jessicalum.com/blog

I wanted to take a moment to shift some attention to three amazing publications that I’ve been helping out with, or have helped me out a great deal over the last year.

Many of the organizations that were started to reach out, broadcast, and appreciate the amazing work of Asians and Asian Americans (or Asian Canadians, Asian Brazilians, etc.) are struggling under the financial burdens of the economic environment, especially in the journalism and print media industry.

Organizations like Giant Robot, Nichi Bei Weekly, and Hyphen Magazine are some of the few unique publications that cover and serve Asian Americans, but they are constantly in need of support.

3 Ways to Save Our Magazines, Our News, Our Community:

1. Subscribe

By subscribing to these publications, you get access to exclusive, awesome news, features, interviews, photos, art, and a way cool publication to put on your coffee table! But if that’s not enough, you give back to publications, as they earn not just cash from your subscription, but they can get better numbers and revenue from advertisement. It’s really a win-win situation when you subscribe.

• Giant Robot – 1 year subscription starts at $24, or more for cool GR swag
• Hyphen – 4 issue subscription for $18
• Nichi Bei Weekly – 3 months for $12

2. Donate

Donating gives you good karma.

But what’s more (tangible), Giant Robot and Hyphen offer free gifts with certain donation amounts! Amazing! Our favorite word: FREE!

• Join the Giant Robot Army of Donors, get amazing gifts by GR artists like David Choe and Takashi Murakami
• Join Hyphen magazine’s Overachiever’s Club, get free gifts and make your parents proud
• Donate through Paypal to the Nichi Bei Foundation or give goods

You can also get tax deductions by donating to non-profit pubs like Hyphen and Nichi Bei, which is pretty sweet for us working folk

3. Spread the word.

Whether or not you’ve got extra lunch money towards subs or donations, you can always cash in on free speech!

Spread the word about the importance and amazingness of these publications with your friends, parents, brothers, sisters, and hundreds of cousins. Got a rich engineering uncle? Accountant mom?

Also, share the scoop on the publications on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Tumblr, MySpace, your blog, wheatpaste, open mic nite.

More Info on the Publications:

Giant Robot:

Founded in Los Angeles in 1994 by Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong, Giant Robot started out as a hand-stapled photocopied zine. Within a few years, it became one of the strongest, most comprehensive sources for Asian and Asian American pop culture. It has since expanded into a Giant Robot empire, including four retails stores and one restaurant: 2 stores and GR/eats restaurant in Los Angeles, GRNY in Manhattan, and GRSF in San Francisco’s Haight neighborhood. Giant Robot just celebrated their 15th year Biennale show in Los Angeles’ Japanese American National Museum. Over the past 15 years, GR has showcased the work of hundreds of local and international Asian and Asian American artists to an audience of every color and shape. GR covers urban artists, amazing Asians doing crazy things worldwide, mainstream and underground cultural trends, cool toys, films, and as they say, “Asian Pop Culture and Beyond.”

Hyphen magazine:

Hyphen magazine was founded in 2002 when a larger Asian-focused publication, A. Magazine, ceased publishing. A group of recent college grads got together to dream up a way to fill the void left behind in Asian American news, community and culture coverage, while offering something fresh and new for readers.

Hyphen focuses on Asian American activism, issues, and everyday people doing amazing things. Check out the Hyphen site and blog for a sampling of subjects Hyphen covers.

Nichi Bei Weekly:

Formerly the Nichi Bei Times, the Nichi Bei Weekly is a part of the Nichi Bei Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to serving primarily the Northern California Japanese American community. Historically, the Nichi Bei Times was the leading Japanese American newspaper in the USA. Founded in 1946, the NBT’s goal was to connect the fractured postwar Japanese American community. Currently, the Nichi Bei Weekly strives to represent, cover, and address the concerns of the community.

Recently, the Nichi Bei Times had to close its doors and reevaluate its role in the community. As many subscribing readers are aging and younger readers are far and few, NBT was bleeding revenue. Determined to continue serving the community, Nichi Bei editor Kenji Taguma began the Nichi Bei Foundation, a non-profit organization designed to keep the paper alive in a weekly form.

I just listened to a pretty good NPR discussion on positive stereotypes.

Are Positive Stereotypes Racist, Too?

L’Heureux Lewis, assistant professor of sociology and black studies at the City College of New York, said, “…we have to recognize that [positive stereotypes] are gross generalizations. They may have a kernel of truth based on some social reality but ultimately they limit the choices and limit the opportunities and limit the things that people can do.”

In retrospect, I think this is…sort of…what the humor in Yo Teach! is trying to do with the teacher telling the Asian student that she will never be the president, and should instead aim for menial work. However, my problem is that the Asian kid is THAT “Asian kid.”

I think that the more common complaint about Asian American portrayal in the media these days is that the Asian characters are always either imported from Asia (and thus, Asian, not Asian American), or they are specifically ethnic Asian American characters. There are very few (though their numbers are growing*) simply “American” or “normal” characters that happen to be Asian American.

If you missed it earlier, check out this wonderful NPR piece:

Long Duk Dong: Last of the Hollywood Stereotypes?

It features founders of Giant Robot magazine, Martin Wong and Eric Nakamura, as well as Gedde Watanabe himself, the actor behind Long Duk Dong.

And here’s Adrian Tomine’s take on it (also on the NPR page):

—

*Here’s a short(hand) list of some characters that just so happen to be Asian American. Some aren’t the greatest actors, characters, or parts, but hey, “The Donger” set our standards pretty low, and anything is better.

John Cho and Kal Penn as Harold and Kumar in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

I remember that when this first came out, “grownups” from my Chinese church were recommending that we go see this. “Finally!” they said, “A movie featuring two Asian protagonists in a non-stereotypical way!” I don’t think they realized that the main reason they aren’t stereotypical is because well…they’re in a stoner flick.

In any case, Cho is widely recognized a big groundbreaker for Asian men in the media, especially beginning with his work in Better Luck Tomorrow.

Not my favorite film, but certainly noteworthy as an Asian-Am film.

On to more recent stuff, Daniel Henney plays a pretty swell Agent Zero in the latest X-Men: Origins film.

Zero is a pretty slick character with some nice gun-handling skills, though he’s a bit of a d-bag and is pretty much William Stryker’s lackey. At least he makes it look good!

Aaron Yoo: I want him to be my best friend.

Yoo plays a really great best friend to Shia LaBeouf’s character in Disturbia.

Of course, he’s usually stuck as a supporting actor. Kind of like James Franco. He’s always stuck being the backup man: Pineapple Express, Milk, Spider-Man. Some actors never really catch a break.

As for actresses….this one’s a tough one. In my opinion, Asian American women have it the hardest getting into non-specifically-Asian roles in movies.

Well…here’s a shoddy list:

Maggie Q sort of gets the short end of the straw in Die Hard 4, and is pretty much the serious lady on the wrong side who gets owned by her prickish evil lover. And then by Bruce Willis. But who wouldn’t get owned by Bruce Willis?

At least she has a good sense of humor about it:

She was also in MI:3 and a bunch of Hong Kong films, where she got her start.

Hmmm..a bit like Henney, who also started in Korean films/dramas.

So…I guess for some of these newer stars, they’re following the ol’ Imported from Asia path, though in Asia, they’re imported from America.

Ah, Asia-America.

Few do.

This guy does not:

http://www.thecampuspress.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=c07cea4a-0e65-4465-a9c4-17d6deb357e8

So I’m guessing “all those Asians” he talks about comprise maybe…..5-10% of the Colorado University’s 13% “students of color”? (http://www.colorado.edu/pba/qfacts/demog.html)

Karson makes a sore attempt at being clever/witty/original/cava

http://www.angryasianman.com/2008/04/farewell-azn.html

It really seems like more people are angry about this station shutting down than people who actually watched AZN on a regular basis.

Why is this?

AZN, quite frankly, sucked. Perhaps it was doomed for failure from its conception. The programming was terrible, presentation bad, and for some reason, I recall that it looked really static-y.

I think it’s the name itself, AZN, that threw a bunch of us off. I mean, didn’t we invent that word in what, middle school? That’s right, a network named after a middle school slang. It’s like trying to call Comedy Central LOL, or Spike WTF. AZN is what the little wannabe gangsters with their left pantleg rolled up with a rubber band from the newspaper called themselves.

Okay, I called myself that as well, though sans rubber band. I was too poor to be cool like that. But I have to admit, my first sn (and current one, aside from my business AIM is “cheapaznz”).

So it comes down to this: despite the fact that none of us ever respected AZN due to its close association with our own silly dreams of middle school grandeur (the ever-elusive thug life), we still liked the fact that it existed. Perhaps it gave us a dose of nostalgia and hope that we like but didn’t really care much about. It’s kind of like watching reruns of Digimon before season 2 rolled around and ruined it all. We know it was horrible and doomed for an end, but while it existed and was okay, we put up with it. (Hannah Montana, anyone?)

But we’re still sad because despite AZN’s lack of quality and interesting programming, at least it was something. Versus now, nothing. Except Imaginasian (ok, one!). And we all know how thinly Asians are spread throughout the media.

Asian Reporter.
Hot exotic female.
Kung fu fighter.
Occasional awesome dancer.
…and thats a wrap.

This is probably why AZN existed, and why it fell. It bought into those genres, and limited itself to them. Nothing else. But Asians want variety. And Asian networks need to market to more than just those Asians who want variety. Asian networks need to market to non-Asians and Asians alike. Why are so many people interested in BET? Well, aside from half of the Asian Americans watching BET to get real, more than just black people watch it.

No one watched AZN, not even the Azns. What a horrible failure.

I hope you’ve learned your lesson, Asian American Media.

Now make some changes.