The Comedic Side of Kung Fu

At one point or another, everyone has seen a Jackie Chan film, or one that he stars in. No one can resist the humorous, fun-loving, bad accented character that is Jackie Chan. Non-Asians may not be able to identify with him, but no one can deny that he kicks a lot of butt.

Jackie Chan was born in Hong Kong on April 7^th, 1954 under the name Chan Kong-sang, which when translated, means “born in Hong Kong.” Unlike his successful career, Jackie lived a very poor childhood, despite his parents having steady jobs at the Hong Kong Embassy. He was first introduced to martial arts by his father who believed that Jackie could learn essential life lessons such as patience and courage by practicing Kung fu. When his father took a job offer as a head chef for an embassy in Australia, Jackie was enrolled in the China School of Opera where he was first introduced to acting. Jackie was also exposed to singing, tumbling, acrobats, and other forms of martial arts, which would become the foundation for his career later. After ten years of strict schooling at the opera, he graduated and began to take jobs as being a stuntman for minor roles in Hong Kong films. The Opera equipped Jackie with many acrobatic and entertainment skills, but did not provide him with the essential skills of reading and writing. This made it difficult for Jackie to acquire a steady job after his graduation and he was forced to continue free lancing as a stuntman in roles that required his physical dexterity. With his natural and inventive acrobatic abilities, Jackie soon developed a reputation of being fearless to try any stunt that presented itself. His short career took a sudden turn for the worse when the Hong Kong film industry failed, and Jackie was forced to move to Australia to live with his parents. There he worked at a restaurant and as a construction worker where he was coined the name “Jackie” by one of his co-workers who had a hard time pronouncing “Kong-sang.”

Although being in Australia brought work and income for Jackie, he personally hated the life style and yearned for something more meaningful. His prayers were answered when a man by the name of Willie Chan contacted him and wanted Jackie to fly back to Hong Kong to star in an upcoming movie titled “New Fists of Fury” to be directed by renowned director Lo Wei. Willie would prove to be a lifelong friend to Jackie and the reason for Jackie’s big successful break into the entertainment industry. However, Lo Wei’s films with Jackie did not do well, and Jackie decided to add his own creative direction into films such as “Drunken Master” that really showcased his iconic humor in martial arts films. Despite his success and acceptance in Asia, Jackie Chan did not gain much recognition across seas in America. It took roughly 10 years for Jackie Chan to finally make headway in the States and star in films such as Rumble in the Bronx and Rush Hour that really put him on the map as an Asian American star.

In context, Jackie Chan’s role as an Asian American icon is important because he transcends the spirit of Bruce Lee. He is one of the few Asian stars that have broken away from the stereotypical supporting roles of being asexual or nerdy, and has starred as a lead role in films that are widely accepted by the American public. Although his accent and oriental image remains the same, Jackie Chan has undoubtedly left a mark in American popular culture and serves as a role model to Asian Americans.

Go Go Power Rangers!

“Go Go Power Rangers! “Is a phrase you would hear being chanted by many children in the 1990s. I, along with many of my friends, was a big fan of the average teenage characters that would transform into super human action heroes at the speed of light. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were definitely a cultural phenomenon throughout the 90’s, and created a fan base for many young boys to idolize.
Before the days of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, there existed another team of heroes that gave rise to the Power Rangers themselves: Super Sentai. Super Sentai was created in Japan under the two companies of Toei Co. Ltd and Bandai, and depicted a cast of five or less heroes that had colored costumes and martial arts skills who used advanced technological weaponry to fight the fictional forces of evil. When translated, Super Sentai literally means “super task force” and is composed of a group of action heroes who participate in spectacular and surreal fight scenes that include flashy special effects. One of the main attention grabbers, aside from the special effects and colorful costumes, was the Sentai’s ability to call out giant robotic “mechas” to aid them in their fight. These scenes were usually saved towards the end of the show to create anticipation and hype for the audience of children. The success of Super Sentai was replicated in other Japanese shows such as Sailor Moon and Voltron, where the same premises of the spectacular task force became the bases of the shows.

With its show being a huge success in Japan, Bandai decided to take a risk and bring the idea to America. Under the redefined name The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Bandai aired the show on August 28th, 1993 under the FOX Kids broadcast. Initially, the show received much criticism for being too violent in nature, especially because the show was primarily about beating down evil villains, but it was well received by its audience of children. The Power Rangers were such a hit that they catapulted the FOX Kids broadcasting block into popular culture and made it extremely successful. Merchandise such as figurine toys, posters, video cassettes was mass distributed to many toy stores and in most cases were sold out within the very first days of its release. One of the appeals to the Power Rangers was the fact that they were not super human, rather, they were average teenagers in high school that were purposely selected to take on the roles of fighting evil. Unlike Superman, the Rangers were identifiable by children and created a sense that they too could be heroes. The show’s success carried it through many seasons and is still running until this very day (although the costumes, weaponry, and story have evolved more radically).

It is interesting to note that Super Sentai and the Power Rangers represented Japan’s ability to rebuild itself technologically after World War II. Before the Atom bomb, Japan’s big focus was becoming a strong military power, but after the devastation that was released upon the country, they had a huge shift from military strength to rebuilding the country into being technologically advanced. Besides Japan’s advancement in the automotive and computer technologies fields, the Power Rangers success is evidence of the country’s ability to establish itself in American Pop Culture.

CoCo Lee The Voice of Asian Americans

The road to becoming a solo artist, or at least one that can break through the American market, has always been a difficult one for Asian Americans. Throughout the 90’s, Asian American groups such as KAI, Devotion, and DnH gained recognition for their clean multiple part harmonies, but no single Asian American really broke through the mainstream as a solo artist until Coco Lee.

Coco Lee, Ferren-Lee Kelly at birth, was born in Hong Kong on January 17^th 1975. Although she was born in Hong Kong, Coco was raised in San Francisco by her mother and step-father. Like her two other sisters, Coco had a passion for singing at an early age and had the dream of becoming a singer. She was inspired by the divas of the time such as Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. Coco’s mother, very traditional, was against her becoming a singer and wanted Coco and her sisters to devote themselves to more practical careers such as becoming nurses. Not fazed by her mother’s wishes, Coco followed in the footsteps of her sisters and entered local singing competitions. Surprisingly, Coco’s dreams were re-affirmed when she was able to win first place at the singing competitions and karaoke contests. It wasn’t until after high graduation however, that Coco received her first big break during a vacation trip back to Hong Kong with her family. She entered the annual “New Talent Singing Contest” that was hosted by a Hong Kong TV station and placed 2^nd out of the 10,000 contestants that participated. Noticeably, Coco was the only contestant to sing in English with her cover of Whitney Houston’s “Run to You.” The following day, she was contacted by a local record label and signed as an artist.

Between 1993 and 1996, Coco Lee was very active in building her career and released various Mandarin albums such as “La La La”, Christmas and duet compilation albums such as “Coco’s Party.” With her success in Asian, she was recognized through various awards such as “Best New Artist” and “Top 10 Most Popular Idol.” It was not until she signed with Sony Music Taiwan in 1995, and released her English debut album “Brave Enough to Love” that Coco Lee was able to transcend into the States and gain recognition and popularity. As Coco gained more international success, she made an appearance during the 98’ World Cup, launched her own concert in Taipei, and officially signed with the U.S. based record label Sony Epic. In 2000, she released another American based album titled “Just No Other Way” and sang the theme song for the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon titled “A Love Before Time” that was released to American and Chinese audiences. Her album “Just No Other Way” and it’s pop and R and B sound categorized Coco Lee as a mainstream artist in America, and she became one of the very first solo artist to be recognized in the States.

Japanese music's First Love

In 1999, Japanese American singer Utada Hikaru released her debut major-label album, First Love in her parent’s home country of Japan. The album skyrocketed Utada into superstardom, and the album has subsequently become the highest selling Japanese album of all time. Hikaru has thus become one of the most prominent artists in Japan. She is a talented artist and songwriter, who, despite her American origins and major success in Japan, cannot seem to break into the American music scene.

Hikaru was born in Manhattan, New York City in 1983 to Teruzane and Junko Utada, who was a record producer, and an enka (traditional Japanese music) singer respectively. Her parents’ involvement in the music industry led Utada into her first musical recordings with her mother under the name of U3. Utada recorded her first album at the age of twelve in the United States under the name of Cubic U. The album was not successful, and Utada moved to Japan to attend the Seisen International School and later the American School in Japan, and received her first record deal with Toshiba-EMI. She released First Love in 1999 opening with her first single, “Automatic/Time Will Tell.” The single sold 42,210 copies in the first week of its release, eventually becoming the 19^th best selling single in Japan. Utada’s success only continued to grow with each subsequent album.

Utada has recently tried to break into the American music industry. She has released two American albums, Exodus and This is the One, through Island/Def Jam records, however, each album has failed to equal the success of her very first Japanese debut album, or even her subsequent Japanese albums. Her single, Come Back to Me, made it to number 5 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, however, that is the extent of her success on the Billboards. I personally am a fan of her music and her work, and have met her on two occasions, however, despite her talent and perfect American English, she does not seem to have the same sort of reception one would expect from an artist of her caliber.

The Joy Luck Club

Amy Tan’s brilliant debut novel, The Joy Luck Club, is a complex narrative of four Chinese mothers and four Chinese American daughters, whose lives in America are still influenced by the lives the mothers left in China. The women come together regularly to play mahjong, eat, and tell each other the stories of the lives they’ve left behind. The book was translated into a 1993 film directed by Wayne Wang, and brilliantly combined the narratives of the daughters with the stories of their mothers. The film featured a large ensemble cast made up of mainly Asian American women, including several Japanese American, Chinese American, and Vietnamese American actors spanning several generations.
The film was well received among American audiences, and praised for its depiction of Chinese Americans outside of the limited range more often seen in film. The film touched upon various types of conflicts that women, not limited to Asian American, encounter in their lifetimes including domestic abuse and rape. And therefore, despite the largely Asian American cast and Asian-specific storyline, the film is still extremely relatable. The film featured two actresses who played Suzie Wong on the Broadway stage, and other actresses who were relative unknowns.
I remember watching this film as a child, and being absolutely amazed that the people in the film were just like I was. The women I saw on the screen were not blue-eyed bombshells, blonde, or brunettes, but had dark hair and brown eyes, and lived life in a similar fashion to my own life. I very much liked how the film integrates Chinese as a language of dialogue between the mother and their daughters; something that I felt was very admirable and realistic to those within the same cultural situations.
Asian Americans have often been denied the leading role in a film, for the belief that an American audience composed primarily of Caucasians and African Americans, would not be able to relate to the cultural differences. However, the Joy Luck Club is a prime example that all stories of struggle and love have underlying themes that can be universally understood.

Jay Chou

In the Asian music industry, there aren’t many artists that are acknowledged or known overseas. However, ones that are know, create waves of great influence. Having accomplishments in both film and music, Jay Chou changed the global music scene as to how people perceive Chinese pop music. Scouted in 1998 by a talent contest due to his excellent skills at songwriting and piano, Jay Chou dominated in record sales from the release of his first album titled, Jay. From 2000 to present, Jay has released one album per year, each totaling sales in the millions. Along with his remarkable album record sales, Jay has also won various film awards for his contribution of Asian cinema, such as Best Newcomer Actor in the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards.

 

Born in Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan, Jay grew up in a typical Chinese family, where his mother was a middle school teacher, while his father worked as a biomedical researcher. Jay showed great talents at piano at age three, which resulted in intensive piano lessons from then on out under his mothers watch. Jay got his start in the entertainment business when his friend signed him up for a talent show called, Super New Talent King. From there, Jay was hired by Jacky Wu as a contract composer. Not only did he write music for himself, but also wrote for many Mandarin pop artists, included the famous Taiwanese pop singer Jolin Tsai, which resulted in his domination of over an entire generation of Chinese pop music. Through his hard work and dedication along with many nights sleeping in record studios, Jay was given the opportunity to debut by Alfa Music manager Yang Jun Rong.

Jay Chou has become an extremely influential figure in music due to his songs lyrics where they bring up many major issues, such as domestic violence, war and urbanization. As for his style of music, Jay has changed dramatically from his debut album where his music mostly focused on hip-hop and Asian rap, while his years after 1999 changed his style of fusing Chinese and Western music style, while adding elements from R&B, rock, and pop, that fuses well with themes and the story he tells through his music. Originally, Jay’s music was well-known to only Mandarin-speaking parts of the world, but due to his fusion idea of music genres, people who know Chinese also enjoyed his music.

Dragon Ball Z (Anime)

Weird, crazy, and something to do with tentacles are typical answers people gave in the U.S. when the topic of anime is brought up in the early 1990’s. However, all these stereotypes changed for anime in the mid 1990’s when Dragonball Z was released in the U.S. Between the ten episode power-ups and transformations that seems ridiculous, Dragonball Z paved the way for generations of anime in the U.S. Dragonball Z, created by Akira Toriyama, is the sequel to the famous series Dragonball that was ultra popular in Japan during its manga run from 1984-1995. Due to unsuccessful marketing and failed promotions, Dragonball wasn’t very accepted in the U.S. in its run in 1995. The same was to say for Dragonball Z when it was first aired on first-run syndication in the U.S. in 1996 where the show got similar results as it predecessor. Due to the poor results Dragonball Z received in partnership with Saban Entertainment, Funimation dissolved its partnership with Saban and the decision was made for the company to go solo with Dragonball Z’s production. On August 31, 1998, Dragonball Z launched on Cartoon Network’s action-oriented programming block, Toonami, where the series blew up in terms of popularity. With the seemly over-night success of Dragonball Z, Funimation launched its full-scale production, making Dragonball Z one of the few anime series to be completely dubbed into English to this date. Along with the success of Dragonball Z, action figures, costumes(cosplay), video games, and speciality merchandise took form and profited greatly.

The premise of Dragonball Z is almost exactly the same as Dragonball, except that all the characters have grown up and matured. The story of Dragonball Z, is based on a mythical Japanese tale that within the world, there consists of seven dragonballs, and if anyone collected all seven of them to one place, they were granted one wish. Afterwards the dragonballs would scatter the globe once again and the process would continue on and on. While holding this myth as the background premise, the series actually focuses on a young sayian, named Goku who came from another planet and has supernatural powers with amnesia.

On a grander scale, major animation production companies overseas in Japan realized and seized this opportunity, which began global licensing of anime, turning Japanese animation from a domestic consumer entertainment to international entertainment. One of the most striking examples of this was when Production IG, animation company, signed with Cartoon Network in 1999 in releasing licensing rights to many of their popular works such as Ghost in the Shell. 

 

Connie Chung

Born on August 20, 1946, Connie Chung, was one of the first few women to co-anchor a major network’s national news broadcast. Born and raised in Washington D.C., her career as an anchor and reporter for several U.S. television news networks began in the 1970’s, but her main focus in news was in the 1990’s. Connie Chung began her career in the early 1970’s as Washington D.C. correspondent for CBS Evening News alongside Walter Cronkite. After a short period of time, Connie moved to Los Angeles, California where she anchored for KCBS, which was the second largest local market for news. Shortly after her stay in California, she moved and changed to anchor for the NBC, where she got her first program anchor titled, NBC News at Sunrise. After three years with NBC, she went back to CBS where she earned the title of being the second woman to co-anchor a major network’s national news broadcast, where Barbara Walters was the first with ABC in 1976. Besides hosting CBS Evening News, she also held side-project shows at ABC titled, Eye to Eye with Connie Chung as well as, Face to Face with Connie Chung. Although her side projects were ultimately unsuccessful in the end, her later change in co-hosting the Monday edition of 20/20 in 1998 turned out to be her trademark. Overall, Connie Chung’s career wasn’t too outstanding, but it wasn’t something to belittle either. Within Connie Chung’s career as a news reporter, she was generally seen as gentle and unaggressive with her questions. However, her mistake in the Oklahoma City bombing interview where she asked a local Oklahoma City Fire Department spokesman, “Can the Oklahoma City Fire Department handle this?” Many viewer thought that her question was very unprofessional and heartless, because of the tone she used while asking the question, which viewers believed she held the Asian stereotypical trait of being emotionless and only focused on her work. With thousands and calls and local letter from residents of Oklahoma City sent to complain about her interviewing skills, Connie Chung was laid off from her nation news position.

As an Asian American, Connie Chung maintained a very professional image and was never commented by fellow coworkers of showing any signs of the Orient, or held traditional Asian values. Through her accomplishment in being not only one of the first female nation news broadcast co-anchor, but an Asian American as well, her professionalism proved to the American masses that Asians were able to do just as good as a job as her Caucasian counterparts.

Gund Kwok Asian Women Lion and Dragon Dance Troupe

The Gund Kwok Lion and Dragon Dance troupe, based in Boston, is the first and only all-female Lion and Dragon Troupe in the United States in a performance art that has excluded women in the past based on the outdated superstition that Lion Dancing performed by women will bring bad luck. 


Culturally, Lion and Dragon Dancing is highly esteemed. The Lion Dance is often performed at Lunar New Year festivities, weddings, ribbon-cuttings, etc. The guardian Lion wards off evil and helps start anew by bringing in good luck. The Dragon Dance, on the other hand, is a tribute to Dragon’s importance in Chinese culture. The Dragon is the embodiment of all the ideal qualities such as strength, luck, and success. By animating the Dragon, martial artists not only pay tribute but also bring in good luck for the New Year. Although the dances differ slightly in meaning and purpose, both activities require strength, creativity, and discipline to master the traditional martial arts form. Not only were women excluded based on superstition but they were also excluded on traditional sexist values.

Cheng Imm Tan founded the Gund Kwok Lion and Dragon Dance troupe in 1998. Gund Kwok meaning “Heroine”, the troupe was founded about an old Chinese saying: “A Heroine will not admit defeat to a Hero”. Inspired by a performance by an all-men’s Lion Dance troupe, she believed that Asian women could do just the same. Tan wanted to give women the chance to break stereotyped roles and challenge women emotionally, physically and mentally through a Martial Arts form that was once reserved only for men. Transcending the meek, fragile Asian female stereotype was a long journey. In the beginnings, Tan had to convince women that they could compete with the physical strengths of men.  Tan strongly advocated that women had an inner strength that they need to believe in. And also, women needed stand strong in spite of society’s judgments and perceptions. Despite the tough beginnings, the Gund Kwok Lion Dance troupe has just marked its 12^th year. With over 16 members now, the Gund Kwok Lion Dance troupe continues its ideals of empowerment and betterment for Asian American women.

The Gund Kwok Lion Dance troupe’s dedication to Asian culture while breaking down barriers in the Asian American community is much needed.  Instead of rejecting the Asian American community for it sexist superstitions, these heroines are changing the beliefs of communities for the better.

everyone's gotta catch 'em all

Undeniably, a major Japanese export of the 90's was Pokémon, also known as Pocket Monsters. Originally a role-playing video game (RPG) for the Nintendo Game Boy system about the capture and release of cute animal-like creatures, the media franchise expanded into a subsequent anime television series, card game, spin-off video games, and films. Pokémon has thusly become the most successful video game-based franchise, second only to the Mario Brothers. Pokémon’s Japanese origins did not limit its international appeal. Within years after its release, Pokémon boasted a massive international following, and has since then become a pop culture icon.
Pokemon was created in 1996 by Satoshi Tajiri, a socially awkward (he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome) video game developer at Nintendo. He pitched the idea to Nintendo, who could not quite fully understand his concept, however, supported his idea based on his previous work at Nintendo. The first two Pokémon games took 6 years to complete, and nearly ran his company, Game Freak, into bankruptcy. Tajiri did not take a paycheck during the developmental years, and lived off his father’s salary. But of course, the sacrifice paid off after the games were released. The initial reaction towards Pokémon was slow, and small, until interest in the game’s secret characters shot it into Nintendo’s bestsellers list. The Pokémon video games brought back to popularity the Game Boy system as well as revived Nintendo’s wavering video game sales.
Pokémon, has since then, become a cultural icon and has been repeatedly referenced in competing animated shows like South Park and the Simpsons. Most prominently, Pikachu, and often times his human companion, Ash Ketchum (or Satoshi in Japan), have become the face of the franchise. Despite its widespread popularity in Japan, Tajiri believes that Americans had come to embrace Pokémon the way he had intended it. In a Timeasia interview in 1999, Tajiri suggests “Americans actually understand the concept of Pokémon better than the Japanese. The Japanese focus on Pikachu, but what I think is important is the human aspect--you need Ash.” Pokémon’s appeal comes from its role-playing aspect. The player becomes immersed into a world that they can explore and develop. Players can form a “bond” and relationship with their Pokémon, and share it with others who are also involved in the game. The television series, films and playing the card game supplement the expansive world of Pokémon, and draws others into the world through various mediums.

Growing up, I have fond memories of collecting and trading Pokémon cards, as well as dragging my fatigued body towards the television every Saturday morning to watch new episodes of the animated Pokémon cartoon. I know that thousands of children around the United States shared the same exact routine, but it was a small price to pay to watch Ash and Pikachu embark on their journeys. Pokémon was able to transcend cultural boundaries and become extremely appealing to children and adults throughout the globe looking to get their own Pikachus, Squirtles and Charmanders all in the hopes of being a part of this different world.

Asian Man Records

At first glance Asian Man Records may seem like your typical independent label signing bands. But when one pays close attention, Asian Man Records is far from your average record label. Even Asian Man Records’ logo becomes a dead giveaway – appropriating the South Korean flag’s taegeuki. A single mastermind - Mike Park, a musician himself, runs Asian Man Records in his parents’ garage. Park officially created Asian Ma

n Records in 1996, although he had been releasing records since 1991. As a musician, Park wanted an outlet to release his own music but also to release other bands’ music that he found inspirational. On the Asian Man Records website, Park specifically says “I only work with bands that are ANTI-RACIST, ANTI-SEXIST, ANTI-PREJUIDICE, and who support the ideas of peace and unity.” Unlike major labels, Park’s goal isn’t to make money but to spread a positive message. Even in naming Asian Man Records, Park said that he wanted to spread the message of positivity to fellow Asians. Park wanted people to know that a minority, especially in Rock n’ Roll, could be successful. Asian Man Records continues to work with political-oriented bands that promote such positivity and acceptance. Asian Man Records has been quite successful, former artists including Alkaline Trio and Less than Jake. Asian Man Records also expanded internationally with the success of PotShot, a Japanese band and by hiring a liaison in Europe to sell Asian Man merchandise (it is no longer open though).

Asian Man Records was only one of Park’s many activist ventures. In Spring of 1998, he organized a tour called “Ska Against Racism”. The tour’s purpose was to use music to raise awareness about racism. The tour, which spanned over 20 states, was instigated by Park’s personal experiences with racism. With seven bands, a local band at each stop and collaboration with several anti-racism organizations, Park set out to “fight racism in a non-violent manner.” Much money was raised for anti-racism non-profits such as the Museum of Tolerance.

Park also founded the Plea for Peace Foundation in 1999 in San Jose, CA. Park wanted to promote his positive messages, this time, to the youth of the Bay Area. With a decade a hard work, Park was finally able to open the Plea for Peace Teen Center in Stockton, CA.

Mike Park’s endeavors continue to a success today. As a musician, he is still releasing music. As a record label owner, Park is still signing indie bands. Serving as role model for aspiring minority rock musicians, Mike Park demonstrates the positive impact one man can make.