Word!

Leap in action!

Hope...

In my second visit to Historical Filipino Town it was extremely refreshing to see aspects of remembrance of culture and community that once existed in an area many regard as forsaken. In any situation, the mere sight of these cultural remnants that continue to stand stalwart amidst a sea of what can only be described as commercial decay (Johnny Rockets in J-Town anyone?), always gives me glimmer of hope in what many believe to be a losing battle against the backdrop of corporatism. But what is the purpose of this battle? Is there even a fight? Or do such relics exist only as hinders to the wave of modernization. In my opinion, it is this very wave that makes the preservation of these remnants even more imperative to a generation well established within the American mainstream. We take for granted the struggles that once existed. These cultural remembrances serve as reminders and as a generation we need to be reminded. Because the more we are blinded by the flood of commercialism, the more we lose sight of the fact that these struggles continue to exist…

Roger that!!!

This past week at work, I had the privilege of watching Hollywood Chinese: The Chinese in American Featured Films, a recently released American documentary film directed by Academy Award-nominated director Author Dong. The documentary compiles more then a 100 films dating all the way back to the 1900’s as well as a number of interviews of prominent Chinese Americans to illustrate an historical overview of the portrayal of Chinese in mainstream Hollywood films. The documentary was screened in only a select and limited number of locations around the world and is still yet to find a distributor for a DVD release. One of my supervisors, of whom knows Author Dong personally was given one of a limited number of copies that were distributed by Author Dong himself, so I was extremely grateful to have had the chance to view a copy before it was even released on DVD.


The documentary blew me away capturing every single aspect of the struggle of Asian Americans in Hollywood from stereotypical portrayals, misrepresentation, the lack of diversity in roles given, all the way through to the immense invisibility that in my opinion defines the very ignorance of Hollywood itself in its gross attempt to allure the mainstream audience. It would take me pages and pages to offer my own personal summary of this documentary, but in the absence of time, I think I’d rather illustrate my favorite clip of the movie that I feel captures the very essence and message of the film:


The clip shown at the very end is of the Q&A session with the cast and director of Better Luck Tomorrow at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. It was the very last question of the day. A white member of the audience stands up and fiercely criticizes Justin Lin, the Asian American director of the film for making a movie so “empty and amoral for Asian Americans”. The question sparked a huge debate amongst the audience, but then, out of nowhere, rises Robert Ebert, the renowned film critic, of whom due to his fame captures the absolute attention of the crowd and responds, “Nobody would say to a bunch of white filmmakers, ‘how could you do this to your people?’”. To the applause and cheers of the audience, his last statement encapsulates it all: '

“This film has the right to be about these people, and Asian American characters have the right to be whoever the hell they want to be.”

I roger that!

"Hey Momma..."

Paid a second visit to Historic Filipinotown this evening after work to check out the recommended list of restaurants provided by the Filipino American library all of which were pretty close by to one another.

Tribal Cafe
1651 W. Temple St.

It's closed on Mondays, but from the outside, it looked like a trendy, chill, little hang-out spot serving smoothies, espressos and other drinks, organic lunches... Technically not a Filipino restaurant in the sense that it really doesnt serve any traditional Filipino food. I think I saw a chicken adobo sandwich on the menu, but im not sure that really counts. Looks like an awesome joint nonetheless. Definitely on the list of places to check out...

Bahay Kubo Natin
2330 W. Temple St.

A cozy little joint crafted like a straw hut with a very "everybody knows your name" type feeling to it, Filipino gameshows on wide-screen TV and food served cafateria style. Had the privilege of meeting Momma Lucing herself (owner of the restaurant), which telling from all the pictures on the wall was quite the socialite back in the day, even mentioned how my roommate, who came along for the cultural excursion, was a little too serious-looking for her taste. Definitely seemed like the "in" place to be for the Filipino community. Food was delicious...Definitely solid ground for a revisit.

Nanay Gloria Restaurant
2330 W. Temple St.

Didn't really have the time to check this place out since it was closing in five minutes after we arrived. Located almost directly across the street from the above mentioned restaurant. From what I got, the food looked pretty awesome. Cafeteria style once again (which I think is pretty much the trend for most Filipino restaurants), small and cozy, baked goods...Not much else to say except I definitely need to try it...

Stay tuned for more updates...

"So i'll be handling a number of Pwojects..."

So as a consequence of procrastination, I’m now forced to attempt to compile a number of happenings that have taken place this week within this tiny single blog. But in my defense, it has been an overwhelming week for me, and sometimes it is more then necessary to put things off in order to absorb and comprehend the immense nature of things before they attempt to knock me down….and so here goes nothing...

I am officially the first ever intern for the Affirmative Action and Diversity Department of the Screen Actors Guild, and though I definitely regard this as a privileged opportunity, it is also a great deal of pressure to have the future of what might become common practice in a department of which I regard as of utmost necessity in the vast obliviousness of today’s entertainment industry, weighing down upon you. Yeah…so I know I’m definitely over-exaggerating my stake here, but to some extent, it feels good (and scary) to know that I maybe part of something that has the capability to grow and expand, and eventually make an impact beyond what I may ever accomplish. On a more practical side of things, I’ll be handling two major projects:

The first involves crafting out a report on Asian American market influence on Hollywood that may be disseminated amongst studios, networks and advertisers as a means of increasing employment of Asian Pacific American performers in film and television. Talk about overwhelming…..This issue, to me, as well as to many, becomes so easy to deem as something beyond what I’m capable of. But I’ve kind of taught myself that when any issue appears beyond me, it can only mean that it is of extreme relevance. It kind of reminds me of the whole controversy regarding the “Bebot” video directed by Filipino American Director Patricio Ginelsa who directed two versions of the song. The first, known as “Generation One” was set in historic “Little Manila” in Stockton CA, during the 1930s. The second, known as “Generation Two”, was a more mainstream attempt resembling the kind of hip hop music videos we see today, featuring a bunch of boot-shaking Asian girls dancing around. Definitely a cause for controversy when it comes to stereotypical representation of Asian females in the media. But during a university visit to USC, Patricio Ginelsa said something that kind of hit me at heart. He said he believed that any representation was better then no representation at all. This may not always be true, but at the same time, it really depends on how you want to interpret the statement and I kind of took it to mean that it is better to do something then do absolutely nothing at all, and this is how I’m attempting to approach this project. It may appear as something that is more then what I’m capable of, but it’s definitely worth a shot.

The second project, involves me helping out in the PR campaign for performers with disabilities. As of now, I’m not too sure how much information I can disclose regarding this campaign, so I’ll be sure to keep you posted as time goes on.

In addition, I was assigned to Historic Filipino Town as part of the LEAP project, and so during the week I paid a little visit to the Filipino American Library just to gather some information. The librarian provided with a great number of resources from a list of Filipino restaurants within Historic Filipino Town and the contact information of the owners as well as number of contacts of individuals that may be able to help in my report for SAG.

Anyways, besides that, the week ended with me looking dorky on camera, horrible pronunciations of the letter “R”, key notes: power stance, and good eye contact with girls on dates, and a nice trip to Yogurt land to end things off.

Looking forward to next week...

She said "you know I don't be datin' rappers"

"I said I got my SAG card, baby I'm an actor"
- Break my heart, Common