http://www.iexaminer.org/news/the-web-series-trend-launches-new-apa-identities/
The Web Series Trend Launches New APA Identities
As
more people turn off their TV’s in favor of smartphones, tablets and notebooks,
those with a camera and few creative friends are finding a haven in the digital
world of web series.
The same rules that apply to mainstream media don’t exist
in the digital world. For Asian American moviemakers, this means an opportunity
to combat stereotypes and to openly explore unconventional themes ranging from
partying to homosexuality.
“KTown
Cowboys,” the brainchild of Danny Cho and Daniel Dpd Park, began as a
compilation of stories from their high school and college days in Koreatown,
Los Angeles.
“We
thought people would hate it. A lot of people are sensitive to drunken
debauchery,” said writer and actor Cho.
As a
result, they decided to format their show as a web series so a large, but
specific, Asian American population could access the show for free online. Cho
said he wanted viewers to watch it at their “own leisure instead of having to
go to a theater.”
Financed
with a mere $5,000, the online web series premiered in mid-2010 on its website.
It quickly grew a steady following through social media.
“The
only thing I did was post it on my Facebook wall and that’s how it grew,” said
Cho.
For the team of friends, who play exaggerated caricatures of themselves
partying one night in “Ktown,” the series was an opportunity to tell realistic
stories that hadn’t been told before.
“We weren’t out to be preachy, but none
of the [American media] related to our lives,” said Cho.
“We
wanted something that reflected how we live and play.”
With
over 1.2 million views, the show was popular with 18 to 32-year-old Asian
Americans across the country. Because the webisodes are available online
anywhere around the world, Ktown Cowboys and other web series have the
capacity, unlike network cable, to draw a global market.
Another web series
that takes place in Koreatown is the hype-generating Asian American answer to
reality TV. “Ktown” is the first Asian American reality show, and co-creator
Eugene Choi, believes it can serve as a vehicle to “breaking perceptions” in
mainstream America, including the minority myth.
The
unscripted show follows a segment of the lives of eight 20-something Korean
Americans as they navigate Ktown’s nightlife. There is no end to the drinking,
dancing and drama. Much like their raucous reality show “Jersey Shore”
counterparts, the vivacious characters work hard but play even harder; however,
there is also a sharp difference: Asians have never been depicted this way
before.
“A
lot of the stereotypes are one dimensional. Asians are nerds, doctors, or the
IT guy,” said Eddie Kim, who along with Choi and Mike Le produce the series.
“In our show, it’s great to see that first of all they speak English, they’re
funny and they have a good time.”
Due
to a number of factors, the show didn’t launch on network cable TV. Instead
they chose to debut on LOUD, the YouTube channel of Electus, which aims to
bring new models of entertainment, such as reality shows, to the internet.
The
12-minute webisodes are tailored to the YouTube viewer who has, typically, a
low attention span.
“Within
the next five years, we are going to see a lot of interplay between TV and
online. We just happened to be at the beginning stages of that,” said Kim.
In
2011, Google invested $100 million to bring dozens of free channels with
professional-grade content to YouTube.
The
series began airing in July 2012 and has about 250,000 views on its first two
episodes.
In a two-month span, the web series “Away We Happened” received
nearly 10 million hits due in part to effective niche advertising by AT&T
and Wong Fu Productions. The six-episode YouTube series is the tale of Jean and
Daniel, whose fates collide when they mistakenly switch suitcases. To appeal to
social media users, viewers vote and ultimately decide on the outcome of the
plot.
Jen
and Victor Kim, the actors for Jean and Daniel respectively had large
followings on YouTube and twitter which was a factor in their selection as actors
for the show.
Online
moviemakers have found that they have greater freedom to tell the stories they
want to tell on the internet.
“That’s
What She Said” is the story of lesbian Asian Americans living in LA. With
mainstream media overlooking queer Asian perspectives entirely, the Pearl Girls
Productions intended to make something Asian Americans could relate to. The
show follows the lives of five fictional characters—a Vietnamese, Japanese,
Filipina, Korean and Chinese- American and their various struggles of coming
out to their families, family pressure and dealing with immigrant parents.
“I
definitely see that there is a shift; there are more Asian faces in American
media,” said Cho. With the gradual but inevitable shift of TV to online, both
Park and Cho agreed that Asian Americans need to become pioneers in bringing
new models of entertainment to their viewers.
Ktown
Cowboys: ktowncowboys.com
Ktown:
New episodes are uploaded to youtube.com/loud every Wednesday.
Away We
Happened: youtube.com/wongfuproductions
That’s
What She Said: twssonline.com
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