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Can an Asian American be the next American Idol?

BOSTON — Perhaps you've heard of Heejun Han, the 22-year-old Korean American from Flushing, Queens, who also happens to be a semi-finalist on American Idol Season 11.

To many, he may seem an unlikely star. He's known for his likable personality, but also for shaking his arms before each performance to get the nerves out. Idol judge and Aerosmith leading man Steven Tyler said Han's song selection on Tuesday night — Robbie Williams' "Angel" — was a miss.

But when he opens his mouth to sing — that’s when US pop star Jennifer Lopez gets a little teary. His voice on Tuesday was "smooth as silk," J Lo said. His initial performance “really impressed and shocked” another judge, music producer Randy Jackson. Even Tyler said previously he thought Han “could be the next American Idol.”

Han isn’t the first Asian American to be on American Idol, but the overwhelming love and attention he’s getting on camera and off makes it seem that way.

The Jeremy Lin Backlash of Anti-Asian Racism (AMWW)

Racism is in this..... ignorance is contagious in the uneducatedHey guys! Huggable Heather here with another article exposing racism – this time, on New York Knick’s beloved Asian American superstar, Jeremy Lin.

Now that we’re two+ weeks into the Linsanity story, we know that he’s able to deliver more than just a few baskets or assists – he’s made 295 points, 118 assists, revitalized the NBA and, according to Forbes magazine, has singlehandedly reinvigorated the economy. Jeremy Lin seems to be bigger than himself…and in all this tumult and hype, he still remains humble and remembers why he’s here: to play basketball.

Racist anti-Chinese campaign during the Superbowl - Hoekstra is underfire

If you thought the Anti-China evil professor video's didn't anger enough people or Asian Americans, then the Republicans will repeat the same crime again, except this time using an Asian girl.

Amid spring-loaded babies and Ferris Bueller flash-backs, there was one Super Bowl ad that had few people laughing. While it ran only in Michigan, U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra’s campaign ad featuring an Asian woman speaking broken English is being criticized around the country today.

In the ad, Hoekstra, a former U.S. House Representative, dubs his Democratic Senate rival Debbie Stabenow “Debbie Spend It Now” for supporting policies that cause American jobs and investments to be outsourced to China.

Repost of "White Men HATE Asian Feminism"

White men hate women. All women, Black, Yellow, Brown, Red, White. White men aren’t interested in sex, they are addicted to power. Sex is a power trip for the white man. He needs the woman to be hurt, humiliated, broken. He feeds off female suffering. That is why white men have went so batshit insane over the modest gains of white feminism. That is why he used to have Jungle Fever for Sally Helms, but now finds Black women manly and unfeminine.

The one race of women, that white men supposedly promotes feminism for is Asian women. What does feminism mean for Asian women? Obeying and serving her white colonial masters. That is a feminism the white man can get behind.

Or can he?

Lets see how a white man reacts to a genuine Asian feminist, and to her scholarly work exploring WM/AF relationships, here are excerpts from a WM 1-star review-

“I anticipated reading this book with pleasure. It covers an interesting and important topic.

Han Chinese have 'drinking gene'

In western culture, many social animals like to associate drinking to social skill and ability, more particulary in males who measure theier masculinities with one's alcoholic tolerance ie. holding down their drink.

With this in mind, many Asians have long been on the subjected to stereotypes and made fun of when they preduce a flush reaction to their alcoholic drink.

These stereotypes can easily be debunked, as people become more clued in with a fact that the assumption is not a race matter. To imply asians are weak simply because they turn red is nothing more than ignorance and social racism, many of us do not flush.

Here is the story:

New Shanghai-based research reverses the stereotypical Western notion that Chinese people cannot hold their liquor – at least, when it comes to pounding back grain-based alcohols like baijiu.

Yao Ming retires, he's more than basketball.

As Yao makes exits from the American Basketball association, most of us would have already seen some of the 

signs surrounding his injuries, though most of us would have hoped he would return to see him take the Rockets to the finals.
It was unfortunately that he had to end his career and move on to something else. Nonetheless, he has already made history.  

"The NBA can survive without Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets can survive without Yao Ming, but we cannot survive without Yao Ming," read a comment on a Chinese Twitter-like tribute page that received 1.5 million entries within hours."

Asians Absent as Leaders in Top U.S. Companies

An article recently appeared in the news that struck a few cords with me that didn't quite represent the true Asian American perspective.

The article begins by introducing Asian-American as 18 percent of the Harvard University enrollment, 24 percent at Stanford University, and a whopping 46 percent at the University of California-Berkeley. Academic pedigrees like that typically vault graduates into the upper echelon of the U.S. workforce.

But a national study released Thursday by the Center for Work-Life Policy says that Asian-Americans — 5 percent of the U.S. population and the nation's fastest-growing minority by percentage — hold less than 2 percent of top corporate jobs.

According to "Researchers" supported by Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Pfizer and Time Warner:

Looking for a 'Hangover' cure

Jeff Yang writes another great article in contrast to the latest Asian stereotyped sellout piece 'Hangover 2' and in this article he touches on the economics of Asian Americans and their appraoch to the mainstream movie industry. The challenges are clearly there, no doubt Asian Americans are full of talent in the entertainment industry, we have notable directors, actors and actresses . Asian Americans are also more than capable of setting up their own alternative media sources but is that just enough?

Jeff Yang writes on "Is white the new black"?

As white Americans move into the minority, some are claiming they're the ones now subject to racial oppression. Do they have a case?

For a small, nerdy cluster of folk -- social science and cultural studies wonks, market researchers, armchair political pundits -- this month is the Super Bowl, Oscars and Olympics rolled into one. That's because the next few weeks will see the gradual, yet grand unveiling of data from the 2010 U.S. Census, an event literally 10 years in the making.

Macleans Racism (Part III) - 'Too Asian?' and the Firestorm It's Fanning

Maclean's article sparked overdue rebellion against powerful voices claiming racial discrimination is not a problem

Maclean's magazine has struck a match. Now a firestorm of criticism is headed its way. Canada may never be the same.

On Nov. 25, Victoria city council unanimously adopted a motion, submitted by veteran councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe, criticizing Maclean's for their article 'Too Asian' in their widely read special university rankings feature edition (Nov. 2010). The motion, unanimously adopted, described the title of the Maclean's article as "offensive and intolerant" and criticized its contents for "propagating a litany of racial stereotypes."

I agree and Thornton-George and the council deserve credit for speaking out against a media giant. Their action demonstrates how far we have come from the bad old days.

Macleans Racism (Part II) - A letter to Maclean's calling for end to "anti-Asian racism"

A Recap on the past news about "Too Asian" in Maclean's publication that triggered off public anger over it's racist content targeting Asian Canadians in higher education.

CCNC Statement on Dialogue with Maclean’s
Monday November 22, 2010

The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) and Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter (CCNCTO) held a media briefing today to report back on the dialogue with Maclean’s magazine on their article entitled “Too Asian”?

Toronto, ON – The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) and Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter (CCNCTO) held a media briefing today to report back on the dialogue with Maclean’s magazine on their article entitled “Too Asian”?

CCNC and CCNCTO and a number of community organizations met with Maclean’s on November 12th and again on November 17th for hour each time. Maclean’s had offered to publish a letter from CCNC in a future edition. CCNC and CCNCTO, after consulting with various community organizations responded with a 4 point proposal:

Macleans Racism (Part I) - Maclean says "Too Asian", We say you are "Too racist".

There has been some recent discussion surrounding a racist piece of media that had recently surfaced on the Maclean's website about the increasing number of Asian students in their academic institutions (racist...ahem).

Not only has this article unnecessarily making an issue of race but also implying that Universities and colleges are "too Asian" for their liking, a very racist emitting but also at the same time hideous at a glance.

Although the original article has been edited the original version can be found here "Too Asian" (Thanks to Angry Asian Man's post).

So you might ask should Chinese Canadians be concerned? of course not, because we are not the ones complaining. Obviously all those who are enrolled in higher education is obviously there to study and nothing else.

Asians shoot to the top of the charts!

 
Last month was exciting in terms of entertainment news. Musicians made Asian American history, San Diego hosted its annual Asian Film Festival, Jon M. Chu’s career took off, Yao Ming returned to the basketball court, and Brenda Song received an award. Let’s get started!
Making beautiful music — for the mainstream!

For the week of Oct. 30, members of Far East Movement became the first Asian Americans to hit the top of the Billboard charts. Even more exciting was the fact that the number two spot was held by singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, who is of Filipino and Puerto Rican descent.
Far East Movement is made up of Kevin Nishimura “Kev Nish,” James Roh “Prohgress,” Jae Choung “J-Splif,” and Virman Coquia “DJ Virman.”
In a New York Daily News story, Oliver Wang, an assistant professor of sociology at California State University-Long Beach, said, “Far East Movement and Bruno Mars didn’t come just out of nowhere. There’s been a slow push to make it happen through social media. It’s finally hit that tipping point.”

San Diego’s Asian Film Festival: action-packed!

Daniel Dae Kim, Harry Shum Jr on Being Working Asian Actors - By Michelle Kung

On Sunday, Asian-American actors Daniel Dae Kim (”Hawaii Five-O”), C. S. Lee (”Dexter”), Harry Shum Jr. (”Glee”), Ellen Wong (”Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”), and Aaron Yoo (”Friday the 13th”) talked casting, graduate school and stereotypes at the Asian Americans in Hollywood panel at the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

In particular, each of the actors stressed that their current status as recognizable faces didn’t happen overnight. Lee and Kim both studied acting at graduate school (Lee at Yale and Kim at NYU; the former even asked latter for advice about where he should go), and Shum Jr explained that he first moved to Los Angeles in 2001 to act. After realizing he could “kinda dance,” he built up his skills and his dancing ultimately took over. (For “Glee” fans, he added: No, he doesn’t really sing as badly as Mike Chang does, and yes, there will a continuing storyline for his character this season).

Golden State Warriors sign Jeremy Lin from Harvard

Great news from our Asian American sensation Jeremy Lin as he signs on with the Golden State Warriors.

We did not see wrong when we saw the potential of this new gunner and that's not in any reference to any kind of school massacres that the Media rubs in our faces.

Asian Americans look on with high confidence when they see Jeremy Lin simply put, doing what he does best.

We aren't unfairly biased when it comes to supporting any Asian Americans in sports, I mean sure we should be supporting Asian Americans in all areas of the professional world but Jeremy Lin actually has a little bit more and we can not help but be proud of him. Not only is he being recognized by Asian Americans but in fact to have the basketball world talking him only shows that he has gained early recognition.

Ken Watanabe & Dileep Rao on red carpet for the premiere of Inception

The most anticipated film of the summer had its big Hollywood premiere at Mann's Chinese Theatre on Tuesday, and fans carrying both English and Japanese-language signs stood patiently behind barricades, waiting (some since 6am) to catch a glimpse of their favorite actors. Photographers crowded each other for shots of Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page. Security guards positioned themselves on either side of Leonardo DiCaprio as he walked along the street to greet his fans and sign autographs. One of the earlier stars to arrive, Ken Watanabe gamely waved at the fans, inciting cheers as he walked down with his wife Kaho Minami.

Jeff Yang’s Profile of an Asian Male Porn Star

Posting from the "Colorblind" Blog:

Jeff was publisher of A. Magazine, one of the most popular and influential Asian American magazines during its run from 1989-2002. Since then, Jeff has published several books including co-editing Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology and is widely recognized and respected as an expert on Asian and Asian American pop culture. I have admired Jeff’s work for a long time but only finally got the chance to meet him at Syracuse.

The Asian-Jewish connection: Is it really kosher to call Asians the "new Jews"?

By Jeff Yang, Special to SF Gate
Thursday, February 25, 2010

The notion that Asians and Jews are two shoots from the same cultural rootstock is an old but evergreen meme.

You see it in fringe theories about the Lost Tribes of Israel -- there's an entire body of cryptoarchaeological canon that uses similarities between customs, language and naming convention to "prove" that the ancient vanished Jewish clans ended up in China, India or Japan. (Japan's 50,000-member Makuya sect, which has as its central dogma that the Japanese are descendants of a lost Jewish tribe, keep kosher, speak Hebrew and use the seven-armed menorah as their symbol.)

Distasteful Canadian Media takes a stab at Chinese Athletes.

Halfpipe gold medallist Xuetong Cai of China is flanked by compatriots Zhifeng Sun (left), silver, and Xu Cheng, bronze as they stand on the podium at the FIS snowboard world cup Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 in Stoneham Que. (CP) Source: CIV

We knew during the Beijing Olympics the media took every opportunity to mock the Chinese Athletes just about anything they could find.

When it comes to talking about Chinese athletes, it seems like every article must reemphasize the words  'government-funded', 'state owned', and rather acknowledging the concept of dedication, hard work and discipline as athletic qualities in the Chinese they prefer to call it 'cultural oppression' or even 'inhuman torture'. 

The same rhetorical defamation recycles itself again and in the 2010 Vancouver Winter games the media has taken another stab at it.

Cinema Me Short Film Competition

Since the Asian American film burst onto the scene thirty something years ago, many of those filmmakers, such as, Christine Choy, Wayne Wang, Mira Nair, Ang Lee, Justin Lin and among others are now comfortably part of the American cinematic mainstream.

Each year, hundreds of filmmakers from around the Asian Diaspora submit their short films to Asian American film festivals. They have given us stories of immigration and assimilation, adversity and triumph, motivation and inspiration of all genres: narrative, documentary, experimental, animation, music video.

Common reoccurring themes include identity politics, alienated youth, hypersexualization, math nerds, over-achievers, stereotypes, suburban alienation, and kung-fu waiters. 
Been there? Done that?

Tell us YOUR Asian American story.

Mr. Hyphen' Contest Winner Uses Activism To Redefine The Image Of Asian-American Men

The six men on stage included a poet, a break dancer and a filmmaker. They pounded rhythms on the dhol drum, modeled fresh fashions, slathered whipped cream on bare skin and discussed their passion for community service.

This is the "Mr. Hyphen" contest, a faux pageant in the San Francisco Bay area aimed at redefining the image of Asian-American men beyond nerdy, sexless stereotypes.

Conspicuously absent from the stage were computer experts, doctors, lawyers or dry cleaners. There were, however, martial arts - with a twist.

Pahole Sookkasikon, an American-born graduate student partial to drawing, cooking, and "flirting for free drinks at the bar," knew that his hobbies would not translate well to the talent portion of the show.

Deadly Viper & Racism in Marketing

Nothing says controversy like an Internet fight over racism in marketing and design. If you weren't familiar with last week's blow-by-blow, Asian author and professor Soong-Chan Rah called out racism at worst and insensitivity at best in the marketing and design of the book Deadly Viper Character Assassins by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite. Rah accused Foster and Wilhite of fueling racial stereotypes and co-opting Asian culture in order to market their book. It was an especially interesting challenge because Foster and Wilhite's book is all about integrity and character. The conversation exploded with hundreds of comments and eventually led to a conference call between Rah, Foster, Wilhite and moderators.

Angry Asian Man' aims to trump stereotypes

Scholarly blogger deals with cultural fallacies, ethnic misconceptions.

When you think of an angry Asian man, the image of a ninja wielding formidable weapons comes to mind. The stereotype isn’t far from the mark when you visit “Angry Asian Man,” a blog run by University of California, Berkeley alumnus Phil Yu.

“The name of my blog is provocative and scary,” said Yu. “It’s different from most people’s idea of what an Asian person is supposed to be. Most Asians in this country are not seen as people who are willing to rock the boat. We’re seen as meek people who just let things slide, but that’s not true at all.”

At a panel in the Texas Union on Thursday, Yu and Nhi Lieu, a UT American studies professor discussed Asian-American media representation and identity in America, as well as the influence of Yu’s blog on the Asian-American community.

Vancouver Asian Film Festival goes beyond identity

By Craig Takeuchi

It's been a while since there's been an Asian North American box-office hit. The Joy Luck Club, The Wedding Banquet, and Snow Falling on Cedars were all from the '90s. Indie successes like Better Luck Tomorrow and Eve and the Fire Horse (by Vancouver's Julia Kwan) have been few and far between over the past decade. Other filmmakers of Asian descent (Jessica Yu, In the Realms of the Unreal; Cary Fukunaga, Sin Nombre), have established themselves by tackling subjects unrelated to their heritage.

The most consistent local source for such works remains the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, which runs from November 5 to 8 at the Cinemark Tinseltown (88 West Pender Street). Unlike other local events that showcase films from Asia, VAFF emphasizes stories by and about Asian Canadians and Americans.

A look at Hollywood's China syndrome

BOSTON - It's one of the great closing lines in movie history, "Come on, Jake. It's . . . Chinatown." Those words, spoken to Jack Nicholson in, of course, "Chinatown," suggest all too accurately the sheer otherness of the Chinese experience as seen by Hollywood.

That otherness has run the gamut. Patronizing, reductive depictions of China ("The Good Earth," say) have gone hand in hand with Chinese-American stereotypes (cooks and laundry operators mostly, with the occasional opium smoker, for variety's sake, and, more recently, kung fu masters). The most famous Chinese and Chinese-American characters have been shameless caricatures - Fu Manchu, for example, and Charlie Chan.

Serial Pedophile Who Bought 5-Year-Old Vietnamese Sex Slave is Up For Parole

What can be more depressing than a story like this to remind us of our current society and the state of human morality. It is important that we should continue to advocate against human trafficking and foriegners who go overseas to find Asian wives or sex touring for Asian women (or in this case, Children too).

Typically, these are the types that have the imperialist mindset, they prey on those who are inpoverished and live in difficult conditions. The circumstances that exposes a vulnerability can be said without reference, human trafficking or sexual exploitation of Asian women.

We have similar issues that exist in first world countries only that these  problems exist on a another level. In the social context, racism comes  intertwined with stereotypes, race sexual fetish, Asian fetishism, Pedophilia, Asiaphiles, Sexism, Rapists, murders etc all that commonly share the same basis on the grounds of racism.

Asian Women Scholars in Higher Education

"Strangers" of the Academy Asian Women Scholars in Higher Education, Edited by Guofang Li, Gulbahar H. Beckett, Foreword by Shirley Geok-Lin Lim

Abstract - No less than other minorities, Asian women scholars are confronted with racial discrimination and stereotyping as well as disrespect for their research, teaching, and leadership, and are underrepresented in academia.

In the face of such barriers, many Asian female scholars have developed strategies to survive and thrive. This book is among the first to examine their lived experience in Western academic discourses. It addresses the socio-cultural, political, academic, and personal issues that Asian female scholars encounter in higher education.

The Asian Search Engine Algorithm And Not Being Suitable For Work

slanteyefortheroundeye - For some odd reason I thought I would go to the top four search engines including Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Ask, type in the word "asian" and compare/contrast what came up under Images and Videos to see what I would find with all the filters turned off (because I wanted to see what they - meaning the algorithms - or the deep dark mind of search - really thought).

Let's Go Straight To The Results

1. Google:

Stereotypes Persist Even Where Immigrants Don't

It's never been easy to be part of the huddled masses. The Statue of Liberty may not be choosy about the wretched refuse she allows in the door, but Americans haven't always been so hospitable. Immigrants from Ireland landed in the U.S. in the 1850s only to find shop windows festooned with signs reading "No Irish Need Apply." The Chinese toiled to build our transcontinental railroad in the 1860s only to see the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act signed in 1882, suspending further immigration. The unwritten rule was simple: pretty much anyone was welcome, except the newest group — or at least the one arriving in the greatest numbers — who would have a harder go of things. All that's changed, though, right? In our new postracial world, haven't we risen above such petty prejudice? Actually, no, we haven't. But the good news is, we're doing better than you might expect.

Possibly Re-Entered by Rain

Well this is no surprise since Rain is the hottest Asian in Hollywood now, we know he's Korean but to them we supposedly all look alike anyway. We can now only pray this movie isn't going to be butchered like every other Hollywood remake (especially whitewashing them).

Here is the reported story.

About two years ago this month, the trades reported that Warner Independent Pictures has set "The Shield" exec producer Kurt Sutter to write and make his feature directing debut on "Awaken the Dragon."

A noir-style remake of "Enter the Dragon," the 1973 martial arts classic that made Bruce Lee a global star, Sutter said he's writing "Awaken the Dragon" as a contemporized drama about a lone FBI agent who pursues a rogue Shaolin monk into the bloody world of underground martial arts fight clubs.

Sutter will look to discover a fight star in the role of the monk and cast an established American actor to play the FBI agent.

Well, guess what? I think they found their fight star.

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