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Fresh Off The Boat

Alright here's my take on ABC's sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat." This is not going to be a popular opinion.

  I am sick of hearing about this show like it's the second coming of Christ for asia america. I've come to realize why I've become disenfranchised with the asian american creative community the past few years after working on this PBS show recently about the new changing demographics of America. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I haven’t felt this inspired in a long time. I questioned why I lost my desire to have a voice in pushing Asian Americans in media – that’s because it no longer exists. Our society is moving towards a complex and multiculturalist connectedness, and these terms we use seem to be stuck on  “black, white, Asian-american, African American…” these terms are binary relics of the 80s and 90s. It’s either one or the other…but if you take a look at ourselves (and by ourselves I mean the millennial consumer), we aren’t just one and one – we are from here AND there AND maybe somewhere else too. Now more than ever we’re connected by the internet, involved in subcultures and sub-sub-cultures and listening sub-genres of music or involved with a multitude of things besides just an “Asia” or an “America” that define us – we are evolving.

This is why “Fresh Off the Boat” is going to fail. And its failure is going to set back our identity rather than push anything forward. People thinking that “FINALLY AFTER 20 YEARS ZOMG A SHOW ABOUT ME” – No, fuck that. This show isn’t about you, this show is about WHO you might have been in the 90s. It’s even set in the 90s. This show came out 15 years too late and is no longer a reflection of who you are now. Don’t even get me started with the shitty “Asian-American” (and I quote this with contempt) accents, the hokey 90s humor and the rehashed jokes we’ve seen a million times like the white kid grossed out by noodles or the weirdly “urban” kinda fat kid character trying to fit in. The show is playing on nostalgia and may appear to be some type of achievement for the community – but in reality it’s just a bunch of rehashed identity crap that I’d like to think we’ve moved past by now. Don’t even get me started on the title of the show. 

For those out there who hold creative positions, consider yourself as a tastemaker…I implore you to take on something fresh and something different. We no longer need to comply with these simplified terms of what Asia-America means – let’s get more nuanced here…let’s not limit ourselves with derivative lowest common denominator stuff that is designed for mass consumption. Let’s contribute to a higher discourse of what it means to be living as a person of multiple cultures today. Don’t settle with this bullshit homogeny of ideas of what it means to be “Asian-American” Let’s reflect who we really are.

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SXSW '12

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my cinematography reel

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Still from Midwife's Husband (dir. Deja Bernhardt, dp: allen e. ho)

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(photo: Backstage at the Roepaen Festival outside of Amsterdam, Holland)

A mentor of mine once told me that there are essentially two paths to follow if you want to become a cinematographer: the way of the camera or the way of light. You can start as an assistant camera and work your way up to the role of camera operator and maybe one day someone will trust you enough to direct the photography of an entire film. Conversely, you can start as a grip and work your way up as a gaffer and learn the tools of lighting. 

In an age where people go ga-ga over this new camera or this new format, I've realized that the craft of lighting is something that is more lasting. Anyone who can read a manual can get the details down on whatever new camera is out there, but it takes a lot of experience and skill to be able to tell a story with light. Now that celluloid film is on its way out, there is going to be a new generation and influx of shooters versed in technicality but lack the discipline it takes to paint images with light. 

I've come to the point where I've realized that every camera in history is basically going to be the same; they all have a lens and they all have a roll/record button...and really that's all you need. I don't want to be caught up in all these other technicalities that distract you from what's most important: how do you tell the story and how do you make the viewer feel something when they see what you've recorded.

A common response whenever people see the things I've shot is "It looks nice, what camera did you use?" and to be honest it's starting to drive me insane. It does such a diservice to the work and collaboration it takes to pull off a single image in a film and people just think that anyone can go to the store and buy the same camera and do the same thing. Sooner than later I hope that most filmmakers realize that the camera is only a tool and it is in a state of constant flux. At its core, filmmaking is a collaboration of a multitude of talents and most people fail when they think that a brand new shiny machine can substitute for that.

The next two weeks I am shooting a film on 35mm, and nowadays you can never be sure if it'll be the last time. While it's sad and nostalgic, I realize the importance of being able to let go and move on into the digital age. The sooner you let go, the faster you can adapt but I am glad that I was able to experience the discipline of celluloid because it's taught me so much about the dynamics of light.

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400 tri-x

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the gear

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Four years ago....tomorrow I return.

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Panavision Super 35mm Primo Lens Test - Kodak 250D 5207

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new mexico.