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| Last updated on Sunday, 15 Feb 2004 |
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Dear Mike G,
Thanks for writing and sharing your experience in Tokyo. I do most all traveling in the Western United States and enjoy exploring and people-watching.
We do have Japanese Americans in our group and I look forward to them writing to you.
*Clarification: including one of our campaign coordinators who is Japanese American.
I understand that people such as yourself enjoy the film for different reasons. However, there are also Asian Americans who find the film offensive and potentially dangerous to Asian Americans. As a Chinese American, I find few opportunities in mainstream television and film to see positive portrayals of Asian Americans. More times than not, those portrayals come in the form of racial insults on radio, television, and film. It is bad enough that mainstream media portrayals of Asian Americans are an overwhelmingly lackluster or negative. But to see a large number of critics ignore or dismiss the issue of stereotypes, and instead attempt to award the film "Lost In Translation" the prestigious Academy Award makes the situation intolerable.
We are about preventing the film from winning such a prestigious award and informing potential voters and audiences of the our concerns. We are not trying to censure the filmmaker's artistic license nor the audiences' right to see the film. We feel we are expressing the opinions as part of an on-going dialog about racism in the United States.
It is far worse that some people refuse to acknowledge our concerns and attempt to dismiss us as being overly- sensitive. Yet, being overly-sensitive may be in many ways preferable to what just occured today. CBS News and Associated Press report that two teens were charged with beating a Chinese delivery man to death in what CBS calls a pattern of teen violence and depravity. To me, the key has always been education of the issues and preventing ignorance, and promoting understanding and tolerance.
I understand and acknowledge your concerns and I hope you do likewise. That is a positive achievement in my view.
I enjoyed reading your letter about your experiences. Thank you for sharing.
Regards,
Kai
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https://lost-in-racism.org
http://www.asianmediawatch.net
As a traveler, I have been to Asia on a number of occasions. I have traveled all over China & Thailand and enjoyed the people and culture in both countries very much. I recently visited Tokyo for the first time. In Tokyo I dealt with a lot of people and found many to be nice. On the other hand I have to say that Tokyo is a very unique and odd place. The overall tone of the city seems rigid and a little unfriendly. The concept of sitting in a crowded subway with everyone silent took a little getting used to. Most people on the subways read, sleep, listen to music or play with their cell phones. I was told that their lack [of] interaction had something to do with keeping face, but as a Westerner it is hard to understand.
The Japanese men also have a reputation for their unusual [sexual] tastes.
I have been told that outside Tokyo, the rest of Japan is less rigid and more friendly. I do look forward to returning to see more of the country.
Japan has a very unique society that has accomplished much in the last half century, but it has it's share of quirks. What is wrong about movie that has fun with these quirks? Why lose the flavor of the city to suit whims of people that know little about it, because they have never even been there? In these days of political correctness can we only have movies that poke fun at white people?
Mike G.
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