January 12, 2005

  • Doris Matsui is going to run for her late husband's position in Congress.  The Sacramento Bee has referred to her as a powerful candidate.  Still researching.


    I saw "Elektra" last night with some lovely ladies.  A comic book fan, I was intrigued by how the producers adapted the comic book story and, how they expressed it on the silver screen.  However, a lot of the knowledge I gained from my Asian American studies classes really sprouted forward as I watched many of the same typical portrayals of Asian Americans in that movie.  I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone else before they go watch it with my analysis of the particular scenes, but I will mention that the themes that stood out were that of the "Great White Father", the "Immigrant Hustler", the "Yellow Germ", hand-in-hand with the "Euro-American Intercession", and the "They All Look Alike" concept.  A positive spin of the movie is that Elektra is an empowered heroine.  However, we even learned of the concept of "Race Privilege" in our classes. 


    It's sometimes difficult when your mind's analytical framework is constantly at work to "just enjoy a movie."  The thing is that everyone who does just that is influenced a lot by it, and not of other sources of knowledge and information.  I'd much rather watch a good, righteous movie, if ever one comes out.