Excited
So, remember about three months ago, when the plans for “the Asian Jersey Shore” filmed in LA’s Koreantown were announced and the application was leaked? The first series of the cast photos have been released to the Internet, and early results show that the cast will either be hot, a mess, or a complete hot mess, depending on who you are and whether you’re, say, sitting around getting stoned talking shit to your friends or, uhm, writing a weblog about Asian American issues.
You’ve got all sorts of obvious comparisons to Jersey Shore: guys with tight black shirts, dude with fauxhawk, girl with hella blonde hair that makes it look like she has a spray tan and — oh shit — even a Korean Snooki, cuz she’s shorter than everyone else and probably gets into DUIs. But what’s this? A former meth addict, who’s a girl? A bisexual adult model, who’s a dude?! What is this, topsy-turvy world?
Needless to say, early response from weblogs have people mortified — “this is going to be an embarrassment to us Asians!” To which I say: it’ll be an embarrassment, sure, but not to us. This will be an embarrassment to cast members of a reality show who auditioned for a K-Town reality series, knowing full well that they were being filmed for a show that involves drinking and fighting. Asian Americans in the media — this blog included — are a fickle bunch. We freak out when Asians are portrayed in the media as nerds and geeks, we freak out when no Asian males have been cast in The Real World in its 15-year run, presumably because we’re desexualized. So, what are we, the suburban Asian family constantly portrayed in Target commercials? We could be, but if there were a reality show about how Michael and Jenny Chau of Mountain View, California dropped off their kids at swim practice, I would be blogging about how it was the most boring reality show that has ever existed and wished how — just for one episode — Jenny could fly to Vegas with her crew and snort coke off a stripper’s ass.
But that’s just me. What do you think: will we ever see a non-offensive portrayal of Asian Americans on television? And if or when we do, will it really be worth watching?
How does this post make you feel?
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
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I just watched last night on cable / "On Demand" the premiere / first episode of Jersey Shore. If I were an Italian American, I think I would be offended. But to me, the show was fairly entertaining (in a sad, drive by a car accident and watch kind of way) and I was glad to finally know what all the fuss was all about.
@Ernie - "Michael and Jenny Chau of Mountain View, California" - I hope these are fictitious Asian Americans you are talking about.
I just wanna do the bisexual porn star. Sure he's vapid, but he's hot.
This new show just smacks of trying too hard to be different, and not being compelling enough at the same time to pioneer new roads in entertainment.
Here's the lesson for us Asians. We're nerds. Even when we're not doing characteristically nerdy things, we're nerds relative to everyone else. Suck it up, deal with it, and laugh about it.
Ya dweebs.
Of course there has to be a bisexual asian guy. As if there isn't enough gay asian man portrayal in the media (Top Chef, Work of Art, Survivor, E.R., Law & Order, George Takei's marriage, gay asian officers in the military).
Jersey Shore casted all heterosexual Italian males. Even though most were douchebags, at least they got their story told and became likeable to a lot of women.
My prediction is that the gay asian guy won't hook up with any girls. The girls will hook up with white guys. And the rest of the asian guys will hang out in the hot tub with each other and start considering going gay.
i already have my popcorns out.
I'm taking bets on which two people within the cast will hook up with each other first.
Actually, I'm also taking bets on which three or more people within the cast will hook up with each other.
Is there an Asian math whiz in the house who can do the probabilities and number of variation of hookups that are possible considering there's at least one bisexual person and that group sex is not out of the question?
"That being said, I'm not sure that this one show would be enough to make me
want to get cable again."
Thank goodness our people are masters at pirating television shows off the
Internet, right? (Just kidding Tyrese, if you ever read this.)
Personally I don't mind. Any portrayal that's different from the traditional 'model minority' (or worse, 'nerd' stereotype) can only help to show we're not all just scientists, classical musicians or martial arts experts. In any case, as these are (somewhat) real people, as opposed to cheesy stereotypical roles being played by actors, I'm happy to see Asians represented in the mass media, even if their all-too-human failings might be embarrassing. I'm actually kind of curious because I don't really have many Asian friends and I didn't grow up in that milieu of Asian-American/-Canadian culture so it might be educational for me as well. ;P That being said, I'm not sure that this one show would be enough to make me want to get cable again.
There's a math equation for that, right?!
I think it might be just a whole orgy of mess that will make quality and CLASSY television!
ME TOO! I also want to be friends with the one in the Justin Timberlake hat.
Awesome! There goes the "Model Minority" stereotype - LOL. The tall woman in the middle is looking quite fine.
I know. I want to be best friends with this blond Asian girl....so she can bleach my hair blond and we can be blond twins.
Is it bad that I am just morbidly curious about this whole ordeal? It's just wonderfully wrong.
"To which I say: itu00e2u0080u0099ll be an embarrassment, sure, but not to us. This will be an embarrassment to cast members of a reality show who auditioned for a K-Town reality series, knowing full well that they were being filmed for a show that involves drinking and fighting. "
Certainly Jersey Shore was almost certainly an embarrassment to the Italians I know,I couldn't tell you how often my Italian friend got fist pumped every time someone saw them.
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