AUGUST 3, 2022

Hello, everyone!

In an effort to understand racial and ethnic identities, Pew Research Center gathered 66 focus groups, with a total of 264 participants, to discuss what it’s like being Asian in America.

The Center chose a variety of interviewees from a myriad of backgrounds that differed in class, citizenship status, and geographical origin. Through this data, Pew was able to identify similar trends where a pan-Asian identity was pushed upon individuals who did not identify as such. For many, the word “Asian” is too broad. Moreover, when identifying as “Asian,” many are lumped into the big three: Chinese, Japanese and Korean, instead of the numerous other cultures that exist.

Participants also indicated citizenship status as a major identifier in their experiences – many do not adopt “Asian American” as an identity, rather they opt to align more with “immigrant” or other labels that showcase their religious communities, or otherwise. 

In addition to the study, Pew also released a companion documentary detailing the stories of those interviewees not included in the data. If you’re curious as to how participants described their specific ethnic experiences, Pew also attached an interactive quote finder.

Spotlight 💡
 

Long-time Hollywood producer Janet Yang has been elected as the first-ever Asian American President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, succeeding David Rubin. Yang, 66, also continues her position as governor-at-large on the Academy’s board for a second term.

Known as the “godmother of Asian Americans in the industry,” she has been credited in the past for “The Joy Luck Club” (1993), “The People vs. Larry Flynt” (1996) and the Oscar-nominated “Over the Moon” (2020).
 

Race in America 🌎

How does your community talk about disability? As a racial group, Asian Americans report the highest rate of stigma towards physical and mental disabilities, but in the U.S., 1.3 million Asian individuals have a disability. In fact, one in 10 Asian Americans have a disability.

While cultural barriers exist in various ethnic households and communities, barriers regarding language, healthcare and accommodation access become hurdles when navigating daily life. Because of this disconnect, many disabled Asian individuals are not able to network to seek  resources and community, inhibiting individuals from learning about disability identity and their rights.

However, in light of these disparities, local and national organizations such as the Asian Americans with Disabilities created digital resource guides to spread information and awareness to reach those that need it most.
 

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Huang Ruo is adapting David Henry Hwang’s book, “M. Butterfly,” into an operatic piece. A Tony award-winning script, “M. Butterfly” flips the Orientalist themes in “Madame Butterfly” on its head to depict a story about the affair of French diplomat Bernard Boursicot (renamed Rene Gallimard) with Chinese opera singer and spy Shi Pei Pu (renamed Song Liling). The twist? Song Liling was undercover, and is actually a man.
 

In Other Asian News 🗞

In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s continued ban on education for women and young girls endangers their path toward a college degree. Even as loopholes act as a secretive way for educational opportunities to exist, legally, the process is getting harder and harder to navigate.

With no accredited route to university education, high school girls will no longer be able to register or attend colleges, resulting in a de facto ban on higher education entirely. Currently, the Taliban is reconsidering their ban, but their revisions to the policy may only open up certain degree routes for women in sectors of education and nursing. As the government continues to ruminate on possible reforms, the school schedules speed ahead, leaving behind young girls who were ready to graduate from 12th grade and take the national exam.
 

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President Ferndinand Marcos Jr. is upholding the Philippines’ withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), following the actions of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

In 2019, Duterte withdrew under pressure from The Hague’s investigations into the administration’s anti-drug campaign. The campaign had multiple human rights violations that led to thousands of killings across the nation. In September, the Court authorized another investigation into the campaign, however, current president Marcos Jr. suspended the probe, citing that his administration was already taking investigative action.

Despite receiving requests from the nation to condemn the campaign and his predecessor, Marcos Jr. refuses to do so, and instead praises Duterte.
 

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In South Korea, white, blonde-haired and blue-eyed models are no longer walking the easy road. The South Korean cultural wave is creating a different playing field for those entering the industry.

As the East Asian nation gains more attention through cultural successes, white foreigners, who are often chosen as participants on reality shows or models for their porcelain skin (as compared to foreigners of darker skin tones), are immigrating in larger populations. Because of the influx of Western foreigners, entertainment contractors are now asking for lower prices for white entertainers they wish to hire,, leading to a decrease in income

Moreover, South Korean companies are beginning to prioritize investment into their own Korean population and culture rather than branching out to Western themes due to the success of K-pop and film. Fashion brands in the country are also diversifying as hip hop increases in popularity and the demand for Black models continues to rise.

Entertainment 📺

88rising announced yesterday they will have a Head In The Clouds music festival in Jakarta, Indonesia this December. The event will take place on Dec. 3-4 at Jakarta's Community Park PIK2. An official lineup has yet to be announced, but an 88rising tweet from March hinted at possible appearances from Indonesian singer-songwriter Niki and Indonesian rapper Rich Brian.

The Asian-focused music company previously made plans to host a festival in Jakarta, but these plans were canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19. 88rising’s Head in the Clouds at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California will take place later this month on Aug. 20-21.

Sony said in a new quarterly report that gameplay on their hit PlayStation 5 console dropped 15%this summer. They say it’s because as the world opens back up from COVID-19, “opportunities have increased for users to go outside.”

They are expecting to sell 18 million consoles this year and are looking ahead to the upcoming holiday season. With Sony’s purchase of a few game developers, the company thinks new games will entice their consumer base to spend more time on the consoles.
 

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The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) will celebrate its 45th anniversary in New York from Aug. 3-13 this year. Over 73 directors, 24 countries and 20 languages will be represented in the selection film projects.

In particular, a few Korean films are a main spotlight at the festival. “Free Chol Soo Lee,” which we covered in the newsletter before, will screen on opening night, is a documentary about the titular Korean immigrant whose arrest sparked a social justice movement. “Crossings” is a documentary that centers around a coalition of international women peacemakers who venture on a journey across the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• President Joe Biden announced Monday that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul. Al-Zawahri was a known mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

• Dogs in Japan have been wearing battery-powered fans to help them against the summer heat. 

• China has banned 35 Taiwanese food exporters as a warning shot ahead of Pelosi’s visit to the island country. 

• A village in Vietnam is helping to keep an 800-year-old papermaking tradition alive.

• Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of the U.N. gave a warning on Monday that, “humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation,” citing nuclear threats in Asia and the Middle East as well as the war in Ukraine as factors.