“Bart and Joe, the two underwear models of comedy, are destined to make you poop in your pants with their secret weapon: comedy. In addition to being the two sexiest sculptures ever born, their ultimate mission is to unite the Asian Youth to create a voice that can be heard in the entertainment industry. Thus, JustKiddingFilms was created by the Gangster’s [sic] of Comedy to spread the word of Cultural Unity through the vessel of laughter.” This is the official mission statement of Just Kidding Films, a filmmaking duo that consists of Bart Kwan, a UCLA psychobiology graduate, and Joe Jo, a fourth-year psychology major at Cal State University, Los Angeles (CSULA).

JustKiddingFilms started as a lighthearted attempt to make funny videos. “I had the bright idea of putting some videos on YouTube,” said Jo. “At first it was a joke.”

However, Jo and Kwan soon began using their videos to cover more serious issues such as racial stereotypes, discrepancies in the media and the public’s ignorance towards the two. It’s difficult to overlook the relevance of their films to present-day issues, but humor is still integral to everything they make.

“We want to make sure nobody takes things (too) seriously because at the end of the day, it’s just comedy,” said Kwan. Jo and Kwan established JustKidding Films in August of 2007 on YouTube. They did not expect to garner immense popularity in such a short amount of time. “We didn’t know it was going to blow up like this,” Jo said. “We just wanted to provide something funny.”

Their first video together was called “Chigga Hunting,” though it went under the radar. They consider their first official video to be “Uncle Same Gets Jacked,” which marked the beginning of their Uncle Same and Uncle Chin series of films. The video gained immense popularity, garnering nearly 500,000 views on their YouTube channel to date.

Though Jo and Kwan attended the same high school and community college, they did not meet until mutual friends introduced them to one another much later. Kwan grew up in Cerritos, California, and eventually settled in San Gabriel, California. Jo grew up in Gardena, California, and eventually moved to San Gabriel as a teenager. They started Just Kidding Films a few years after they met. The name of their film troupe was derived from the initials of their last names. The rest is history.

Jo and Kwan use comedy in JustKiddingFilms as an outlet for the messages they want to convey. Mainly they want to change the perception of Asians in the media, especially in the entertainment industry.

“We don’t see (the) Asians that we grew up with represented well,” Jo said. “They’re usually a martial artist or the bad guy in a movie.”

Jo and Kwan also noticed that many comedians make fun of Asians in their routines, but there are not many Asian American comedians who retaliate by countering those insults or defending themselves.

“We (also) noticed (that) a lot of Asians in their videos make fun of themselves,” Kwan said.

Kwan and Jo feel that it’s part of their responsibility to fill that gap and provide a new source of comedy.

“For one, we’re trying to pioneer a form of comedy that Asian Americans can call their own,” Jo said. “But with Asian comedy, it hasn’t made its own definition yet. What I started to envision was like SNL for Asians by Asians, a sketch comedy show. We want to bring an edginess to it to represent Asian Americans.”

JustKiddingFilms incorporates the use of extreme stereotypes in order to demonstrate society’s ignorance. Kwan used Borat as an example. Borat is a stereotypical character whose words and actions are shocking, offensive and oftentimes racist. By being so, he exposes the nature of the people that he encounters.

“Like Borat, (we’re) exposing ignorance,” Kwan said. “We try to show the irony in society… That’s why we play characters of other ethnicities; we’re not trying to make fun of them.”

While the majority of Just Kidding Films is improvised, their ideas often come from everyday events.

“Nothing’s really written,” Jo said.

“We don’t write jokes. We just have an outline… We got to stay observant of everything around us.” Jo and Kwan admitted that the characters they portray in their films take on lives of their own.

“Our character takes over. It becomes everyday life; that’s who we are,” Joe said. “We’re a bit schizophrenic, switching between multiple personalities.”

In the film “USA AMERICAN MARTIAL ARTS SHOW!” Jo and Kwan humorously address the fascination with Asians in terms of martial arts and the elaborate exoticism of Asian culture.

“Asians are under the radar in terms of the media,” Kwan said. “There was a strong movement of white people wanting to be Asian in the eighties.”

In the film, Jo and Kwan portray homogenous white characters who demonstrate their “skills” in martial arts. It is a parody of American fascination with Asian culture.

Jo and Kwan recently completed a few large projects, such as their latest film “JustKiddingFilms Halloween Special,” which deals with racism and the importance of not judging others based solely on skin color.

The future of JustKiddingFilms appears bright, but Jo and Kwan would rather not harness unrealistic expectations. “We don’t know what to expect, (but) if people like what we do, then we’ll gain popularity,” Jo said.

“Last words for anyone reading this would be to anyone who would like to pursue a passion, don’t let race be your crutch. It’s not an Asian thing; it’s about self-esteem. I’d like to see more Asians in the entertainment industry,” Jo said.