“You have to be open to something different,†says single mom Juana Martinez, played by newcomer Diana Elizabeth Torres, to her young daughter (Kaya Jade Aguirre). And that something is sushi made by a Mexican American woman who dreams of becoming a sushi chef in the award-winning film “East Side Sushi†by director Anthony Lucero. […]
A heartwarming film of cross-cultural discovery rolled into ‘East Side Sushi’
June 23, 2016 by Leave a Comment
APA Media Coalition condemns Hollywood’s use of whitewashing and yellowface
May 12, 2016 by 1 Comment
LOS ANGELES — The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition issued a statement condemning recent decisions to select two white actresses to play the roles of Asian characters in forthcoming films. “Scarlett Johansson will play a Japanese cyborg whose name has been changed from Major Motoko Kusanagi to simply ‘The Major’ in the new DreamWorks film […]
Coalition praises ABC for ‘historic high’ number of Asians
October 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — “ABC will reach a historic high of 18 Asian regulars on their primetime television series†for the upcoming 2015-2016 season, the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition said in a statement. The previous record was 16 by NBC in the 2007-08 season, the coalition said. In addition to the return of “Fresh Off […]
Multi-ethnic coalition condemns Deadline Hollywood’s article on diversity in casting
April 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
WASHINGTON — A multi-ethnic coalition denounced Deadline Hollywood for its March 24 article on diversity in Hollywood, which, the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition said in a statement issued March 25, “paints a picture of so-called ‘reverse discrimination’ in an industry in which people of color — who make up nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population — have […]
ENTERTAINMENT RE-ORIENTED: A ‘Fresh’ take on the Asian American sitcom
February 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
“Fresh off the Boat,†the first sitcom with an all-Asian American cast since 1994’s “All American Girl,†is kind of like rocking a perm or making a martini, in that there’s a right way and wrong way to do it. The right way, is to just watch it as you would any other network sitcom […]
Lack of diversity in 2015 Oscar nominations criticized
January 22, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Academy Awards announced its nominations for the 2015 awards Jan. 15, but with a distinct lack of diversity in nominations. No people of color were nominated for leading or supporting roles, which fueled backlash against the Academy shortly after they were announced. Despite the Academy nominating “Selma,†a film on Martin Luther King Jr.’s […]
Grief, diversity and gratitude — An interview with filmmaker J.P. Chan
September 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Since he burst on the scene in 2005, J.P. Chan has been a regular on the Asian American film and independent film circuits. His acclaimed short films, including “Digital Antiquities,†produced as part of the PBS anthology series “Future States,†are mostly subtle, thoughtful studies of human relationships, often with a strong Asian American […]
New report details the changing demographics of the AAPI community
February 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Asian American Center for Advancing Justice released a new demographic report, “A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in California,†Feb. 4. The report provides data on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, other minorities and the general population of California, with respect to topics including health, income, education […]
Asian American media group criticizes use of yellowface in ‘Cloud Atlas’
November 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — The Media Action Network for Asian Americans has released a statement criticizing the new Warner Brothers film, “Cloud Atlas,†which it said has been promoted as “artistically groundbreaking because its actors swap racial and sexual identities — as business-as-usual in its exclusion and offensive yellow-faced renditions of Asian people.†The multi-ethnic epic […]
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Five things you should know about Asian Americans
May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. In honor of the occasion, here are five things that I think you should know about Asian Americans.* 1. We Don’t All Look Alike. In fact, most of us aren’t alike at all. When many non-Asians conjure a picture of “Asian American†in their minds, they see an East […]