My main point in two words: READ IT.
