Survivor: China
pre-script: i really hope that comcast doesn't own cbs, but f*ck survivor: china. i don't care how good that show is. i don't care if there are people of asian descent on that show. do you think i'll watch something just because asian people are in it? do you think i'll embrace something just because asian people are in it? oh hells no. why f*ck survivor: china? because that don't make no sense. why not survivor: america? survivor: england? survivor: australia? survivor: canada? and we all know what type of transatlantic slave trade guilt would prevent something like, survivor: africa. get the drift? do you like the font for the show? the dragons? just like in chinatown! where tourists can experience real fake chinese stuff! why isn't survivor: china anything like the china we talk about in school once a year, or the china the media don't like, or the china we see in all the films our directors pay endless homages to in their work? how come the show can't be called the area in china where all this bamboo cutting is taking place? could it be pronunciation meeting marketing? why is china, the leading global threat to our economic superiority, the location of a game show, which i am assuming, is about going into the middle of nowhere and trying to survive? do the producers know how much cement china imports? do they know their sponsors probably have offices in beijing? do they know how many products the crew uses which were made in china? why the whole country? can you not see how problematic the simplicity of it? what is all of this saying?
for me, it is very difficult to make absolute statements about what i'm watching. granted, i began with f*ck survivor: china, but really, what i meant was, "this is more than a game show. ya'll better recognize how subtle it gets programmed... in a program. what?!" i would rather try to deconstruct what i'm watching and figure out what is affecting me positively and what is affecting me negatively. on a personal level. being the elderly gent that i am, i also realize that if there is someone on that screen whose face is asian, that they are forced to represent me. through no fault of their own, mind you. it's just that the variety and frequency of asian faces in television and film is such that chances are, masi oka is the one asian guy most of the u.s. sees in their lives on a weekly basis (and he says stuff! he has feelings and dreams! ). so i also know that with the limited experience most people have with those of asian descent in their lives (please do not email me that some of your best friends are asian. proving me wrong does not make you right.), their ideas of asian people, whether or not they're americans, comes from tv and film. yay for me.
this small presence has plagued me in my life through various characters. a few years ago, i was on stage, and someone yelled at me from far away, "it's william hung!" yay for me.
at this point in my life, i don't care that those of asian descent are on reality tv shows. either way, it doesn't matter to me. because i no longer feel like they represent me, nor need to be held up to such standards. to me it feels like placing the responsibility on someone who has no responsibility. to me, the reality is that all people should have an opportunity to be portrayed in a human and dynamic manner. the moment someone is reduced to a cultural stereotype, a gesture, a catchphrase, or background coloring, one should begin to question the entertainment and the art which would allow such things. why create, or share, if it's only to give one-dimensional ideas that can be dismissed or digested as if human beings were the same as fart jokes. and why, as a viewer, should i give a damn about a show that doesn't allow the fullness of the people i'm rooting for and listening to, to really come out? i don't have time for that. my bones are old.
so let's begin with that. i don't want to focus on this one ethnic idea, although i might have a higher level of sensitivity towards the portrayal of those of asian descent in the media, because of my own experiences. the truth of the matter is that many characters in many programs, are one-dimensional, lacking, and without real depth (maybe we want something simple to place in a compartment). part of the issue, though, is that those of asian descent appear less frequently than those of other ethnic backgrounds.
(note: i consider being from the middle east to be of asian descent. i guess if the war in iraq bleeds into iran, then there actually might be more asian faces in film and tv. positive? well, we'll start with more.)
i'm not saying every movie has to be all asian. i love fantasy as much as the next person. but in san francisco, there should be a much higher percentage of asian american extras. in tila tequila, there should be a higher percentage of asian american candidates...
i retract that. there shouldn't. but i would love for someone, perhaps tila, or anyone, really, just to explain to me why that wasn't the case, given the track record of most, "find true love," reality shows when it comes to ethnic representation being predominantly similar to that of the decider. not that ya'll were wrong for, "breaking new ground," if you want to call it that (tell your PR guy. it's a great way to deflect jerks like me!). i just need it explained. in fact, if you do explain that, could you also explain why tila is always this wild and crazy girl with tattoos, who is bisexual, but no one ever talks about her ethnic background, as if they were all told not to? i mean, unless all of these contestants have vietnamese friends, and bring vietnamese women home to their oil baron mansions and whatnot. please correct me. also, explain the archetypes she was physically most drawn to, in conjunction with previous life choices for her hair color, nasal work, pectoral augmentator, etc.
maybe, if you could, tell me why we hear so much about why she wants to meet these families, but never talks about her family, and so on. this would be great. not that you're wrong, tila. i'm from oklahoma, i know what it can do to us. i once had a perm (as if anyone would ever think i could look like michael hutchence).
oklahoma, you're not bad. you just weren't very understanding of me. if only our movie theatres got more than sixteen candles, goonies, and gung ho.
i should probably end that i dig seeing asian folks carry themselves with dignity and truth in film and tv, and that i am very proud of those who will not allow the perceptions of others (top chef) prevent them from accomplishing the goals of who they want to be, regardless whether or not they are understood.
and finally, could i please have my own reality show? it's me, 16 men, 16 women, and all of them think they're about to meet a man trying to find love, but what they don't know, is that they're about to find out how completely racist they are and why.
Friday, December 7, 2007
(Emma Carew) - On Journalism
Journalism that works, even without a free press
Every year since 1961, the World Association of Newspapers has given awarded a single journalist with the “Golden Pen” award for his or her commitment to freedom of the press.
This year, as well as last, the Golden Pen was given to a journalist who is currently incarcerated because of that commitment to international freedom of the press. Li Changqing, a Chinese journalist, is serving three years in prison for “spreading false and alarmist information.
Li covered the outbreak of dengue fever in the Fuzhou region of China in 2006. The Communist Party Propaganda Department places heavy censorship upon the press in China, so until Li’s reports, the outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease hadn’t been announced to the public.
As a reporter in the States, it’s nearly unfathomable to think of going to jail for informing the public of a health crisis. I recently reported on drug resistant staph infections, an issue that my university had barely begun to address, despite college students and student athletes being two of the highest risk groups. As a result of my story, the University quickly educated the peer health advocates about staph infections and began a public information campaign. I didn’t hear negative feedback from my editors or my community for bringing attention to a social health issue – certainly there was no talk of sending me to jail.
In my journalism classes we watch videos about Judith Miller and hear about how she stood up for journalism by protecting her confidential sources. Yet, we hardly hear about the hundreds of reporters worldwide who are imprisoned each year simply for trying to report the truth and do good journalism.
Last spring, a group of south-east Asian journalists visited Minneapolis and came to our school through the Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program. I got to meet these reporters and editors, who had traveled from places like Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Singapore, and Taiwan as part of an exchange program, and I quickly realized how very different our ideas of journalism are.
Some of them couldn’t understand why we have so many different media outlets in the States. It seemed strange to them that the government wouldn’t be heavily involved in the creation of media and journalism.
According to a release from WAN, China has the most journalists behind bars worldwide. With the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics looming, WAN and Reporters Without Borders have called for athletes, sponsors and supporters to put pressure on China and their oppressive media policies.
The Beijing Olympics marks the first time in my lifetime that the games will be held in a non-democratic country. I’ve read reports of the Chinese government cracking down on homelessness and vagrancy, of increased arrests for “security risks,” and flat out violations of human rights. The Olympic committee said it had hoped that the selection of Beijing as an Olympic site would help to bring about reform in China’s human rights policies.
As journalists, the bottom line for us is the truth. When the truth is repressed and the truth is hidden, the responsibility lies with reporters and editors to seek it out. In China, and other oppressive nations, governments and regimes would like to see journalism fail. I find it refreshing and inspiring to see that journalism does not necessarily fail because of reporters like Li Changqing.
Every year since 1961, the World Association of Newspapers has given awarded a single journalist with the “Golden Pen” award for his or her commitment to freedom of the press.
This year, as well as last, the Golden Pen was given to a journalist who is currently incarcerated because of that commitment to international freedom of the press. Li Changqing, a Chinese journalist, is serving three years in prison for “spreading false and alarmist information.
Li covered the outbreak of dengue fever in the Fuzhou region of China in 2006. The Communist Party Propaganda Department places heavy censorship upon the press in China, so until Li’s reports, the outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease hadn’t been announced to the public.
As a reporter in the States, it’s nearly unfathomable to think of going to jail for informing the public of a health crisis. I recently reported on drug resistant staph infections, an issue that my university had barely begun to address, despite college students and student athletes being two of the highest risk groups. As a result of my story, the University quickly educated the peer health advocates about staph infections and began a public information campaign. I didn’t hear negative feedback from my editors or my community for bringing attention to a social health issue – certainly there was no talk of sending me to jail.
In my journalism classes we watch videos about Judith Miller and hear about how she stood up for journalism by protecting her confidential sources. Yet, we hardly hear about the hundreds of reporters worldwide who are imprisoned each year simply for trying to report the truth and do good journalism.
Last spring, a group of south-east Asian journalists visited Minneapolis and came to our school through the Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program. I got to meet these reporters and editors, who had traveled from places like Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Singapore, and Taiwan as part of an exchange program, and I quickly realized how very different our ideas of journalism are.
Some of them couldn’t understand why we have so many different media outlets in the States. It seemed strange to them that the government wouldn’t be heavily involved in the creation of media and journalism.
According to a release from WAN, China has the most journalists behind bars worldwide. With the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics looming, WAN and Reporters Without Borders have called for athletes, sponsors and supporters to put pressure on China and their oppressive media policies.
The Beijing Olympics marks the first time in my lifetime that the games will be held in a non-democratic country. I’ve read reports of the Chinese government cracking down on homelessness and vagrancy, of increased arrests for “security risks,” and flat out violations of human rights. The Olympic committee said it had hoped that the selection of Beijing as an Olympic site would help to bring about reform in China’s human rights policies.
As journalists, the bottom line for us is the truth. When the truth is repressed and the truth is hidden, the responsibility lies with reporters and editors to seek it out. In China, and other oppressive nations, governments and regimes would like to see journalism fail. I find it refreshing and inspiring to see that journalism does not necessarily fail because of reporters like Li Changqing.
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