Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

Until a couple of days ago, I didn't pay that much attention to what was going on in San Francisco with the Olympic torch situation.

But seeing how big the demonstrations were, and how much media attention they've garnered, and how huge the Beijing Olympics are going to be, I realized that I have to say something.

I've read the various media accounts of the protests, most of which were framed as "anti-China," "pro-China, "pro-Tibet," or some other form of "anti/pro" dichotomy.

The fact of the matter is, it's much more blurry and complicated, at least for me. I think many more Chinese Americans feel torn or conflicted rather than "pro-China" about the Olympics and about the Tibet issue. There is no monolithic Chinese American community, or voice.

There are in fact many ties between the Chinese and Tibetan communities. Though many prominent Chinese Americans like torchbearer/activist/writer Helen Zia, scholar Ling-chi Wang, and actor/director Joan Chen have voiced their perspectives, I would like to add mine to the milieu of growing voices out there.

Probably like the folks mentioned above, I have a sense of ethnic and national pride in being Chinese. I also detest the hateful and unnecessary Chinese/China-bashing that has been around, since, oh, Chinese people first landed here in America.

But I also sympathize with the struggles of Tibetan and Burmese, and ethnic minorities from Burma like the Karen people.

Here is a piece written by my partner Tony Nguyen about the current peace movement. This is what he has to say about it:

I wrote this piece to reflect on the Strength in Unity contingent over these past five years and because of conversations I had with other folks of color who see the anti-war movement as purely a white middle class thing and therefore not "their struggle."  This piece is my own personal reflection and process, and doesn't necessarily represent the views and opinions of the various groups that make up our contingent. 

The front of the March 19, 2008 Strength in Unity contingent led by members & friends of ILPS, BAYAN USA, and Arab Resource & Organizing Center. Photo by Jamison Boyer (http://www.jdbcreativity.com).

Strength in Unity - Five Years Later, We March for Peace and for Each Other
by Tony V. Nguyen
 
When you think of the U.S. peace movement what comes to mind? Cindy Sheehan? Code Pink? Berkeley? 
 
This individual, this group, and this city are all important players in the current U.S. movement for peace in Iraq, and their brave and tireless contribution should be commended. But there are many, many others around the country who have also been voicing their desire for true peace and justice since before the war on Iraq began. 
 
And not all of them are white.  

First of all, congrats to the JabbaWockeeZ for winning America's Best Dance Crew!

It looks like they're already inspiring the youngsters. Check out this video of a 2-year-old dancing to the Jabba routine. This is the "superman" routine they did a while back.

And here's a video showing the Jabbawockeez's routine superimposed over the little one dancing:

AZN announced their list of nominees today for their 3rd annual Asian Excellence Awards. Though AZN TV is now defunct, the (award) show must go on... This year's hosts are Carrie Ann Inaba, a judge on Dancing With the Stars, and MADtv actor/comedian Bobby Lee. This is the same award show that Adam Carolla made fun of on the radio a couple years ago. (insert angry emoticon here).

I have not seen a lot of Asian American dramas recently that really moved me, but this one did. The Home Song Stories, directed by Australian filmmaker Tony Ayres, focuses on a single mom (played by Joan Chen) and her two kids.

Here's a film to watch if you're itching for some good laughs: Ping Pong Playa, directed by Jessica Yu. The film focuses on Christopher "C-Dub" Wang, a 25-year-old slacker who would rather play video games all day and dream about starting up a t-shirt biz than get a job. Oh yeah, and he wants to play in the NBA. Jimmy Tsai, who also co-wrote the film, plays the role with good comedic timing. Among some of his character's notable traits is that he likes to school kids half his size (and age) on the basketball court.

Lately there's been a lotta hype around Asians and dancing, namely that Asians can dance, despite stereotypes.

Saturday Night Live is getting some flack for casting Fred Armisen as Barack Obama.

I have to admit, these days I spend a lotta my spare time at home online.

Every week, the good folks at Boston Progress Radio post a feature called Shuffled, where someone in the Asian American community writes about 5 random songs from their portable music players.