gorgons:

crossedwires | niqaeli:

I admit, I don’t know Cho that well, so I am glad there are other readings to be had!

And if he is just calling it out simply because he’s tired of it and he feels comfortable doing so even on his own films now, I think that’s fantastic. There’s certainly plenty for him to be calling out.

Heh. Well, I don’t know John Cho either. But he has talked about race & representation before* (and not in a ‘we’re all human, it doesn’t matter’ way), so it’s not completely ‘out of character’ for him to bring it up. I think it probably would be easier on him if he didn’t say anything, but I’m glad he does.

*Re Harold & Kumar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHEkLBZI1IM 4:07 mark): If you have a Korean and an Indian guy as your leads, you must address race at some point in the movie. You must, because the audience is noting it, really. The other thing is, I think, comedy at its best, treads in taboo waters a little bit. It has to have that transgressive quality to it, and race is the biggest taboo in America. I mean, people are very reluctant to talk about race and yet when you do jokes about race, uh, that work, people are very happy to release tension and laugh about it. But it has been interesting. I’ll make an observation. During the first tour for the first movie, we were talking about race all the time with journalists. It was almost like a process— looking back, the first movie was more concerned with race, but we talked about it so much, I felt that it was in a way…a way of justifying our presence in a motion picture.

And from an interview in 2009 http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/090703/article.asp?parentID=110145&gt:

JC: I recall from the Harold and Kumar movies is my struggle with the advertisers.

APA: What happened there?

JC: There was all this racial humor in the movie, and the advertising department wanted to say “Starring the Asian guy in American Pie, and the Indian guy from Van Wilder…” and they did go with that, and they submitted that to me for approval, and I said, “I don’t like it.” They asked me why, and I explain it to them, and that was tricky because it’s difficult explaining to my own representatives, why that didn’t jibe with me, because everyone kind of felt like it was keeping in tone with the movie. And I said, “I don’t like it. We’re poking fun at racism in the movie all the time, but it puts the audience on the wrong side of the racism joke.” So they were playing with the wording a little bit in the edits, and they kept coming up with versions to make me happy, but they were essentially the same thing, and I finally said, “you are not going to make me happy. You’re dancing around it, and you’re clearly attached to this idea, and I want you to know that no version of this idea will make me happy. And if you’re afraid that I won’t show up to do promotion because of this bitterness, you can rest assured that that’s not true. I consider promoting a movie part of my duties, and I will show up nevertheless. But you can either use this campaign and know that I’m unhappy, or you can change it and know that I’m happy. That’s it. Stop trying.” And eventually they went with it, and it’s one of those things where I look back and I’ve very proud of the movie, but that’s the thing I remember.

APA: Last question…for Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, Viva La Union recorded a song for the soundtrack with the line, “I want my own Chinese baby” — what’s that about?

JC: When I was thinking about it, I thought of a literal baby. There’s a kind of lack that children fill, that’s just the dark side of being a parent, I think. And there’s an accessory quality to Chinese babies in America, and I just think it’s funny. I just liked it. And you know, I would know people who would fawn over Asian babies more, and it got me to thinking, there’s this belief that Asian babies are really cute, and it got me thinking that our whole race is infantilized to some degree, and it manifests itself in different ways. You infantilize a woman, and she becomes eroticized. You infantilize a man, and he becomes emasculated. You infantilize a baby [laughs] — and it’s possible, it appears that you can infantilize a baby even more. [laughs] The babies need to be cuter than white babies. And it’s just a weird thing that I felt like said something about mainstream America’s relationship to Asians in general. So that’s where it came from.

Also this interview: http://blog.angryasianman.com/2008/04/q-with-john-cho.html

“And yes, I do feel a responsibility, and always have, and it’s been an odd burden for me. Even when I started and no one gave a shit, I was trying to avoid doing roles—and it’s no accident that I’ve never done something with a chop suey accent. It’s no accident that I’ve never played those parts. I strongly believe there are a lot of Asian American actors who think that that’s the price to pay before you get to wherever you’re going. And I take real issue with that. Because you have to maintain integrity from the start, and on a personal level, you have to not do something that’s going to make you sick to your stomach.

But on a political level, how are things supposed to ever change if there’s someone willing to do it? I can tell you now, having worked in the business, that you can gather an army of people to hold picket signs and stand outside the studio, and say, “we destest this portrayal”… but it doesn’t matter if there’s a guy—who they know, a peer—who’s willing to do it, who stands in front of the crew and does the buck-tooth accent. If he or she is willing to do it, it makes the protestors look like extremists. It makes this guy look like the normal guy. Because we all work in the same industry. So the willingness of one actor negates a thousand protestors and a thousand angry letters.”

(So I can see why Butawhiteman Cantbekhan playing Khan would be deeply upsetting to him, even if Cho wasn’t in this movie.)

sofriel:

lightspeedsound:

1.  If you are two people of the same non-white ethnicity, you will automatically get along.  And also, if you are two people who could potentially be sexually attracted to each other, you WILL get set up.  And by “ethnicity” I mean “white definitions of ethnicity,” such as “Chinese” being the same as “Japanese” and “West Indian” being the same thing as “Nigerian” etc.  Because clearly, if you look alike to a white person, you must procreate.

2.  It’s a compliment for a white person to say, “oh, but you don’t act *insert ethnicity*.”  This is because somehow, acting white (or denying your differences from white people) is the most progressive thing a POC can do. Apparently. 

3.  It’s a compliment to be able to have a “discussion” about a POC’s ethnicity. and by “discussion,” I mean “rambling on about things said white person thinks are accurate and are really just an amalgam of stereotypes and misinformation and then demanding the POC affirm said beliefs.” 

4.  POC can only be accurately physically described by their ethnicity. Example: “You know, Kara, that Asian girl in our Con Law class.”  White people, of course, are described by their independent looks, like ‘Kara, that girl with the blonde hair and the hippy skirts with the tiny tiny lips.”  This is because if you don’t actually SAY “Asian” or “Black” or “Hispanic,” and just say, “Kara, that girl with the black hair and the cool jeans,” people will automatically assume you mean, “Kara, that white girl with the black hair and the cool jeans.” 

5.  It is perfectly acceptable to make vast assumptions on the physical characteristics of ethnicities, and use them as judgment guides for dating. Ex:  ”I don’t like Black guys” is totally acceptable.  Saying, “I don’t like white guys” is fucked up, because, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE LOOK SO DIFFERENT HOW CAN YOU GENERALIZE.” 

6.  If you are white, eating sushi makes you totally cosmopolitan.  If you are Asian, eating sushi is something you automatically are born doing, much like using chopsticks and also being good at math.  

7.  It’s OK to talk about ethnicities in a negative way, as long as you do it in a WHISPER. ex: “Well, I didn’t want to say anything but he’s…*Black*.”

8.  At the end of the day, white privilege doesn’t exist because POCs asking for equal rights takes away the rights of white people. Because equality means fucking with the status quo, and things are TOTALLY OK NOW THAT WE HAVE NO SLAVERY AND NO SEGREGATION. 

This is an extremely accurate description of people in my high school. 

the-last-recall:

angryasiangirlsunited:

Was wondering if you could help get the word out about this.

This past weekend, on February 1, a fraternity at Duke University (my alma mater) called Kappa Sigma held an Asian-themed party called Asia Prime. The original invite (screen-capped above) includes the phrases ”Herro Nice Duke Peopre” and “Chank You.” Pictures from the event itself are also above. (More information here; student protest page here.)

Even more frustrating, fraternities at Duke has a history of hosting these sorts of offensive, insulting, marginalizing, dehumanizing themed parties, and a history of offering lame non-apologies for doing so.

Is this shit unbelievable, or is it unbelievable?

To all the privileged assholes I went to school with who told me that racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. were no longer a problem, especially on our college campus: What the hell were you talking about? Are you seeing this? Did we even go to the same school?

Here’s to hoping something will change here and on other college campuses too. In the meantime, please spread the word!

I’m a current Duke student and this morning I went with a group of other students to flyer the campus in protest of Kappa Sigma’s racist party. However, we were met with a coordinated effort to take the pictures down. Some of us had cameras confiscated by campus police and were forced by them to delete pictures. Almost within an hour, our nearly 1200 flyers were torn down.

[9:45 AM]

[11:30 AM - reported gone by 11:00 AM]

This absolutely cannot stand. That’s why this protest is so important. Even on our facebook page, people are telling us to be quiet, to shut up, to keep from bringing this issue and our university to ‘national attention.’ They tell us not to make such a big deal about it, that ‘it is understandable that some might be offended.’ By ripping down our flyers, they’re telling us to mute our voices because they’ll just be silenced anyway.

But we won’t. We won’t back down. This deserves attention and it deserves to be talked about. Duke’s history of demeaning and racist frat parties can’t be swept under the rug just so a school’s reputation can sit falsely pretty and pristine. 

Some tell us to hush up and keep the peace. But this is my campus too, and I’m not about to clip my own vocal cords to keep you comfortable.

To those on tumblr and twitter: tag your posts about this with #racistrager so we can track ‘em! Let your voices be heard.

- - - - - -

From the Protest Against Racist Kappa Sigma Party Page:

If you’re SICK AND TIRED of ASIANS BEING MARGINALIZED, and INFURIATED that RACIAL, SEXUAL, AND SES MINORITIES continue getting stomped on Duke’s campus, then come to the WEST CAMPUS BUS STOP to participate in a protest against Kappa Sigma’s “Asia Prime” party and ALL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST and SILENCING OF Asians at Duke.

***** Be at the West Campus Bus Stop at 1:00 pm sharp for a protest of Kappa Sigma’s repulsive party. *****

DO NOT BE SILENT.

OUR CAMPUS NEEDS TO KNOW.

—————————-

2012 party invitation: http://bit.ly/VH6l4m
2011 party invitation: http://bit.ly/VR89o9
History of frat party themes: http://bit.ly/VRPato
Student fliers protesting the party: http://bit.ly/VRMHzd

—————————-

Kappa Sigma’s condescending NON APOLOGY: http://bit.ly/YBaIuW

—————————-

DSG and The Asian Students Association (ASA) are co-hosting a dialogue TOMORROW in the UCAE for those who want to make their VOICES HEARD: 
http://www.facebook.com/events/125667780938752/?fref=ts

——————————

The Chronicle’s coverage of the controversy: http://bit.ly/WN9C00
Angry Asian Man coverage: http://bit.ly/XmwzDA
Gawker coverage: http://gaw.kr/X0pFrb
Bro Bible coverage: http://bit.ly/12qXIN9

——————————

Black Student Alliance (BSA) support : http://bit.ly/XLatfE
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) support: http://bit.ly/XLdL2D
Center for Race Relations (CRR) support: http://bit.ly/14QjJVg

carables:

(I changed the title slightly)

You don’t have to spend much time in Vietnam before you notice something unusual. You hear no birds singing, see no squirrels scrambling up trees or rats scurrying among the garbage. No dogs out for a walk.

In fact, you see almost no wild or domesticated animals at all. Where’d they all go? You might be surprised to know: Most have been eaten.

Oh, hooray! This is the hook! I have no idea where this article is going to go!

Vietnamese have been meat eaters through the ages, while their Southeast Asian neighbors to the west — Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar — have largely left their wildlife alone.
…

Vietnam has always been an aggressive country. It has fought 17 wars with China since winning independence more than 1,000 years ago and has invaded Cambodia numerous times, most recently in 1979. Meantime, the nations to its west have largely been passive in recent centuries.

Clearly, Vietnam’s efforts to fight off aggressors and to stop genocide is a direct link to eating dogs, rats, and birds. (His proof of “widespread consumption” has nothing to do with numbers, reports, or research, but with how damn quiet it is when he wakes up in the morning. I mean, I thought these jungle freaks would provide some authenticity, for crying out loud! Oh, I get it. They must have eaten all the animals!)

Who will move this backwards country forward? Is it even possible??

 And as the middle class grows, so does Western influence — picked up from television, movies, Facebook, Twitter and the rest.

With that has come a new desire among some to keep pets.

THANK YOU, Twitter, THANK YOU TV! Most of all, THANK YOU, WESTERN SOCIETY!

Brinkley, a Stanford professor and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, responded to… ya know, being called out, with exceptionally defensive poise:

BRINKLEY: I was traveling in Vietnam in late December and early January, and this is what I saw with my own eyes, first hand. And this is what the people I interviewed told me. On the issue of meat and aggressiveness, perhaps that was not as well phrased as it should have been. But eating a diet rich in protein will make you more robust than others, in Laos, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian states who eat rice and very little else. After all half of Laotian children grow up stunted, even today. In Cambodia the rate is 40 percent. That means they grow up short and not so smart. Would it also follow that they would be less aggressive than Vietnamese? I think so.

Don’t forget that the World Wildlife Fund calls Vietnam the world’s worst wildlife malefactor. And have a look at the attached photo [of rats below] I took in Da Nang.

Does having a Pulitzer exonerate you from being fact-checked? Everyone, I need a Pulitzer like, right now. There’s some stuff I want to say about the existence of unicorns and the health benefits of french fries.

…….. you gotta be fucking kidding me.

Why the episode Firework Run was racist as hell 

Let me preface by saying fuck you Regular Show.

• o cool Latino characters with spanish names
• they even hav accents !!!
• uh ok, they live in the fucking desert. 
• aannnndddd he makes peppers for a living.
• tattoos with weapons all over him
• fine whatever that’s not too ba-
• what. the. fuck.
• dropping gang references like whoa
• exaggerated accents to enforce the fact that they’re ~others~
• so selling fireworks is a metaphor for selling drugs
• wow ok
• the package they gave him looked like a pack of cocaine
• o more latino characters
• smoke similar to cigarettes come from behind the new character.
• and he runs the the factory illegally putting illicit materials in the peppers.
• you gotta be fucking kidding me
• this is breaking bad levels of racism

So you have latino characters in the desert making drugs (fireworks whatevr) and they have exaggerated appearances, accents, and behavior. Plus, they’re the big bads in this ep.

Fuck you Regular Show. My little siblings should not have seen that racist drivel.

Hey remember that time a rapist climbed into a girls bedroom in the middle of the night and assaulted her and the internets response was to take her brothers comments on how dangerous life is in the projects and autotune it and turn him into an “Internet sensation” complete with racist Halloween costumes 

thegoddamazon:

And remember how everyone condemned that same brother when he was arrested on a marijuana possession charge despite him placing the protection of his family above his own life at the time?

imogenefields:

An Asian woman has never won best actress

Only one has ever been nominated 

And that was in 1935

thorinmyside:

dearjimmoriarty:

captainsway:

white dude from a movie about black slavery was nominated and won an award

i don’t

get

it

#were any of the black actors nominated??? #lol answer is no

this is like the ultimate circle jerk of white supremacy 

basically

Let’s be real 

irresistible-revolution:

If ‘The Hunger Games’ was accurately cast, with POC filling the lead roles, the metaphor of struggle and violence and the ugliness of oppression would be decidedly too powerful, too real, too close to the home of racism and classism in the United States today. The viciousness and brutality facing THG characters is but the reality of many, many kids of color across the United States as well as globally who’re struggling to breathe under the boot-heel of Western imperialism and white supremacy. These are the kids whose reality we’re taught to ignore, the kids whom media degrades as innately violent and thuggish, and therefore unworthy of help or attention.

If THG starred kids who look like the ones we’re only too happy to ignore, the metaphor of the Games would carry meaning and weight and gritty truth. As it stands, by whitewashing the cast, TPTB have effectively neutralized the powerful message embedded in the text, and turned it into yet another white-kids-are-heroes-watch-them-save-the-world franchise.

Because the alternative is too much for privileged folks to handle.

Decoding Racist Language 

dank-potion:

This is for POC that still don’t get it. I pity yall, so we’ll try this again.

• “I don’t see color.” - I don’t give a fuck about realizing my white privilege or the challenges you face because you are not white. I am saying this in a deceptive way to make it sound like I’m not racist, but in fact, what eventually happens goes as follows.

:sees disproportion in color on college campuses - well those niggers must be lazy or stupid, or both, because I got here!

:sees disproportion in arrests against the general population - well, those niggers must be dangerous criminals, because I obeyed the law and police officers don’t bother me.

• “I have Black People in my family/as friends.”- My racism is so apparent that I have to resort to the measure of bringing up a cousin by marriage on my aunt’s husband’s stepson’s side or a guy my science teacher made me do a project with as evidence that I don’t discriminate against Black People. And you know, slave masters and colonizers totally didn’t procreate with their victim.

• “There’s a Black History Month, but no White History Month” - So, get this lawls! We actually do have a White History Month, but we’re just so fucking selfish that we decided to branch it off into subcategories (German, Italian, Polish, Italian, etc.) but you know, we’re still going to play the victim role here. Also, you have plenty of history that we either neglect or steal, so we’re just going to not discuss you in any of our history books, but get mad when you actually try to celebrate the history of yours that we’ve distorted.

• “Not all White People are Like That” - Du U SEE WHUT I DID HERE!? I just made myself the victim, even though you’re the one in pain. And clearly, you don’t think all White People are like that, because if you did, you wouldn’t even be wasting your breath with me anyways, but I’m still going to pretend you generalized against White People. I don’t like to listen to your pain, it’s not fun, so I’m just going to shut you up. Good luck with your shitty life, come back when you have nice things to say about White People, okay?

• “I’m not Racist, but (insert racist shit here)” - So, obviously I am a racist because I just said something incredibly racist, but totally don’t want to take the title racist, so guess what, I’m just gonna say I’m not a racist and hope you’re stupid enough to believe me. Don’t call me out though, you see, we have this thing called Reverse Racism that we made up and we’re gonna use that on you.

• “That’s Reverse Racism” - Although my reasons for disliking you are completely about my belief that you’re inferior and your reasons are out of being made inferior, I’m going to call them the same thing. I’m going to tell you that Affirmative Action is an example of Reverse Racism, but get this, Affirmative Action was created to level out the centuries upon centuries that I have had a head start in comparison to you and it hardly exists anymore, but I’m still going to use it.

• “You can say nigga, but not me, that’s not fair” - Neither is the fact that I’m much less likely to get pulled over by the police and I can be a felon and still have a better chance at getting hired against your crime-free record, but hey, this isn’t about me! I’m more concerned with taking the one thing you can do that I can’t, which by the way, came out of centuries of oppression and cruelty. I don’t like that you can use a word that has historically hurt you, but I can’t use the same word, even though I’m the one who used it to hurt you.

• “Appropriation? No, I just love your culture.” - I just really saw some cute headband feather shit at Urban Outfitters and was completely unaware that it was your culture until you pointed it out. But keeping up with a summer trend is way more important than your people and the sacred meanings behind your accessories. come fall, new shit is gonna be out and your culture is going to be in my trash can but hey , I’m still appreciating you! Feel appreciated, damnit!

Decoding Racist Language 

dank-potion:

This is for POC that still don’t get it. I pity yall, so we’ll try this again.

• “I don’t see color.” - I don’t give a fuck about realizing my white privilege or the challenges you face because you are not white. I am saying this in a deceptive way to make it sound like I’m not racist, but in fact, what eventually happens goes as follows.

:sees disproportion in color on college campuses - well those niggers must be lazy or stupid, or both, because I got here!

:sees disproportion in arrests against the general population - well, those niggers must be dangerous criminals, because I obeyed the law and police officers don’t bother me.

• “I have Black People in my family/as friends.”- My racism is so apparent that I have to resort to the measure of bringing up a cousin by marriage on my aunt’s husband’s stepson’s side or a guy my science teacher made me do a project with as evidence that I don’t discriminate against Black People. And you know, slave masters and colonizers totally didn’t procreate with their victim.

• “There’s a Black History Month, but no White History Month” - So, get this lawls! We actually do have a White History Month, but we’re just so fucking selfish that we decided to branch it off into subcategories (German, Italian, Polish, Italian, etc.) but you know, we’re still going to play the victim role here. Also, you have plenty of history that we either neglect or steal, so we’re just going to not discuss you in any of our history books, but get mad when you actually try to celebrate the history of yours that we’ve distorted.

• “Not all White People are Like That” - Du U SEE WHUT I DID HERE!? I just made myself the victim, even though you’re the one in pain. And clearly, you don’t think all White People are like that, because if you did, you wouldn’t even be wasting your breath with me anyways, but I’m still going to pretend you generalized against White People. I don’t like to listen to your pain, it’s not fun, so I’m just going to shut you up. Good luck with your shitty life, come back when you have nice things to say about White People, okay?

• “I’m not Racist, but (insert racist shit here)” - So, obviously I am a racist because I just said something incredibly racist, but totally don’t want to take the title racist, so guess what, I’m just gonna say I’m not a racist and hope you’re stupid enough to believe me. Don’t call me out though, you see, we have this thing called Reverse Racism that we made up and we’re gonna use that on you.

• “That’s Reverse Racism” - Although my reasons for disliking you are completely about my belief that you’re inferior and your reasons are out of being made inferior, I’m going to call them the same thing. I’m going to tell you that Affirmative Action is an example of Reverse Racism, but get this, Affirmative Action was created to level out the centuries upon centuries that I have had a head start in comparison to you and it hardly exists anymore, but I’m still going to use it.

• “You can say nigga, but not me, that’s not fair” - Neither is the fact that I’m much less likely to get pulled over by the police and I can be a felon and still have a better chance at getting hired against your crime-free record, but hey, this isn’t about me! I’m more concerned with taking the one thing you can do that I can’t, which by the way, came out of centuries of oppression and cruelty. I don’t like that you can use a word that has historically hurt you, but I can’t use the same word, even though I’m the one who used it to hurt you.

• “Appropriation? No, I just love your culture.” - I just really saw some cute headband feather shit at Urban Outfitters and was completely unaware that it was your culture until you pointed it out. But keeping up with a summer trend is way more important than your people and the sacred meanings behind your accessories. come fall, new shit is gonna be out and your culture is going to be in my trash can but hey , I’m still appreciating you! Feel appreciated, damnit!