You know how YouTube links up related videos? Well, with my post on Marie Digby, the above video came up. I clicked it and thought, “Hey, I’ve heard this song before on the radio. But why is that White chick named Meiko?” So I google searched it, and Wiki had an interesting story:
Meiko is one-quarter Japanese, on her maternal grandmother’s side; in an attempt to get in touch with their Japanese heritage, she and her sister, designer Kelly Nishimoto, adopted the names Meiko and Keiko. While those names are pronounced “May-ee-ko” and “Kay-ee-ko” in Japan, she and her sister pronounce them “MEE-ko” and “KEE-ko”. “We didn’t know we were misspelling/mispronouncing them for quite some time,” Meiko remembers. “We didn’t have the heart to change the spelling.”
I’m totally cool with them reclaiming their Asian heritage, even if the pronunciation is wrong. Effort means a lot. But what about reclaiming us Asian men? It would be nice to see guys like us in videos like the one above, rather than…um…the usual. I’m just sayin’…
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I agree with everything you said. About #1…I think...
Because they’ve adopted the usual white way of embracing minority cultures.
I love everything about culture! I love your food! I love your beliefs! I love your spirituality! I love everything *about* you. I just don’t love *you*
I find that people like these aren’t interested in embracing their culture at all; it’s usually a guise about cultural appropriation.
Because they’ve adopted the usual white way of embracing minority cultures.
I love everything about culture! I love your food! I love your beliefs! I love your spirituality! I love everything *about* you. I just don’t love *you*
I find that people like these aren’t interested in embracing their culture at all; it’s usually a guise about cultural appropriation.
I have seen this phenomenon in general society also. It’s found in pop culture with crap like Firefly or that whitewashed cast for the upcoming Avatar movie, which has generated anger among its (former?) fans.
http://www.racebending.com/
This is what America tries to pass off as “diversity.”
At base, it’s about adding a bit of safe, non-threatening racial window dressing or worse yet “exotic” color to the Mainstream–but never challenging White domination itself.
America loves diversity–just as long as its domesticated diversity on their terms.
Jjust like how everyone else is so infatuated with being black but barely pull it off? Do you think Jin is good enough to be in hip hop? or how every white boy wants to be black because some black guy made it so cool? the end result is either Eminem or worse, Kevin Federline?
Mark Wahlberg did ok and so did vanilla ice, in the end Vanilla ice felt like Milli Vanilli.
So many of the people fed this propaganda of cross cultural music, that we may have created another problem other than white media, which is black media. This is not what Micheal Jackson wanted, just like if Bruce Lee saw the monster he created.
Media is culture of Geisha, in both positives and negatives.
URB4N:
“I find that people like these aren’t interested in embracing their culture at all; it’s usually a guise about cultural appropriation.”
Why can’t they appropriate Asian men? Turn us into objects to be stared at. Just stick us all over the place on advertisements, and put us in newsrooms as window dressing. Pick me! Pick me! Hahaha.
I’m just posing hypotheticals…but would if we were at a Q and A with one of these people, would it be in poor taste to ask why they don’t give us a shot? I’m just wondering. People always want to ask Asian female celebrities, “Do you date Asian men,” but maybe a better question might be, “Do you support creating more roles for Asian men in the media?”
Culture gets appropriated, not people.
The reason why no one has “appropriated” Asian men is because it’s socially acceptable to berate and ignore Asian men in white male dominated countries. The reason is simple. Asia is the only real threat to white male power. The last thing they want is to allow Asian men to appear attractive to “their” women.
It’s gotten to the point that they’ve managed to brainwash white *and* Asian women to conform.
Lastly, I don’t think Asian women will stick up for Asian men because they wish to conform to what white men have told them to do rather than go against the grain. It’s in the Asian culture to just adapt and survive.
They never thought about the possibility of throwing off the shackles and wanted to survive…..on their own terms.
Psychologically, it’s not in the Asian woman’s interest to prop Asian men up. Why? It’s because it would reduce their social leverage over Asian men.
I do get tired of repeating myself but a huge reason why I get frustrated with talking with Asian Americans and their so-called “activists” is because they would easily see the problems if they employed a little common sense.
Thing is, I think everyone knows the cold ugly truth but no one likes it. Therefore, they come up with all these theories as to why problems manifest themselves.
Truly, truly irresponsible. Childish.
An entire demographic that still seems so infantile.
uRB4N, so predictable lol, but at least youre consistent haha….
now where did i put my dummy? and i need a new nappy! wha wha! lol ;p
Oh God, music videos like these with one shot of the artist singing intercut with random running around make me want to vomit hardcore, especially after watching a ton of MJ music videos. Effort and creative vision, people!!!!
the funniest anti-video music video I can recall is The Replacements doing “Bastards of Young”. It only showed a turntable with a record being played (yes, that’s how old I am) and a single stereo speaker, sans cover, with its woofer pulsating as the song screamed out of it.
None of this slick rainy streets filmed at night, with people running in slow motion. Why are people always running in music videos?
“None of this slick rainy streets filmed at night, with people running in slow motion. Why are people always running in music videos?”
This question is truly one of the mysteries of the universe.
Why do people always run in music videos? Is it to create a feeling of Excitement, Romance, Fun? Why?!
This conundrum is like the sound of one hand clapping.
My question is, why is it that what you see in these videos never has anything to do with what the song is about? If they can’t put those words into pictures, then what’s the point of music videos? I can just play the CD in the background while watching TV to get the same effect.
As an aside, I used to strongly dislike the music of Jack Johnson. Then I saw the Curious George movie with my son, and saw that the song is actually about Curious George and was written to describe the meeting between George and the Man with the Yellow Hat. I now love his music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNlmn7vbXBQ