Art and Culture
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On Watching A Song for Ourselves: Chris Iijima
"A Song for Ourselves" (2009) by Tad Nakamura portrays the inspiring and poignant life of Chris Iijima. Iijima was a member of Yellow Pearl (along with Joanne Miyamoto and later Charlie Chin), a folk group that were troubadours for the early Asian American Movement. The group was based in New York and were particularly important for East Coast activists, who saw so few Asian American bands. Much of the poignancy of the film came from Chris' premature passing due to a rare disease and a defiant last interview even as he faced mortality.
Date of first Azine posting:07/07/2011 -
Whitewashing Akira
Hollywood is planning a new film based upon the classic manga AKIRA. Guess what? The directors have taken steps to cast all whites as the lead actors in this Asian film. Kaneda and Tetsuo will probably be played by two people from the group, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield, James McAvoy, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix. Joaquin Phoenix? Hollywood hasn't recognized the 22nd century as Asia's yet, but I guess they're not reading the newspapers.
Date of first Azine posting:04/04/2011 -
Asian American Creative Music in the 1990s
This is a repost of an article on In Motion Magazine, under an exchange agreement
by Bruce Takeo Akizuki
I was one the principal photographers during the 1990s volunteering for Asian Improv aRts and photo documenting the Asian American creative music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Date of first Azine posting:11/13/2009 -
Viewing The Rebel: Butt-kicking Martial Arts as Anti-Colonial History
by Mike Liu
The Rebel is a watershed 2007 Vietnamese film that, despite some weaknesses as a film, is important to see on different levels. Despite its production by Viet Kieu i.e. overseas Vietnamese, it became the highest grossing film in Vietnam history. It has also received strong support among the Vietnamese American community.
Date of first Azine posting:09/28/2009 -
Gran Dilemma: A Necessary Step or Better-off Never Made?
By Sophia Kim
Date of first Azine posting:02/21/2009 -
Anti-Communist Protesters Shut Down Vietnamese American Exhibit on Freedom of Expression
The Vietnamese Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) pulled a Santa Ana, California exhibit about freedom of expression in the face of significant community protests. After a week, the city ordered the exhibit F.O.B. II closed.
Protestors focused on one work in F.O.B. II, a photograph of a young Vietnamese woman in Vietnam wearing a T-shirt with the symbol and colors of the Vietnamese flag sitting next to a bust of Ho Chi Minh.
Date of first Azine posting:02/05/2009 -
Book Interview: The Heart's Traffic
Ching-in Chen, a queer, Asian-American woman, recently published a novel-in-poems, a fictional narrative that loosely connects a series of poems. The central character is Xiaomei, a young women who becomes an organizer. While the central theme is self-discovery, we thought activists would find this work of interest. We have selected questions and author's responses to an interview. The book is available from Arktoi Books through the Chicago Distribution Center.
Date of first Azine posting:02/02/2009 -
Watching Vincent Who? - Vincent Chin's Legacy
Mike Liu
The film Vincent Who? resurrects the meaning of the brutal death of Vincent Chin in Detroit and the ensuing campaign. Inspired by the 25th anniversary of Vincent Chin's killing, Curtis Chin, himself a Detroit native, begins with the premise that the meaning has been forgotten in the current generation of young Asian Americans.
Date of first Azine posting:11/06/2008 -
Poem: Bailout
Todd Lee
Ping Wong did not want to get up this morning.
Date of first Azine posting:10/07/2008 -
Bailout
Todd Lee
Ping Wong did not want to get up this morning.
But her feet were so sore
last night, she did not go out.
So here she is, as she is every Monday night or Tuesday morning,
picking up bottles, sorting through cans, trying
to make a living. Even though
her back hurts from the bending, she has
done harder work, she has done whatever it took
to feed her family, and then
to feed herself.
She likes the
night picking better, the people don’t yell
so much when she opens the bags.Date of first Azine posting:10/07/2008
