I have issues with...
...William Hung. Yes I know he's lovable, funny, even adorable to some, but why is he those things? It's because he represents something that every Asian American male wishes not to be and what many non-Asian Americans think us to be- dorky, bucktoothed, unmasculine, smart guys with thick "asian" accents. Don't get me wrong. I don't hate the guy and it's completely not his fault. I even admit to laughing at/with him and his videos and songs all the time. But when I'm laughing, I can't help but think about all the young Asian American boys growing up today that will have to deal with the jokes and racist remarks because of William Hung. Let me clarify. It's not William Hung himself that's the reason, but the image that he portrays. Am I wrong for thinking this? Is he not the stereotypical Asian guy that all of us are compared to? He is the living, breathing, personification of that stereotype- and he's famous because of it!
...The Last Samurai. Gee, I wonder who the LAST SAMURAI is going to be. Ken Watanabe? What are you crazy? Tom Cruise? Obviously! Why in the world does the last samurai have to be white?! (Sorry to ruin it for those of you who haven't seen it.) Why does Hollywood feel the need to cast a Tom Cruise to be in a movie about a beautiful ancient Japanese tradition? Does Hollywood think that America needs a white hero in order to enjoy a movie like this? Instead of challenging the audience to accept a movie like this (as they did with Crouching Tiger), they cop out and Tom Cruise makes millions. Come on people, it's the 21st Century. Give it a shot. You might even find a market of about 2.2 Billion people.
...Cho Chang. Who's Cho Chang, you ask? For all of you non-Harry Potter fans, Cho is Harry's "love interest" that I believe makes a literary appearance in The Prisoner of Azkaban (but is surprisingly absent in the film, but that's another story). My issue is not with her lack of screen time, it's with her name. "Cho Chang? Wu Tang? Shaolin? Won Ton? Eh, it's all the same, right?" Who thought of this name? JK Rowling? Of all the names to give an Asian character, JK decides to give her the name Cho Chang. Is it too much to ask for a name like Amy, Lynn, Angie, or Megan? I guess I shouldn't complain since finding a minority in the first two films (aside from that Quidditch scorekeeper with the dreds) was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And to have Harry's love interest be Asian is quite huge. But Cho Chang? Might as well call her "FOB Chang" and have her played by William Hung with a wig. Wouldn't that be perfect?
posted by pierre 2:53 PM
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