Alpha Asian

You know progress is never linear. If you lived during the time of Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa , then you would have thought that Asians would become a significant force in Hollywood in the latter half of the 20th century. There were always blips of progress in cinematic history with regards to representation of the Asian American male: The Crimson Kimono (1959), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bruce Lee (1972), Vanishing Son (1994), Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), Harold and Kumar (2004). Every time one of these movies appeared, it looked like, "Yeah, things are getting better! We're on the road to full representation for the Asian American male!" But representation always comes in spurts, and we've never been able to reach a point of critical mass. I'm hoping that now with all the Asian guys in movies, Internet and TV that we'll gain some traction as far as representation, but more importantly… respect. Divide and Conquer The thing is Alph...

When it comes to pinnacle events in the history of the Asian American male in the last 50 years, three come to mind: Bruce Lee, Yul Kwon and "Vanishing Son." That's right, I said it, Vanishing Son. Seriously, what other guilty cinematic pleasure has a handsome Asian dude kick ass and make love to hot chicks in between those sessions of kicking ass? Granted, I winced every time I watched the kung fu choreography on that show, but COME ON! Russell Wong was doing the Noxzema girl in one episode, and then doing Tamlyn Tomita the next episode. As far as guilty pleasure for the Asian American male, Vanishing Son is the creme de la creme of guilty pleasures, baked to perfection!