Confession: I’m a media whore. I consume media any chance I get. Since becoming a supporter of CAAMedia, I have been able to watch some incredible films. Their annual film festival, which happens during the spring, features some if the best that Asian American filmmaking has to offer. In addition to the various newsletters I receive from CAAM, I take note of movie trailers and various social media that highlight up and coming films. This has been a pretty good year for diversity in filmmaking. In case you’re wondering, here’s what I’ve been watching. Depending on when you read this post, you may have to do some digging to access these works. Hope you’re able to catch some of these films!
Maraming Salamat, Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D. San Mateo, CA
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hanging out (virtually) with the incredible team at This Filipino American Life Podcast. I’ve been listening to the podcast on and off for about a year now. Joe Bernardo, one of the hosts, is a friend from college. I knew him as a youngin’ when we were at UC Santa Barbara together. That he is involved with this podcast makes perfect sense. Joe has always been invested in and curious about the various textures of Filipino/American life.
I was so happy to be part of this episode because it allowed me to discuss further, some of the issues that weren’t covered in the Refinery29 story. Since it aired, I have received a tremendous amount of love and support from people who felt connected to the topic. For that, I am very grateful. Again, many thanks to Joe, Elaine, Ryan, and Mike of This Filipino American Life Podcast for the lovely conversation and share.
Maraming Salamat, Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D. San Mateo, CA
Alright, if you know me, you know I’m a bit of a media whore. One of the reasons why I started this site is to share some of the things that I’m watching (or have my eye on). Here are some of my current media picks (thoughts and reviews will follow in future posts… hopefully.)
Kudos to Angry Asian Man for their short write-up of the Canadian sitcom. I read the short article and filed it away in my brain. When the preview showed up on Netflix, I couldn’t wait to watch it. As a lover of our friends up north, Kim’s Convenience does not disappoint. Go ahead, watch the first episode. After that, feel free to comment at how much you hate-love me for introducing you to your latest Netflix binge. You’re welcome!
Side note: After bingeing the series, you need to watch Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s award speeches here and here.
That I’m bay area based, my affinity for Sorry to Bother You is pretty natural. I won’t bore you with my thoughts and love for this film. Instead, I’m just going to tell you to go out and watch the darn thing!
It’s harder to find, so try to organize a local screening for your community: Fattitude the Movie.
A few years back, I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign for Fattitude the Movie. Like many of these campaigns, nothing is guaranteed. (I’m still waiting for my edible spoons and magical French press… just sayin’.) When I received notice that there was a local screening, I jumped at the chance and brought The Huz with me. We’re still chatting about the film and the post-discussion. Since the filmmakers are still sorting out distribution, check out their website for screening info. The great thing about going to these screenings? You may be lucky enough to meet the filmmakers and cast!
What are you watching these days? Please let me know in comments!
Maraming Salamat,
Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D.
South San Francisco, CA
The internet went crazy this weekend when Dove (you know, that company behind the real beauty campaign) released a gif that features a Black woman transforming into a white woman (who transforms into a presumably Asian? woman). If course, the social media brigade wasn’t having it, and rightfully so. Since the uproar, the ad has since been removed and Dove has issued an apology. You can read the details here.
Confession: I’m never surprised when something like this happens. When you study and consume media as much as I do, it’s a given that people behind advertising and media making are by and large, white (I mean this in a holistic sense). That, coupled with general ignorance about race in this country leads us to moments like this time and time again. Ads like this are not shocking. They’re old news, used to perpetuate and give permission to everyday racist practices.
Before you start probing me, let me be clear: (1) We do not live in a post-racial society. Race and racism still matter. (2) Until we fully understand and acknowledge the historical legacies of white supremacy which this country was founded on, we cannot even begin to entertain the idea of a post-racial society. (Yeah. You read that right. These legacies include the genocide of indigenous peoples, enslavement of people from Africa, colonial subjugation of basically every person who comes from places the west has colonized… I could go on, but let’s just start there.) (3) Companies can apologize all they want for the faux pas. For anyone who has worked in media, you know that these images are vetted heavily. That the ad would still make it to distribution illustrates my first two points. (4) We live in a world were capitalism reigns. Bad publicity is still publicity. I wouldn’t be surprised if the release of the ad was intentional, just for the hullaballoo of it all. (5) There is no moral code in a capitalist world.
Yeah. Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day, folks!
Maraming Salamat,
Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D.
South San Francisco, CA
Many thanks to Akemi Johnson for chatting with me for her NPR story, What Would It Mean to Have a Hapa Bachelorette. It’s always a pleasure to speak to writers about current events, especially as it relates to my own research. As an academic, feeling like you’re an imposter, or that your research is irrelevant, is a daily insecurity. However, talking to other people who inspire and push you to connect your research to the ideas they’re working on really helps solidify your own work. For that, I am grateful. Hope you enjoy the story!
Over the weekend, a mistake was made. A woman was mistakenly crowned Miss Universe. Profuse apologies followed. Eventually, Miss Philippines won the Miss Universe title. Social media continues to buzz. End story.
Dear People of the World: Feel free to talk about these series of events all you like. Before you do, I kindly as you to do the following things:
1) Note the correct spelling of the current title holder’s country: Philippines.
2) Note the correct way to address people from said country: Filipino or Pilipino (not Philippino, Philippians or any other variation of that).
3) Confused or bothered about the title holder’s last name and/or mixed race identity? Please read up on the colonial history of the Philippines. It may take a while, but at least you’ll be informed.
4) Keep your racist comments to yourself. No one likes reading uninformed bullshit.
This weekend, everyone is going crazy watching this:
Personally, I’m waiting for the hype to die down (and for the time to re-visit the original series). Though I will not be watching The Force, I will be watching something that has to do with The Glow:
I’ll spoil it for you off the bat. Sundance TV decided to cancel The Red Road after its second season. Still, it’s an awesome show that you can watch online or on Netflix. (Please ignore the negative review that’s linked to the photo above.) It has a diverse cast and rich story lines that make an ES scholar like me melt. Yes, Jason Momoa is easy on the eyes. However, the show illustrates that he has some acting chops too. I’ll miss The Red Road (and I shall curse Sundance TV for letting you go).
skin memoirs 