Anna, glad you’re in. I sent you an e-mail!

I practice martial arts.

I am a nice, smiley, Asian Pacific Islander.

I am a relatively passive person who when disturbed will unleash.

I AM your Asian stereotype that you hate seeing so represented so much in the media. I LIVE IT EVERY DAY and it works fine for me amidst the racist society that is the San Francisco Bay Area. Just because it’s a stereotype, doesn’t mean it’s true about some, if not, ALOT of people. You say you and the AA community hate seeing that stereotype represented and that makes me think “screw you man, this is who I am, you telling me I can’t be who I am”, and you just do not seem to acknowledge that. You can argue that media representation, etc. did it to me or not which is akin to arguing if it was the chicken or the egg that came first; fact is, some people fit the Asian stereotype, some do not. Some view stereotypes as always having a negative impact on people, some do not. These are differences.

People will always have differences, but in my opinion, sometimes you have to accept those differences, learn to overcome them, and do something positive despite them in order to accomplish your mission.

I understand that you see part of your mission, or maybe its entirety, as an activist is to “stir” things up because you believe that is an “effective” action for your cause; but I am trying to make you aware that in the real world where stereotypes do play a REAL role either by defining people or by people defining stereotypes some of these actions in the name of activism will not be all that effective. Again, I’m not at all surprised that you do not agree with this view because this is coming from a passive “uncle Tom” and you’re the opposite. But realize that I AM the one in media, and just because I’m an “uncle Tom” that doesn’t mean that I am not capable of unleashing something later that will be beneficial for the AA or API community. You have to realize that YOU are directly asking something of ME, not me asking something of you.

And certainly, you can ask those questions of me, which is fine. I keep answering them. But do understand that I think that it is partially unfair in the manner that you asked and that is was also partially unfair that you are asking me of all people because from my point of view, I don’t see you questioning the bigger fish like Justin Lin or tons of other people that are recognized as proponents of the AA community. To me, people like that have a much larger impact and offer an even more insightful view into the real media system. And that kind of blatant hypocrisy is a difficult pill for someone like me to swallow.

And it’s really not the matter of whether or not I’m getting drilled hard; questions are questions, and they will either be fair or unfair, and I will choose to answer them or not; but until you convince me that you are putting some decent thought and understanding of my position before trying to get what YOU want from ME, I will remain, quite frankly, upset.

As for the podcast, you can email me suggestions if it works out, great. I’ve already realized that the amount of hours I’ve spent having to reply to these posts equal at least 20 pages of script of the feature I was working on.

Yes, i talked about honour, because well, ultimately i think thats one of the most important moral values to live by, to behave through in life. Like you said, we both believe our views are honourable….etc, so this discussion is just going to go in a circle…i agree. So i wont comment further on this issue with you. Good luck, and i hope you find happiness and love in this life.

Jaehwan…………?

“You have to understand that your very first post struck me as everything an Asian American version of an Uncle Tom would say, which is why I called you a “lap dog.”

thats exactly what i though too, but i didnt want to say it because i thought it would be too crude and vulgar, lol, but i really admire your fearless honesty. If you are ever doing a podcast, i’d happily participate…..

jing-feng-chen@hotmail.com

thats my email address, that i use regularly or you can pm me on youtube at

http://www.youtube.com/user/jingfengchen24

feel free to contact me or check out my channel jaehwan. Peace

I agree with Anna 100%, 150% if that’s possible. I think she’s asking all the right questions that you should be trying to answer. I think she’s right to be putting the pressure on you. Seriously, you could use the pressure because these are important issues that you really need to think about. Remember, you’re in the media, and with great media exposure comes great responsibility.

That being said, I personally may be drilling you a bit hard. You have to understand that your very first post struck me as everything an Asian American version of an Uncle Tom would say, which is why I called you a “lap dog.” I followed up with “parrot” just because I thought it was funny, which I guess it wasn’t. Hope you won’t hold it against me.

Anyway, I mentioned in another post the idea of having a podcast to Micah and (possibly) Blake or Eric. Podcasts tend to be a bit more cordial than print communication, so if this is something you’d like to do, I can make it happen. Maybe we could do an Asian American Stunt People podcast, and I could hear from you, Lucas, and Tyler. We could clear the air and you can say what you need to say. You can even use it to promote your screenplay or latest project. I’ll still ask hard questions, but as I said, the conversations do tend to be more cordial in real time.

If this is something you and the crew would like to do, let me know. If not, that’s cool too.

Yes, Anne opened up on this particular blog article about calling my “honor” into question regarding my work with the Stunt People. So the honor responses are directed toward her comments. And I know what you said about the producer of “Falling for Grace”. You’ve already stated that “it’s not your community”.

“I’d just like to see some different kinds of stories rather than the old Amy Tan WM/AF rehash. As an API actor, I’m surprised you wouldn’t want to step up and see the same. It makes me happy to see it, but it puts food on the table for you.”

Great. Me, too. But there are “effective” ways to push for different stories, and there are “ineffective ways”. When you “call people out” in the way that you and Bicoastal did, you are not inspiring us to create films that are progressive for your cause. You may even think that it was a “wake up call”. However, instead, it just made us think less of you activist-types. From OUR viewpoint, we’re minding our own business, and I’m even working on a script that could be considered progressive for Pacific Islanders without need for a “rude awakening” from you, and then out of the blue, a few blogging activists come out of no where and tell us we’re doing something wrong, labeling us as “Orientalists”, speculating about us having “racist” views of the AA community, etc. How in the world do you think you would generate a “positive response” out of that if that’s your ultimate goal?

Again, I recognize that it is cool to you and your community to have the Asian man or woman on top in media. It’s a BIG PLUS. But just because I’m an API actor, that doesn’t mean that it is my mission in life let alone one of my priorities is to see AAs represented to combat years of stereotypes in the media. If I was an AA activist, or purported myself to be a representative of the AA community, I’d expect to be held up to a “higher” standard where my movies pushed past stereotypes, etc. I’ll play the game if I know the rules. It’s all about expectations. You have different expectations than I do, but your expectations of my viewpoint about Eric, The Stunt People, Dogs of Chinatown, etc. is based on 1) simply that I’m Asian and would supposedly share the same viewpoint as you, 2) you not having experience in this industry, 3) you not understanding the mindset of people who are filmmakers, and 4) not understanding the real dynamics of the Stunt People “institution”.

And certainly, by the way you have treated us on these blogs, you have certainly not convinced me to push YOUR cause. Because, why would I want to be like you? Why would I want to get upset at seeing an Asian girl with a white guy? Why would I want to fill myself with so much hate that is going to put a stop to whatever great things my talent could’ve produced that was beneficial when all I’m going to do is focus on that hate to no one’s benefit? You are setting an example that people on the other side of the line will never want to follow in. You may have great activist intentions, but the way you go about it makes all the difference.

Truly, I may look like you, may be treated by the white majority like you, etc. but I may not define myself and put myself in the same category as your AA community. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have the power to do great things for the AA community and be progressive for your cause, but how could I possibly want to do so now that you’ve insulted my friends, myself, and my intentions and views? You had an opportunity to either convince API/Asians in the group to either align interests for Asian representation in media and/or be progressive for your cause by creating works that the AA community would appreciate. But now we leave this blog with such a bitter taste in our mouths because of a lack of mutual respect that began this entire conversation.

I can’t experience what it’s like to be you, but to a small extent I can imagine what it’s like to be in your shoes, someone in a world where you are different to the majority of people around you, not fitting in because of other people’s ignorant discomfort, mainly having shows and movies on TV about white families to watch – families perhaps different than your own, and when there are minorities its usually a stereotype, you yourself are dismissed by many people into stereotypes, once in a while outright ridiculed or physically harassed by idiots and bullies for the way you look, taking comfort in the positive elements of your cultural identity, befriended by Asiaphiles who love anime Chinese takeout kung fu and you (not realizing Asian cultures are like all cultures and have as much negative elements as positive), dealing with stereotypical jokes about your manhood (hey, that’s serious psychological stuff for guys), not being taken seriously in some fields where custom expects someone with a different look and hasn’t broken the ice with noteable Asian-Americans yet, maybe seeing a girl you like run off with a guy that looks like the biggoted bullies you’ve encountered. Etc etc all day long.

The first thing I did at the BCB blog was try to imagine what it was like to be in your shoes and I also asked my Asian-American friends for their angles and thoughts. Some of them are very American melting pot, others “are off the boat” from many nations, and two are actually prominent figures in Mainland and Taiwanese art circles. The one from Mainland was in the film and obviously worried as well about the tone and message and characterization. He read the script, realized it was about individual love, but still thought he might use a pseudonym if he found the film too controversial. When he saw the final film he realized the whites and blacks and Asian characters were all the same – just representation of man’s darkside – and proudly used his real name. He’s really insightful and someone I asked for guidance during the whole process to make sure I didn’t mess up the balance of characters and seemingly single any “group” out. Anyway, that’s why I took so long to chime in on BCB. I did have to research and figure out if my cathartic kill-all-racists film was singling anyone out or balanced enough for viewers to understand the unified message.

Most understand.

I know you might say it’s foolish and very incomplete to “imagine myself in your shoes.” But what else can I do? Get John Woo to do Face Off 2 for you and me?

Have you put yourself in my shoes? I was born with white skin and as we don’t have a choice in such matters, I have to be OK fine with it. I realize that there’s a lot of idiots in America who will give me preferential treatment. Do I gleefully accept it with smiles, relishing it over minorities? No, I call people out.
I’ve seen a lot of racism go down. I haven’t been the target because I have white skin. Does this mean I approve of racism? Does this mean I cause it? Does this mean I own slaves? Does this mean I let it slide? Well I spent a year making a film where a bunch of racists from different backgrounds get killed by a pessimistic loner with no group identity, and I made it with a group of multicultural friends….soooo…….
Continuing, I was born to a family of poor school teachers. I mainly came up in a poor black neighborhood. Though I always had a lot of multicultural friends I never assumed to be “part” of their culture though I was fortunate enough to sometimes be a welcome participant in cultural events. My mothers side were liberal artists from the north, and my dad’s side from a tiny penniless ranch in the middle of nowhere in Texas. Because of this I never had any kind of cultural indoctrination other than being taught about many religions and histories and arts from around the world. I went to a highschool filled with wealthy white kids; some were cool individuals and some were prick individuals. But I realized I didn’t share many of the same values with the other students because of my economic status. So at night I went out dancing and dj’ing and to cyphers, and afterschool I bagged groceries and trained at a kung fu school and during high school I slept. My activities of choice sometimes offered cultural insight (cyphers, kung fu) from my mentors, but other circles were all skin tones and unified, abandoning all predispositions and leaving cultural identity behind (such as the early 90′s rave scene).

I kind of feel that even though you might be bullied and targeted because of your skin tone, you commit some of the same acts, but you don’t consider it bullying just because those individuals you attack have a skin tone that has generally excluded them from racism. I think you feel discriminating against individuals who don’t normally get discriminated against is justice, regardless of whether those individuals are indeed racist, or whether they are sympathetic individuals who stand against racism.

Understanding is something we should all seek. Our lifespans are short, and the knowledge in the world so vast. But I’m not ethnocentric enough or egocentric enough to demand this understanding be according to my own individual opinion or group-identity-opinion. I need diverse input to form balanced thought, and if I can withhold final judgments altogether, I prefer to. That’s why it’s so great to have such a multicultural circle of individuals from so many diverse political social and economic backgrounds. I learn so much from all of my friends, and I can learn from non-friends as well. Any good MA guy will tell you, you have to learn from your enemies. Even though no one here is an enemy to me, I’ve been a able to glean a little bit here and there in this blog, mostly about the identity you and other posters claim and your perception of the world and concerns. The institution thing is a good thing to consider. All the history lessons and literature are valid, but elementary and obvious – yes, humans have been f*ed up from the get go – sometimes it’s whitey holding blacks down, sometimes Chinese holding Tibetans down, sometimes Arabs killing Christians and vice versa. There will always be brilliant minds that point out the idiocy of prejudice on all sides that get ignored and sometime persecuted by slower-minded mobs.

I’m for us all working together. You think I’m idealist and ridiculous. I can’t help that. But I’ve seen the hand-in-hand path work in my life everyday in our circles, without prejudice, and without dismissing each others cultural background.

Whether the world is ready to behave like we do….whether you are ready….I can’t make that decision.

Also, back in the eighteenth century, there were African Americans who supported slavery. Slaves, even. These people were considered a lot more “understanding” than the “troublemakers” who would dare to question the system. I just happen to be a troublemaker who will seek “understanding” on my own terms.

Also, check out this essay:

http://chintalks.blogspot.com/2008/08/racist-love.html