US Memorial Day: Remembering Henry Chin of the Lost Battalion

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Jeff

Monument to the Lost Battalion

During this time when Asian Americans continue to be questioned for their loyalty and are still considered perpetual foreigners, it is worthwhile on US Memorial Day to note Asian Americans who fought and died for their country.  One such Asian American is Henry Chin, who was part of the famous Lost Battalion of World War 1. The story of the Lost Battalion became one of the most noted war time stories in the United States during that time, spawning news paper accounts and even a movie in 1919. Henry Chin is also portrayed in the 2001 movie The Lost Battalion.

The Lost Battalion, led by Major Charles Whittlesey, was a group of soldiers from the US Army 77th Infantry Division who fought to capture an objective and were then surrounded by German forces.  While taking enormous losses (> 72% casualty rate), they survived running low on food, water, and ammunition, German counter-attacks, and artillery barrages from US forces. Their resistance provided a distraction to German forces that contributed to an Allied breakthrough. Whittlesey and others received the Medal of Honor. Another famous Asian American WWI war hero, Lau Sing Kee, served in this division, although I can find no evidence that he was in the Lost Battalion incident.

More than 100 years after the Lost Battalion, it is hard to express just how much they captured the imagination of the US public at the time. The story gathered a lot of press at the time, particularly from famed newspaperman and short story writer Damon Runyon. A movie was created in 1919 that reenacted the story. Almost everyone in the United States knew the story. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby refers to war experiences that echoes the Lost Battalion. A number of books were published over the past 100 years about the Lost Battalion. The monument shown above was erected in 2008.

Getting back to Henry Chin, I couldn’t find a picture of him. As I mentioned, he is portrayed in the 2001 The Lost Battalion movie, but he isn’t on screen very long. The movie emphasizes that the 77th was mostly composed of New Yorkers, many of who were recent immigrants and whose loyalty was questioned but still were willing to fight for the their new country (it seems that some things do not change 100 years later). I thought it was fairly good (it has a 79% Rotten Tomatoes score) and would recommend it.

The Lost Battalion can be streamed or purchased on Amazon Prime. For a thorough overview on the Lost Battalion, this is a excellent talk. Our other US Memorial Day stories can be found here.

 

Posted in 8mm Film Review, History | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Short Review: Auntie

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Jeff

There comes a time in your life when a metaphorical slap in the face tells you that you are no longer the young hip person you may have thought that you once were.  In Fawzia Mirza‘s short film Auntie (IMDB entry here), lawyer Hena, played wonderfully by Vanita Kalra, goes to a meeting for South Asian lawyers and gets that slap for herself. I found this short to be very funny and particularly germane to people of my age.

Auntie movie poster

photo credit: Fawzia Mirza

As you may know, in many AAPI cultures, older people are addressed as “Uncle” or “Auntie” as a form of respect.  This is common in Hawaii, also. While I have had nieces and nephews who call me “Uncle” for quite some time, it is completely different when you get called out in public by people you don’t know. Auntie reminded me of one such moment. I went to watch a Warriors game at the Chase Center with Number Two Son and The Daughter’s boyfriend. After the game as we were waiting in line to get the escalator down and out, I hear behind me a woman say, “Uncle, can you take our picture?” I heard it but was unsure until Number Two Son said, “they are talking to you!” Turns out the Asians behind me thought I was now “Uncle” material. Number Two Son and The Daughter’s boyfriend thought it was hilarious (and yes, I did take their picture). Auntie, with its use of technology and interactions between different generations really made me think of my “Uncle” moment.

In addition to how it deals with generations, I really like Auntie‘s Asian American cultural elements.  Not my particular Asian American cultural group but with enough universality to make me identify with it. I particularly enjoyed the music which I had never heard before (Firestarter and Hot Mango Chutney Sauce).

As you can tell, I really enjoyed Auntie and recommend it. Even if you don’t, well, it’s a short!

Posted in 8mm Film Review, Entertainment, Movies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

CAAMFest 2023: Review ‘Starring Jerry as Himself’

Posted on May 17, 2023 by John

At CAAMFest, some friends of mine were interested in seeing Starring Jerry as Himself:

“Wait wait. How did we go from funny 80s immigrant family home videos to horror film infrasound playing behind an ominous phone call from Shanghai Police? How does sweet Gong Gong Jerry, a Taiwanese retired elder living in Orlando, become a suspect in a sophisticated international money laundering scheme? I mean, there has to be some kind of mistake! FREE JERRY! Overheard, “We need to investigate you or else we will have to charge you as a criminal.” Things from there get even more WILD, leaving us asking out loud, is this a documentary film pretending to be a narrative film? Are our minds racing and pupils dilated the whole time? Yes, yes they are. So, Jerry is the Florida version of Jason Bourne and Ke Huy Quan, and the whole time you will be rooting for him – his secret agent vibes, dad love language, and currents of candid loneliness. We’re totally not crying, it’s just raining on our faces. Also, have you checked-in with your parents today? (Hint: you better!)”

After seeing the trailer, I thought it was interesting enough that I’d go see it as well with them. I enjoyed the film, but from the trailer, it’s not exactly what you think it is and is done so in a way by the filmmakers on purpose. The director himself, before the film started, said the film was ‘weird.’

Starring Jerry as Himself’ (SJAH) is like a re-enactment of a real story done in a documentary style (“docufiction”), and I didn’t find it weird.

When Jerry, his son, and the director, walked on stage for the post screening panel, there was a standing ovation in support of Jerry’s ordeal.

The post screening panel helped provide a lot more context and answers. If you watch the video, it will kind of spoil the surprise of the film. That’s one reason why my review of the film is a bit generic.

One of the takeaways is certainly to try to have deeper conversations with you parents, especially as adult children and try to understand your immigrant parents before they leave you forever. Don’t let a crisis be the impetus to grow closer to your family, though sadly, that is often the case for many families.

After getting out of the theater, I was able to ask the director quickly when the film was being released widely, either streaming or in theater, and he said as he was running off elsewhere that they were still looking for distribution.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. I’m not sure the pacing (the movie didn’t drag – the film is only 75 minutes) and style would necessarily appeal to a mainstream audiences. There is an audience out there for it, especially once you understand the conclusion of actual events at the end, it has a very important message.

The film originally debuted at the Slamdance 2023 film festival (which runs concurrently in Park City during the Sundance film festival), and has been playing at other film festivals since then and has thus far received 3 out of 3 “fresh” reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Posted in 8mm Film Review, 8Series, Entertainment, Local, Movies, Reviews, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

CAAMFest and Disney+ preview American Born Chinese

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Tim

Perhaps one of the most anticipated young adult Asian American media releases this year is Disney+’s upcoming streaming series American Born Chinese,   The series, set to release on May 24 on Disney+, is based on Gene Luen Yang’s award winning graphic novel of the same name. The series (and the book) follows the life of Jin Wang (played by Ben Wang – “Chang Can Dunk”), a Chinese American teenager navigating the angst of being a teenager interlaced with both overt and subtle racism at his high school.  Throw into the mix the son of the Monkey King (Wei-Chen Sun), the Monkey King, Pigsy and Guanyin, and you’ve almost got the equivalent of an Asian American Marvel Universe, with plenty of action packed Kung-fu scenes included.

The series expands and differs from the original graphic novel in interesting and sometimes touching ways. The setting moves from the 1980-90’s to present day, and adds a lot more color around the home family dynamics Jin Wang has to deal with in addition to his troubles at school, and highlights the troubles his parents, Simon and Christine Wang (played by Chin Han – Mortal Kombat and Yeo Yann Yann – Wet Season) face navigating America as immigrants. Asian Americans who grew up in the U.S. will recognize many of the microaggressions, challenges, and dilemmas facing Jin Wang.  Gene Luen Yang captures many of the quintessential experiences, one of the many reasons Yang’s graphic novel has had so much acclaim and success.

The series stars an Asian/Asian American cast, including many of the key stars of Everything Everywhere All at Once  (winner of seven Oscars at the 2023 Academy Awards including best actress for Michelle Yeoh – Guanyin and best supporting actor for Ke Huy Quan – Freddy Wong). Add to that Emmy® Award-winning executive producer Kelvin Yu (“Bob’s Burgers,” “Central Park”), Lucy Liu directing an episode, and other Asian/Asian American actors, including Daniel Wu (“Reminiscence”), Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), and former Taekwondo champion Jimmy Liu  (“Just Add Magic”).

Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Entertainment, Reviews, San Francisco Bay Area, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CAAMFest 2023: Opening Night with ‘Joy Ride’ & Gala

Posted on May 15, 2023 by John

For the first time since the pandemic, CAAMFest (Center for Asian American Media Festival) 2023 went full-tilt for the in-person attendee in San Francisco with the opening night film Joy Ride:

“From the producers of Neighbors and the co-screenwriter of Crazy Rich Asians, JOY RIDE stars Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Oscar® nominee Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu. The hilarious and unapologetically explicit story of identity and self-discovery centers on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Ashley Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Sherry Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess, Kat (Stephanie Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star, and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin. Their no-holds-barred, epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.”

After seeing the “red band” (R-rated movie trailer) online of  Joy Ride and seeing the reviews of the film (100% “Fresh” with 13/13 reviews) after its world premiere at South by Southwest earlier this year, I *KNEW* I had to see this film and attend CAAMFest opening night when CAAM announced that ‘Joy Ride’ was going to kickoff the festival.

Continue reading →

Posted in 8mm Film Review, 8Series, Comedy, Entertainment, Local, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fanny: The Best Rock and Roll Band you Probably Never heard of

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Jeff

“They were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody’s ever mentioned them. They’re as important as anybody else who’s ever been, ever; it just wasn’t their time.” – David Bowie in Rolling Stone

Fanny Movie PosterMy cousin told me about a ground breaking influential all female rock and roll band with Asian Americans that was largely forgotten.  I had never heard of Fanny before, and when I heard them perform Ain’t that Peculiar, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s hit,  I was stunned at what excellent musicians they were. So were some musicians analyzing this recording more than 50 years after it was made.  Key members of Fanny were sisters Jean and June Millington, who moved from the Philippines in 1961. The documentary Fanny: The Right to Rock (trailer above) tells their and other members of Fanny’s story, and it will be aired and streamed on PBS on May 22 and at CAAMFest 2023 on May 19. Best of all, Fanny will play for free the next day at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco on May 20, 2023, from 1:00-3:00 PM after some local artists open for them.

You might ask why you should bother watching the documentary and in particular, how Fanny was influential. we should recognize them as pioneers and their sacrifices.  There is a saying that “pioneers take the arrows,settlers take the land.” In the trailer, Bowie guitarist Earl Slick puts that in a succinct and NSFW way (around 1:58).  They were the first female rock band to release an album on a major label and paved the way for other female groups like The Runaways and The Bangles, who have cited them as key influences. Other groups today like the Linda Lindas have benefited from the path they created, and the Linda Lindas even introduced Fanny at Outfest 2021.  Fanny managed to put out five albums while struggling against racism and homophobia and a sexist music industry who wouldn’t take them seriously as musicians.  Finally, they put out some great music! I’m looking forward to seeing the documentary.

Fanny’s official website is here at fannyrocks.com.

 

Posted in Discrimination, History, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

C100 & Columbia University: The State of Chinese Americans

Posted on May 1, 2023 by John

Recently, the Committee of 100 and Columbia University published a report on “The State of Chinese Americans”:

“New York, NY (April 27, 2023) – Columbia University’s School of Social Work, one of the world’s leading research universities, and Committee of 100, a non-profit membership organization of prominent Chinese Americans, today announced the results from a year-long research project and survey that looked at the health, economic, and sociopolitical conditions of today’s Chinese American population.

The first and largest project of its kind, the “State of Chinese Americans” survey gathered information from nearly 6,500 participants from across the U.S., compiling data related to demographics, politics, cultural identity, health, economic security, and social engagement.”

I remember reading last October when the survey was going out and became interested to learn about the findings. Given how large the survey seemed to be in terms of its reach, I am impressed with the sample size of 6,500 respondents.

You can read the press release for the key highlight findings, including these 3 major categories:

1. Racism against Chinese Americans continues. 

  • Nearly 3 out of 4 (74%) Chinese Americans having experienced racial discrimination in the past 12 months;
  • 55% worrying about their safety relating to hate crimes or harassment;
  • 9% having been physically intimidated/assaulted and 7% having had property vandalized/damaged;
  • Nearly half of the survey respondents (46%) reported being treated with less respect than other people at least a few times in the past 12 months;
  • 1 in 5 reported that people made a racial slur, called them a name, or harassed them in person or online at least a few times in the past 12 months

I’m not surprised by these above survey results given the rise of Asian hate crimes.

2.The overwhelming majority of Chinese American citizens vote.
3.Chinese Americans are not homogenous. 

The  slides/data below (all slides courtesy of the Committee of 100 and Columbia University) intrigued me the most:

Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, History, Observations, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

American Born Chinese Trailer Reveals Differences from the Graphic Novel

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Jeff

After I heard about the upcoming Disney+ series American Born Chinese, I purchased and read the graphic novel by Gene Yuen. Now that the trailer has been released, I did notice some noticeable differences.  While some people really don’t like the change in story line compared to the book, which I can totally understand, I don’t think that I will mind given the cast and director and because it is pretty clear that it will be different.

I will know for sure where I mind when the series debuts on May 24.

Posted in Entertainment, TV | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Netflix’s BEEF Creative Team Responds to David Choe Rape Controversy

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Jeff

After what has seem liked an agonizingly long time to say anything, the creative team behind Netflix’s BEEF, including creator Lee Sung Jin and lead actors and executive producers Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, responded to the controversy stemming from a podcast of artist and BEEF actor David Choe’s podcasts from 2014 where he talks about raping a masseuse. Their statement is below:

“The story David Choe fabricated nine years ago is undeniably hurtful and extremely disturbing. We do not condone this story in any way, and we understand why this has been so upsetting and triggering. We’re aware David has apologized in the past for making up this horrific story, and we’ve seen him put in the work to get the mental health support he needed over the last decade to better himself and learn from his mistakes,”

In case you didn’t know about how Choe’s rape podcast resurfaced, journalists Meecham Whitson Meriweather and Aura Bogado tweeted the deleted podcast where he talks about raping the masseuse. David Choe (or his foundation as he claims) apparently then had their tweets taken down as copyright violations.  That action and the delayed response from the BEEF team made it look like they were trying to hide what happened, and there were many expressions of anger and disappointment and wondering how or if the BEEF team would respond during that silence. A boycott of the show was started.

It’s surprising and disappointing that the BEEF team didn’t take into consideration Choe’s past.  It’s not like his podcast wasn’t brought up before – there were complaints in 2014 when it aired, and there were protests when he did a mural in 2017. Should we really believe that there weren’t any other professional Asian American actors who could have done this role?  The initial response to the statement released seems to be largely negative. The statement ends with how Choe has suffered and recovered. In my opinion, it would have been better if it mentioned that they were taking concrete actions to help victims of rape such as donations to organizations that support rape victims.

I haven’t yet seen BEEF, and I wrestle with the following question:  do you watch good art from “bad” people? BEEF has been critically acclaimed, but as Soheil Ho points out, times have changed to the point where there are other Asian American content choices. There are other questions too – boycott all of Ali Wong’s work?  All of Steven Yeun’s work?  In any case, David Choe should be okay – he is also known for making tens of millions of dollars on his mural for Facebook.

 

 

Posted in Business, Entertainment, TV | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Joy Ride Movie to Open CAAMFest 2023 on May 11, 2023

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Jeff

The Center for Asian American Media recently announced that their event CAAMFest 2023 would open with with the movie Joy Ride. CAAMFest, formerly the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, will host the movie on May 11 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco at 6:30, followed by a gala at the Asian Art Museum.

Joy Ride will be available for theatrical general release on July 7, but here is your chance to see it before that! Ticketing information is available here at the event web page.

 

Posted in Entertainment, Local, Movies, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Attractive, Accomplished, and Fake Chinese Women who want to connect with me

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Jeff

Almost every week, I get a new LinkedIn connect request from an attractive and highly accomplished Chinese woman. When I finally got around to looking in detail at the profile of one of these requestors, it was fake. I figured that these requests were part of some ongoing scam, and it turns out that they were part of a scam called pig butchering that often (but not exclusively) targets Asian Americans.

How did I figure out that this particular profile was fake? I looked for inconsistencies in the fake woman’s profile and found that she claimed that she graduated from UCLA law school with a degree in design (see example screenshot above). Other than that, the profile was fairly consistent – her profile did show that she had the education and a track record one would expect for a design professional. I have obscured her face since the photo is probably taken from someone else’s profile.

There is a good article on these fake LinkedIn profiles in MIT’s Technology Review magazine. The scammers use fake profiles full of prestigious positions and schools to gain their victims’ trust. The author cites a time when one could find over 1000 supposed graduates of Tsinghua University (a top tier Chinese University) working at rocket company SpaceX. The scammers gain the trust of their victims and then have them invest in fraudulent investment platforms.  The term “pig-butchering” comes from the long term scam, one that takes time to develop just like time time it takes to raise a pig to then butcher it. Scammers moved to LinkedIn after dating sites began cracking down on fake profiles.  Some people have been taken for more than $1 million dollars. You can read one man’s experience with these scammers after he contacted them to see what would happen as well as others’ experiences.

If this story wasn’t bad enough, many of the people running the scams have been trafficked to places in Southeast Asia where they forced to work in hellish conditions. If you have been scammed, it is recommended that you contact law enforcement as soon as possible. The organization called the Global Anti-Scam Org, founded by scam victims, is also willing to try to help. LinkedIn, for it’s part, has recently set up a verification service to validate that members are working for the company that they say that they are from.

Posted in Business, Current Events | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Harvard Asian American Admissions Up in 2023 as Supreme Court Decision Looms

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Jeff

Harvard’s Asian American admissions, subject of a lawsuit that accuses of Harvard of suppressing Asian American admissions, rose to 29.1% for the incoming class for 2023.  This is an increase from 2022’s 27.1% of the admitted class, a absolute percentage rise of 2% and a proportional rise of more than 6% year to year. Black and Latino admissions fell over the same period.

Why did it rise?  Some say that it is a natural increase as the population of Asian American young adults and high school graduates increases. I can’t help but wonder if the lawsuit had some influence. I also wonder how much a factor is it that test score submissions were optional. Harvard contents that the increase is part of a natural trend.

After losing in lower courts, the case has been elevated to the Supreme Court. I am personally amazed that since writing about this almost nine years ago, the case is still ongoing. A decision is expected this summer.

(image credit:  Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license)

Posted in Current Events, Discrimination, Education | Tagged , , | Leave a comment