Bad news and good news

The thing about mass shootings is that you have to worry about copycats imitating the unholy deed. A deranged person seeing the news of someone similar to him committing a crime can be just enough of a push to make him follow through. That’s why the media have to balance between reporting on a mass shooting and also not glorifying the details of the shooter. It’s a tricky situation for sure.

Sadly, not two days after the horrific tragedy in Monterey Park, another shooting occurred close to home. A senior Asian male killed seven people in Half Moon Bay, motive unknown. I can’t help but wonder that this guy saw the news of a similar-aged Asian male shooting up a dance hall in Monterey Park, and thought that he also can move along with his evil plans. The Asian American community is hurting, our sense of safety is shattered everywhere.

In other news, Everything Everywhere All at Once leads all movies this year with 11 Oscar nominations! I’m particularly happy for Stephanie Hsu getting the nod in the supporting actress category. The numerous flowers for Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh during this awards season are well deserved, but Stephanie Hsu’s multi-faceted performance as the daughter has been somewhat overlooked. I’m happy the Academy gave her recognition with the nomination.

That said, if Ke Huy Quan doesn’t win the best supporting actor category, we riot! I look forward a merry Oscar watch party with friends.

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Sending love.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Everything Everywhere All at Once is the multiverse done correctly! I am so glad I watched it after seeing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Because had it been reserved, I would have been sorely disappointed at the multiverse treatment in Doctor Strange. Everything Everywhere All at Once is a masterpiece in storytelling, weaving a first-generation Chinese American story into an allegorical tale about the meaning of life.

The film is surprisingly nihilistic! I did not expect to find the positive interpretation of Nietzsche in this movie, one I resonate with profoundly. Because “nothing matters”, we are then free to do anything we want to. A nihilistic view of the world provides the proper perspective for me. The little annoyances of everyday life simply disappear. The big challenges get tackled with a clear mind and plenty of courage. Setbacks and tragedies cannot hurt me: because none of it matters.

This juxtaposes the common view of nihilism: because nothing matters, why try at anything? It’s a defeatist attitude that I am completely against. But whenever I bring up Nietzsche in polite conversation, that’s the reaction I get from people. Something tells me they aren’t ready to accept their ultimate cosmic insignificance. The daughter in Everything Everywhere All at Once explains to the mother that this moment, our lives, is but a spec of dust in the grande scheme of universal time.

Alongside the nihilistic theme is a Chinese American story. An overbearing mother, yearning to undo the mistakes of her parents, creates a monster of a daughter? Most of us first-generation Chinese American kids can relate to that. This is the sort of representation in film that we would want to see: how to tell an Asian American story, without telling an Asian American story.

Everything Everywhere All at Once had better receive some Oscar nominations. Otherwise, it’s AAPI hate!

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Incoming.

Well well, how the turntables

As an Asian person who’s had a habit of casually wearing face masks when going outside, it’s funny to see that America has finally embraced it as a mechanism to decrease the chances of catching the coronavirus. Who’s the weird person wearing a medical mask now? I’m not saying I’m enjoying the schadenfreude of western countries finally accepting something that’s been a part of the culture in Asian countries for longest time, what with these dire circumstances and what not, but I’m not saying I don’t enjoy it, either.

It seems so basic and obvious that wearing face masks helps to decrease the spread of viruses and flu strains: otherwise, why are officials giving us tips like sneezing and coughing into our shirt sleeves, and to avoid touching our face? A face mask does brilliantly to preempt the need for those preventive actions, doesn’t it? Not only am I not spreading my own germs towards others, but I’m also (somewhat) shielded from the expelled particles of other people. This was especially useful when taking public transportation, and screw those who gave us Asians weird stares and hateful looks during the infancy of the COVID-19 outbreak for having face masks: we’re protected - that’s what matters most.

Anything that may help against a coronavirus that doesn’t discriminate between age or health status is worth doing; like playing the lottery, you can’t say for sure how severe symptoms will be should you be unlucky to catch it.

The example set by Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, how they didn’t have to shut everything down because one, they had enough testing, and secondly, there’s a fierce habit of mask wearing already ingrained into the population. What did the western would do with this information? Much like their preparation for the coronavirus outbreak overall: absolutely nothing. It’s was only recently did the CDC reversed their stance and began to recommend face covering when heading out in public.

I get it, we should do everything we can to provide enough stock of masks and other protective equipment to frontline medical staff. That said, the general public should’ve be reprimanded for buying them for ourselves. Good thing though I already had a stash of face masks from before the virus hit our shores; I’m Asian, after all.

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Eggs, bacon, and seaweed: the lunch of quarantine champions.

Authentically Asian

Director Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” becomes the first foreign language film ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

That is a heavy and well-overdue achievement, and the overwhelming joy from the Koreans on my twitter feed last night was especially heartwarming. Their feelings must have been what it was like for Chinese people when Ang Lee won his director Oscar for “Brokeback Mountain”. Lee absolutely paved the way for Bong’s eventual triumph, with the seemingly archaic Academy willing to give the ultimate recognition to a film that’s entirely in Korean, and produced entirely in South Korea. Honestly, I was prepared for disappointment throughout the ceremony, but when Jane Fonda read the word “Parasite”, the elation was rather emotional.

It’s been a banner year for Korean entertainment on the world stage, what with the great success of BTS, and now Parasite wining the top movie award on the planet. Even though I’m Chinese, I feel prideful for the achievement of people that look like me; for better or worse, the West treats us Asian faces as one homogenous blob (who amongst us hasn’t been falsely called one of the many Asian nationalities?), so the success of one group has a positive correlation to the other. Even though our cultures are varied and experiences different, within the bubble of American and European culture we are seen as one giant group.

Therefore, a win for Parasite is a win for other Asians in the film industry.

A belated shoutout to the team behind “The Farewell”; Awkwafina winning best actress at the Golden Globes was super amazing, and it’s a shame the film didn’t get one ounce of recognition - not so much as a nomination - at the Oscars.

I think Parasite winning Best Picture is the final signal to Asians all over the globe, but especially in Western countries, that we no longer have to contort and distort our true culture to succeed or receive recognition in the West. We can be completely ourselves - unapologetically unfiltered, and still get to where we want to be. If anything, it’s catering to what we think the West wants that has gotten us continually stuck. Authenticity is the best currency, even if it isn’t in English.

We’re only getting started.

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We’ve got a functioning Apple II computer.

Quick thoughts on 'Crazy Rich Asians'

Last evening I finally saw Crazy Rich Asians, and it's everything I thought I didn’t need but my god is it ever so beautifully there. I've stated before that the whole Asian-American representation thing wasn't as big a deal for me as it is for others, but Crazy Rich Asians proved me utterly foolish: it was so awesome to see an English language film full of normal characters I can identify with on a cultural level. 

I never thought the jubilation I got from watching Better Luck Tomorrow the first time could be found again, yet here I am, profoundly moved by Crazy Rich Asians.  

What a wonderful adaption of the novel by director Jon M. Chu and company. Speaking as someone who have read the book, the movie excellently cherry-picked the major components of the story, presenting it with a simplistic fluidity that's equally satisfying for those who haven't read the source material. The minute details on how particular plot-points came to be are all in the novel, should audiences choose to dive deeper. 

I especially loved how even when the film deviates from the book - like the final arc,  little homages are sprinkled in as a nod to those that have read it. It's brilliantly done. 

There were two moments in the film where someone in the theatre was for sure chopping onions: when Kina Grannis (as herself) started singing Can’t Help Falling In Love during the wedding sequence, and in the ending scenes where a cover of Coldplay's Yellow is sung in the background.  

I really dig how Crazy Rich Asians is unabashedly, well, Asian: the themes and motifs are just as they are, pure and unexplained. Particularly, the crucial mahjong scene is sheer genius in it’s absence of how the game is played and what the individual tiles stood for. The creators didn't care you don't know mahjong: it's simply there, unreservedly. The intertwining of Chinese culture within Crazy Rich Asians is deeply heartfelt because it's such catharsis to see it presented without patronization. 

The sequel cannot come soon enough.  

For the culture. 

On the 'Crazy Rich Asians' movie

As soon as I finished reading Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians, I immediately thought that it'd be great if it were adapted into a movie. Fast forward a few years later and it's the opening weekend of said movie this weekend. I've been eagerly waiting for it since the project was announced almost two years ago, and I cannot wait to completely obliterate the film for any deviation or omission from the book.

Kidding not kidding; what do you mean Astrid is a Young and not a Leong? 

Anticipation for a good nitpicking session aside, the Crazy Rich Asians movie is getting massive buzz for being the first major studio-backed film to star a majority Asian cast: 25 years since The Joy Luck Club. 25 years! If you thought African-Americans had it difficult with representation in Hollywood with the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, Asian-Americans are might as well be invisible. I'm still waiting for the first Asian-American cast member to feature on Saturday Night Live, a show that's been airing for four decades.  

So it's a great occasion, and if you are any parts Asian at all we owe it to our culture to support the Crazy Rich Asian movie, because it must succeed: Hollywood simply won't tolerate its failure. We know the chance is high if Crazy Rich Asians bombs at the box office it'll be another 25 years until the next movie with an Asian cast. That's just how it works and has worked. 

I'm especially happy for the people who are moved to great emotion in seeing Asian representation on the silver screen. Personally I grew up watching Asian movies and television shows so the issue of "representation" was never a big deal for me, because I easily recognized myself in the media I was consuming. That said I greatly appreciate what Crazy Rich Asians symbolizes for many Asian-Americans, and I hope the movie opens the floodgates for many more art projects by Asians to come to the mainstream. 

A quick shoutout to Justin Lin and his seminal Better Luck Tomorrow. It wasn't a major studio film, but it was the first American movie that I saw proper representation: Asian characters as every day people I know, and not the usual kung-fu fighting or submissive damsel. Crazy Rich Asians bows its head to Lin's achievement. 

Early morning setups are always fun and drowsy. Good thing there's catered breakfast which means an abundance of coffee. 

Harvard gets sued by Asians

Harvard getting sued for discrimination against Asian applicants is interesting to me because why now? Since the advent of affirmative action and ethnic quotas in schools, us Asians have always gotten the short end of the stick. When you adjust for “equality” based on results then there’s going to be an aggrieved party and unfortunately that’s us. A casualty of success. 

From the time when Asian people first stepped foot on this continent up until now we’ve been discriminated against one way or another (Chinese exclusion act, Japanese internment, you name it). All we’ve ever done in response is put our nose to the grindstone, work hard, and get after success like water dripping on stone. Even if it’s only a penny saved per day, given enough time to compound we got there. 

Asians aren’t vocal complainers and troublemakers. We take the situations and framework as they are work around and with them. Didn’t get into Harvard? We’d just kick ass at another school. Barriers didn’t stop and aren’t going to stop Asians from achieving financial success.

Because up until recent decades, Asians (immigrants) were predominantly poor so the prime objective was to make money - we didn’t have time for political games. Now that we’ve reached those goals and by many metrics are the most affluent ethnic group on average, Asians have the leisure to pursue other arenas of life, like suing Harvard (and other institutions) for blatant racial discrimination.

The political capital of Asian Americans is growing quite quickly. 

Commuting with the morning clouds at Balboa Park station.