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This
week: An interview with Pachinko
author Min
Jin Lee; Washington
Post reporter Gerry
Shih talks journalism in China; Tigertail
filmmaker Alan
Yang brings old Taiwan to life; and Mulan actor Ron Yuan on
why fans of the animated classic will love the live-action remake.
Plus, our weekly roundup of coronavirus-related stories, and upcoming
Asia Society events to put on your calendar.
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CURRENT
AFFAIRS
Pachinko Author Min Jin Lee on Art, Creativity, and
Resilience in the Time of COVID-19
The
Korean-American author Min Jin Lee has emerged as one of America’s
premier storytellers, one whose novels document the Korean immigrant
experience through different generations and geographies. Her 2017
novel Pachinko
was selected as a
finalist for the National Book Award for fiction and made it
onto numerous top-10 lists that year. It received a sterling
recommendation from none other than former U.S. President Barack Obama,
who called it “a powerful story of resilience and compassion.”
If there was ever a time for resilience and compassion, it’s now: The
coronavirus has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives
across the world and has devastated the global economy to an almost
unthinkable degree. In a
conversation with Asia Society Executive Vice President Tom Nagorski,
Lee reflected on the value of art in the time of crisis, discussed her
own creative process, and explained why it was important to speak out
against the scourge
of anti-Asian racism.
“I don’t know a single person of Asian ethnicity who’s not sensitive to
the fact that they could be targeted, either by a slur or by physical
violence,” she said.
But the alternative to speaking out would be worse, she added:
“If I make nice, what’s the benefit for me? That I make other people
comfortable but expose myself and people I love to more harm? I can’t
afford not to mention it.”
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CURRENT
AFFAIRS
Washington Post Reporter Gerry Shih on the Shrinking Space for
Journalism in China
In
March, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would expel
American journalists working for The New York Times, The Washington Post,
and The Wall
Street Journal, giving them just 10 days to gather their
belongings and leave the country. One journalist ensnared by this
decision was Gerry Shih, a Post
correspondent whose reporting has stood out for its searing
coverage of the lives of ordinary people in China.
Earlier this month, Shih was
awarded the 2020 Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in
Journalism on Asia for stories documenting religious
persecution in China’s northwest, the disappearance
of Marxist students in Beijing, the aftermath of a
chemical explosion in rural Jiangsu Province, among other
subjects.
Shih, now based in South Korea, spoke
with Asia Blog
about the shrinking space for journalism in China in the
years since Xi
Jinping, the country’s powerful leader, took office.
“Society has closed in many ways and has become hostile to the Western
media to the point where the only people willing — or desperate enough
— to talk to you are ones with grievances,” he said. “And that, of
course, can slant your coverage somewhat.”
More:
Watch
Shih discuss his work at the 2020 Osborn Elliott Prize
virtual program with veteran journalist Marcus Brauchli.
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ARTS
Tigertail's Alan Yang on Immigration, Sacrifice, and His
Advice for Young Asian American Filmmakers
The
producer, writer, and director Alan Yang is perhaps best known as the
co-creator of Master
of None, the acclaimed Netflix comedy series starring his
friend and creative partner, Aziz
Ansari, in a fictionalized version of his life as a
comedian. But his most recent project sees Yang headed in a new
direction — one deeply connected to his family’s own story.
Tigertail,
a Netflix film he produced and directed, tells the story of a young
Taiwanese man who leaves behind the woman he loves in order to marry his
boss’ daughter, with whom he then immigrates to the United States.
Decades later, struggling to connect with his adult American daughter,
the man reflects on the choices and sacrifices he made in order to make
a life in his new country.
In a
web-only conversation Monday with Hollywood producer Janet Yang,
Alan Yang described his decision to root the movie in a specific
Taiwanese experience, hiring actors fluent in the Taiwanese dialect and
filming everything on location. This attention to detail did not go
unnoticed in Taiwan.
“There’s a pride there,” he said. “[Tigertail
is] a relatively large-scale American movie, and the title is a
Taiwanese city. And it features the beauty of Taiwan: it shows the
beautiful rice fields, the architecture, the simplicity but also the
rural beauty of the countryside.”
Yang also had this advice for up-and-coming Asian American filmmakers:
“Don’t do what I did and be afraid to make Asian American stories,” he
said. “The door is open now! There have been massive hits, there have
been massive critical hits. Don’t be afraid to tell your Asian American
story — but try to make it unique, try to make it different, and try to
make it your own.”
Image: Tibrina
Hobson/Getty Images
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CURRENT
AFFAIRS
Coronavirus
Roundup: How COVID-19 Is Shaping Israeli Politics and More
- Asia
Society Policy Institute (ASPI) Senior Fellow Puneet Talwar
and Dan
Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, talked
about how the coronavirus outbreak has
shaped Israeli politics.
- ASPI
President Kevin
Rudd discusses
the impact of the coronavirus on Pacific Island nations
with Dame Meg
Taylor, secretary general of the Pacific Islands
Forum, and Ralph
Regenvanu MP, leader of the opposition in Vanuatu.
- ASPI
Vice President Wendy
Cutler spoke with Zhang Xiangchen, the
ambassador and permanent representative to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) from China, about how the coronavirus outbreak
will affect
the organization.
- Dr.
Lynn
Bufka spoke about the psychological
impact of COVID-19 and offered suggestions for how to
cope with the pandemic in a conversation organized by Asia Society
Texas.
- ChinaFile’s
latest conversation considers how the United States
should approach relations with Taiwan.
- The
latest
episode of the Asia
In-Depth podcast considered what might happen if
COVID-19 strikes North Korea — as well as how the country would
cope in the event that Kim
Jong Un, the country’s leader, becomes
incapacitated.
Image: Jack
Guez/AFP/Getty Images
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ARTS
Reimagining
a Classic: Actor Ron Yuan on the Live-Action Remake of Mulan
The
animated Disney film Mulan,
released in 1998, is a beloved classic. So when Disney announced that
it would produce a live-action remake, fans reacted with both
excitement and trepidation. Would the new version live up to the
original?
Actor Ron Yuan,
who plays Master Seargent Shang in the live-action remake, is certain
it will. “The tone we’re going after is a bit more dramatic, but
also a bit more grounded in reality,” he said in an
interview with Asia
Blog. “I think because of that, audiences are
going to have their heartstrings pulled and we’re going to go on that
ride even more so than the animation.”
Yuan credited films like Crazy
Rich Asians for making audiences more receptive to
big-budget films starring an all-Asian cast.
“If there’s a good story, and good actors, it doesn't matter what color
you are,” he said. “In the 30 years I’ve been working that wasn’t
always the case. It’s just amazing to see.”
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EDUCATION
How To Cook
With S.T.E.A.M.
What
do cooking and STEAM have in common? More
than you think! And we are not talking about the steam that
you might see coming out of a tea kettle, we mean S-T-E-A-M!
STEAM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science,
Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics as access points for
guided inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. Learn how this
approach can be integral in mastering one of life’s most essential
skills.
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