That's what I'm saying, Kevin Kataoka!

"Even the biggest movie ever made about ninjas didn't star Asians. It starred turtles!"

To visualize what having actual Asian and Asian-American actors starring in films would look like, check out my earlier blog post over here: "What about my stories?": My reaction to 50/50. Still relevant, now more than ever.

It's 2013! Asian people make up over 60% of the world's population. Sixty percent! China is currently the world's second largest film market. Yet, I am hard pressed to name a major movie starring an Asian or Asian-American actor since Harold and Kumar celebrated Christmas in 3D.

I do love me some Han in the Fast and Furious movies, a character know for his world-class driving ability, not for his martial art skills, bucking two stereotypes at once! Han left those sweet fighting moves to noted experts Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. But Han was seventh billed in Fast 6 after Tyrese, but before Ludacris, ahem, "Chris Bridges". Also, due to his (alleged) death in the credits, he probably won't be featured in Fast and Furious 7. Instead, we get more of this guy. I don't know who was asking for the white guy from Tokyo Drift, but welcome back, Lucas Black.

On the plus side, Fast 7 will also include Thai actor Tony Jaa... best known for his martial art movies... so there's that?

In conclusion, more diversity in media! Now!



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Musings from a Black Woman: So now I want to buy an Audi.

It's that simple.

Your move, other overpriced sports car companies.


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Life at Chili's

I like this multicultural, multigenerational commercial. The concept that different types of people could enjoy each other in the same eating establishment is mind-boggling. :)

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The best part of my Thanksgiving:

hanging out with people who know why it is bizarre to only have friends who look exactly like you.

Seriously. It has been difficult to find someone who doesn't think it is normal and natural to primarily associate with people who look like you, regardless of whether those people have anything else in common with you.

Here is a story to illustrate my situation and my point. Let's say I moved to a new neighborhood named Sesame Street. Who are the people in your neighborhood? There are Big Birds and Snuffleupaguses and Counts and various monsters and domestic partners and grouches. Let's say I'm a frog. I could hang out with Kermit and his nephew Robin, but they are often busy with The Muppet Show on another set. I could hang out with the other characters in my neighborhood, who seem nice overall. The problem is, those characters tend to segregate themselves by gender or by category: the boys, the monsters, the birds, the grouches. It's hard enough to break into a clique. It's even harder when many of these characters have never before met--much less befriended--any frogs before; and previously, their closest encounter was with those burping Budweiser frogs from the TV.

So, if 1) the other frogs are rarely in my neighborhood, and 2) the people in my neighborhood are confuzzled by frogs in general, then who am I supposed to hang out with? :(

I encourage you readers to take an honest look at the people in your lives. If you look to your left, then you look to your right, and your closest friends are near carbon copies of you--down to the highlights in your hair, or the lack of hair all together--you should think about that. Just like the employees at Enron failed to diversify their 401K portfolios, your homogeneous friend investment could lead to high vulnerability. But most importantly, frogs are super nice and sometimes shy, so you should try to include them, i.e., me. :)

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"I'm nobody's sassy black friend."

Nor am I "part of a 'niche' audience" called "women".

Okay, so, in reality, I am a few people's sassy black friend. However, new friends (hello, and welcome!), please do not describe me as "sassy". Also, when pointing me out to other people, do not let your first adjective about me be "black". I encourage you to employ phrases including "that funny lady" or "the one with the book" or "some weirdo" when painting the whimsical picture of insanity that is me.

Here is my inspiration for the day:

Diversity in Entertainment: Why Is TV So White?, by Jennifer Armstrong, Margeaux Watson, at EW.com via Racialicious.

and

Hollywood 'Shocker': Women Go To Movies, by Mark Harris, EW.com.

Overall, both articles totally get me and what I'm about. Until I reached this self-congratulatory mess in the first one:

That kind of color-blind casting is something teen-focused networks seem to have down pat: Nary a show has passed through ABC Family or The N without an interracial coupling or a naturally integrated cast. [Nary? Haven't the writers of this article seen Whistler? Neither have I; that's why it got cancelled.] (ABC Family's Greek even has an interracial gay couple.) Those networks' execs say it's a simple matter of economics, that their Gen-Y viewers accept — nay, expect and demand — such a reflection of their multi-cultural lives. "They're completely color-blind,'' ABC Family president Paul Lee says of younger viewers. ''We've done a lot of things wrong as a nation, but we've clearly done something right here. They embrace other cultures.'' Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that the most high-profile minority casting for the fall is on another teen show — The CW's 90210 remake, where African-American actor Tristan Wilds (The Wire) will play the central white family's adopted son. ''When we talked about how to make it more contemporary, diversity was a big part of that,'' Ostroff says. ''It feels as if it's a very modern family scenario.''

I'll dissect this pile of colorblind-crazy later. Because wow. There's nothing like two powerful white network executives (I'm assuming they are both white from their pictures) educating reporters about "diversity" and "embracing other cultures". What other cultures are you talking about, Paul Lee?

Though I do appreciate that the writers pointed out the glaring inconsistency of these statements with the facts:

That said, 8 of the 10 regulars on 90210 are white (in addition to Wilds, Ecuadorian actor Michael Steger will play a student at West Beverly High).

Michael Steger-- who is actually of Ecuadorian, Austrian, and Norwegian descent--will be playing Navid Shirazi, who is allegedly Iranian. So, good going Dawn Ostroff and friends, who follow in the steps of The L Word by killing two ethnic birds with one stone.

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This is sad for various reasons.

Diversity still an issue at TV networks, by Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times.

Though minorities are featured in most of the 29 new series on the major networks, only five feature performers of color in central starring roles. While most of the shows have at least one regular minority cast member, the performers are mostly in support of the main white characters. Many shows with ensemble casts (ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Big Shots") feature predominantly white casts.

The CW remains the primary network venue for multiculturalism.

Groan.

Insert Pussycat Dolls/Veronica Mars cancellation/Gossip Girl/Hidden Palms/Chad Michael Murray joke here.