Amid all the New Year’s Eve options out there, my husband and I picked a good one. While the ball was droppin’, our eyes were poppin’—at the final, climactic scene of the modern Korean classic Oldboy. Wow. We were so into it, we forgot to switch over to the TV countdown as we had planned. Will the real Asian film geek please stand up? And does this auspicious beginning to 2009 foretell a great year for Asian film?
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Holy Tokyo Drift! That’s Sung Kang—bigger than life. This mural’s on the wall of Taiwan-based Jump Shoes’ flagship store in SoHo. But how did it get there? Meet David Foox—a New Zealand artist with an eye for Asian symbolism. Plus, see Sung Kang’s last three short films with Jump Shoes and Arowana Films.
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I left Kentucky a decade ago, but news of southern redneck shenanigans seems to follow me. I first heard about this on local news radio—JapanToday.com has a full write-up. O.C. Welch, owner of a Ford dealership in Hardeeburg, South Carolina, has taken out a one-minute radio spot to deride Japanese cars and everyone who buys them. “They’re rice-ready…they’re not road-ready.”
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The world over, in every village and street corner, millions of kids want to make it big in music. Every country has its own “pop machine,” but making the ultimate name (and royalties) for yourself invariably means success in the U.S. market. A few from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Australia have crossed over, but why aren’t there more Asian stars on the U.S. charts?

They have the looks, the talent, the cutting-edge fashion and dance moves. In recent years, they’ve been coached by some of the same producers and talent-shapers behind big U.S. acts. So why are Americans not buying? People who know the music industry have a variety of theories.
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Hey, Americans, Happy Thanksgiving. That means stuff your face and watch some movies! I’m catching up on film, including The Namesake from 2006. One scene got me thinking about relationships between Asians and non-Asians–how their cultural navigations are portrayed in film. Here’s just a few that stick out–add a few of your own.

In The Namesake, Mira Nair’s adaptation of the Jhumpa Lahiri novel, Gogol (Kal Penn) takes his white girlfriend Max (Jacinda Barrett) home to meet his very traditional Indian parents. Max ignores many of the politely-given instructions on cultural taboos to respect. I cringed. But the real kicker was when she asked to attend a family mourning ceremony. “I wanna go to India with you to spread the ashes!” Good Lord! Gogol’s in mourning, and she’s gripping his arm, wheedling her way into a trip abroad. I know what the white girl wanted….the trip to India would “prove their love.” But it came across like attending a family mourning ceremony was another notch to make in her cultural-experiences belt. That really bothered me.
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Meet Charice, a sixteen-year-old singing sensation from the Philippines. Singing contests got her started. The Internet lit a fire under her career. And Oprah and Ellen used their influence to give her a hand up into stardom. Now, she’s featured on the “Hitman: David Foster and Friends” album alongside Babyface and Michael Buble. Way to get your mom out of the garment factory!

Born in 1993 in San Pedro Laguna, Charice Pempengco had a lot to overcome. Domestic violence forced her mother to leave Dad, then pull 16-hour shifts at a sewing machine to make ends meet. Charice started singing at age four; her “concert debut” was at a Balibago basketball game at age seven. Wanting to earn income to help Momma, young Charice began working the Filipino singing-contest circuit soon after. “Even if the prizes are $50 or $10, it’s big money to us,” she told reporters.
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As promised, here’s the latest installment in the Jump Shoes promotional short films by Sung Kang and Arowana films. This one elicited some interesting buzz on Sung’s blog. Sung claims that the New York City cops didn’t like him standing in the middle of Times Square. I will say, Sung, your body language is pretty intimidating. The Naked Cowboy also makes an appearance in this vid–and we all know that’s a no-miss. Strangely, this film is stirring up some deep thoughts…

This short film series has become a frequent blog topic because it’s hitting me on several levels–as a Sung Kang fan, an advertising writer, and an aspiring filmmaker. One of my favorite aspects of the film genre is the “afterplay.” That’s the best word I can find to describe the way some films stay with you after you watch them. The meaning behind the images, words, and events continues to unfold in your mind’s eye.
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A couple of weeks ago, I attended the 2nd Annual Asian Summit here in Cincinnati, presented by the Asian Community Alliance and hosted by Northern Kentucky University. I went with an open mind, not really knowing what to expect. It was good to meet people within the Asian-American community, but there was something missing—young people. So here’s a recap. I hope my coverage encourages you to get involved with similar events in your city.

At the opening session, I scoped out the fruit and doughnuts, then looked around for a table to eat with. A couple of white college students sat at a back table, but I felt that NOT sitting with them was my personal stand against segregation. A bunch of middle-aged Asian women were very glad when I brought out my secret weapon—a brag book of my adorable sons, aged almost three and eight months. Now, if you’ve read my blog at all, you know that my husband is Korean. One of the ladies asked me, “Will you send your sons to Korean school?” I hedged a bit, feeling that decision was better left to hubby.
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Yes, that’s Sung Kang’s face in the mural, part of his collaborative publicity campaign for Jump Shoes. Kind of crazy, huh? If you’re in the New York area, you can hoof over to the Jump Shoes flagship store at 89 Spring St., Soho, and see it for yourself, so large and incredible. I also have another of Sung Kang’s short films. It’s marketing, it’s art, and it’s cool. These are also posted on YouTube. You can make comments here, on YouTube, or on Sung’s blog.
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