Andrew Ahn’s updated take on the Wedding Banquet (Ang Lee’s groundbreaking movie about Chinese American gay life and social expectations) provides a refreshing take on being queer and East Asian in the ‘20s.

1. Cross-cultural relationships: the primary gay character who needs to get married is the Korean heir to a Korean business empire, who doesn’t want any of that.

2. Relationship between Asian gay and lesbian couple friends (including confusing in-betweens): very spot on in many ways

I really liked that this version reflected a believable modern take on ‘Chinese parent is no longer anti-queer but veers too much into needing to be the over-achieving hyper-suffocating Chinese parent’ (Joan Chen’s character is very upset when her daughter might marry a man because she thinks it will impact her Best Gay Parent reputation)

It was set in Seattle.

We agreed it was fun but the most unbelievable thing was ‘East Asian people talking about their feelings with each other’.

It’s much lighter than the original and more of a rom-com, which is also a fun take.

Anyway, Joan Chen is every Chinese lesbians’ mother on screen (like in Saving Face)

#Movies #AAPI #LGBT #LGBTQ #Chinese #Korean

#Korean media aren't taking #Trump's shite.
#Media #ICE

hani.co.kr/arti/opinion/column…

The arrest and detention of approximately 300 Korean workers by US immigration authorities appears to be resolved by their "voluntary departure," but this is far from the case. Our citizens were deeply shocked by the barbaric acts of chaining the bodies and hands of Korean workers who had come to work for US investment, and even chaining their feet. This is an act that will remain a source of bitterness for a long time.

This incident is undoubtedly a sobering reminder of what is happening in the United States. We must accept this as a wake-up call to correct the loopholes and traps in US investment projects. Otherwise, we risk even greater disaster.

To understand the essence of this situation, we must revisit the "MAGA" (Make America Great Again) movement championed by US President Donald Trump. MAGA is a backlash by white evangelicals seeking to return the United States to its pre-civil rights era of the 1960s. His core support base consists of low-income, low-education whites and evangelical Protestants. Trump has expressed the anxiety of these groups, whose status has been shaken by the job losses and deepening polarization caused by globalization, as well as the surge in immigration, and has incited them to direct their anger at the established elite and "outsiders" (people of color, undocumented immigrants, Muslims, etc.).

Magic is fundamentally a form of populist white racism. The slogan "Make America Great Again" is more accurately described as "Make White America Greater." The insistence on a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum in tariff policy stems from the concentration of these groups in the "Rust Belt."

The large-scale crackdown on illegal immigrants at the Hyundai Motor Company-LG Energy Solutions joint venture plant in Georgia must be understood in this context. The scenes of our workers being chained and escorted away were reminiscent of the dragging away of African slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Department of Homeland Security boasted of the "largest single-site raid in history," and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) even brazenly released footage of the raid, which was highly violating human rights, as if to flaunt their "achievements."

Far-right whites may have secretly rejoiced. Even politicians, such as the Georgia governor and local legislators who had been active in attracting factories, have shifted their stance and joined their grievances. This is likely because it's difficult to ignore the anti-immigrant sentiment of native Americans. Like the McCarthyism that swept through American society in the 1950s, irrational madness dominates American society. This visa issue, while an ally could have easily been resolved diplomatically with advance notice, is difficult to explain beyond political maneuvering. The fact that they deployed helicopters and armored vehicles for a showy raid, as if they had been caught, is beyond explanation.

The Trump administration's "manufacturing revival" plan is a strategy deeply influenced by political calculations rather than economic logic. Having gained power by stoking the discontent of white Rust Belt residents, Trump has a strong motivation to continue exploiting them politically. While a political leader might pursue policies to revitalize manufacturing, this is nothing more than wishful thinking. World history has rarely seen such a successful attempt. If it had, why would the British Empire, once considered the empire on which the sun never sets, have declined?

Declining industries are destined to fall to the ranks of developing nations over time. Even in our country, reviving a declining industry is difficult. The situation is even more dire in the United States, where production costs are at least 30% higher than ours and the industrial ecosystem has collapsed due to over 20 years of manufacturing hollowing out. Trump is harboring the vain dream of using his imperial power to mobilize allies to reverse this trend. To make matters worse, if the empire treats the workers of its allies, who are willing to help, as if they were vassal slaves, this will be a failure. The United States is currently shooting itself in the foot with foolishness.

This incident should serve as an opportunity for a comprehensive reexamination of our investment projects in the US. While we hastily reached a "tariff agreement" following Japan's plan, forced by Trump's pressure during the administration transition, we must take a sober look. The US has made outrageous demands of Japan: $550 billion in investment during Trump's term, the funds must be delivered within 45 days of Trump's order, and the US will keep 50-90% of the profits. It is said that the US is making the same demands of us.

Following Japan, the world's third-largest economy and a quasi-reserve currency holder, could be detrimental to our economy. Rather than simply acquiescing to the US's unreasonable demands in the name of averting an immediate crisis, the government should clearly discern what we can and cannot do and then persuade the US. We must bear in mind that even if the manufacturing revitalization plan fails, the US, as the world's largest economy and reserve currency holder, will likely be unscathed, but our economy could be severely impacted.

hyun21@hani.co.kr