Sorry for the lack of updates - I was on holiday, but I'm back now!
Unfortunately, I'm going to rant.

1) Forbidden Kingdom: So this movie about the Monkey King, based on the story of Journey to the West, is seriously going ahead. I've posted about it before, but I'm just going to mention once again that it's a bit annoying for them to have to cast a non-Asian lead character in order to sell a legendary Chinese story... Why? Why must Hollywood take, exploit and mutilate everything good that Asia has to offer?

2) Dragonball: That's right, I am talking about the insanely huge manga/anime/franchise of Dragonball and now they're turning it into a movie. Now we all know it's Japanese, and that Goku is Japanese - but guess who they're getting to star in this movie? Justin Chatwin - from War of the Worlds. What were they thinking? You have no idea how annoyed I am. And I'm not the only one who's disconcerted, many forums have expressed a similar disdain or at best an irked feeling. I've been following this from the start, and the casting was clearly racially biased. They felt it was necessary to cast a non-Asian guy for the lead role, but they also felt it was necessary to cast an Asian girl for Goku's love interest, Chi-Chi (yes, I actually checked the casting call and they expressly stated Chi-Chi needed to be an Asian girl, but not Goku... I'm so tempted to call this racist). And now they have, so she will be played by Jamie Chung. I'm so disappointed in the director (James Wong) and the producer (Stephen Chow). I really looked up to these two, but the fact that they buckled under the pressure of Twentieth Century Fox and did not stick to their guns - it's just disappointing. Once again, I ask, "Why must Hollywood take, exploit and mutilate everything good that Asia has to offer?"

***

I once wrote an essay on a term I coined, called "Sacism" (pronounce say-sizm). Sacism is a concept that derives its name from sexism and racism. In short, the notion of sacism represents factors that are both sexist and racist at the same time. We do not live in a world that is purely black and white. Sexism and racism are not mutually exclusive. People, ideas and concepts can be sexist and racist to a particular sex of a particular race - and that is exactly what Sacism is. Examples of sacism in media include the ignoring or asexualisation of Asian men, or the exoticising and sexual objectification of Asian women (that if done to a non-Asian woman would be considered sexist). But this concept is not limited to the representation of Asians. The angry Black woman is another example.

The reason why I bring up this term is that I need a new word to explain the problem with media representation. It is sacist towards Asian men. Master Roshi is going to be played by Chow Yun Fat. Hollywood suggests it's okay for an Asian male to play the old stereotyped kung fu master, but it's not okay for him to play a lead role, even though the role was designed for an Asian male. This is not acceptable.

My question is, "What can we do to change things and make a difference?"

This article was sent to me a while ago, but I didn't get a chance to post it. I'll post it now since it relates to my previous post.

He beat Kevin Rudd: who is Albert Tse?