The Betrayal

"Filmed over the course of 23 years, THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON) is an astonishing tale of perseverance - one family's struggle to survive their journey from war-torn Laos to the streets of New York. Eloquent yet devastating, renowned cinematographer Ellen Kuras' directorial debut is a remarkable collaboration with co-director Thavisouk Phrasavath - a documentary that reveals the hidden, human face of war's "collateral damage". jparis290


On Friday 2/27/09 I went to see the movie the Betrayal at the movie theater over in Berkeley. The documentary was about a Lao family, and their struggle from Laos to the United State. I thought the movie was dope because, 1st off i never saw a movie about my country on the big screen. Watching it made me really want to go back to my home country, wanting to visit my family and understand my culture more. I can relate alot to this movie from the war to the refugee camps then coming to America.
My dad was a solider that fought in the war, for the American side. And because of that my family had to leave there village to find safety because we was look as a traitor.Everyone look at my family as an enemy. After they fled to the refugee camp, they was put into little huts with many other family that feld their village. Then after I was born we had the opportunity to leave to a different country. and like the movie we gotten a plain ride to the America, thinking that it was the land of opportunity and where any one can become rich. instead we was treat and betrayed, Instead the life we thought we thought we was going to have, like being free from violence. How we thought that America was like heaven on earth. but it was hell on earth, thinking we left the war back home, but end up in a whole new war.
But yea i can see im going off topic lol,I dnt want to get to in to my life, i might as well make a movie bout it hahaha. any ways watch the movie it hella gooooood!!!!
-Phon Chanthanasak

Stereotypes

Last Friday, Febuary 21, 2009, I was at the traffic court in Bryant st to pay for my speeding ticket. It took me an hour to get it because there was a lot of people in there. It happened that there was so many Asian in it and that was very unusual to me. The first time I witnessed that many Asians getting a traffic citations. I talked to the people infront and behind me. Both of them were pulled over for talking on their cellphones while driving. Then I told them that I was pulled over for over speeding in a residential area. Im full Filipino but most people think I am something else. When I told them that, they did not react (which most people will if they find out that some Asians are actually overspeeding). In the middle of our conversations, the guy infront me (caucasian) was mad because the line was super long. He said "Damn Asians, the only reason why this dumb drivers get pull over is because they drive way below the speed limit." In my mind, I want tell this guy that what he said is not true, but I want him to tell more about what he thinks Asians are. After that, I realize that this guy is racist a** f**k. He starts telling racist jokes about Asians, including Filipinos. Even though we may feel that people are not talking crap about our race, behind our backs, I feel that they have a lot of negative stuff to say about Asians or people who are outside their race. This falls in to racism because some people are still applying racism on their daily life. They still think that they are better than any other race even though they themselves are "dumb" to for disobeying the traffic rules. How I feel is that whoever is on that line are "dumb" because obviously, all of us was pulled over for something. It may be different case, but overspeeding, talking on the phone while driving, beating the red lights, not stopping on the stop signs, are all signs that we all make the same mistakes. The guy infront of me has no right to criticize us (Asians) for getting pulled over. 

-Rovie Flores

FOOD CHALLENGE!!!...and more

The Sandwich

So one of the definitions that came up when we were defining “America” was instant satisfaction. The sandwich represents this concept very well. A sandwich is a simple way to enjoy a concoction of ingredients without having to make a commitment. There are many theories on how sandwiches came about, one source says that the sandwich was invented in London in 1762 by an English nobleman, John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792) The legend goes that he ordered a waiter to bring him roast-beef between two slices of bread when he was too busy gambling to stop for a real meal. The Earl was able to continue his gambling while eating his snack. Well, I’m not sure is this is true, so I don’t want to elaborate too much on the history of the sandwich, but rather how it represents the “on-the-go” lifestyle of most Americans nowadays. The sandwich also symbolizes Asian Americans since we are often “sandwiched” between two conflicting cultural ideals and beliefs.

Katsu

Katsu is a popular Japanese dish that could be made with a variety of meats, whether it’s chicken, beef, or pork. It is not the typical Japanese dish because it doesn’t have the delicate texture or ingredients that most Japanese dishes posses. This is due to the European influence in the 19^th century. Katsu was invented to satisfy the European pallet, it is breaded and deep fried, which is unique in Japanese cuisine. It not only represents the Japanese culture, but it also shows the oppression experienced by Asians. It’s always thought that anything European is better than what we have, and instead of cherishing our own culture and traditions, Asians commonly have the misconception that adopting European culture will help advance their societies, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

I was responsible for doing the research on the Katsu Sandwich, I realized I may have taken too much time doing the presentation, but I felt that I had important points to make. Everyone in our group worked hard on this challenge and I think it really showed during the challenge. I feel that we really deserved to win this challenge(which we did), but it was definitely a tough win. Mixed Persuasian(our competitors) had some great dishes, but I'm glad we were put against another great group, which really brought out the best in both groups. I felt the judging was fair...for the most part. Some of the judges seemed a little too critical but I respect their opinions regardless of how they scored us. I guess I just feel some resentment because of all the hard work we all put into this project. From coming up with the ideas for the dishes, to the making of the food, to the background info, and to the presentation. I really felt that we exceeded the expectations in every aspect of this challenge. So when certain judges decided to call our dishes "unoriginal" and "you can get it anywhere", I was really shocked and disappointed. Especially becauses all the other judges gave us marvelous feedbacks. I felt we were very creative with all the dishes, and we even made a drink! This was merely one project in one class, yet all of us took it very seriously and gave our best effort. Not the mention the extremely short deadline which we had to work against. By the way, we are also not professional gourmet cooks, and the dishes are completely original and could not be found in a reciepe book. In that respect I feel that we were very original and very creative, and with the budget we had, it was literally the best we could have done. So for a judge to call our hard work "unoriginal", it was definitely hurtful, and I'm speaking for all of my group members when I say that. I really don't want to talk about this anymore, because I don't want to focus too much on the negative aspects of this project. I actually enjoyed the experience as a whole and really appreciated the extra efforts made by my group members, so, if I was a judge I would give all my group members 1,000,000,000 points out of 40. And here's some advice for the judges just for future references: take it easy on the groups, understand that we are not professional chefs, realize that we have shit to do outside of this class, and appreciate the delicious, free and unique dishes that each group created for you guys. Last but not least, I would like to congratulate 210's finest for winning this challenge, and thank everybody for their efforts in helping us win this eventful challenge!!

-jiawei

tryna fit it..

By serving a local community center, Filipino Cultural Center (FCC), I can't help but notice how kids or teenagers develop or become "americanize" easily right after they arrive here in the United States. I also went to the process of trying to "fit in" by doing what everybody else is doing. It is not easy to start a new life, find new friends, and also to find a comfortable environment for anyone. Everyone has their own comfort zone. My comfort zone is in the Philippines because that is where I started my life and basically found friends and people who I kick it with. Even though I didnt want to leave the good life in the homeland, my parents convinced me to come here to learn what is good life is all about. I never had to work for a single penny in the Philippines, life was good, no stress, but when I came here, everything was reverted. I had to work for my own money and look up for my own self. I learned a lot living in the US. I learned a lot about myself and especially how to deal with real life problems. Now that I tell you guys how I find the Philippines my comfort zone, I can talk about what I have been noticing from Filipinos who recently came here from the Philippines. I notice a lot of change. First, Filipinos (teenagers) are americanized even before they come here. Second, they are willing to lose their identity and culture to adapt a new culture. And last, they seem to be ashamed of being Asian or Filipino. I hang out in the FCC center on my free time and it is such a good experience for me to see how the "americanizing" process develop thoroughly. The benefit of this is that Asians who immigrate in the US are easily able to adapt in a new environment. The messed up part is is if we adapt thoroughly to american culture, we may lose our cultural identity completely. I guess the only way to fix this is if we exposed kids to ethnic studies at an early age to learn how to appreciate ones culture, and realize the real deal.

-rOvie

1st Timer!!!!

So here I am getting pressure from all of my group members to hit up the blog...so here goes nothin.
I am not a real internet person (dont really have the time for it) and this is my first blog ever. Dont really believe in the whole thing, but that is just me and does not reflect the opinions of 210's Finest. Between school (homework, reading, labs, quizzes, reports, and now blogs), work, and the foundation I work for I dont find much time to do this. I like to watch and keep up with the sports world, read the daily newspaper (the chronicle all day baby!!), hit the gym and play sports, do the family time, n hit the nightlife up on the weekends. So as you can see I would never have time for this...
With that said I am a very open-minded person and am willing to try everything once...well almost everything ha! You never know I might like this thing and grow up to become a professional blogger one day...but probably not.
I will use my blogging time to write about what happened in class and stuff that reminded me about the class. Like how Slumdog Millianaire killed at the Oscars this weekend. When I went to go watch this movie I had the worst mind set, thinking that this movie would be awful. But it didnt take long for me to be won over. I wont get into too much detail about the movie, cause I think everyone should go experience it for themselves. But I left the movie with a whole new appreciation for life. This movie really shows you whats up out there in the real world. I would recommend that the Planetters should go watch this movie since it takes place in India...
Thanks for your time.

-Scott

bart

A couple weeks ago I was on bart on my way to my parent’s house. I got on at Daly City and as we got closer to downtown I noticed more and more people getting on. Now this wasn’t unusual to me because it’s typical for the train to become more crowded as you head downtown but what I noticed were the people on the train. There were many tourists or people who obviously did not live in the city or simply never taken bart before judging by the way they stared at the map and by the conversations I was rudely, but couldn’t help, listening in to. “San Francisco is not what I thought”, or “Hey we should check out the pier” and the popular “When are we going to see the Golden Gate Bridge?”. Anyway, early into my travel a white man sat next me. He was accompanied with two other white guys and whatever I didn’t really care. At this time I finally found my ipod in my crowded bag and right away Im listening to my tunes. A couple minutes after the white guy got my attention and asked me if I knew where to get off for Chinese New Year. Now I knew it was Chinese New Year and I was planning on going but I had to go visit my parents so anyway I said “No, I’m sorry but unfortunately I don’t” and I was actually surprised when he came back with “Why don’t you know, you’re Chinese”. I mean foreal? I was pretty offended because this white guy is just calling me Chinese and assuming I’m on my way to Chinese New Year. First off, I’m not Chinese. Not half, not part, not even a little and what upsets me is that some people just put in all Asians into Chinese, and I have nothing wrong with Chinese people but some people tend to just throw all Asian groups into Chinese. And that guy was just profiling me which was not a good feeling. It’s just unfortunate that there are still people who are just so narrow-minded.

-ashley

Will They Make It Big?

So I just wanted to give my opinion to the blog below regarding Asian American artists. I think one of the reasons why Asian American artists have trouble making it “big” is because agents and the media don’t know how to market them. With young upcoming white girls in the music industry they can be marketed as the sexy, sometimes slutty schoolgirl plenty of men fantasize about. With Hispanic artists they’re seen as exotic with their striking tan bodies. And with black girls they’re soulful, fierce, and divalicious. All these women are viewed as beautiful, toned, talented, and relatable. But with Asians they are usually categorized by either dragon lady or innocent school girl. And if they attempt to go with how they really are like if their style and personality is on the preppier side they may be seen as acting like a white girl. Or if they’re style is more sexy and more out there they’ll be thought of as acting black. Another reason may be a little racial but I believe some people still think this, is that Asians can speak English and they all don’t have an accent. And as for the artists who have made it big, we can see that they’re not fully Asian or you can’t really tell that they have any in them at all. Rob Schneider being part Filipino is recognized in his movies such as Deuce Bigalow, The Hot Chick, and several others. Working with several talented, white actors audiences easily see him as a white male. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycatt Dolls is half Filipino but she can be mistaken for Latina, which is why she’s put out in the media as very exotic with her dark hair and tan body. Ne-Yo is part Chinese but he’s most relatable as a black man even with almond shaped eyes. Rob Schneider being part Filipino is recognized in his movies such as Deuce Bigalow, The Hot Chick, and several others. Working with several talented, white actors audiences easily see him as a white male. There are plenty of talented Asian American artists but the media may just not be ready to accept them into the industry as they are and hopefully in time they will receive the gratitude and recognition they deserve.

-ashley

Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives is probably one of my top 3 favorite shows. The other two are Family Guy and Golden Girls but I digress. Although I enjoy the plot, characters, and most of all Eva Longoria, I didn’t think it was a very good idea for the writers to come up with that offensive line referencing the Philippines in such a negative way. With a large number of Filipinos working in hospitals and that stereotype of all Filipinos are nurses you would think the Filipinos working in the hospitals know what they’re doing. And from what I’ve learned in a previous Ethnic Studies class in 1901 there was a heavy shortage of teachers in the Philippines which led the United States to send 1,ooo American teachers, called “Thomasites” over to open barangay schools. They taught in English and attempted to “Americanize” their classes. Unfortunately they did not succeed but even so American education was brought to the Philippines so I find it somehow ironic that Terri Hatcher’s character, Susan, would make fun of where the doctor got his diplomas and the way she referred to the Philippines was as if it’s some place where even a monkey can get a diploma. The scene was very offensive because Filipinos have a deep regard for education. Education is viewed as the primary avenue for upward and social mobility.

-ashley

Music has no race.

Wellllll. I was reading other peoples blogs and was just reevaluating the discussions we were having during class and I was beginning to wonder a bunch of things. First of all, I'm wondering why Asian American musicians are never really capable of becoming famous or even just getting their name out there. There are plenty of musicians out there (and even in the bay area) that are asian american who aren't as big as other musicians. For example, there's Passion, Reynard Silva, and Gabe Bondoc. These are three male asian acoustic/vocalists who are plenty talented however in some way, shape or form they're not capable of achieving the fame they truly deserve. However, if you look at musicians in the media right now, people who are somewhat big are capable of achieving fame and fortune just because of their "image" or whatever. I just feel as if asian american musicians aren't capable of achieving acceptance in the music business. If I was to name an asian american musician that actually became big, I would have to say Cassie (I know not much of a musician). But Cassie is half filipino and half african american, so im assuming that Cassie wasn't famous because she was half filipino but half african american. It just seems nowadays that you must fit a certain criteria or a certain image to be able to showcase your talent. Although there may be many Asian american musicians who have talent and who are capable of "making it" I feel as if they aren't granted the same opportunities and furthermore not granted even the time of day. Although some Asian American artists are on their way to getting big or becoming famous, I feel as though they will never be granted the same amount of acceptance and opportunity as someone who fits the typical musician criteria (American or African American). So for now, I guess Asian americans will just have to continue living under the typical stereotypes of "boring jobs" and jobs requiring heavy math until they are capable of breaking the mold that society puts upon us. Anyways, hopefully one day Asian americans will be able to succeed in becoming major musicians and break free of the status quo. 

Some examples of Asian American Musicians;

Last but not least, the one who actually somewhat made it big, Cassie.

However, I'm not 100% sure, but I don't know if she made it because of her looks or because of her "so called" talent. 

210s finest on mineeee.

-Vince Santiago

F**K the PiGS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeDjJf02fac

( Osacar Grant was Shot and Killed by Bart Police on new year day in Oakland Ca, Shot from the back of his head while being detain.) WE need to end these police killing.- RIP Osacar Grant

Today we still live in a country where racism still exist, Im talking about the racism as the system wise. Where the system is mess up and there met to hold us down. Community where there are low resources and no funding being invested. Because of the lack of resources and jobs violence and drugs are increasing. Many hope to see better days, while other do what they got to do to survive.
Many say violence is a big problem, so they feel that the only answer is to hired more police. But me I say F the police because they never been no help, they say they suppose to protect an serve, but i haven't seen them protecting nobody but the folk with money. That what i believe, that police are here “to only protect rich folk.”And for us as the people of color, living in these ghetto, all they been doing is harassing and murdering us. I believe we don’t need them and that it can take us as a community to end the violence. because it our community and we can take care of it ourself. so F the pigs!!!
WE need stand up and fight for what we believe in and fight for our justic. We got to get our shit together, and stop these violence in our community.
"stop bangin on eachother and bang on the system."

-Phon Chanthanasak

ETHS 210

What good!!!

Mybad for writing up something really late. This my first time writing a blog. Never heard what a blog was until I enter this Class ETHS 210. But yea i just got done reading some of the other group blogs, just to get a better understanding lol. but yea i guest I am suppose to post up any thing that come to mind. I Just want to say ETHS 210 is a dope class, just being there and learning about some real shit that going on around us and just learning about others story is very inspiring to me. I am very thankful to be in this class. All the things ima learn in this class ima take it and put it in action. Share my knowelege, giving back to my community. Like they say "Each one Tech one Each one rech One."

- Phon Chanthanasak

Ching Chong

I know this video is old, but it still makes me furious when I watch it. What makes it worse is that there was no action taken by the View or ABC, and Rosie O'Donnell's "apology" was even more insulting. This was her reaction after hearing the complaints of Asian American viewers : "This apparently was very offensive to a lot of Asian people. So I asked Judy, who's Asian and works here in our hair and makeup department. I said, 'Was it offensive to you?' And she said, 'Well, kinda. When I was a kid people did tease me by saying ching-chong." This occurred around the same time as the Don Imus controversy, in which he call the Rutger's girls basketball players "nappy headed hoes". Although he made a public apology, he was still fired by CBS. This incident recieved a lot of public attention and media criticism, but the same couldn't said about the racist remarks made by Rosie O'Donnell. I understand that she is a comedian, and what she said must be put in to context, but I still feel that the Don Imus and Rosie O'Donnell incidents were very similar, yet completely different consequences resulted from it. Why is racial 'jokes' fine and dandy when they are made towards Asians but when similar remarks are made against African Americans they are seen as racist? Are Asian jokes funnier than black jokes? or is it that Asian people are just less sensitive? Well, I don't think any of these are the case. I believe Asian Americans are just as furious when they watch this video as those African Americans who heard Don Imus call the Rutgers girls basketball players "nappy headed hoes". The difference is the way the communities reacted to these incidents. The African American community have leaders such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to speak out against Don Imus, but the Asian American communties lack these powerful figures. African Americans were able to rally behind these leaders and put pressure on CBS to take action against Don Imus, while Asian Americans are only able to write individual letters of complaints, which is a far less effective way of pressuring a corporation to take action. I believe the only way Asian Americans will be taken seriously and recieve the same level of respect as other minority groups is to have powerful leaders who are willing to fight for our integrity and at the same time be supported by his or her community. Who will be the one to take up this challenge is yet to be known....

Jiawei

mail order brides

Today most people are too busy with their careers and daily lives to go out and find their soul mate. They don’t want to date a bunch of people they have absolutely no interest in so to eliminate that process, online dating services provide these impatient people a way to narrow down all the other single people in the service they may have stuff in common with. The other day in class Irene mentioned mail order brides. Now what I’m understanding with this service is that all one has to do is simply go online, browse through a bunch of women who interest them, click, purchase, and shipment will arrive in 2-3 weeks. Now I’m sure there’s more to it than that but I’m also sure there’s more to the story than just buying your perfect bride and living happily ever after. Some women who are bought come to these lonely men and live as slaves. They are put to work by their husbands and are forced to do whatever they want. Some are treated as maids to keep the house clean, cook, “lay down” with their husbands, and are beaten when they disobey. I guess you could call this slavery but it can’t be, right? I mean slavery was abolished in 1865 so this must be nonsense, right? And I guess for the few men who realy are just looking for their "perfect bride" they're just too insecure with themselves that they can't go on a date with a chick and have to go straight to ordering their "soul mate". I don’t understand how this service can be running when I’m sure people know what’s really going on, that this isn’t some new high speed dating service, and lonely jerks can’t use the excuse that they just want to find love. The whole idea of mail order brides is disgusting and I don’t understand how or why this started.

-ashley

Get with it or get lost.

From Left to Right.

Rovie Flores.

Scott Siordia.

Vincent Santiago.

Phon Chanthanasak.

Noppol Steobol.

Ashley Kirkpatrick.

Heather Trinnell.

Jiawei Wu.

EDIT.

Picture from Group Activity.

"Monkey/Duck" Constructed from play-doh.