Calvin Sun: The Rice They Carried
I Am An Asian Man And I Am Noticing a Disturbing Trend
Are these satirical pieces? Repressed self-hatred? The lingering effects of colonialism (whoa, that escalated quickly)? In the past 3 weeks I’ve noticed 3 articles by 3 different Asian American female writers that have gone viral back to back to back: (more…)
A Teddy Bear That Doesn't Get It
Read synopsis and watch trailer. A nice Saturday morning tradition:
38-year-old bodybuilder Dennis would really like to find true love. He has never had a girlfriend and lives alone with his mother in a suburb of Copenhagen. When his uncle marries a girl from Thailand, Dennis decides to try his own luck on a trip to Pattaya, as it seems love is easier to find in Thailand. He knows that his mother would never accept another woman in his life, so he lies and tells her that he is going to Germany. Dennis has never been out traveling before and the hectic Pattaya is a huge cultural shock for him. The intrusive Thai girls give big bruises to Dennis’ naive picture of what love should be like, and he is about to lose hope when he unexpectedly meets the Thai woman of his dreams.
Read synopsis and watch trailer for Teddy Bear and I now want to throw up a little in my mouth. I admit I haven’t seen the whole movie so I will proceed with caution and without full judgment; the movie could still redeem itself! But at the very least let me criticize whoever is responsible for promoting the film and capitalizing on some basic stereotypical ignorance; if I should judge solely based on the synopsis and trailer, the prognosis is bad. (more…)
Introducing Calvin Sun: The Rice They Carried
When he was 6 they called him chink. When he was 8 his parents enrolled him into SAT prep courses. When he was 10 he bartered for friendships by doing other people’s math homework.
It’s tough growing up a stereotype. But when the rebelliousness of puberty hits and you take on some holy war to break these stereotypes, you think you’re freeing yourself from the trappings of society. By the time you think you’re in the free and clear, however, a cancerous self-awareness compels you to question whether repressed childhood traumas have become the motivating factors for your accomplishments. Will we ever be truly free?
