Comments on: Watching Sulu (and other Asian Roles) at the Movies

By: 8Asians.com » How lame do you have to be to steal a wheelchair?*

8Asians.com » How lame do you have to be to steal a wheelchair?* — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:21:03 +0000

[...] bonehead kids evidently stole the wheelchair from a woman with cerebral palsy while she was watch John Cho kick some alien butt. If I had seen this happen, I’d have kicked those kids’ [...]

By: Tristan

Tristan — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:17:22 +0000

John Cho freakin’ ‘Pulp-Fictioned’ that Romulan..it was the highlight of the movie for me. And while Sulu didn’t have that much screen time or dialogue (I heard they actually cut one of his scenes), I still was most excited to see Cho as Sulu.

By: jee

jee — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:32:47 +0000

Yes! I LOVED that scene where Sulu saves Kirk. I cheered and clapped. My friend thought I was a freak.

By: Linda

Linda — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:07:35 +0000

Agreed w/ you, John–I wish John Cho had a bigger role in the movie. He wasn’t in very many scenes. And agreed w/ Mary–that was one of the best scenes! I was so proud of him saving Kirk’s butt. I hope to see more movies starring Asian Americans in roles that are not necessarily about being Asian American. But I won’t hold my breath.

By: SaBinh

SaBinh — Tue, 19 May 2009 05:40:21 +0000

ok,,,now i’m curious how he’s gonna act in the movie

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:49:43 +0000

I thought the movie pulled off a nice subversion: the “fencing” line was played for laughs, but only a few minutes later Sulu was brawling out two massive Romulans while Kirk got his ass kicked. If it wasn’t “the” highlight, it was definitely one among many.

By: John

John — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:12:00 +0000

Ummm, I have to disagree that John Cho was the highlight of the movie – though I did like him as Sulu. Cho honestly did not have that much screen time or dialogue, especially when compared to Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scott, – or even Uhura, but more screen time than Chekhov.

By: Tristan

Tristan — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:34:35 +0000

Totally agree. John Cho was the highlight of the movie.

Isn’t the main theme of ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’ about APAs dealing with the expectations placed upon them by society? The story is unique in that it focuses on an under-discussed issue that revolves around a racial perspective. Attempting to market the characters as ‘ambiguous’ seems counterproductive and just plain idiotic. MTV has and always will be a waste of a network.

By: JC

JC — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:12:03 +0000

Yup, same here. I went to see Star Trek twice (once with my wife! She loved it too!), and I did it to support John Cho. I was a bit of a fan in the 90’s, but I haven’t been interested in the material for years (I also supported Star Trek Voayger because of the Asian main character). Just like you, I am keenly aware which show has non-stereotypical Asian main characters and I will follow it as much as I can. This is why I am watching Lost, Heroes, and, gasp, The Mentalist every week. I even watch those dreadful Sci-Fi channel D-movie of the week because they sometimes feature Asians as leads. I love the web-drama “The Guide” even though I’m not a gamer, but due to the fact that two Asian males were romantic leads.

But we all know from reading Angry Asian Man how Hollywood is really treating Asians, so while I do what I can do support AA in mainstream entertainment, I’m frustrated more often than not. I’m now mostly apathetic toward almost everything else out there, be they white-washed TV or movies. Now I find myself watching more Asian dramas and shows, and cool AA-created videos on youtube. Yeah Wong Fu may never make it in Hollywood, but at least they can’t take them off youtube.