Bad news and good news

The thing about mass shootings is that you have to worry about copycats imitating the unholy deed. A deranged person seeing the news of someone similar to him committing a crime can be just enough of a push to make him follow through. That’s why the media have to balance between reporting on a mass shooting and also not glorifying the details of the shooter. It’s a tricky situation for sure.

Sadly, not two days after the horrific tragedy in Monterey Park, another shooting occurred close to home. A senior Asian male killed seven people in Half Moon Bay, motive unknown. I can’t help but wonder that this guy saw the news of a similar-aged Asian male shooting up a dance hall in Monterey Park, and thought that he also can move along with his evil plans. The Asian American community is hurting, our sense of safety is shattered everywhere.

In other news, Everything Everywhere All at Once leads all movies this year with 11 Oscar nominations! I’m particularly happy for Stephanie Hsu getting the nod in the supporting actress category. The numerous flowers for Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh during this awards season are well deserved, but Stephanie Hsu’s multi-faceted performance as the daughter has been somewhat overlooked. I’m happy the Academy gave her recognition with the nomination.

That said, if Ke Huy Quan doesn’t win the best supporting actor category, we riot! I look forward a merry Oscar watch party with friends.

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Sending love.

Slap heard around the twitter

I watched the Oscars ceremony live, and at first I thought the incident was a gag. I didn’t realize something was amiss until the broadcast feed momentarily paused at Chris Rock’s shocked face. Then followed the muted shouting between him and Will Smith. In real time it looked to me like Rock was able to dodge Smith’s slap attempt. But I guess upon further replay (thank you, uncensored international feeds), indeed Will Smith slapped a person on live national television. In 4K.

The fact people are still chatting about the slap a few days later is a testament to how utterly boring and uninteresting the Academy Awards was otherwise. But hey the Academy is looking to attract a newer and younger audience, so what better way than some violence that can fit within the confines of a TikTok video? My twitter feed absolutely lit up after the incident. Folks who weren’t even tuned into the show have turned on their TVs.

Because Will Smith was up for the best actor award, so all eyes were on what he would say on stage - post incident with Chris Rock - if he’d won. Well, he did win, and his speech was an incoherent mess. Something about wanting to protect his people, and being sorry to everybody but Chris Rock itself. Nevertheless, we all tuned in didn’t we. ABC can’t be too mad about it: it’s all about that eyeball count and those advertising dollars.

I think Smith is absolutely wrong for slapping Rock on stage. Sure, the joke Rock made about Jada - Smith’s wife - was in poor taste, but Chris Rock is a comedian - he’s being paid to be there to tell jokes. Audience members can’t be assaulting the comic for jokes they don’t like. Insults thrown at you and your significant other is probably one the prices people have to pay for being famous.

Now the whole thing could also just be one big ruse. Will Smith and Chris Rock doing a bit for the Oscars for the ratings and buzz. Both are actors, after all! However, the optics of a black man hitting another black man on live national TV is probably not so great. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised some years down the line both Smith and Rock comes out with the truth that it was a hoax.

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Understood.

Authentically Asian

Director Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” becomes the first foreign language film ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

That is a heavy and well-overdue achievement, and the overwhelming joy from the Koreans on my twitter feed last night was especially heartwarming. Their feelings must have been what it was like for Chinese people when Ang Lee won his director Oscar for “Brokeback Mountain”. Lee absolutely paved the way for Bong’s eventual triumph, with the seemingly archaic Academy willing to give the ultimate recognition to a film that’s entirely in Korean, and produced entirely in South Korea. Honestly, I was prepared for disappointment throughout the ceremony, but when Jane Fonda read the word “Parasite”, the elation was rather emotional.

It’s been a banner year for Korean entertainment on the world stage, what with the great success of BTS, and now Parasite wining the top movie award on the planet. Even though I’m Chinese, I feel prideful for the achievement of people that look like me; for better or worse, the West treats us Asian faces as one homogenous blob (who amongst us hasn’t been falsely called one of the many Asian nationalities?), so the success of one group has a positive correlation to the other. Even though our cultures are varied and experiences different, within the bubble of American and European culture we are seen as one giant group.

Therefore, a win for Parasite is a win for other Asians in the film industry.

A belated shoutout to the team behind “The Farewell”; Awkwafina winning best actress at the Golden Globes was super amazing, and it’s a shame the film didn’t get one ounce of recognition - not so much as a nomination - at the Oscars.

I think Parasite winning Best Picture is the final signal to Asians all over the globe, but especially in Western countries, that we no longer have to contort and distort our true culture to succeed or receive recognition in the West. We can be completely ourselves - unapologetically unfiltered, and still get to where we want to be. If anything, it’s catering to what we think the West wants that has gotten us continually stuck. Authenticity is the best currency, even if it isn’t in English.

We’re only getting started.

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We’ve got a functioning Apple II computer.

Oscar party 2019

Much like the Super Bowl, the annual Oscars ceremony is a special occasion for me and my friends to sit in front of the TV and hang out. Of course we haven’t actually watched many of the movies nominated; that isn’t the point. The point is to be together with friends, eat food, and view the telecast with an eye towards humor. Who’s wearing something absurd? Whose acceptance speech went too long and the producers turned off the microphone?

This year’s Academy Awards also had a bit of suspense, because there was no clear front-runner for the Best Picture category; a succinct lack of a La La Land this year (that’s the joke). Heading into the evening, any of the eight nominated movies were liable to win, except for Black Panther, because pandering to popular, culturally-relevant super hero films has its limits. Fans of the MCU should be just happy it got nominated, and nothing more than that.

The surprise was palpable both live in the Dolby Theatre and at our gathering when Green Book was announced as winner of Best Picture. My money was on Roma, and that bet was going swimmingly as the movie won a few of the awards - including Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron - throughout the event. I think I can safely say no one had Green Book in their betting pool, and it seems the producers of the film themselves were not expecting the victory.

The response on Twitter was swift and hilarious. People couldn’t believe such a mediocre movie won Best Picture, while so called ‘Black Twitter’ were fed up with being pandered to by old, white Academy members voting for “white savior” movies. Green Book broke the camel’s back because of its historical inaccuracies and the fact the family of the main character portrayed have publicly denounced the movie. Perhaps this would have been a good year for the La La Land - Moonlight mix-up.

Nevertheless, kudos to the guy who won for Production Design: his realization halfway through his partner’s acceptance speech that he wasn’t going to have any time at all to recite his own. What was likely the absolute height of his career and yet not one word in, other than shouting out his crew as the camera cuts away to commercial. Top man.

Also kudos to the winner who wanted to thank her two kids, but only managed to name one. It necessitated her husband to interject and say the name of the other child, who henceforth will forever know - along with anyone that’s watched the Oscars this year - that he is not his mother’s favorite.

There shall be no mistakes.