Mulan is the first Asian Disney character that I believe you can kind of be cheerful about. She is included as one of Disney's princesses, but she is technically not a princess. Plus she had to pretend to be a man to do anything in the film until we get to the end of the film. Kind of seems sexist, but history has always been like that. So I don't really have a problem with Mulan cross-dressing as a man but should an Animation really be historically accurate?
I can imagine that this film helps little girls of Asian heritage that the men rule the world, you have to dress like a man to have a chance, you have to have pearly white skin, thin body, etc. I don't think we should let children watch Disney in general as it really just shows that women need the help of a man to be rescued like we haven't seen enough of that (Zelda Series, Mario Series, Disney Films, etc). So instead of watching this, I fully support showing children Hayao Miyazaki's films.
Why? Most of His films feature a princess but each princess is kind of a badass (excuse my American). You have Nascaa who everyone kind of respects her, she's intelligent, dresses modestly, will fight if she has to, doesn't wait for a man to save her, etc.
Instead, we have a film like Mulan to show children, even a lot of Chinese people disliked the film because it was vastly different from the myths.
I'm going to stop here as Disney kind of controls the world, so I don't want to poke a bear too much especially in my situation.
Movies of the invisible Americans
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
Saga of Asian and Black communication in American cinema
It's no mystery to as why Asians are depicted poorly in black cinema sometimes or why Asians tend to not like black people. It's all out in the open, anyone with intellect can see.
Despite the fact that both Asians and Black people are the minority in the country. You might wonder as to why there is not more unity between the two communities. From the LA riots to the slaying of Vincent Chen. Our American brothers and sisters with Asian heritage have greatly been ignored or been cast as cliches like Mickey Rooney's depiction of a Japanese man in Breakfast at Tiffanys to the Long Duk Dong character in Sixteen Candles. A variety of Asian cultures are misrepresented and usually grouped together. There are a lot of incidences where Black people have been greatly influenced by Asian cultures and martial art films. The RZA's The Man with the Iron Fist movies are meant to be honoring the martial arts movies he saw in his life.

One of the best examples of black and Asian cultures mixing is the 2000 film Romeo Must Die starring the talented Jet Li in his second American movie and the beautiful and talented Aaliyah in her film debut. The film itself is good and the friendship between Jet Li and Aaliyah's characters seemed so real. The problem is the film was actually supposed to be an action romance film but due to a negative screen test with an "urban" audience the romance scenes were taken out and it appeared the two characters had a non-romantic friendship. This is why the film had "Romeo" in its title as it was to have a romantic element to it.
Jet Li would also star in a film called Cradle 2 the Grave alongside rapper DMX. The film was panned, but the two actors had chemistry and I wish we could see them work together again.
Though we have negative depictions like the Koreans in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing where a few black people attempt to burn die down a grocery store owned and operated by a Korean family after the black community burned Sal's pizza shop. The Korean man wields a broom and swings it around stating "I am black, you are black..we are the same" They don't burn the store down, but they don't acknowledge the Korean man's hand.
There's also the Korean liquor store owners in Menace II Society, where a Korean female follows two black people around a store to make sure they don't steal anything. The whole thing escalates when the Korean man behind the register says "I feel sorry for your mother" to O-Dog who takes offense to this and kills the man then his wife.This film was disgusting once I was old enough to understand what was really going on in the film. To be honest, I would feel sorry for the kid's mother too as O-Dog is not a good man and he proves it when he shoots and kills the Korean couple.
Closing thoughts:
As I stated before I am not Asian as far as I know, I was greatly influenced by Japanese culture when I was younger. As I grew older I found myself discovering more cultures like Korean, Chinese, and Malaysian and being totally fascinated by them. I am a quarter black, so this post did affect me as I did research.
There needs to be more unity amongst the minorities, for that to happen I believe that the various Asian communities need to speak up. Did you know that the first person to touch Malcolm X after he was shot was a Chinese-American activist by the name of Grace Lee Boggs who died on October 15, 2015, at 100 years old. There was a Japanese-American man who was a recognized member of the Black Panther Party. Asian Americans have been fighting alongside black people for a very long time, why can't anyone open their eyes to that. There needs to be unity and that unity can make our country better than ever before.
a few notable Americans with Black and Asian Heritage;
Hines Ward - Former Wide Reciever for the Pittsburgh Steelers and two-time Superbowl MVP. Half Korean and Half Black born in Seoul, South Korea.
Benson Henderson - MMA fighter with a record of 23-5 and was the UFC lightweight Champion for two years. Son of a Korean American and a Black American, he was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Ne-Yo -a grammy award winning R&B singer. He has Chinese and Black heritage
Kelly hu "China White": Arrow
The first thing you notice about China White is her white hair then it's her ruthless demeanor and finally her remarkable beauty. China White was my favorite villain on the Arrow TV show. Not only was she not a stereotypical Asian character in a TV show she was totally badass. I believe the character is still alive, as I stopped watching Arrow after finishing the second season.
Kelly Hu was able to show off her badass side as China White is no pushover and can fight her own battles. I also like the fact that she is the leader of the Triads of Sterling City. It's rare for a woman to be the boss of a criminal organization in a TV show. So it was a nice surprise to learn of her position. China White's wardrobe isn't that of a scantily clad woman but of a modest badass. That leads me to say that besides the whole triad thing, China White appears to be a good role model for not only Asian girls but women of all ethnicities.
Kelly Hu: The 100 (TV Show)
I discovered this show while skimming through Netflix, I watched it for 3 episodes then stopped. One big thing I noticed was the disappearance of Kelly Hu's character Callie "CeCe" Cartwig. Callie seemed to be one of the more important characters on the space colony but after the pilot episode she is never shown again. It also no longer shows Kelly Hu as being a part of the show, It's very sketchy to me, for that and a few other reasons I took this show off of my Netflix Queue.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Kelly Hu
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Kelly Hu is an actress, model, and voice actor. From Honolulu, Hawaii Kelly's ethnic background includes Native Hawaiin, Chinese, and English.
Before she became a star she was crowned Miss Hawaii Teen USA, she became the first Asian-American to win the title of Miss Teen USA in 1985.
2 years later in 1978 she would have her acting debut in the TV show Growing Pains, she appeared in three episodes. In 1989, she would make her film debut in the godawful Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.
Kelly would later make appearances in many TV shows like 21 Jump Street, Melrose Place, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, CSI: NY, Robot Chicken, Phineas and Ferb, and many others. She is "China White" in the CW TV show Arrow, which Kelly shows off a sexy but totally badass role as a villain. She was also in The 100 but from some reason her character disappeared from the show. It is quite weird as her character held a high position in the show.
Kelly appears to have played a lot of stereotypical roles like being the best friend to the mean girl (Friday the 13th Part VIII), various different Asian roles like Vietnamese DJ, several Japanese and Chinese characters. But those roles haven't stopped her from becoming a star on many levels.
Besides her roles in TV shows and films, Kelly has also done voice acting for video games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II- The Sith Lords, Fracture, Afro Samurai, Sleeping Dogs, Batman: Arkham Origins, Mortal Kombat X, and a few others.
She also serves as an activist, supporting the Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment. She appears to have made appearances as a driver in a celebrity race, a celebrity host for Saving the Children, as a poker player in a celebrity tournament all for the name of charity. She also supported the shark fin ban in Hawaii and is active in protecting Hawaiin ecology.
Kelly Hu is a wonderful person, not only does she make a good example for young women and Americans but also humans all over the world. She is proof that there are good celebrities out there.
Film Credits:
Friday the 13th Part VIII
The Doors
Surf Ninjas
The Scorpion King
Cradle 2 the Grave
X2
Underclassmen
Shanghai Kiss
Dead Space: Downfall
Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword
Batman: Under the Red Hood
White Frog
TV Credits:
Growing Pains
21 Jump Street
Melrose Place
Murder One
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Star Command
Nash Bridges
Martial Law
CSI: NY
Las Vegas
Afro Samurai
Phineas and ferb
Army Wives
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
The Vampire Diaries
Hawaii Five-0
Castle
Arrow
Warehouse 13
The 100
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Daniel Henney: Spring Waltz

Spring Waltz is the four and final TV drama in director Yoon Seok-ho's Endless Love series. It was released in 2006 and stars Seo Do-young, Han Hyo-joo, Daniel Henney, and Lee So-yeon. It run on KBS2 and was quite popular.
Daniel Henney was nominated for a KBS Drama Award for the popularly award.
Daniel Henney stars as Phillip the global manager of the main character Lee So-ho/Yoon Jae-ha. Philip speaks a little Korean but not a whole lot. He is Korean and Austrian and he was once an musician who was expected to do great things. Philip falls in love with Seo/Park Eun-young but like most characters in a drama he doesn't get the girl he wants.
I think his role in this drama was better than his performance in Seducing Mr. Perfect. I think he worked harder on his acting abilities and gave a stronger performance. It's nice to see that a drama can be different by casting some American who is only half Korean. It is a small change they can open doors for people who never really had a chance to act in a Korean drama.
Daniel Henney: Seducing Mr. Perfect

Seducing Mr. Perfect is a 2006 South Korean romantic-comedy starring Daniel Henney and Uhm Jung-hwa. The premise is Uhm Jung-hwa is a businesswoman named Min Joo who discovers she has a new American boss after she is dumped by her boyfriend and accidentally hits someone's car.

Daniel Henney plays Robin Heiden who can can understand Korean but finds it a pain to speak it. Robin is a man who doesnt take dating too seriously and he even coaches Min Joo on how to get a man and without him knowing she falls in love with him using everything he taught her to try to get Robin.
It is nice to see that Daniel who is half Korean be treated as an equal on screen. It would be extremely difficult for him to secure the romantic lead in an Hollywood movie. Daniel was able to act well at times but he needed some improvement. He seems to enjoy it at least and had some real chemistry with Uhm. It was nice to see a Korean movie with a lot of English in it, weird as it sounds. It made his role of Robin easier to understand and to relate to. He may not have been the best actor but he proves that he can take the lead.
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