DISGRASIAN™

Illustrated Comic Shows Why Claudia Kishi Was *The* 90′s Role Model For Asian American Girls

One of the hard things about growing up Asian in this country is finding some semblance of yourself reflected in pop culture. I think things may have gotten better, but how much? It still seems like Asian kids today end up settling for “whoever’s Asian” on TV or in the movies or in a band rather than that totally rad person who seems like them–and who also happens to be Asian–who’s on TV or in the movies or in a band.

When I was a kid, pop culture role model pickings were slim. In fact, I had to improvise a little when it came to my choices. Probably the earliest role model I can remember having was–are you ready for this?–Marie Osmond, in doll form:

Alright, alright. You can stop laughing now. But seriously. There was a little part of me that believed–wanted to believe anyway–that Marie Osmond in doll form was Asian. (I had enough sense to know that Marie Osmond IRL wasn’t, in fact, Asian.) With her jet black hair, she was certainly more Asian than my Barbie. And instead of just standing around on her tiptoes all day long, she also rocked the mic! Even as a young girl, I understood the value of cool points.

Jump ahead a few years, a few long, sad, dry-spell years of having no one to look up to Continue reading Illustrated Comic Shows Why Claudia Kishi Was *The* 90′s Role Model For Asian American Girls

Filed under: Asian American Girls, Asian American Role Models, Baby-sitters Club, Barbie Dolls, Claudia Kishi, Feeling Invisible, Karate Kid II, Marie Osmond, Pop Culture Role Models, Representation, Role Models, Tamlyn Tomita, Teen Role Models, The Wonder Years, Winnie Cooper

BIRTHDAY CELEBRASIAN! Wayne Wang

Happy birthday to filmmaker Wayne Wang, who turned 62 yesterday!

As you probably know, Wang is the director responsible for bringing The Joy Luck Club to the silver screen–a triumphant Hollywood breakthrough for Asian female actresses (and shining moment for my boyfriend Russell Wong)–as well as critical favorites like Chan Is Missing and Dim Sum: A Little Bit Of Heart.

We can’t wait to see more films–like his upcoming Chinatown doc–from Wang! But, like, more Tamlyn and less JLo, y’know?

[IMDB: Wayne Wang]

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Filed under: Adorable, Amy Tan, Asian-American Film Directors, Chan Is Missing, Chinatown, Dim Dum: A Little Bit Of Heart, Filmmakers, Glass Ceilings, Hollywood Breakthroughs, Jennifer Lopez, JLo, Joy Luck Club, Maid In Manhattan, Rare Moments, Russell Wong, Tamlyn Tomita, Wayne Wang

DISGRASIAN OF THE WEAK! Liveblogging The Karate Kid Remake With Jen’s Hardass Asian Mama

Any use of inappropriate cultural terms or conflation with the original movie is entirely intentional:

The Karate Kid (Jaden Smith) and his Mom (Taraji Henson) are leaving Detroit. Lest you think this is a single black mom/deadbeat dad scenario, we’re told upfront that the Karate Kid’s Dad is dead…period. Detroit is portrayed as a gray, dismal city full of shuttered storefronts. This is America in our continued state of joblessness, America in the 21st century, America on the decline. But China, where they’re headed for Mom’s work, is the land of opportunity, the land of now, the land on the up-and-up, or, as the Karate Kid’s Mom puts it, “a magical new land,” like unicorns live there or something.

The Karate Kid tries out his Mandarin on the Asian dude sitting across the aisle from him on the plane. “Dude, I’m from Detroit,” the Asian dude says. Light laughs from the audience, which is mostly made up of families with tween children and some creepy older loners who probably wanted to be Daniel-san back in the day. My Hardass Asian Mom (HAM) approves of this joke: “Not all Chinese or Asian looking guy speaks Chinese, this is true.”

Meanwhile: Where is my Bananarama remix???

When the Karate Kid and his Mom arrive at the airport, their lady driver is holding a sign Continue reading DISGRASIAN OF THE WEAK! Liveblogging The Karate Kid Remake With Jen’s Hardass Asian Mama

Filed under: Bananarama, China, Gong Fu, Hardass Asian Moms, Hardass Asian Mothers, Hardass Asian Parents, Inappropriate Crushes, Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith, Kung Fu, Nerds, Tamlyn Tomita, The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Remake, Unicorns, Wax On Wax Off

AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! The Month Of May (Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month)

You may or may not already know that May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. It’s a month meant to celebrate Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, all of us! We at DISGRASIAN like to look at this time as an opportunity to take a collective hating break, and to really take note of the wacky and diverse population of AAPIs in this country–AMAZIANS and DISGRASIANS alike! Love or hate, we’re all brothers and sisters.

And fairy godfathers.

Norman Mineta

Or beautiful family friends that you wish would adopt you away from your Hardass Asian Parents.

Tamlyn Tomita

Or crazy aunts that you wish would stop attending family parties. Continue reading AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! The Month Of May (Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month)

Filed under: Angry Asian Man, Asian Americans, Asian Americans United, Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Bai Ling, Kal Penn, May, Norman Mineta, Phil Yu, President Barack Obama, Taking a Hating Break, Tamlyn Tomita, Tila Tequila, We Are Family

BABEWATCH: Tamlyn Tomita

Name: Tamlyn Naomi Tomita

Age: 42

Occupation: Actor

I bonded with Phil (aka Angry Asian Man) this weekend over the decades we’ve spent crushing on Tamlyn Tomita. For me, Tamlyn is forever Kumiko from Karate Kid II, her film debut, with all of that wispy hair and that worried, downturned, but oh-so-pretty mouth. I’m pretty sure she’s the first Asian girl movie character I ever saw get the boy–albeit a skinny wuss who got his ass beat 12 times across three acts until the last 10 frames of the movie, but whatevs. Tamlyn has a Manchurian Candidate kind of effect on me, wherein I see her lovely face and then I break into an awful rendition of “The Glory of Love” that would most likely get me killed in Borneo.

Last night, Tamlyn had a cameo on the show we love to hate, Heroes, where she played Hiro’s mother, who dies when he’s a young child. And she looked goooooood. So good, in fact, that her playing the wife of George Takei seemed really creepy, as though George’s character had actually robbed the cradle. Tamlyn…what’s your secret, gurl?

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Filed under: Asian Actors, Asian Babes, Beautiful Japanese Women, George Takei, Heroes, Karate Kid II, Masi Oka, Peter Cetera, Tamlyn Tomita, The Glory of Love