Lady Trieu (Hong Chau) from HBO's Watchmen. (Photo Credit: HBO)
By Guest Contributor: Mai Nguyen Do
The reveal of Watchmen’s Lady Trieu began as a promise of innovative retelling and reinvention. The numerous tweets referencing this mysterious woman compelled me to start watching the show, and her enigmatic character led me to believe that perhaps she would, like her namesake, ride storms for the sake of liberation. Instead of working towards reclamation and freedom for others, however, Trieu seeks to conquer the world only for herself.
Note: This post contains spoilers for thefirst season of HBO’s Watchmen.
Continue reading “Watchmen breaks the promise of Lady Trieu’s naming”
Every year, I publish a working list of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) non-profit groups for your consideration for #GivingTuesday. This year is no exception; below the fold, you’ll find a long list of AAPI organizations that could use some support. (Here’s last year’s list.)
This year, I will be donating to the following groups, all of whom do work that I really admire:
- APIA Vote: dedicated to increasing civic and voter participation among APIAs
- Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP): HIP is a California-based organization dedicated to the empowerment of the Hmong American community.
- Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M): I am always a fan of A3M, and the work this group does to try and improve bone marrow donor registration from the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. I am a registered bone marrow donor, and registering yourself can save lives.
- Asian Prisoner Support Committee: Oakland-based, provides support, advocacy, and education for and about Asian Americans in the prison system
- East-West Players: telling the stories of Asian Americans on-stage
I invite you to contribute a few of your Giving Tuesday dollars to these groups as well, or to your favourite group in the list below.
Continue reading “#GivingTuesday 2019: Reappropriate’s Top 5, and a listing of AAPI non-profits”
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana.
Republican Senator John Kennedy’s statements earlier this week would be laughable if they weren’t so ahistorical and trivializing of racial trauma.
Earlier this week, the Democrat-turned-Republican junior senator from Louisiana told reporters that the impeachment inquiry was less fair than the forcible relocation and detainment of Japanese Americans at the height of World War II. (See JACL’s Power of Words for a discussion of the language used in this article).
Senator Kennedy’s absurd and ahistorical comments were first reported on by Huffington Post Politics reporter Igor Bobic:
Continue reading “Republican Senator Compares Trump Impeachment Hearing to Japanese American Incarceration”
A scene from Bong Joon Ho's film, "Parasite".
By Guest Contributor: Claudia Vaughan
Bong Joon Ho’s films can be described as a genre in their own right: they play with the fantastical and the extreme to make assertions about society that leave viewers feeling deeply unsettled. While his worlds are sometimes quite outlandish, his characters and their pains are always very real and relatable. Such is the case with his latest film, “Parasite,” which Bong describes as a tragicomedy. Though “Parasite” does not use any supernatural elements, it is a major thrill ride that will have viewers nervously clutching their seats for the duration of the film.
Note: This reviewmay contain minor spoilers for the film “Parasite”.
Continue reading “Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” Manipulates Space to Spook Viewers and Make a Statement about Social Class”
The author's family, the Shojis, who were forcibly held at Minidoka during World War II. (Photo Credit: Joseph Lachman)
By Guest Contributor: Joseph Shoji Lachman
Kurt Suzuki, who is a yonsei (or, 4th generation Japanese American), wore a “Make America Great Again” hat — a disgusting white supremacist symbol — when visiting the White House last week. It was horrifying, and symbolic of larger issues of Asian American adjacency to white privilege.
The question I always want to pose to these Trump-supporting Japanese Americans is: How can you support a guy whose campaign and supporters have voiced support for the incarceration of Japanese Americans, and who have used that history as a justification for oppressing other minority groups??
Continue reading “It’s Not Just For Fun: My Reaction to Kurt Suzuki’s MAGA Hat Photo Op”