CNN Takes Notice Of "Hollywhite" Washing (FINALLY)

Wow. I never thought I'd see this on the homepage of CNN but it looks like somebody at the major news network is finally taking notice of "Hollywhite" washing of ethnic-based roles. Maybe next week they'll shed some light on Apple's incessant use of white male/Asian female pairings in their ads! The author dissects a slew of movies released recently where actors of color are unfairly neglected of playing the leading roles while being snagged up by white actors.

Andrew Wallenstein of The Hollywood Reporter appears to empathize with minority actors,

I think this stems from a long-held frustration regarding the access of minority actors to leading roles. It's bad enough that they are far less likely to be cast in those roles in general, and it's downright galling to them that in roles in which they are perceived as having a natural advantage they are still getting beaten out.

Its not just downright galling to minority actors, but also a slap in the face to every non-white American citizen who's lived here since birth. As a child, watching Bruce Lee on screen was an inspiration for many Asian-Americans. It put a spin on the way I viewed Asian men. Like Margaret Cho once said, "You don't have to study to be a doctor when you can be one on TV."

To be fair, I began questioning the diversity of minorities in Asian entertainment. The argument goes something like, "Well you don't see whites starring as the lead in Asian films." This may be true on the surface but try living there before you make such a hasty generalization. I guarantee you will see in an Asian country such as Japan bending over backwards in order to cater to white people. In fact, I've seen white and black guys in Japanese dramas starring in lead roles, on Japanese talkshows, gameshows and Japanese advertisements. Plus, we all know Japanese women are notorious for having a penchant for white American men. Seems pretty fair to me.

An Asian-American guy with the handle "Shad0wrunner" has been doing an awesome job refuting every negative comment against CNN's inquiry of Hollywhite's racism toward minorities. My favorite comment of his, "the business-world of Hollywood will eat itself." I couldn't agree more.

IR Marriage Rates On The Decline

Miriam Jordan of the Wall Street Journal published an intriguing article which I found quite offensive and insulting. According to recent data trends, the number interracial marriages with whites has declined or stagnated over the past two decades. Some of you will celebrate this phenomenon, others could care less.

Now here's what I find insulting,

For years, that was also the path followed by successive generations of immigrants and children of immigrants in the U.S., including Hispanics and Asians. But new data indicate that the age-old notion of assimilation in America is slowing.

The overall number of interethnic and interracial marriages continues to grow, as taboos against it have faded significantly. An estimated 8% of all couples in the U.S. belonged to distinct ethnic groups in 2008—with more than 10% in California and Texas—a sharp increase from the 3% overall rate in 1980.

But new research concludes that intermarriage rates between Hispanics and non-hispanic whites and between Asians and whites have declined or stagnated over the past two decades, due in part to a surge in immigration that has expanded the pool of people of marrying age in those groups. Scholars call the phenomenon a "retreat from intermarriage."

Jordan is insinuating that one has to marry a white American male in order to integrate into American society. C'mon...seriously?

This is exactly why people like this are making it harder for American born Asians like me to assimilate. I grew up in a very white community, yet was frequently made fun of for being Asian. It sucks being an outcast when you're just a kid and want to fit in with everyone else. Now here I am two decades later and it seems like 1980 all over again.

And the MTV Movie Badass Star goes to...Rain!!

Much props to Rain for winning MTV's Badass Star award beating out a slew of solid contenders: Sam Worthington, Angelina Jolie, Chris Pine and Channing Tatum. You worked your fucking ass off to get to where you are today. You are a true soldier and an inspiration to many of us.



Keep reppin' hard my brother.