Asian American Entertainment Now
by Genessee Kagy
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(Just click here!)
• San Fransicco International Asian American Film Festival
• Asian Americans on Primetime
• AA Celebrity Blogs
• Asian Excellence Awards
• Asian Pop Music Scene
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GOLDSEA |
MEDIAWATCH
NOW WHAT
Asian Pop Music Scene
odels like Jarah Mariano, with her ad-ideal blend of long legs, large breasts and ambiguously Eurasian features--actually a soulful Hawaiian, Chinese and Korean blend, keep Asian Americans in the public eye. She has appeared in MAC, Armani Exchange, and AF campaigns as well as cameo-ing in Jay-Z's “Show Me What You Got” music video. But Mariano, though smokin' is just a more politically correct throwback to Sayonara (1957) dragon lady or Geisha girl chic, and Abercrombie uses a quaint coupling of Mariano embraced by a shirtless Matthew McConaughey-type as evidence of their “Diversity and Inclusion” policy — a representation decried by Facebookers across the country.
Mariano may be the hottest Asian American cultural craze since the embarrassing popularity of William Hung, but her high visibility translates less to progressive media representation of Asian Americans, than to simply a nod to male adolescents demanding pinup diversity.
But Asian Americans are gaining prominence elsewhere. They are mainstream (Justin Lin) and independent film directors (Eric Byler), and reliable small-screen recurrences. The most recent visibility-triumph though, is over the airwaves.
Singers like Paul Kim of American Idol fame, That Guy Alex aka Alex Shen, one-hit-wonder Ver5e, pop eclectic Vienna Teng, and the girlies One Vo1ce, get their play time and props from northern California radio stations.
Some, like NBC's Fame (2003) winner Harlemm Lee and cycle six American Idol contestant Paul Kim, are given the bum's rush into obscurity. While others like newcomer Chinese-Burmese American Natalise, get to choose between a variety of vying labels.
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Singer/songwriter Natalise struts her stuff.
(Myspace/natalise)
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