And now this!

Here we are once again to attempt to release the sounds in an isolated box. A yell that no one can understand. A talent that no one can see. And a song that no one can hear. "That Asian Thing" wants to unite these forces and make it unbreakable and unmistakable that Asian Americans are here, making waves bigger than people can imagine. Its a pool of talent vibrating underneath the visible, mediated normalicy that people are "comfortable" with. These people need to come and seek the new. Once they get a taste of it, there's no turning back....cause simply...

...it's just that good, if not great.

--we have conducted our Stir Friday Night interview last weekend and might I impose by saying how cool these people are! Not all in attendance, but only missing 3 people, the crew provided in-depth stories of how actors can be shun away by their Asian American eyes, how parents can push for a better future than "acting," and how sketches close to the heart can still be funny (etc. etc.). This is just skim milk compared to the whole dish that we ensued that day. The crew in attendance (Harrison, Andy, Melissa, Ron, Jennifer, Foo, and Aimee) gave feedback about how it is being an Asian American actor. Points touched upon were lack of opportunities, a difference of perception and representation, and performing in areas that don't have many Asian Americans. It was all very interesting to hear some of their personal experiences that related.

We talked about their current production, "Yellow," and what process they went through to see how far they can push the envelope in terms of stereotypical humor. "Yellow" had a lot of sexual innuendoes planted, to which the crew explained that as Asian Americans, we're no different from any other race out there. We have experiences in that 'oh so' taboo issue known as s.e.x. And they also talked about sketches that were about assimilation and losing heritage. All great insight...



Special thanks to Jennifer Liu and the rest of the cast of Stir Friday Night. Such down to earth, helpful people in terms of my documentary. I look forward to touching base with them again in the future.

NOW UP TO BAT....


-Stephen Munoz.


-Cynthia Lin.

Listen to their goods on myspace. Get their albums, tell me what you think, and know you won't regret!

AND NOW THIS ARTICLE:

I read this quickie on the Goldsea Asian American Daily website. It's an old article, but still relates to why I'm concentrating my documentary in Chicago. Here it is for your viewing pleasure through the miracle of what they call "copy and paste." Indulge your mind....

"Is Chicago the Most Underrated City for Asian Americans?"
(Updated Sunday, Jun 6, 2004, 11:04:28 PM)

It may be the nation's third largest city but to many AA Chicago is terra incognita. The first question it provokes is, Why would an Asian American want to live there? They are surprised to learn that, in fact, the greater Chicago area hosts the eighth largest Asian American population. Of the area's 8.4 million population, Asians comprise 5.4% or 450,000.

Chinese began settling the area in 1870. Most were railroad workers at loose ends after the last stretch of tracks were laid on the Transcontinental Railroad. More began moving out to escape the extreme anti-Asian racism raging out of control on the west coast until the mid-1940s. Their first visible community was the area now known as South Chinatown on Chicago's South Side. At its height this original Chinatown, centered around Wentworth and Cermak, was lively enough to support 170 restaurants. Now, that number has shrunk to about 43, in part due to various redevelopment projects that cut the area down to less than a quarter its original area.

The new wave of Asian immigrants that began arriving in the 60s and 70s has shifted the Asian action northward. A second Chinatown, populated mostly by Vietnamese Chinese, has grown up around North Broadway and Argyle Street. A few blocks to the west a Koreatown is emerging along Lawrence Avenue. Nearby Devon Avenue is home to thriving South Asian establishments. There's even a small Japanese enclave closer to downtown along Clark and Halstead, right alongside a budding Thai area. These ethnic enclaves give the Chicago area's Asian Americans a tangible connection to their heritages but they are home only to the newest of Asian immigrants. Most established AA have faded into suburbs like Skokie, Evanston and even Highland Park.

Enough young Chicago-area AA professionals and students cherish their cultural ties to support the nation's only Asian American Jazz Festival, a popular annual event that draws healthy crowds. Other AA organizations include the local chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals, the Asian American Artists Collective, an AA Film Festival and various student groups based in local university campuses.

Chicagoland AA have begun to recognize the need to organize if they are to avoid becoming political casualties and orphans as during the various redistricting battles of the early 90s. But the Asian population remains dispersed, lacking the concentrations needed to consolidate political power in the form of viable candidates. This lack of concentration is the factor most often cited to support the view that Asians remain irrelevancies in the Windy City's socioeconomic landscape.

Is Chicago really a cultural wasteland suitable only for Asians indifferent to their heritages? Or is it just the most underappreciated city among AA?