Asian American Talent Finds Joy in Online Videos
By wchung | 22 Feb, 2025

We Asians seem to have a knack for shining at video show-and-tell.

I’ve never been a trend chaser. Maybe it’s that stubborn pride, but I’ve always hated being told what to do, whether it be what I should wear or what Johnny-come-lately social networking site I should visit. So for the past two years, I steered clear of gladiator sandals, plaid shirts and twitter. Unfortunately, plaid shirts and gladiator sandals went on sale last month and I cracked.

I did, however, manage to escape the twitter bandwagon, opting for another rather ancient media device named youtube. Remember youtube? That site that everyone was talking about five years ago? Well, I just posted my first video a little over five days ago.

I’ve always known that if I were to do a video, it would be a how-to, mainly because I have no real talent to showcase. But the kind of talent out there is just incredible. In about every category imaginable – music, comedy, directorial – you name it and an Asian American has risen to the top in that category.

Take musician Jenton Lee, whom I have previously met several times at UCLA. He lived next door to three of my dearest college friends, so I’ve always known about his musical abilities. I even received a CD of his music once. But it wasn’t until I found him on youtube two years later that I finally took notice. Like many aspiring musicians, Jenton unfurls his talent in a wide range of covers as well as original songs, but what spotlights him from the others are his hilariously innovative parodies that always put a smile on my face.

I’ve previously written about the presence of Asian Americans in reality TV, but even that grand platform pales in comparison to youtube and the grounds that Asian Americans have broken in this medium. After all, the site itself was co-founded by an Asian American, so it only makes sense that youtube and Asians have always had a friendly alliance.

And really, the concept is pure genius. Imagine if there were casting directors screening each video that comes on youtube. Would we ever be introduced to the Chinese Backstreet Boys or Nigahiga? Would these subsequent phenomena have received the opportunity to embark on global concert tours, star in feature length films and – most importantly – grace the pages of wikipedia? Some critics enlist the ubiquity of Asians youtube stars as evidence of a timid subculture hiding behind webcams, but that’s just stupid. If Asians really wanted to hide, we’d find a better place away from the camera. We are smart after all. Or have you not heard?