Unfortunately, it has everything to do with Asian Americans.

The Walt Disney Company announced that Iron Man 3 will be co-produced with a Chinese partner, DMG Entertainment.  While this means Iron Man 3 will open overseas first rather than in the States, it may also mean a rehashing of the normal Iron Man plot.

Tony Stark - Man of Steel

In the last two movies, Iron Man fought two robotic villians: Obadiah Stane and Whiplash.  As far as the threequels go, having another robotic villain would be stale and boring.

What are Marvel’s choices?

So Marvel has MODOK and AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics).  Unfortunately, an oversized floating head is comical on TV rather than sinister.  Not only that, but the AIM’s suits look like beekeeper suits.  MODOK is definitely out, and probably more suited to an Avengers enemy, rather than merely Iron Man’s.

They have Ezekial Stane, son of Obadiah Stane.  Created by Matt Fraction in 2008, Ezekial Stane is a relatively new edition to the Marvel Universe.  He creates a biosuit, connected to his body, and destroys Stark Industries.  Ezekial’s involvement probably would wreck the self-contained aspect of the Marvel movies, so he is probably out.

The other options that Marvel have are options like the Unicorn, a man with a cone-shaped blaster on his head; Ultron, a robot created by Hank Pym (out because of Hank Pym’s absence in the Avengers team); Titanium Man (another robot); Melter, a man who can melt iron; and perhaps, but highly unlikely, Whitney Frost/Madame Frost, Tony Stark’s sometimes-enemy, sometimes-lover. However, in the interest of maintaining a semblance of realism and credibility, all of these villains are out.  Whitney Frost would disrupt the already delicate balance of Pepper and Tony, so she is also out.

Now, who else does that leave?

The Mandarin.

First appearing in Tales of Suspense #50, the Mandarin’s first incarnation is a wealthy Chinese businessman born in mainland China before the Communist revolution.  At adulthood, he discovers the wondrous powers of Makluan (alien) science and then is suddenly bent on world domination.  He attempts to steal missiles from the American government that were built by Tony Stark, who then takes it upon himself to defeat the Mandarin.  Unable to bring him to justice, they start the long rivalry that has made the Mandarin one of Iron Man’s greatest villains.

The Mandarin from Invincible Iron Man Annual 2010

In his current incarnation, the Mandarin is the son of a (White) prostitute in an opium den with a nameless father. He works up in the opium/prostitute house as he grows up, and then, after finding his mother’s overdosed body, he becomes the new pimp of the brothel house.  Then he’s a loyalist to the Communist government, and not to mention a woman-oppressing man.  All of these unseemly traits he hides with his powers of manipulation and the Makluan rings.

In short, the Mandarin is Fu Manchu 2.0.  For those who have never seen Fu Manchu, have a taste:

Movie poster for the Face of Fu Manchu (1965). From MoviePosterDb.com

He’s an Asian American steretoype, created under the fear of the yellow peril.  The Mandarin could be considered a spin-off of Fu Manchu with his nasty attitude and his “take -over-the-world” modus operandi.

Unfortunately, this means that Asian people will once again be cast in two dual roles: one, the male oppressor, and two, the effeminate helpless subjects.  The Mandarin will have to be defeated by the white savior, Tony Stark, to be freed.  And once again, the leading role of the Asian character will be as a villain.  Not only that, but his powers are given to him by an “alien” race, thus placing him in the perpetual foreigner stereotype.

The story gets worse, however.  The Mandarin is Tony’s recurring villain, considered Tony’s greatest threat.  But Tony wins every time.  Every time the Mandarin tries to win, he loses.  In other words, if the Mandarin stands for foreign power and Tony for the brute force of the United States, the message is loud and clear: Tony Stark, messenger for the United States, wins every time.

That is not to say that Tony Stark cannot be a good or even compelling character.  He has a wealth of mental health issues that have been treated with care and nuance.  But Tony Stark is still a White character, and all of his movies thus far have played off the stereotypes of other racial groups.  This wouldn’t nearly be as big of a problem, however, if there were some good Asian characters, or even other characters of color, to balance out the mix–but unfortunately not.

In the Marvel franchise thus far, we have two ethnic characters–Black Widow, who is for all intents and purposes, another White character–and James “Rhodey” Rhodes–a Black character who is Tony’s sidekick and not even part of the main Avengers roster.  There are no Asian Americans in the Avengers team, and even more problematic, no people of color in the Avengers movie roster at all, and only one woman.  Adding an Asian villain would only continue the poor representation of people of color in the superhero business–a franchise that supposedly represents “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” but features a single demographic and a token Black character.

The Lineup for the Avengers Movie

Iron Man 3 could change that disturbing trend.  Tony Stark has worked with countless people of color in his career, owing to the fact that an international business would involve Tony speaking to all sorts of people, including his long-term girlfriend Rumiko Fujikawa or even Amaedus Cho, Korean kid genius with a coyote pup-in-tow.

Amadeus Cho, with pup-in-tow.

But the announcement of DMG Entertainment’s involvement, along with Disney’s promise to add Asian elements to Iron Man 3 do not bode well for Asian Americans.  The Avengers taught viewers that the only type of hero is the American hero–but if the Mandarin appears in Iron Man 3, the movie might teach us that the best type of villain, too, is the Asian one.

The Mandarin: The Next Face of Asian on TV? Hopefully not.

The Regents Scholar Society Presents
MAYIM BIALIK: UCLA alumna, actress, and author.
May 2nd, 7:30pm, Rolfe 1200

In addition to starring and garnering laughs on “The Big Bang Theory” as neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler, Bialik also holds a PhD from our very own UCLA. After becoming famous with her role in the popular TV series “Blossom” in the 1990s, Bialik attended UCLA and earned her bachelor’s degree and PhD in neuroscience. She also recently published a book on parenting titled “Beyond the Sling”. Bialik will be sharing her valuable personal insights on achieving academic and career success and the evening will also feature an interactive audience Q&A session. All UCLA students, community members, and Big Bang enthusiasts are welcome to attend, the event is FREE!

Contact rssla@ucla.edu if you have any questions! http://www.facebook.com/events/248987295198905/

Dong-Matsuda, a mental health professional and community volunteer, also notes that the Vietnamese American community has shown resilience and has found some forms of coping through religious practices, as well as annual traditions and celebrations. The familial support, financial and emotional, found in the Vietnamese American community is another contributing factor towards the strength seen in the members of the Vietnamese American community.

By: Deanna Tran

By: Pao (Carol) Lee

Source: http://newamericamedia.org/2012/04/fresno-radio-stations-investment-in-hmong-community-pays-off.php

Samahang Pilipino at Mardi Gras in 1970's

Samahang Pilipino was founded in 1972. According to Mallory Valenzuela, a third year double major in sociology and Asian American Studies and the president of Samahang, it was a radical statement to even identify as Pilipino American forty years ago, let alone to gather together under that identity. There were not many Pilipino students back then, so Samahang Pilipino was started as a way to form a connection between students and allow them to have a space that was uniquely Pilipino. Over the years, Samahang Pilipino has not only served as a social space, but as an organization that has campaigned for many causes, such as veterans’ benefits for Pilipino veterans who served in World War II and affirmative action.

Samahang Pilipino 2012 Board in solidarity with Trayvon Martin

In the years since its founding, Samahang Pilipino has grown to include many different components, such as SPACE (Samahang Pilipino Advancing Community Empowerment), which goes out to sites such as Belmont High School and El Camino College in order to work with undeserved high school and community college students; and SPEAR (Samahang Pilipino Education and Retention), which serves students at UCLA to help them maintain their academic status and graduate.

Samahang also hosts an annual culture night: Samahang Pilipino Culture Night. SPCN is an opportunity for the Filipino American community on campus to come together and have a critical engagement with what it means to be Pilipino or Pilipino American, says Steven Panotes, a fourth year biochemistry major and an assistant coordinator for the event. This year, the theme for SPCN focuses on Samahang Pilipino’s campaign for financial literacy. Samahang Pilipino hopes to help students better understand the different policies that affect their college tuition, as well as the resources that are available for them.

Samahang Pilipino has also hosted P-Grad, a graduation event that focuses specifically on Filipino students, since 1993. According to Kevin Salinas, a fourth-year political science major and cultural coordinator for SPCN, P-Grad is meant to celebrate the notion that accomplishing graduation is not just an individual effort, but a community one.

On April 21st, Samahang Pilipino will celebrate its 40th anniversary at a fundraising benefit titled “One Family.” This event, which will be held at Covel Commons, is hosted by the Pilipino Alumni Association of UCLA and will feature performances as well as the presentation of scholarship awards.

Samahang Pilipino general members in April 2012

When asked about how they felt about the 40th anniversary of Samahang, various members said that being part of the organization and seeing how much history it carries is a humbling experience. Samahang Pilipino has become a “family” for Salinas and other members, a space where they are able to explore their identity and shape it.

“I think a big thing I’m noticing is that over these past 40 years, Samahang has meant a lot of things to a lot of different people,” says Salinas. “But one thing that has stuck out to me the most is that Samahang has created a family on this campus, a family that lasts beyond however many years you’re at UCLA.”

As a freshman at UCLA, Kho had the same belief about Asian American Studies. In high school, he was a science person who excelled in his courses. He studied hard and received good grades. The next logical step was to pursue a career in the hard sciences, which made him declare MCDB as an incoming freshman. Asian American Studies as a field of study had not even been on his list of possible majors.

Kho is clearly not the only student who thought it would be unlikely for him to major in Asian American Studies. In a survey done by Cal State LA’s Asian and Asian American Studies (AAAS) Department, 50% of the students surveyed answered that they were “unlikely” to major in AAAS if an Asian American Studies option was included. More than half of the students surveyed answered that they were “unlikely” to pursue an M.A. in AAAS as well.

It wasn’t until he took Asian American History for his History G.E. that his viewpoint changed. He says that his high school had a very Euro-centric history education, but the Asian American History class taught him the history of Asian Americans. “[Asian American Studies] is a really powerful way to get in touch with the history that’s been forgotten,” Kho says.

The class also discussed the model minority myth, which suggests that Asian Americans are successful academically and socioeconomically simply because they are “Asian,” rather than because of their hard work and dedication. Before taking the class, Kho had also bought into the model minority myth. “Things were good [for me],” he says. “Why should I care?”

But now, Kho considers majoring in both MCDB and Asian American Studies as the natural step towards his future career. The two majors complement each other, especially since Kho is interested in pursuing a career with public health. He cites higher cancer rates among Asian Americans, as well as lower access to health care for Southeast Asian Americans, as areas of interest for him. For Kho, MCDB gives him the tools to understand the science behind health, and Asian American Studies provides the perspective with which to understand the social issues behind disparities in health as well as health care.

Professor Jinqi Ling, head of the Asian American Studies Department at UCLA, also emphasizes the highly complementary and interdisciplinary nature of Asian American Studies. He says that the faculty has many areas of expertise, like public health, anthropology, urban planning, psychology, public policy, and literature. Asian American Studies is not merely a field of theory, but a practical one that is heavily imbued with a sense of community and service. After all, the Asian American Studies Center at UCLA was founded in 1969 as a way for Asian American students to give back to their communities by conducting research focused specifically on their communities.

In addition to service, Asian American Studies is also a tool for students to understand their identity in the world. Before the term “Asian Americans” was coined, they were known as “Orientals.” According to Professor Lucy Burns of the UCLA Asian American Studies department, the intellectual knowledge that the major provides students with an understanding of themselves in the national and global context.

Moreover, it helps students develop their own identity as well. Professor Ling says, “One of the things Asian American Studies does is raise the students’ Asian American consciousness and make them more aware of history, community, and the relevance of this kind of education to the potential transformation of society.”

For Jeffrey Kho, reaffirming his own Asian American identity through the major became directly linked to his community, and he encourages others to take the same approach. “Ethnic Studies really helps to awake people to the need for getting involved in the community and getting involved politically,” he says.

Not only that, but Asian American Studies affects students on a much more personal, microscopic scale as well. Natasha Saelua, an Asian American Masters student at UCLA, said that the self-knowledge that Asian American Studies, and ethnic studies in general, gives students the ability to reflect that knowledge out to their friends and family, pushing their assumptions and norms.

Armed with this knowledge, students and professors involved in Asian American Studies today still strive to not only to define themselves, but to give back to their communities. The ways in which they do this are unique and diverse: Professor Robert Nakamura makes documentaries about the Asian American community; Ninez Ponce, an Associate Professor at the UCLA School of Public Health, serves on the Executive Board of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus of the American Public Health Association; Natasha Saelua researches the long-term impacts of the education access group Pacific Islander Education & Outreach (PIER).

The intersections within Asian American Studies with other fields, such as film-making and public health, may come as a surprise to some people. But for students like Kho, Asian American Studies unlocks pathways to different careers. Kho says that he could have gone into research, but he now sees the possibility of going into public health and addressing the concerns and needs of Asian Americans, where there is a higher rate of cancer.

“Knowledge is one thing,” Kho says, “but application is another. Asian American Studies gives me the critical perspective to see what I’m going to do with the biology I’m learning.”

BB cream or otherwise known as Blemish Balm, Blemish Base, or Beblesh Balm was created in the 50s in Germany by Dr. Christine Schrammek. Its original purpose was to protect the skin after laser surgery. Thirty years later, it was introduced into the Asian market where it became an instant success for Korean actors and actresses. BB cream serves as a moisturizer, protects the skin from UV damage, hydrates the skin, and has an anti-inflammatory effect. It also might contain rejuvenating anti-aging properties as well.

Some guys might be afraid to rub on their face what may seem to be a “girly” product  but rest assured, BB cream was designed for both women and men. Also, for our non-Asian readers, don’t feel as if this cream is only for the next K-Pop idol, BB cream has also been localized for the western market.

Anyway so the next time I stop by K-town, I will be buying a bottle of this so-called “miracle cream” and trying it out. If any of you wish to try out this experiment as well with me, you can send Pacific Ties an email about your experience or simply comment below!

By: Jiemin Zhou

Sources:

http://www.ocweekly.com/2012-04-05/culture/trendzilla-bb-cream/

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/beauty/makeup-skincare/6628122/The-lowdown-on-BB-Cream