Monday, August 8, 2016

Chinese audiences love white people as the stars of movies

So, I'm watching the trailer for The Great Wall where Matt Damon saves the ancient Chinese from whatever the Great Wall was built to keep out. Mexican illegal immigrants? I kid The Donald. (Trailer for The Great Wall below.) And as a Chinese American, it bothers me that a major movie set in China needs a white guy to be the star. Should I ask, "Where would Asian civilization be without the white man?" Yeah, Republican Cong. Stephen King (Iowa) you made the point that whites gave the most to civilization.

Then I found this out. The movie is directed by a Chinese filmmaker, Zhang Yimou. And the movie is partly produced by the Chinese. (China Film Group Corporation) Okay, then I noticed more "whitewashing" of upcoming films. Actress Tild Swinton is playing The Ancient One in "Doctor Strange." That character is supposed to be a Tibetan man. Then there's Scarlett Johansson who's playing the lead in the Japanese anime classic Ghost in the Shell. Her character is supposed to be Japanese.

So what's going on here? It's not all racism in Hollywood. China is a big market for movies. There are changes to movies to appease a Chinese audience. ScreenRant: 15 Movies That Made Drastic Changes For A Chinese Audience You would think that more Asian actors would be cast for those markets.

I think Bill Maher was onto something here when he said on his HBO show Real Time this, "The dirty little secret is most movies are made now with an eye to the foreign market, and Asians really are racist.” He added,

“I’m just honest. They don’t want to see black people generally in their movies. The Hollywood executives are, like, ‘We’re not racist, we just have to pretend to be racists because we’re capitalists. We want to sell our movies in China (and) they don’t like Kevin Hart.’ ”

From Jan. 22, 2016 Real Time with Bill Maher reported by Deadline


Being racially Chinese, and an American, I can't dispute Maher's notion. I don't believe the great number of Chinese are racists to non-whites but it exists. (See Huffington Post article.) Growing up, I heard the Taishanese Chinese around me speak of black people as "Black Ghosts." Trust me it's not a compliment. So, maybe the Chinese like their movie stars "white." Maybe that's their idea of human beauty. And it's their prerogative. But in doing so, cinema is going to be less diversified.


Donald Trump against the world....

What a week for The Donald. Okay, it was Donald Trump against the mother of dead soldier. Then it's Donald Trump taking on House Speaker Paul Ryan by declining to endorse him in his primary election. He just recently endorsed Ryan. Now, it's Donald Trump against a baby. A baby? Yeah, he told a mother to take out a baby who was crying and in a kind of well, elitist way. Um... Donald. you are supposed to kiss the babies as a politician not kick them out. I need Stephen Colbert to have some fun with this.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONY BENNETT!

Happy 90th Birthday Tony Bennett!!! Here he is singing "This Is All I Ask" last night on Stephen Colbert's Late Night show. And check out that actor "Moonlighting" as a stage hand wheeling in the birthday cake. Anyway, the song is appropriate. i love you Tony.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

What the.. ? Matt Damon is the savior of the ancient Chinese in The Great Wall"

So, I'm surfing YouTube when I see this movie trailer for a film called "Great Wall." It looks to be about the Great Wall of China and why it was built. Then all of sudden, Matt Damon shows up. WHAT THE .... ?????!!!!! Okay, I might be a little biased being a Chinese American. But what in the wide world of ... of... China is a white guy running around saving ancient China? I mean didn't the Chinese build the Great Wall? What, they didn't have warriors to fight for them? And before you say I'm a politically correct liberal just remember I criticized Chris Rock for his pc Academy Awards show which at times insulted white people.

Okay, doing some research indicates that Chinese are involved in this film. But it just goes to show you that maybe Chinese should be less enamored of white people in film and perhaps promote more of their kind. I mean this is a movie about the freaking Great Wall of China. What next? Scarlett Johansson as a Japanese anime hero? Oh, never mind. Could we get somebody in the film industry to watch some Bruce Lee movies?

"The Great Wall" trailer... as George Takei would say, "Oh... my."

Bill Maher: Hillary Clinton must become the monster that the right wing says she is

Here's Bill Maher's New Rule where he argues that Democratic Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton must become the monster that the right wing says she is. Hilarious stuff from Maher's HBO show, "Real Time." Caution: There's cussing in the video.

Monday, August 1, 2016

John Oliver on the Democratic National Convention and Donald Trump

John Oliver covered the Democratic National Convention and of course, the conservative Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump. Because you can't go more than 24 hours without the Donald putting his foot in his mouth. Funny stuff from Oliver's HBO show Last Week Tonight.

A new series for this blog. "Shut Up"

I'm introducing a new series for this blog or label for articles. It's based on my desire to tell people to just "Shut Up." The first two articles were previously published. One for Chris Rock and his pc Academy Awards ceremony and of course the other is for Donald Trump, a guy that I'm sure there will be more in this series.

Star Trek Beyond's new title

Mild spoiler alert.

If you've seen Star Trek Beyond, the motivation of the villain Krall might seem familiar. His problem? He was abandoned on a planet by the Federation. And for that he seeks revenge. Check out the trailer below which spoils the movie. Does this sound like any other Star Trek movies? Yep. It's the revenge motive again.



Check out the revenge plots of the following Star Trek movies. Warning, spoilers below:

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Khan is mad at Kirk for abandoning him on a planet and not checking up on him. Khan now wants revenge.

2. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Ru'afo seeks revenge against Ba'Ku for banning him from his home planet.

3. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Shinzon is mad at the Romulan Empire for abandoning him. He seeks revenge at the Romulans and the Federation.

4. Star Trek (2009)

Nero is mad that the Romulan and Federation let his planet, Romulus be destroyed. He seeks revenge against the Federation.

5. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Khan is mad that Admiral Marcus used him to create warships while not reviving his frozen crew. He seeks revenge.

So how about a new title for Star Trek Beyond? Let's try, STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KRALL.