If You Had to Donate $2,000 Every Month...
Let me tell you, I'm not a big charity guy. I'm also the most apolitical person you'll run into. I don't watch the news at all. I get my news from Angry Asian Man, but even then, I skip over most of his stuff.
Which probably explains why I'm such a happy-go-lucky person.
It's not that I don't care about social issues, but I'm selective as to which issues to be active about and how to be active about them. Otherwise I'd spread myself thin worrying about everything.
Asian American issues mean a lot to me, but I focus on self-improvement as the way to enrich our communities. Money runs out, time is limited, but idea viruses spread like, well... viruses!
But if you're blessed with a lot of disposable income to donate $2,000 to a cause every month, then consider donating to the following:
1) The Asian Law Caucus- These guys do a lot of great work for the Asian American community, but unfortunately, they're located in a really sh!tty part of town. Just outside the Tenderloin area of San Francisco, the ALC is in an area with a lot of bums, crazy people and drug addicts. The front of their building, the inside of their lobby and the elevator smells like urine, because there used to be a psychiatric clinic in the building. If any organization needs more money, then the ALC is it, because they need to move out to a better office.
2) The 80-20 Initiative- "80-20 is a national, nonpartisan, Political Action Committee dedicated to winning equal opportunity and justice for all Asian Americans through a SWING bloc vote, ideally directing 80% of our community's votes and money to the presidential candidate endorsed by the 80-20, who better represents the interests of all APAs. Hence, the name '80-20' was created."
3) Produce an Asian American indie film- Let's face it: there ain't too many Asian faces on American TV and in the theaters. And when we do see Asian faces, they don't get much air time, and they don't get choice roles. They're supporting characters in the stories of white people. I have people that I admire and follow of all different ethnicities, but it's nice to follow one who looks like you. It's nice to follow their story, because it parallels your story as an Asian American.
If you've got the time and the money, and you want to see more Asian Americans telling entertaining stories, then why not produce an indie film? Seriously, making a short film and showing it to viewers is so much easier and cheaper than ever before. You can shoot your film on a camera and audio equipment bought from Best Buy, edit your film on Movie Maker and then upload it to YouTube. It's so easy and cheap, that you really have no excuse.
The keys problems most people run into are:
- Stupid ass stories- Finding an entertaining story with good dialog and a tight plot that's devoid of cliches is hard to find and harder to come up with.
- Flaky ass people- If you have a volunteer crew and actors, then they better be on the same page as you. Otherwise you'll have a lot of flakes. Better to get professionals and pay them.
- Horrible actors- Some people sound the same no matter what emotion they're trying to convey, so cast appropriately.
- Marketing- Some people produce great films, but their films never see the light of day. You have to know how to generate buzz about your film, because what's the point of telling a great story if no one is there is listen?
4) Sponsor an Asian American mentor ship program- Visualizasian.com had a good interview with Yul Kwon. During the interview, Yul touched upon an interesting concept: mentor ships for Asian Americans to break the glass ceiling.
People who've risen to the top ranks have had mentors. They've had people to guide them and to help them in their career path. Many Asian American career organizations have this sort of thing. Asian professionals, lawyers, peace officers and journalists all have associations that they can turn to when they need to rely on a social network.
Whereas a social network is a supportive group, a mentor provides that extra individualized guidance. You can always seek guidance on your own from many different mentors of any ethnicity. A formal Asian American mentor ship program, that is not limited to career, is something that the Asian American communities need.
Comments
but as you've stated, the problems you run into...is it a story that an investor wants to drop cash on? You have to have a project that people are going to believe in.
David Ren, who wrote/directed "Shanghai Kiss" said the following on an imdb.com message board, when he found out that people were pirating the film:
"This is David Ren, writer/director of Shanghai Kiss. It's come to my attention that a DVD Screener copy has leaked onto the internet, which is unfortunate because we are still a month away from release. Since the leak just a few days ago, tens of thousands of people have already downloaded it, which is almost unheard of for a fairly small indie film. While I'm happy that so many people are seeking out the film and enjoying it, I'd like to share my thoughts on the situation.
Shanghai Kiss is an autobiographical story and a film that is very personal to me. Some of you have commented on the lack of Asian male leads in American films that are not in the action/martial arts genre. This is especially true for love stories. This is because Hollywood doesn't think America is ready to accept an Asian male as a romantic lead.
This film was not financed by a major studio. It wasn't even financed by an independent financing company. A large portion of the film was financed by a single investor, who put her life savings into the movie. She even sold her house, which she had owned for twenty years. This investor has never made more than five figures a year, but still put in in excess of seven figures. She did this because she felt that this was a story that had to be told and it would be a huge step forward in the way that Asian Americans are portrayed in the media."
Now THAT's committment!
I actually liked Shanghai Kiss, because of the solid performances by Ken Leung and Hayden Panettiere.
I didn't know it was an autobiographical story, but wow, props to that female investor.
I know a couple of amateur indie film directors, and they both plopped down a lot of their own money just to bring their visions to the screen. One guy (a fellow LEO) plopped down $2-3K (which is cheap) and another guy (who's day job was IT) plopped down $10K on one of his films.
They will never see any return on their movies. The IT guy's film can be found on Amazon.com, so if he applied the right marketing strategy, then he should get sales and (more importantly) some exposure.
I am just a foot soldier, we need more generals like James to lead, motivate and enlighten us to the battle fields. "Be the change you want to see" -Ghandi
I hear you though: Asians may be successful financially, but those same rich people don't help their own kind.
I've noticed the same thing. There are some Asian benefactors to the arts and what not, but not nearly enough.
It's just my impression but I get a sense that a lot of these wealthy Asian folks are so intent on their own financial security/success/company, etc, that it's so focused on the self, self-absorbtion. I don't sense charity as a part of their make up or mindset. They aren't looking outward at the overall picture of how they have the resources to be agents of change to improve the state of Asia America, or wherever they are.
James, I admire your friends' tenancity to make their own films. It sure isn't easy and that's a big committment on their part to believing in their vision and that they have something to say.
And so, I bought a few DVD copies of Shanghai Kiss as gifts to relatives and to help support someone who is trying to make a difference with how Asian Americans are viewed.
That's a great idea, gift giving. i'll have to keep that in mind.
Granted, it was a decent storyline. it's hard to throw support behind a piece of shit story. And Ken Leung did a great job as being the alienated romantic lead, Liam. And that was IMPORTANT to show. Finally, we get to see some depth and humanity in an Asian American lead character who wasn't emasculated.
The acting really elevated the mediocre story.