Liberating the Asian American Libido

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Liberating the Asian American
Libido

GS: What was your impulse in making the Masters of the Pillow documentary?
JCH: To address the Asian American community and create an internal dialogue on the types of representations we would like to see. I do not think we should censor ourselves. In fact, if we want a greater role in mainstream media we should be willing to push the envelope. What new ideas can we bring to the table that haven't already been done before? I'm seeing a lot of interesting films being made today but I haven't seen much in terms of high concept films that really challenge the viewer into new ways of thinking. The work I am interested in producing are the kind that force audiences to ask themselves questions and to examine their own beliefs and biases.

GS: How did you go about casting the video? Why didn't you simply use Rick Lee, since he's already a performer?

Three of the women recently featured with Rick Lee on his Asian-man.com site.      Rick Lee is one of the people interviewed in Masters of the Pillow and may well be the ultimate exponent of Hamamoto's call for the need to promote images of Asian male sexuality. But unlike a run-of-the-mill pornographer, Lee is a sexual adventurer who records his exploits with a camera. He has had sex with all but "a couple" of the over 150 women pictured in various positions with him on the Asian-man.com site.      He has faced little obstacle to creating the internet's leading porn site featuring Asian men and non-Asian women.      “I understand Dr Hamamoto's point of view and I think he is right on many issues, specially when it comes to the mainstream media,” says Lee. “However, I don't think there is as much racism towards Asian men in the adult industry as most people would think. I think the reason there is a lack of Asian men in the adult industry is because of our cultural backgrounds.      “On a more personal level, being Asian has helped in some cases and has been an obstacle to overcome in some other instances. The mainstream media doesn't really portray Asian men as sexual or sexually desirable so many women are not used to the idea of Asian men as boyfriends.      “My sex life is what I would call ‘diversified’” he says. “I have friends who are swingers, adult models, and casual dates that I meet online, etc. Many girls on my site are amateur models trying to get into the adult business but there are also swingers, professional porn actresses, girlfriends, dates, etc.      “I don't choose women to have sex with based on their ethnicity. I choose women who are ok with having sex on camera and they happen to be mostly white. But because they are mostly white, I think it does help the straight Western Asian man image and I feel, like Dr Hamamoto does, that we are emasculated by the media and that we suffer more negative sexual stereotypes than any other race. By being with women of other ethnicities, it brings a bit more balance to the sexual equation and it helps assert the Asian male sexuality.”      Though Lee has appeared in public to speak on the issue of Asian male sexuality, he refuses to have photos of his face released for publication.

JCH: I was not involved with the casting. I specifically decided to approach the documentary as an objective observer and did not participate in the producing of Skin on Skin. I felt it would have been a conflict of interests. The reason Dr. Hamamoto chose not to use Rick Lee was because Rick wanted to keep his identity anonymous. Dr. Hamamoto wanted someone who wanted to be on camera.

GS: How long did you take to produce it?
JCH: It took me roughly a year to produce the documentary. I was traveling to film festivals with my short, The Pickup, and was able to produce the documentary during my trips.

GS: Was the entire film actually shot in one day?
JCH: Yes. Shooting all the other interviews and getting b-roll and editing took much longer. I had a pretty strong concept of what I wanted this film to be about from the beginning and just took myÊtime executing the project.

GS: Was an actual porn video made from the filming session, in addition to the documentary?
JCH: Yes, Dr. Hamamoto has produced two versions. One is a straightforward adult film called Skin on Skin. This was produced for the mainstream market. The other is called Yellocaust: A Patriot Act. This is a politically charged version of Skin on Skin that usually screens with my documentary at film festivals. I guess you could call it “political porn”. This film is intended to provoke reactions rather than titillate. It's quite an experience to watch it with an audience.

GS: What happened to the money shot?
JCH: It's there. You can see it in both versions of Dr.Hamamoto's films.

GS: Was there any conflict with UC Davis over the video?
JCH: Not at all. The University accepts that Dr. Hamamoto's project was part of his own personal research. In fact, I believe the University has been quite supportive of his endeavors. It has certainly given the Asian American Studies department a higher profile. In fact, they funded a trip by Asianman himself to speak in front of students.

GS: Has there been any professional fallout from the video?
JCH: I don't know about Dr.Hamamoto, but for myself as a filmmaker the attention the film has gotten has been a tremendous. I'm glad people understand the discursive value ofÊthe project. I am getting invites from college and universities to screen and speak about my film. It has already screened at several prominent film festivals.

GS: Does Dr. Hamamoto believe Asian porn is the solution to the colonization of the Asian American sexual imagination?


JCH: I think he's well aware that porn is not the end all solution to this problem, but I think he's purposely taken a radical response to engage people in a debate about this issue. Frankly, Asian American are not exposed to watching themselves in these type of films and I think it's a good thing to expose ourselves to new forms of representation. Pornography is exploitation, but it can also be provocative when there is an agenda behind it. Larry Flynt's made a career out of it.

GS: Are there plans to produce another porn project?
JCH: Dr. Hamamoto tells me he plans to continue the “porno revolution”. He has plans to pursue his agenda in LA where he'll be closer to the porn capitol of the world. More power to him.

GS: How do you like being an Asian American filmmaker?
JCH: Filmmaking requires extraordinary resources. But with the advent of digital technology I saw that you could reallyÊdo it yourself in a way never doneÊbefore, all the way to the final editing and delivery. I've produced, edited and directed several projects now but I have been mainly beenÊfocusing on producing my own work. People often ask me why filmmaking? My reason is that I can't think of any other occupation that is personally more challenging and rewarding.

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“Frankly, Asian American are not exposed to watching themselves in these type of films and I think it's a good thing to expose ourselves to new forms of representation.”