301 And more stuff I like to talk about...
Once upon a time around March 2007
Check out http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/needtoknow/2007/02/the_departed_was_better_in_jap.html which has an article that agrees pretty much with my view on why Infernal Affairs is a better film than The Departed. Pretty much from what I have seen and read, no matter when you saw the original and then the remake, American audiences prefer the remake and international audiences prefer the original. There is nothing wrong with that, I think both movies deserve to exist, the remake just does not really do anything new with the material especially with the caliber of the director (although Scorsese would never have directed anything like Wesley’s Mysterious File) but it also manages to insult the originals via Nicholson’s anti-Asian rant.
I not sure how much I have written on the Departed vs. Infernal Affairs issue, but I think that should be the last I will write about it. To wit: both movies are good, I just think the original is better and everyone who likes the remake should give the source material a chance. Hey, it is now available at Wal-Mart which surprised the hell out of Holly.
The following is from the website/blog of Nury Vitacchi (http://mrjam.typepad.com/), who I believe is a spiritual successor to Douglas Adams:
“I’m not just whistling in the wind. Sheba Karim, a student at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, has just landed a fabulous deal, I heard today.
Her manuscript has just been auctioned by literary agent Ayesha Pande, where the highest bidder was Farrar Straus -- a really US good publisher.
The story is about a Pakistani American girl’s life at an upstate New York high school. Not only is she the only Asian, but she’s the only Muslim. She’s also the sister of a standard Asian supernerd, and worst of all -- there’s the dreaded secret problem of many south Asian women: body hair.
It’s a hilarious story that only as Asian-American could have written. I’m hoping that Joe R. [hey that’s me!], a regular commenter on this site, will follow suit, among others!”
Congratulations to Sheba Karim on her deal and thanks to Mr. Jam on his encouragement. I have a billion and a half started stories in my head, from the murder on the International Space Station, the reason why the world did not end in 2000 (it happens to involve pro wrestling), a dozen wannabe Raymond Chandler yarns, one-act plays to the inevitable fan fiction (hey, Joss Whedon- I have the Buffy story that will knock your socks off right here!). My biggest problem is that the stories stay in my head until I can find a decent way to conclude them.
Endings are hard. For me, any story is all about the ending. A good ending can totally turn a mediocre story into a memorable one in the least, a great one if you are really lucky. Two examples that I can think of are the first Resident Evil movie and the novel Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
The last few minutes of Resident Evil almost totally negates the rest of the movie and creates either the perfect cliffhanger (THE DEAD WALK!) or a decent Twilight Zone episode. I know a lot of people do not really care for the movie, but I admire it just for the ending that plays with your expectations and I believe the movie does that up very well.
As for Neverwhere, the last chapter in that book can read more like a short story where we meet up with the characters some time after the main events have happened. It brings together everything we liked about the lead character, doing the cliché thing of how much he has grown because of his experiences but at the same time, his yearning for more adventures to escape his cubicle life draws us back in for the final pages. Neverwhere would have been just another novel had it ended with Richard Mayhew finally escaping London Below but the brief glimpse in his life after is what makes the book one of my favourite reads.
Endings are important; I just need to find some good ones for the stories living in my head (On the other side of things, I have dabbled with a short story collection I want to eventually write called Endings and Epilogues which are nothing but the imaginary last chapters of great, imaginary novels. A book of nothing but endings- someday maybe.)
Another thing on my mind regards the previous post about ten things that brands should know about Asian American youth. The world is getting smaller and smaller and more and more people are getting a chance to be farther and farther from where they were born, both physically and in a state of mind. I live an ocean and half a continent away from where I was born. But living in Texas, the past couple of days, what has been on my mind is this- I want to watch a good HK flick, filled with two handed gun gods, GAU CHO WAH’s, and of course- lightning fast martial arts.
And meanwhile, Korean Pop Culture is on the rise in Western countries, buoyed by the fact of the DMZ separating the two states and that both states philosophically oppose each other. But, get this; Korean Fried Chicken (the new KFC) is apparently a new delicacy. Taking a quintessential American dish and making something distinctly local (and knowing them, deliciously spicy) about it. Now, this new KFC is making its way back to the States, with hipsters rushing to Koreatowns to flavour a new take on an old favourite. There are none in Austin so far, but if one pops up, I will put my vegetarianism aside for a moment to sample it with some yum-yum kim chi.
It is actually an old tale.
Martin Scorsese makes Taxi Driver. John Woo loves Taxi Driver. John Woo makes the Killer as a tribute to Martin Scorsese. John Woo movies influence Andrew Lau. Andrew Lau makes Infernal Affairs. Martin Scorsese remakes Infernal Affairs.
See how that works?
Now, where was I going with this? Branding and Asian American youth culture. Reading that article makes me think what is the biggest difference between Asian-American youth and youth in Asia? Melting pots that is what. One thing I really love about America is how much of a melting pot the place is. We can pick and choose for many varied sources into what is our culture. No matter where we were originally from.
But with the world wide web, this option is beginning to be available to everyone. Japanese youth listening to Country music while kids in France tune in to urban hip hop and African boys dress like American movie icons, American kids constantly watching anime and a thirty year old in Texas listens to German Industrial music.
The only problem now is access and control of that flow of information. Do many youth have access to the internet? Or the financial means to do so even? There are internet cafes in Afghanistan and in the Congo. I hardly know how to use a cell phone but a Congonese woman I saw being profiled on a news program that makes in a week what I spend on a comic book was texting and sending photos via hers.
But what kind of information is made available to a kid in Afghanistan or the Congo? Would a Pakistani kid post comments on the latest Bollywood flick the same way a nerd would about the last Star Wars flick? I would hope so.
Uncle Kim in North Korea loves Hollywood action movies but only lets his people watch home grown ones and restricts their contact with the rest of the world. Who knows what kids in Shanghai are being allowed to watch?
The optimist in me says the world is getting smaller in all the good ways. The realist in me says that information is not being shared in ways that would bring us all closer as a people regardless of race. The pessimist in me says why bother- we will all kill each other in the end anyway.
But the Joe says, Dude if you like the Departed which shows Irish descendants in an American city, watch Infernal Affairs which tells the same story in a former British Colony now part of a Communist State that has Capitalist designated zones. In the very least you get to see that different peoples react the same in similar situations (in movies at least). In the best way, it can lead you to learning new things.
Which is always a good thing.
(…and I guess is the last I will talk about Infernal Affairs and the Departed, promise).
________________________________________________________________________
http://www.myspace.com/catterpillarboy
http://catterpillarboy.blogspot.com/
http://catterpillarboy.livejournal.com
Check out http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/needtoknow/2007/02/the_departed_was_better_in_jap.html which has an article that agrees pretty much with my view on why Infernal Affairs is a better film than The Departed. Pretty much from what I have seen and read, no matter when you saw the original and then the remake, American audiences prefer the remake and international audiences prefer the original. There is nothing wrong with that, I think both movies deserve to exist, the remake just does not really do anything new with the material especially with the caliber of the director (although Scorsese would never have directed anything like Wesley’s Mysterious File) but it also manages to insult the originals via Nicholson’s anti-Asian rant.
I not sure how much I have written on the Departed vs. Infernal Affairs issue, but I think that should be the last I will write about it. To wit: both movies are good, I just think the original is better and everyone who likes the remake should give the source material a chance. Hey, it is now available at Wal-Mart which surprised the hell out of Holly.
The following is from the website/blog of Nury Vitacchi (http://mrjam.typepad.com/), who I believe is a spiritual successor to Douglas Adams:
“I’m not just whistling in the wind. Sheba Karim, a student at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, has just landed a fabulous deal, I heard today.
Her manuscript has just been auctioned by literary agent Ayesha Pande, where the highest bidder was Farrar Straus -- a really US good publisher.
The story is about a Pakistani American girl’s life at an upstate New York high school. Not only is she the only Asian, but she’s the only Muslim. She’s also the sister of a standard Asian supernerd, and worst of all -- there’s the dreaded secret problem of many south Asian women: body hair.
It’s a hilarious story that only as Asian-American could have written. I’m hoping that Joe R. [hey that’s me!], a regular commenter on this site, will follow suit, among others!”
Congratulations to Sheba Karim on her deal and thanks to Mr. Jam on his encouragement. I have a billion and a half started stories in my head, from the murder on the International Space Station, the reason why the world did not end in 2000 (it happens to involve pro wrestling), a dozen wannabe Raymond Chandler yarns, one-act plays to the inevitable fan fiction (hey, Joss Whedon- I have the Buffy story that will knock your socks off right here!). My biggest problem is that the stories stay in my head until I can find a decent way to conclude them.
Endings are hard. For me, any story is all about the ending. A good ending can totally turn a mediocre story into a memorable one in the least, a great one if you are really lucky. Two examples that I can think of are the first Resident Evil movie and the novel Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
The last few minutes of Resident Evil almost totally negates the rest of the movie and creates either the perfect cliffhanger (THE DEAD WALK!) or a decent Twilight Zone episode. I know a lot of people do not really care for the movie, but I admire it just for the ending that plays with your expectations and I believe the movie does that up very well.
As for Neverwhere, the last chapter in that book can read more like a short story where we meet up with the characters some time after the main events have happened. It brings together everything we liked about the lead character, doing the cliché thing of how much he has grown because of his experiences but at the same time, his yearning for more adventures to escape his cubicle life draws us back in for the final pages. Neverwhere would have been just another novel had it ended with Richard Mayhew finally escaping London Below but the brief glimpse in his life after is what makes the book one of my favourite reads.
Endings are important; I just need to find some good ones for the stories living in my head (On the other side of things, I have dabbled with a short story collection I want to eventually write called Endings and Epilogues which are nothing but the imaginary last chapters of great, imaginary novels. A book of nothing but endings- someday maybe.)
Another thing on my mind regards the previous post about ten things that brands should know about Asian American youth. The world is getting smaller and smaller and more and more people are getting a chance to be farther and farther from where they were born, both physically and in a state of mind. I live an ocean and half a continent away from where I was born. But living in Texas, the past couple of days, what has been on my mind is this- I want to watch a good HK flick, filled with two handed gun gods, GAU CHO WAH’s, and of course- lightning fast martial arts.
And meanwhile, Korean Pop Culture is on the rise in Western countries, buoyed by the fact of the DMZ separating the two states and that both states philosophically oppose each other. But, get this; Korean Fried Chicken (the new KFC) is apparently a new delicacy. Taking a quintessential American dish and making something distinctly local (and knowing them, deliciously spicy) about it. Now, this new KFC is making its way back to the States, with hipsters rushing to Koreatowns to flavour a new take on an old favourite. There are none in Austin so far, but if one pops up, I will put my vegetarianism aside for a moment to sample it with some yum-yum kim chi.
It is actually an old tale.
Martin Scorsese makes Taxi Driver. John Woo loves Taxi Driver. John Woo makes the Killer as a tribute to Martin Scorsese. John Woo movies influence Andrew Lau. Andrew Lau makes Infernal Affairs. Martin Scorsese remakes Infernal Affairs.
See how that works?
Now, where was I going with this? Branding and Asian American youth culture. Reading that article makes me think what is the biggest difference between Asian-American youth and youth in Asia? Melting pots that is what. One thing I really love about America is how much of a melting pot the place is. We can pick and choose for many varied sources into what is our culture. No matter where we were originally from.
But with the world wide web, this option is beginning to be available to everyone. Japanese youth listening to Country music while kids in France tune in to urban hip hop and African boys dress like American movie icons, American kids constantly watching anime and a thirty year old in Texas listens to German Industrial music.
The only problem now is access and control of that flow of information. Do many youth have access to the internet? Or the financial means to do so even? There are internet cafes in Afghanistan and in the Congo. I hardly know how to use a cell phone but a Congonese woman I saw being profiled on a news program that makes in a week what I spend on a comic book was texting and sending photos via hers.
But what kind of information is made available to a kid in Afghanistan or the Congo? Would a Pakistani kid post comments on the latest Bollywood flick the same way a nerd would about the last Star Wars flick? I would hope so.
Uncle Kim in North Korea loves Hollywood action movies but only lets his people watch home grown ones and restricts their contact with the rest of the world. Who knows what kids in Shanghai are being allowed to watch?
The optimist in me says the world is getting smaller in all the good ways. The realist in me says that information is not being shared in ways that would bring us all closer as a people regardless of race. The pessimist in me says why bother- we will all kill each other in the end anyway.
But the Joe says, Dude if you like the Departed which shows Irish descendants in an American city, watch Infernal Affairs which tells the same story in a former British Colony now part of a Communist State that has Capitalist designated zones. In the very least you get to see that different peoples react the same in similar situations (in movies at least). In the best way, it can lead you to learning new things.
Which is always a good thing.
(…and I guess is the last I will talk about Infernal Affairs and the Departed, promise).
________________________________________________________________________
http://www.myspace.com/catterpillarboy
http://catterpillarboy.blogspot.com/
http://catterpillarboy.livejournal.com
posted by Catterpillarboy at 9:57 AM
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