A lasting legacy: Wong Fu Productions celebrates 20-year anniversary
June 12, 2023
Wong Fu Productions celebrated its 20th anniversary on Thursday with a special video uploaded to their YouTube channel.
Retrospective: Uploaded on June 8, the retrospective tribute commemorates the channel’s 20-year journey with clips from past videos and heartfelt messages from fans.
20 years: Established by Philip Wang, Wesley Chan and Ted Fu, who all met in 2004 at the University of California, San Diego, Wong Fu Productions is known for sketches, music videos and short films that feature predominantly Asian casts. Wong Fu’s first video, a lip sync video to Justin Timberlake’s “Senorita” starring Wang and his then-dormmates, was shared by Wang online on June 5, 2003.
Boasting 3.23 million subscribers on YouTube, Wong Fu is often credited with platforming Asian American actors, such as Randall Park, Simu Liu, Justin H. Min and Anna Akana.
Impact: For many, Wong Fu Productions was one of the first visible instances of Asian and Asian American representation at the start of widespread online content creation. In spaces where those in the Asian American community often felt unseen, Wong Fu created an opportunity for younger generations to see themselves on-screen while also showing the diversity within the community.
Gabriel Jung, a 19-year-old fan of Wong Fu, shared that the group’s online presence gave him the nudge to find value in his identity and appearance as an Asian American.
Growing up outside of the U.S., I often struggled with not seeing people like me on larger entertainment platforms. All the usual representations were stereotypical and offensive. When I discovered Wong Fu Productions in elementary school, I was immediately drawn to the genuine and honest experiences they portrayed on the internet. Not only could I see myself in the creators but it was also an opportunity to find humor that I could relate to. For nearly the first time, I was proud of who I was and the community I was part of.
Fan appreciation: Wong Fu viewers of various races and ethnicities are featured in the production company’s 20th-anniversary video explaining how much the channel and its content has meant to them over the last two decades.
“All the videos y’all have created have impacted my life in seeing that me, as an Asian American, can also pursue something in the arts,” one fan says in the video.
“Every milestone in my life, there was always a Wong Fu video that resonated, and it’s what kept me as a fan,” says another.
To many more decades: The video concludes with a message from the Wong Fu team.
“We’ve grown up together,” says Wang. “We’ve shared stories, emotions and memories that we’ll never forget.”
“Thanks for 20 years of Wang Fu,” the 10-person crew all say in unison as the video ends.
Check out the full video down below:
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