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'Blue Crush' another 'Good vs. Asian' film

It‘s no surprise, and nothing new. The hit film “The Fast and the Furious” also stole an Asian cultural phenomenon – import racing – dropped white leads (Vin Diesel, is self described as “multi-cultural” and reportedly African-American and white) into the story, and made up an Asian gang as the villains.

What should not go unmentioned here is that “Blue Crush” is “A Brian Grazer Production,” most notably because as one of the big wig producers behind the Oscar winning “A Beautiful Mind,” he also has shown a knack for cultural ignorance. Casting Jennifer Connelly as John Nash’s wife, a native Salvadoran, Connelly’s star would later shine as she picked up the “Best Supporting Actress” Oscar, a major slap in the face to the many hundreds if not thousands of struggling and able Latina actresses. Talk about insult as well as a missed opportunity.

So an insult and missed opportunity it is again with “Blue Crush.” In a state that is overwhelmingly populated with Asian/Pacific Islanders, we see instead an Asian woman who is the nagging boss of the lead and her two friends (one of whom is a mixed Asian/white, the other Latina), Asians as bell hops, Pacific islanders dancing the hula at the obligatory and trite luau scene, and, of course, as the aforementioned villains.

Think about it: If white producers made a movie about hip-hop and denuded it of Blacks, then installed whites as leading lights of hip hop, and relegated Blacks to inconsequential side roles, what do you think would happen? Chances are that the public would get an earful from any number of spokespeople on behalf of Blacks.

With the way the political climate is, white producers wouldn't displace and “dis” Blacks or at the very least are disinclined to. However, white producers such as Brian Grazer evidently feel okay with culturally looting Asian Pacifics and installing white leads as the heroes/heroines while demonizing Asians. Worse, they may even play the part of the “good white liberal” by maintaining their “commitment to diversity” by dint of just having made the movie at all. If like me you scratch your head at that kind of rhetoric, just file it under "that sounds like it makes sense, but it doesn't." It‘s next to the “Miss Saigon” file.

But there are plenty of other fingers left for pointing. For instance, Asians feed right into this mess with their complacency and lack of a strong voice that says “You wouldn’t do this to Blacks, so why are you discriminating here against Asian Pacifics???”

Until Asian Pacifics learn to stand up and demand to be heard, they can’t expect things to change, because the mirror of reflection and shame isn’t being held up. They aren’t holding it up. So, the one two punch: "The Fast and the Furious," and now "Blue Crush." As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. But there is still hope; Asian Pacifics and Others can gain currency for themselves by taking a page from Blacks who struggle and trace their history through great advocates and leaders in all pursuits of life.

If nothing else, you’d think that the powers that be would get a clue. Hip-hop is a perfect example of what I mean, because years ago hip-hop was laughed at by the music industry, those “experts” in the know. Which reminds me of William Goldman’s infamous line about Hollywood: “No one knows anything.”

You’d think that Hollywood would be tripping over itself trying to capture the Asian demographic. While small in number, Asian influences abound in America, including food, cars, dragons on shirts, henna, and Kanji characters on tats. The point is, Asian crossover appeal, much like Blacks with hip-hop, is already installed in America.

So God forbid that a blonde, blue-eyed girl should fall for an Asian/Pacific boy. Or, God forbid that a story about surfing based in Hawaii should feature Asian/Pacific Islanders as the leads. And God forbid that their lives should be as interesting, romantic, as full, exciting and vitally alive as that of whites. Maybe, gasp, even more exciting. After all, in “Blue Crush” it’s the whites that are appropriating an “Azian Pac thang” by surfing.

The movie powers that be either have no shame or no clue; God help us if it’s both.

About Jeff Park--
Jeff Park is the co-president of the Media Image Coalition (MIC), a program of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations that advocates fair representations and hiring practices for all under-represented groups in mass media, particularly film and television. MIC is a broad-based coalition of approximately thirty constituent member organizations, among them: The NAACP, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Writers Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA), Nosotros, League of Women Voters, and Children Now. He can be reached at jp1713@yahoo.com, or through MIC via the Los Angeles County Commission’s liaison to MIC, Mary Louise Longoria, at 213 974 7621, http://humanrelations.co.la.ca.us/Our_programs/index.htm