Here’s some random thoughts and notes I’ve had during our first week of A-Pop!
The Ghost in the Shell live-action adaptation is an admirable if somewhat disappointing adaptation. I’ve seen the film twice now and I’ve found it to be frustrating both times. I think the movie works on a spectacle level. There’s great special effects, Matrix-esque action, and a couple creep robo-Geisha’s the are really quite cool to look at. But something was missing. There’s a melancholy and a intellectual heft that the source material has that just doesn’t quite come across in the film version. Instead of delving into the themes I found myself just looking for the next cool special effect sequence. “White washing” is definitely a problem with the film. It’s completely steeped in Asian culture and imagery, yet it doesn’t use many Asian actors in prominent roles. However, I’m not sure this film would’ve been made without Scarlett Johansson in the lead role. I don’t think the motivations for her casting were racist or anything, but it definitely falls into a long tradition of side-lining people of color in film. Whether intentional or not, white washing is a problem.
Asian American History – A Very Short Introduction – Madeline Y. Hsu
A very brief but very dense read. It was a bit difficult for me to annotate as so much of it was long blocks of immigration numbers over the decades. That said, there was a lot of information and brief stories that stuck out to me. The “Potato King” of California is one of them. I was also incredibly impressed by how resourceful and clever Asian immigrants were in side-stepping and finding loopholes for success. I was taken aback by how much of our immigration history applies to today. It seems almost cyclical that we’ve picked different races/ethnic groups to demonize and keep out.
The book gives a nice concise history that I think will give me a bit of context for the next novels we’ll be reading. I look forward to diving into something with more of a narrative. I like having a personal view into history, which is why I enjoy historical fiction. I’ve been watching the new Vietnam documentary Ken Burns has on PBS and getting to hear Vietnamese soldiers tell their side of the story is pretty incredible and has given me a lot to think about.