5/18/2010

Marginally Insane

http://marginallyinsane.com/tag/asian-americans/

Source: Marginally Insane, May 18, 2010

"Asian Jersey Shore": I'd Almost Watch It




If you haven’t heard, they’re casting for an Asian-American version of The Jersey Shore.  I’ve been on the fence about this, like I am about most reality TV shows, because
  1. Couldn’t they have just stuck Jon Gosselin and Tila Tequila in a room together and filmed that?
  2. Can’t they give Asian-Americans REAL acting jobs in scripted shows and movies, instead?
  3. Does equal-opportunity stereotyping make stereotyping OK?
  4. Isn’t this going to reinforce the nerd vs. thug dichotomy among Asian-Americans?
But, after talking to family, friends and co-workers who overwhelmingly admit that they’d watch it, I kind of want to say that maybe I’d watch it too.  Juuuust maaaaybe.  After all, I’ll fess up and say I used to watch both Jon & Kate Plus 8 AND Shot at Love with Tila Tequila.  There’s something to be said about rubbernecking.  But, when the train wreck looks a lot more like you do, you kind of get this added boost in self-importance and awareness.  And isn’t that exactly what reality TV is supposed to do?
All I can say is that it’s probably a good thing that I no longer have cable.

5/14/2010

NEWSPEAK TV

Source: NEWSPEAK TV, May 5, 2010

K-Town Reality Show Auditions

FIL-AM AKO

http://www.filamako.com/2010/05/the-situasians-of-koreatown-reality-show/

Source: FIL-AM AKO, May 7, 2010

The SituAsians of Koreatown Reality Show

I’ve been following the news on the proposed Asian American reality show set in LA’s Koreatown, which is something I really don’t want to admit. Anyways, news last march on casting from Tyrese Gibson’s production company HQ Pictures called for colorful Asian-Americans to cast in a reality show similar to JERSEY SHORE, REAL WORLD, THE HILLS, etc. This show even before casting began got a lot of backlash for being called the Asian Jersey Shore. I’ve never really seen that show since I’ve been over exposed to that subculture through HCWDB and through my visits to Naperville (anyone from Illinois, you know what I mean). What caught my attention on this proposed Asian American reality show was its goal to feature multi dimensional characters meaning not your typical Asian stereotypes like the nerd, the martial artist, the slutty girl as stated by the producers.

What I saw from the interviews from ProjektNewSpeak is that a lot of the Asian males coming out for the auditions are really one dimensional and kind of lacked charisma, especially when the majority of them could only come up with the SituAsian as a nickname. Now, I’m not going to judge this show until the final product comes out, but I want to know what are your thoughts on this show? I also wanted to know if any Filipinos were allowed to audition for this show after the US Census announced Filipinos having their own ethnic category separate from Asian Americans.

References:
Angry Asian Man
channelAPA
ProjektNewSpeak

FeelRed

http://feelred.org/life/2010/04/30/mtv-asian-version-of-jersey-shore/

Source: FeelRed, April 30, 2010

MTV | Asian Version of Jersey Shore?

Tyrese Gibson’s production company is casting for a show called
K-Town
like ersey Shore it’ll focus on the lives of young adults and their life styles while introducing their own culture. The show is called K-town (koreatown) but based on the youtube video of the producers interview it seems that multiple oriental elasticities will be represented, Im guessing its just called K-town cause that’s where they’re gonna be partying at.

What’chall think bout the idea? Instead of GTL (Gym, Tan and Laundry) will it be KDR (Karaoke, Drugs and Racing?)

Craigslist LA casting ad:

We need attractive Asian-Americans with lively, strong, and unique personalities between the ages of 18 to 30 with equally interesting life stories and perspectives to share, especially individuals who know about and/or experienced the Koreatown life.

5/06/2010

Xiaoali.net

http://www.xiaoali.net/tag/asian/

Source: Xiaoli.net,  April 27, 2010

K-Town, the Asian Jersey Shore

I just watched a video of the Producers of K-Town talking up their upcoming reality show.  Before you watch the video of them discussing the show, check out some sample questions KoreAm posted here.  One of the sample questions is, “Do you drink alcohol? If so, how often do you drink and how much? How do you act when drunk?”  So when the Producers say they want to show Asians not as nerds and sexual goddesses, what other side are they thinking of?
A link to video can be found here.  I have mixed feelings about the show, also am not surprised about the direction they’re going in.  Asians have made progress in the entertainment business.  Asian American families have been featured in commercials, portrayed as everyday people as opposed to just a stereotype. Look at Jin and Sun on the show of Lost.  They aren’t portrayed as computer science geeks or kung fu fighters, Sun isn’t some exotic sexual object.  I don’t know if this show would be a step forward or a step in the wrong direction yet, it may not even cause a ripple.  Whenever it airs, I will definitely tune in though.  Until then, I’m going to reserve judgement until the first episode is released.  Still I can’t say I have any hopes that it’ll be anything other than a Asian ripoff of the Jersey Shore.

5/05/2010

Channel APA

http://www.channelapa.com/2010/05/asian-american-reality-show-auditions.html

Source: Channel APA, May 5, 2010

Asian American Reality Show Auditions and Tyrese

Projekt Newspeak got some interviews from the auditions of the Asian American Reality Show. See where some of the potential stars come from and what their nicknames might be. They also landed an interview with Tyrese himself, who talks about why he got involved in the project. His motivation is trying to get Asian Americans on TV to show their multidimensional characteristics and personalities. Previously, the show’s producers (Eugene Choi, Mike Le, and Eddie Kim) spoke about having the project break Asian American stereotypes.

5/04/2010

MTV IGGY

http://blog.mtviggy.com/2010/04/30/asian-american-jersey-shore-producers-speak-were-still-confused/

Source: MTV IGGY, April 30, 2010

Asian-American Jersey Shore Producers Speak! (We're Still Confused)

BY: Samantha

We are so confused. First, we hear about an Asian-American version of MTV’s smash hit Jersey Shore from somewhere else. Then we hear it’s open to non-Asians. Then we hear hot former-model Tyrese Gibson (um, clearly not Asian) is producing the show and that it will be open to Blasians.
NOW we hear the producers are all Asian American?
What’s going on with this show!?!
iamkoream.com interviewed producers Eugene Choi, Mike Le, and Eddie Kim.  Here’s what they say:
Jersey Shore Cast
– The show will be set in Koreatown in Los Angeles and feature K-Town rites of passage
– “We’re going to show Asian Americans like they’ve never been seen before to the rest of the world”
– They’re not interested in featuring typical Asian stereotypes like the “nerd, martial artist, sexpot/slutty girl”
– They want to show that there are “so many different types of us, we all don’t look the same”
Okay, so this sounds sort of…culturally redeeming. Thoughtful. Intelligent, even…
So it’s the exact opposite of the JERSEY SHORE?? I mean, c’mon!! We love that show because it’s cotton-candy. It’s being able to point and laugh without feeling guilty about being mean because the whole thing is an over-tanned, over-gelled, over-’rioded, Drakkar Noir doused hell hole of hilarity.
The orginal Jersey Shore took stereotypes and cemented them. Snookie, J-Wowww, The Situation, et al are beyond larger than life. They are human cartoons. These producers sound like they want Asian American version to break stereotypes.
{{Brain hurts. So confused.}}
Ok, whatever. We don’t know what’s going on right now, but hey we’re MTV. This is supposed to air here sometime…ahem, right? Maybe we can get to the bottom of this.
Creating a show that bridges the vast chasm between stereotype breaking and stereotype reinforcing would be neat trick to pull off. But here’s a glimmer of hope: About the fact that people from all over the country auditioned, a producer says — “I’d never met a Asian person with a thick, thick New Jersey accent…and now I’ve met two!”
 The casting call posted over on ChannelAPA was for last Saturday, April 24. Did you try out? Do you know anyone who did? How did it go? Tell us in the comments or tell us how we can contact you for more info!!