During my junior year of high school, my friend Kimberly and I stood at a Walmart deciding whether or not we wanted to buy potato wedges from the deli and the ladies behind the cash register called us over. They asked us what ethnicity we were. “I’m Chinese and she’s Vietnamese,” I replied and they looked surprised.
Advertised as “shock therapy entertainment” in the trailer, “The World of Kanako” is certainly not a film for the faint of heart (or stomach for the matter). This film can best be described as a darker version of the “Taken” storyline with Tarantino’s over-the-top violence. Yet, if one can look past the spurting fountains of blood and disturbing use of household appliances, the story itself takes viewers on an intriguing exploration of the human psyche.
How we call what is happening in Baltimore will affect how we perceive people who commit acts of violence to draw attention to their oppression. If language choice matters, then choosing between the word protest and riot in media headlines will sway public opinion about the unrest in Baltimore.
As part of the Asian American Pacific Heritage Month, Pacific Ties is looking at different AAPI student leaders on campus. In this edition, we interviewed Trent Kajikawa, the recently elected Academic Affairs Commissioner and current Academic Affairs Commission Chief-of-Staff.
On May 9, the Association of Chinese Americans (ACA) hosted its 26th annual Chinese American Culture Night called A Skill Called Chance, which took place at Royce Hall. Each year, an issue experienced by the Chinese American community is addressed through the form of a theatrical performance by UCLA students.
On May 8 at 5:30 p.m., local reporters, students and community members packed Perloff auditorium to hear Uemura Takashi speak. Uemura shared his struggles as a heavily-criticised Japanese journalist from the late 1990s to present. After publishing his Asahi Times 1999 article on a Korean “comfort woman,” Kim Haksun, Uemura has faced death threats.