Friday, August 21, 2009
Asian American coalition protests Paramount and 'The Goods'!
Thanks so much to everyone who came out to support us with our protest at Paramount. It was a stunning success, with over 40 protesters and of course lots of supportive horn honking and a few tv station trucks to boot.
We rallied with cheers of "The Goods were rotten, that's why no one bought them!" and "Your humor is tasteless, stop being racist!" Eric and Sylvia came up with some great chants and were great chant-leaders!
Dariane from Racebending showed awesome support and helped to organize, which was great since Paramount is the studio behind the whitewashed "The Last Avatar" as well. We look forward to working with Dariane and all of the folks at Racebending on future activist endeavors!
Floyd Mori, executive director of JACL, brought a squadron of protesters and was interviewed by Channel 7 News along with MANAA's Guy Aoki.
IW Group, Inc. also sent a huge group of supporters and as well as provided materials for the posters and space to create them.
And boy did we have a lot of posters! Some favorites -- "Hate Crimes Aren't Funny" and "The Goods are Bad".
Thanks again for all the support, we think that Paramount is starting to get the picture now!
We rallied with cheers of "The Goods were rotten, that's why no one bought them!" and "Your humor is tasteless, stop being racist!" Eric and Sylvia came up with some great chants and were great chant-leaders!
Dariane from Racebending showed awesome support and helped to organize, which was great since Paramount is the studio behind the whitewashed "The Last Avatar" as well. We look forward to working with Dariane and all of the folks at Racebending on future activist endeavors!
Floyd Mori, executive director of JACL, brought a squadron of protesters and was interviewed by Channel 7 News along with MANAA's Guy Aoki.
IW Group, Inc. also sent a huge group of supporters and as well as provided materials for the posters and space to create them.
And boy did we have a lot of posters! Some favorites -- "Hate Crimes Aren't Funny" and "The Goods are Bad".
Thanks again for all the support, we think that Paramount is starting to get the picture now!
Why MANAA Protests "The Goods"
Message from the MANAA President
I received a copy of the following letter addressed to the Executive Chairman of Paramount. This letter expresses, as persuasively as any press release that MANAA could issue, why the studio needs to hear about "The Goods." Not everyone is going to be convinced that MANAA and other organizations should protest this movie, but many will recognize their own anger, fear, and frustration, expressed right here.
Phil Lee
MANAA President
August 19, 2009
Mr. Sumner M. Redstone
Executive Chairman of the Board & Founder
Viacom, Inc.
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
Dear Mr. Redstone:
As an American of Japanese ancestry, I am writing to express my extreme outrage over a scene in Paramount Vantage's comedy "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard" depicting the use of a racially offensive slur followed by a physical attack against an Asian American character in the film.
The scene in question, broadcast across the country in the film's trailer and now playing nationwide, shows the character, played by Jeremy Piven, giving his used-car sales team a pep talk. The Piven character then says, "Don't get me started on Pearl Harbor-the Japs flying in low and fast. We are Americans and they are the enemy! Never again!"
A man looks at the Asian American character and says, "Let's get him!" which results in a mob of men beating the Asian man. Piven's character then says, "All right, stop! We have all just participated in a hate crime. Let's get our stories straight. Dang came at us with a samurai sword, fire extinguisher and Chinese throwing stars."
This is supposed to be funny? Ask the family of Vincent Chin, who was brutally beaten to death by two out-of-work auto workers who mistook him for being Japanese during the height of "Japan bashing" during the early 1980s. Ask them if this is funny. Ask the thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry who were called "Japs" all their lives growing up, and were later unjustly racially-profiled and incarcerated after the bombing of Pearl Harbor into American concentration camps for up to four years during WWII. Ask them if this is funny.
Using the word "Jap" is equivalent to the use of the "N-Word" when referring to African Americans. The use of the word alone is offensive enough. To combine it with the beating of an Asian character is absolutely outrageous and unacceptable in
today's media. Imagine if this scene were to take place against an African American.
The African American community would not stand for it. And neither should we.
Earlier this week, the National Office of the Japanese American Citizens League voiced its strong objection to this scene, and called on Paramount Pictures to apologize to the Japanese American and Asian American communities nationwide.
Paramount has responded by saying "The Goods satirizes and exaggerates the extremes of the sales and celebrity culture" and "is in no way meant to be mean-spirited, disparaging or hurtful to any individuals and we regret any offense taken. We understand that when presented out of context, jokes and situations in the movie about a variety of topics might be offensive to some people."
This does not sound like an apology to me. In fact, it fits conveniently into the category of "You people need to get over yourselves-can't you take a joke?"
As Chairman and Founder of an international media conglomerate which includes Paramount Vantage, you are well aware of the power of both the written and spoken word, and how words can uplift, move and literally change the world, and the people in it. You also know that words, when used in a negative, mocking way, have the same power to insult, denigrate, and can cause unthinkable damage to our psyche, our spirits, and the world we live in.
I grew up in San Francisco, California and when I was in junior high school I heard words and phrases such as "Ching Chong Chinaman," "Jap" and the like from fellow classmates who took great joy in taunting me. And I can tell you, as I stood by and took this verbal abuse, I also remember other kids standing by and laughing at me, pointing at me, and saying things like "Why are your eyes so tight? Why don't you open your eyes?" Unless you stand in my shoes, and feel the humiliation of being singled out and ridiculed solely because of my race, you cannot understand what
I-and people of Asian ancestry have gone through in this country since we first came here over 150 years ago. I can tell you this: It hurt me deeply, and it's a pain that I carry with me to this day.
These are the power of words, and how when they are abused-especially in film and television-can perpetuate hate, which can lead to more hateful words and mocking of Japanese and other Asian Americans, which can lead to hateful acts of violence and going one step further, murder.
As you can see, this is no laughing matter. May I remind you of Viacom's Global
Business Practices, which on pages 23-24, states to your employees: "Therefore, you may not: Make inappropriate statements concerning a person's race, religion, color, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, gender, sex, gender expression, etc."
I'm assuming these practices extend to the products your company produces, and I'm assuming these words mean more to you than mere words on a piece of paper.
Therefore, I am asking you to do all in your power to edit or remove this scene from the film, and see to it that scenes such as these-that denigrate any racial group-do not happen again in the future.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Soji Kashiwagi
cc: Philippe P. Dauman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Viacom, Inc.
Adam Goodman, President, Paramount Films Group
Gary Sanchez, President, Gary Sanchez Productions
Floyd Mori, National Executive Director, Japanese American Citizens League
I received a copy of the following letter addressed to the Executive Chairman of Paramount. This letter expresses, as persuasively as any press release that MANAA could issue, why the studio needs to hear about "The Goods." Not everyone is going to be convinced that MANAA and other organizations should protest this movie, but many will recognize their own anger, fear, and frustration, expressed right here.
Phil Lee
MANAA President
August 19, 2009
Mr. Sumner M. Redstone
Executive Chairman of the Board & Founder
Viacom, Inc.
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
Dear Mr. Redstone:
As an American of Japanese ancestry, I am writing to express my extreme outrage over a scene in Paramount Vantage's comedy "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard" depicting the use of a racially offensive slur followed by a physical attack against an Asian American character in the film.
The scene in question, broadcast across the country in the film's trailer and now playing nationwide, shows the character, played by Jeremy Piven, giving his used-car sales team a pep talk. The Piven character then says, "Don't get me started on Pearl Harbor-the Japs flying in low and fast. We are Americans and they are the enemy! Never again!"
A man looks at the Asian American character and says, "Let's get him!" which results in a mob of men beating the Asian man. Piven's character then says, "All right, stop! We have all just participated in a hate crime. Let's get our stories straight. Dang came at us with a samurai sword, fire extinguisher and Chinese throwing stars."
This is supposed to be funny? Ask the family of Vincent Chin, who was brutally beaten to death by two out-of-work auto workers who mistook him for being Japanese during the height of "Japan bashing" during the early 1980s. Ask them if this is funny. Ask the thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry who were called "Japs" all their lives growing up, and were later unjustly racially-profiled and incarcerated after the bombing of Pearl Harbor into American concentration camps for up to four years during WWII. Ask them if this is funny.
Using the word "Jap" is equivalent to the use of the "N-Word" when referring to African Americans. The use of the word alone is offensive enough. To combine it with the beating of an Asian character is absolutely outrageous and unacceptable in
today's media. Imagine if this scene were to take place against an African American.
The African American community would not stand for it. And neither should we.
Earlier this week, the National Office of the Japanese American Citizens League voiced its strong objection to this scene, and called on Paramount Pictures to apologize to the Japanese American and Asian American communities nationwide.
Paramount has responded by saying "The Goods satirizes and exaggerates the extremes of the sales and celebrity culture" and "is in no way meant to be mean-spirited, disparaging or hurtful to any individuals and we regret any offense taken. We understand that when presented out of context, jokes and situations in the movie about a variety of topics might be offensive to some people."
This does not sound like an apology to me. In fact, it fits conveniently into the category of "You people need to get over yourselves-can't you take a joke?"
As Chairman and Founder of an international media conglomerate which includes Paramount Vantage, you are well aware of the power of both the written and spoken word, and how words can uplift, move and literally change the world, and the people in it. You also know that words, when used in a negative, mocking way, have the same power to insult, denigrate, and can cause unthinkable damage to our psyche, our spirits, and the world we live in.
I grew up in San Francisco, California and when I was in junior high school I heard words and phrases such as "Ching Chong Chinaman," "Jap" and the like from fellow classmates who took great joy in taunting me. And I can tell you, as I stood by and took this verbal abuse, I also remember other kids standing by and laughing at me, pointing at me, and saying things like "Why are your eyes so tight? Why don't you open your eyes?" Unless you stand in my shoes, and feel the humiliation of being singled out and ridiculed solely because of my race, you cannot understand what
I-and people of Asian ancestry have gone through in this country since we first came here over 150 years ago. I can tell you this: It hurt me deeply, and it's a pain that I carry with me to this day.
These are the power of words, and how when they are abused-especially in film and television-can perpetuate hate, which can lead to more hateful words and mocking of Japanese and other Asian Americans, which can lead to hateful acts of violence and going one step further, murder.
As you can see, this is no laughing matter. May I remind you of Viacom's Global
Business Practices, which on pages 23-24, states to your employees: "Therefore, you may not: Make inappropriate statements concerning a person's race, religion, color, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, gender, sex, gender expression, etc."
I'm assuming these practices extend to the products your company produces, and I'm assuming these words mean more to you than mere words on a piece of paper.
Therefore, I am asking you to do all in your power to edit or remove this scene from the film, and see to it that scenes such as these-that denigrate any racial group-do not happen again in the future.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Soji Kashiwagi
cc: Philippe P. Dauman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Viacom, Inc.
Adam Goodman, President, Paramount Films Group
Gary Sanchez, President, Gary Sanchez Productions
Floyd Mori, National Executive Director, Japanese American Citizens League
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Join our protest!!
MANAA and other Asian American activist groups will be protesting the film 'The Goods' TOMORROW at Paramount.
Join us at 4:30pm, Friday Aug 21
Paramount Studios
5555 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
We believe that the film condones the beating of Asian Americans and makes light of hate crimes.
Please email us at letters@manaa.org if you are planning on joining us, we need all the help we can get!!!!
Join us at 4:30pm, Friday Aug 21
Paramount Studios
5555 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
We believe that the film condones the beating of Asian Americans and makes light of hate crimes.
Please email us at letters@manaa.org if you are planning on joining us, we need all the help we can get!!!!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
MANAA condemns Asian-bashing in 'The Goods' as harmful, not funny
Los Angeles -- A scene from Jeremy Piven's new comedy "The Goods" has incensed Asian Americans, who find the beating of Ken Jeong's character frighteningly reminiscent of real violence perpetrated against Asian Americans.
"MANAA contacted Paramount to request a chance to screen the film. We tried to give them the benefit of the doubt that seeing the whole movie could somehow salvage this scene. But we received no response," said Phil Lee, President of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans.
The scene in question, which has been widely promoted in trailers, begins with Jeremy Piven riling up his car sales team by saying, "Don't even get me started on Pearl Harbor -- we are the Americans, and they are the enemy. Never again!" The other workers start shouting "Never again!" as the single Asian American, played by Jeong, joins in but looks nervous. Then the crowd turns on him and begins a violent assault that visibly injures him. Piven's character also uses the racial slur "Japs" -- an insult that goes doubly unpunished since Jeong later tells everyone he is Korean, as if the attack would be acceptable if only he were really Japanese.
While the scene is played for comedy, the threat of physical violence against Asian Americans is all too real. December 7, the day of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, is commonly dreaded by members of the Japanese American community and the wider Asian American community. Many Asian Americans have been subject to slurs and verbal assaults on this day, and there is a widespread fear that individuals who still harbor anger against the Japanese will erupt in physical violence.
The scene showing the beating of Ken Jeong by auto workers is also painfully evocative of the killing of Vincent Chin in 1982. Chin was a 27-year old Chinese auto worker in Michigan who happened to be at the same bar as two white auto workers who felt that the Japanese were to blame for the loss of their jobs. They beat him with a baseball bat, and he died from the injuries. The scene in the movie similarly confuses Japanese individuals from Japan with all individuals of Asian descent. Even so, this does not justify retributive violence for an event that occurred during a war nearly 70 years ago.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Winner of Kollaboration 3 tickets
Congratulations to Maya Yamahata, who won the tickets to see Kollaboration 3 on August 22nd and will be attending with her mother!
Thanks to all who entered. Stay tuned to MANAA's blog for more exciting giveaways in the future.
Thanks to all who entered. Stay tuned to MANAA's blog for more exciting giveaways in the future.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
August Bulletin
(1) MANAA August Meeting - CANCELED!
Please note that we are canceling the MANAA general meeting normally scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20th. We're taking some extra time this month to do some serious planning for several exciting projects that we have coming up. Again: There is no general meeting in August. We'll see you in September, if not sooner (see below).
(2) Win Tickets to Kollaboration Acoustic 3 on Saturday, August 22
There's no general meeting this month, but you can still support the Asian American talent at Kollaboration's Acoustic 3. MANAA is proud to be a community supporter of this great event at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood. In fact, we have 2 free tickets to give away! If you're interested in winning two free tickets to see the show, please email us at letters@manaa.org with the subject "Kollaboration 3 tickets please!" We'll pick a winner by August 14th.
(3) APEX "Exploring the Future of Asian American Media" - Aug. 27
And if you really miss us this month (ha ha), you can also look for us at this Los Angeles Networking event. MANAA's not an official sponsor, but the evening, which includes Phil Yu of Angry Asian Man and other panelists discussing Asian Americans and the "new media," should be a fun time. Email us if you're going and maybe we can meet up!
(4) "The Last Airbender" - updates
Last but not least, we want to recognize the fans and supporters who are keeping the campaign going on The Last Airbender movie. Check out their awareness-raising efforts at the recent San Diego Comic-Con. Bravo!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Free tickets to Kollaboration 3!
Kollaboration Acoustic 3 will take place on Saturday, August 22nd 2009, 7:30pm at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood as the third and final Kollaboration show to take place in Southern California this year. Acoustic 3 will bring to the arena musicians that perform their vocals with various non-electrical instruments such as percussions, string and woodwind instruments. As an annual talent competition, 10 musical acts were selected after a competitive round of auditions in front of Kollaboration judges. Similar to our past performers, many of this year’s performers have already garnered well established internet followings, while others are looking to Acoustic 3 to introduce their talents to a new fan base.This year’s performers to compete for First Place and $1,000 include: Gabe Bondoc, Mike Isberto, AJ Rafael Band, Susanna Yoon, Afraid of Everest, Jinah Kim, Megan Lee, David Tran aka Applesauce, Yoori Park and Alfa Garcia. A live Verizon Wireless Audience Choice Award Winner will also receive $1,000 via text message voting from the audience in attendance that evening. In addition to the musical raw talent, Acoustic 3 will also present comedienne Monrok, a regular with a very loyal following at The Comedy Store, The Hollywood Improv and the Ice House in Pasadena and comedian Jimmy Brogan, guest star of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Additional guest performers and guest judges will also be present.
If you're interested in winning two free tickets to see the show, please email us at letters@manaa.org with the subject "Kollaboration 3 tickets please!" We'll pick a winner by August 14th.
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