Archive | February, 2009

ACCO hosts… UnConference 2009!

27 Feb

Can Asian guys get non-Asian girls?

Are Asian girls just all passive naive sex kittens?

Are Asians to blame for the gang violence in Vancouver?

Do you hate being called a FOB?

Join in on our *FREE*Unconference sponsored by INSTRCC on March 5th and 6th in the UBC SUB Rooms 214 and 216, and address these issues with us. UnConference is our annual two day event that consists of six workshops facilitated by our student members. Each workshop tackles a different topic that affects the Asian Canadian community. Below is our program:

Note:
- Door Prizes!
- no sign up required!
- Pop in ANY time! attend any of the topics *mentioned below*
- Food and refreshments will be provided, complimentary of ACCO ;)

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Program:

March 5th, 2009 – Day 1

Opening – 11 am to 11:30 am

Workshop 1 – 11:30 am to 12:50 pm SUB 214

Asian Women are Sooo Exotic
This workshop will open up a nice girly flow of conversation pertaining to the cultural and sexual stereotypes of Asian women in the West. Topics to be addressed include: media representation, family and cultural upbringing, and, sexuality and identity. Led by UBC student Crystal Tai, we invite you to join us in breaking down some of the misnomers that affect Asian women, and help us come up with different ways to counter such misconceptions.

Workshop 2 – 1:00 pm to 2:20pm SUB 214

Asian Man, Take a Stand! Reframing the Angry Asian Man Experience
Are you angry? Asian? Join UBC Students Kenji Shimizu and Mark Lee on a journey of self-discovery. From media portrayals to interracial dating, explore the causes of the angry Asian man phenomenon and discuss practical methods to grow and overcome these problems. Women, non-Asians and the non-angry are also welcome!

Workshop 3 – 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm SUB 214

New versus Old: Conflicts between Immigrants and Canadian-Born Asians
Have you ever wondered where your Asian parent is coming from? Or pondered about what your immigrant and Canadian-Born Asian peers think about one another? UBC student Andrea Chan will explore the culture and value differences between Asian immigrants and CBAs. This workshop will discuss social interactions, thoughts and feelings between those new to Canada and those that are born in Canada and have thus been accustomed to Western culture.

March 6th, 2009– Day 2

Workshop 4 – 12:00 pm to 1:20 pm SUB 214

Drugs, Gangs, and Asian Youth Culture
With the rise of gang-related crimes in the Lower Mainland, the street gang lifestyle has been increasingly associated with Asian Canadians. Police-raided grow-ops have also indicated that Asians own a fair share of these illegal operations. Are these statements a fair assessment? Are Asians really more prone to joining gangs and dealing drugs? UBC students Narith Heng and Angela Wong will lead a workshop examining the association of drugs and gangs with Asian Canadian youths and the social and political consequences it has on the Asian Canadian community.

Workshop 5 – 1:30 pm to 2:50 pm SUB 214

Prudes! Nymphos! Asians? Ideas of Sex in an Asian Canadian Mindset
Did you grow up in a traditional Asian household where sex was a taboo subject? Did you learn about sex through other outlets besides your parents? Are Asian women really better in bed? Do Asian men make bad lovers? UBC students Angela Wong and Crystal Tai will explore traditional Asian concepts of sex and how the younger Asian Canadian generation bridge traditional and western concepts of sex. Ideas of sexual stereotypes associated with Asians and the implications for Asian Canadians will also be examined.

Workshop 6 – 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm SUB 214

The Rise of Canadian-Born Asian (CBA) Culture
In the vibrant and dynamic multicultural city of Vancouver, you can hardly take one step outside without noticing this relatively new phenomenon: Canadian-Born Asian culture. Bubble tea at the movies, Korean Supermarkets in downtown, Anime Conventions attracting thousands of participants and Bollywood movies rapidly gaining a surprising audience: When did it start and how did it become such a ubiquitous and uniquely “Canadian” culture? In this interactive and thought-provoking workshop, UBC students and CBA connoisseurs Rainie Tian and Kristina Chang will take you through the rise of CBA culture in Vancouver and discuss its social, economic, and political implications.

4:30 – 5:00 pm – Closing
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for more info, please email us at info@ubcacco.com

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE FOR UNCONFERENCE 2009

unconference-poster-2

A.Jam Success!

27 Feb

Hi Everyone,

A big thank you to everyone that attended A.Jam. It was an amazing event! There was delicious food, a great raffle draw and fantastic performances! Also, half the proceeds will be going to ASIA so not only was it a fun event but it we were also helping a worthy cause. A BIG thank you to our volunteers, INSTRCC, and all our wonderful and talented performers. I’ve included some photos (click on them to see the full size) but feel free to see the rest of the pictures at: ACCO Presents A.Jam 2009!

SVS Style Dance Crew

SVS Style Dance Crew

x:Enders

x:Enders

Angy and Karyn from ASIA

Angy & Karyn from ASIA

Mark and Kristina at the Raffle Table

Mark and Kristina

Crystal and Anaise

Crystal and Anais

Some of our Attendees

Some of our Attendees

Andrea and Rainie

Andrea and Rainie

Kristina, DJ Oker Chen, Angela

Kristina, DJ Oker Chen, Angela

Kristina, Crystal, and Angy

Kristina, Crystal, and Angy

ACCO PRESENTS A.JAM!

3 Feb

The Asian Canadian Culture Organization (ACCO) invites you to join us at AJAM — a fundraising night of good music, cultural performances and awesome food! AJAM will donate half its proceeds to the Asian Society for Intervention of AIDS (ASIA), which aims to raise awareness and prevent HIV in the local community.

No More Enemies (band)
x: Enders (band)
SVS Choreography (hip hop dance crew)
Off Beat Broadway (theatre)
Elfina Luk (singer-guitarist)
Oker Chen (DJ)
…and more (tbc!)

Come hang out with us on February 20th, 2009 — from 6:30pm to 9pm — at the SUB ballroom, UBC.  Tickets at the door are $12.

**~ last call to be added to the performance list ~
Musicians, Magicians and Tap Dancers alike — contact Kristina Chang at kristina.chang@Live.ca

**~ If you are interested in covering the event for local publications (print, online, etc) — please contact Crystal Tai at tai.crystal@gmail.com

**~ If you have any other inquiries about the event, please e-mail us at info@ubcacco.com.

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE FOR A.JAM

ajam-letter-size

Controversy Over Casting of Avatar: The Last Airbender

1 Feb

There’s a great big hullabaloo going down over the casting of white actors as the leads in the live-action adapation of the Asian-themed cartoon, Avatar: The Last Airbender. Apparently, it’s a really popular show on Nickelodeon.

Here’s a more objective article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/01/28/apop012809.DTL

The source of that picture up above: http://www.geneyang.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090128-131008

And this one I really like: http://derekkirkkim.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-day-in-politics-same-old-racist.html

Let us touch on the last one. It draws an analogy, a what-if scenario wherein white actors are cast to play “black” roles, like in the movie Shaft. The author posits that there would be outrage in the black community if the leads were played by whites and the background characters/motifs were black. In fact, the general press would likely scoop up such a juicy story and plaster the headlines on their front pages. It’s hard to disagree with its.

The funny thing is how Asians are so easily subjected to this “whitewashing”, and movie studios are able to get away with it. Even in recent times, actors have been able to don their yellowface and play off Asian themes, while casting the leads (at least, the males) with white actors. Check out Balls of Fury for a recent example.

The problem, you ask? It’s pretty straightforward. Check out exhibit A:

This is a scan of what an author wrote when she signed a copy of her book for an Asian American customer, who wanted it made out to his sister. I guess the brother and sister got quite the surprise when they came home and found this.

Where am I going with this? Well, for some reason this 47 year old white author thinks it’s okay to be racist to Asians (more info here). Now, I’m sure many an Asian child has dealt with racial slurs or the pulling-of-corner-of-eyes crap in the schoolyard. It’s demeaning garbage that makes you feel pretty bad inside. Now with this Avatar movie, with its great fan following of school-aged children, we finally have a chance to show that it’s actually pretty cool to be Asian and to have all that history and culture. Problem is, if white actors portray the leads then not only does that dream disappear, it just further reinforces the idea in Hollywood that Asian actors are only ever needed for stereotypical bit roles, and it’s better to cast whites as the dynamic leads.

Asian Teen Has Sweaty Middle-Aged-Man Fetish

1 Feb



AOMORI, JAPAN—At first glance, 17-year-old Misaki Nakajima seems like any other shy and submissive Japanese schoolgirl. She loves shopping, text messaging, and the color pink. But beneath her wholesome exterior lies a wicked secret: Misaki Nakajima is consumed by sexual fantasies involving sweaty, middle-aged American men.

Read the whole thing at http://www.theonion.com/content/news/asian_teen_has_sweaty_middle_aged.

*Note that this is a satirical article. However, it manages to disgust the reader in many of the ways personal that ads of non-Asian men looking for Asian women are deemed disgusting.

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