Episodios
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Ray, Alan, and Renee discuss Eddie Huang's coming-of-age, basketball drama and why it resonated differently among the team. They talk about the unique perspective of the Black/Asian cultural interactions, how the basketball scenes were shot, and where this fits in the ranking of popular basketball movies.
Hint: Space Jam is still the best.
Links to donate/educate/organize to stop AAPI hate:https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
DONATE so we can improve the show at [https://ko-fi.com/electricimageexpress]E-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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In episode 40, we sit down with Tik Tok creator Lily Lei as she shares her jourrney to obtaining Tik Tok fame over the last year. As we are all well aware, Tik Tok is an incredibly influential video platform. As a podcast interested in how Asian Americans portray ourselves across any creative medium, we were really fascinated by how Lily employed many elements of her Asian upbringing into her skits, and how those skits helped contribute to her rise. Lily also gives us insight into her versatile background as a design researcher and entrepreneur and how those experiences helped her gain over 700K followers on Tik Tok.
Before we get to Lily, we also have a 20 minute segment discussing the 2021 Oscars with Katie Quan from This Asian American Life. This year's awards marked many firsts for Asian Americans in Hollywood and Katie broke down her feelings about the necessity of the Oscars in 2021 and how she felt about the three movies that most prominently featured Asian Americans: Minari, Nomadland, and Sound of Metal.
Editors note: Sorry about the sound quality in some parts, some of these recordings were done while traveling!
Katie Quan's This Asian American LifeLily's Tik Tok
Notes:
1) Start of Oscars segment: (1:52)2) General reactions on the 2021 shows (5:00)
3) Deeper dive into Minari, Nomadland, and Sound of Metal (10:23)4) Do we (as Asian Americans) need the Oscars in 2021? (20:47)5) Lily's background and how she decided to become a full-time Tik Tok creator (27:51)6) How she identified what worked for her audience (35:27)7) How she outgrew her initial Asian American Auntie/parent skits (38:15)8) Accents or no accents? (43:06)Links to donate/educate/organize to stop AAPI hate:https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
DONATE so we can improve the show at [https://ko-fi.com/electricimageexpress]E-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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It's our ANNIVERSARY! THANK YOU to all of our listeners and fans for your continued support! THANK YOU to our guests for lending your time and sharing your stories, and THANK YOU to everyone else who has contributed to the show!
We've added a BONUS episode for our anniversary: Raymond Luu and Alan Duong from [The Reel Asian Podcast] (https://www.reelasianpodcast.com/) join us to revisit Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale.
Notes:
1) The Reel Asian guys explain the appeal of Battle Royale and Sean shares some background and the impact of the movie (3:50)2) Which characters did our high school selves' identify the most with? (14:25)
3) What does BR say about Japanese society's generational divide? (16:02)4) We work through our strategies for surviving Battle Royale (24:40)5) How Battle Royale's ultra-violence heightened its deisrability. (Aka the Streisand Effect (28:44)6) If it came down to it: would you kill your best friend in high school? (30:50)7) We draft our ultimate BR team (1 weapon, 1 BR character, 1 Asian film character) (40:13)Links to donate/educate/organize to stop AAPI hate:https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
DONATE so we can improve the show at [https://ko-fi.com/electricimageexpress]E-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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It's our ANNIVERSARY! THANK YOU to all of our listeners and fans for your continued support! THANK YOU to our guests for lending your time and sharing your stories, and THANK YOU to everyone else who has contributed to the show!
In this episode, Hon Hoang returns to talk about (what else) Wong Kar Wai's Days of Being Wild and some Haruki Murakami. COULD there be a more appropriate topic for a Sean Niu-hosted podcast?
Watch Hon's films and appreciate his photography here: https://honhoang.com/
Notes:
1) An extended introduction discussing the Electric Image Express so far (0:00)2) Background on Days of Being Wild (7:53)
3) We discuss why this movie could only be made by a young WKW and what it says about his past (13:25)4) Leslie Cheung's character: a romantization of the fuck boy? (16:01)5) More of Leslie's brilliance and how only he could play this role (18:13)6) Andy Lau: the straight and narrow foil to Leslie (19:57)7) Why Days of Being Wild hints at a Haruki Murakami influence on WKW (24:59)8) Our one sentence description of the movie (29:45)Links to donate/educate/organize to stop AAPI hate:https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
DONATE so we can improve the show at [https://ko-fi.com/electricimageexpress]E-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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Director, writer, and professor Valerie Soe joins Sean to share her creative journey and the making of her newest documentary: Love Boat: Taiwan
You can watch Love Boat here:https://vimeo.com/ondemand/loveboattaiwan
and you can watch more of Valerie's activist-oriented films here:
Picturing Oriental Girls
The Chinese Gardens
Notes:
1) Valerie gives her thoughts and action items in reaction to the recent violence on Asian Americans (3:27)2) Valerie shares her career path as a multi-disciplinary artist and professor. (17:40)
3) As well as her activist history, and how she sees the new generation of activists (20:58)4) Valerie's thoughts on the recent growth of Asian Americans on screen and how we should think about what we want to see next. (Hint: more creators behind the camera) (28:00)5) Valerie's experience making Love Boat (32:17)6) Sean asks Valerie about how making Love Boat helped inform her about Chinese diaspora identity (40:58)7) Valerie shares what she learned about Love Boat as a strategy for the Taiwan gov to spread policy (52:52)8) And finally, what surprised her the most while making the documentary. (57:03)Links to donate/educate/organize to stop AAPI hate:https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
DONATE so we can improve the show at [https://ko-fi.com/electricimageexpress]E-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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Director Patrick Chen and Actor Perry Yung join Sean and Hon Hoang to talk about their upcoming film A Father’s Son: A 90’s Chinatown Noir Thriller based on the character’s from Henry Change’s Jack Yu crime novels. Kickstarter
Patrick and Perry are long time filmmaking veterans. You can find some of Patrick’s shorts here: (I personally like Love Express the most bc surprise surprise, it reminds me of Wong Kat Was)
Love Expresshttps://vimeo.com/181145058
Underneath The Greyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6eAKmUDHSI
Sonnet 48https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZUEXWUTZrg
And you probably know Perry Yung as Father Jun in Warrior. He Also plays the protagonist’s dad in Eddie Huang’s new movie Boogie.
Notes:
1) Patrick’s history, how he got into filmmaking, and how that ties into A Father’s Son (7:24)2) His opinion on East Coast/West Coast life as an Asian filmmaker. (14:54)
3) Western and Eastern movies that most inspired Patrick before we deep dive into a cult classic: Shanghai Kiss, (24:13) which is a surprisingly deep and thoughtful movie, and definitely underrated.4) Thoughts on the recent growth in Asian American opportunities on screen and behind the camera, and how social media has helped Asian American creatives (33:37)5) Perry joins at (41:48) and shares how he met Patrick and joined A Father’s Son6) Perry gives insight into his new string of roles playing the “bad”/strict Asian Father in Warrior, Boogie, and A Father’s Son (46:43)7) Perry answers Hon’s question on compartmentalizing similar roles with different experiences/lives and create new ones (52:46)8) Patrick shares how he pitched A Father’s Son with a special shout out to the late Corky Lee (59:42)9) Perry and Patrick share advice they’d give to their younger selves, or any young Asian American creatives out there. (1:02:52)Links to donate/educate/organize to stop AAPI hate provided by Patrick:https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hatehttps://www.welcometochinatown.com/
DONATE so we can improve the show at [https://ko-fi.com/electricimageexpress]E-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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In Episode 35, I’m joined by legendary Taiwanese writer Kenneth Pai (白先勇). Professor Pai’s works pioneered the modern Chinese experience: including as waishengren (外省人) living in Taiwan (Taipei People, Crystal Boys) and as immigrants to America. (Pleasantville, Death in Chicago)
In our conversation, we talk about:
Professor Pai’s colorful background: born in China to a general father, migrant to Taiwan, and later America. (4:28)How he would represent Taiwanese today and the generational divide (10:53)Where a young Professor Pai and his peers found inspiration (Translating Western works and Chinese poetry and merging traditions) (17:44)Why Professor Pai left Taiwan to America (26:25)Pai’s observations on the evolution of Chinese and Taiwanese identity (28:14)His opinions on Asian American literature and his part in shaping it (40:00)And why his works adapt so well to the stage and screen, as well as his favorite filmmakers (49:00)My further thoughts on Taipei People and Chinese Identity [https://sameseanniulook.medium.com/taipei-people-and-chinese-identity-540741f093b7]
Where you can watch his work: [https://www.netflix.com/title/80233859](A Touch of Green)[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goi6t_HCzwg&ab_channel=%E6%9D%8E%E6%98%8E%E6%BA%90](Last Night of Taipan Chin)[https://www.library.ucsb.edu/news/ucsb-library-digitizes-works-renowned-chinese-author-kenneth-pai](Digitized works in the UCSB Library)
NotesDONATE so we can improve the show at [https://ko-fi.com/electricimageexpress]Resources to report AsAm violence and learn more about how to help: [https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co/}E-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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Welcome to Season 2! Happy Lunar New Year! 新年快樂! 새해 복 많이 받으세요 ! Chúc Mừng Năm Mới”!
After reflecting for a few weeks I decided to dedicate more time on the show talking to AsAm/minority creators and focusing the conversation around their journeys and experiences. I hope this helps you understand about how to pursue your own creative passions and furthers the conversation beyond variations of “what did you think of seeing someone that looked like you on screen?”
In Episode 34, I’m joined by Actors Charles Ryu and Yeena Sung as well as Writer Kat Kim from the Korean American movie Happy Cleaners. We start at (8:54) by talking about their memories of Seollal, or Korean New Year. Next (14:47) my guests share their varied journeys to become the creators they are today. Charles and Kat figuring out how to integrate acting/writing into their lives as preacher and lawyer, while Yeena pursuing a full-time acting career from a younger age.
Happy Cleaners is a movie that proudly displays its tight-knit Flushing community roots, and at (28:51) Kat elaborates on how their community was the driving force to enable the film. At (34:01) Charles and Yeena give us insight into how their family experiences influenced the characters they portray (father, daughter) in the film. Finally, Charles and Kat highlight the subtle thread of religion that ties the family dynamic together (44:24) and at (52:26) Yeena and Kat explain how their idea of the Asian American Dream influenced the ending of the film.
NotesHappy Cleaners is out now! It can be streamed on Apple TV, iTunes, Amazon, Youtube, and Vimeo and was produced by [https://koreanamericanstory.org/]DONATE so we can improve the show at [https://ko-fi.com/electricimageexpress]Learn more about what is being done to prevent further Asian Elder violence: [https://rb.gy/uno8of}E-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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Merry Xmas and happy holidays to everyone! Akshay Singh returns to make good on the Xmas episode he promised us way back in episode 4.
Akshay and I first determine where we will record our next Xmas special when the pandemic (hopefully) finally ends (7:04) before we get into how we celebrate Christmas as non-Christian minorities in America (13:17) including Akshay's memories of Christmas growing up in Brazil and India. At (23:52) we get into the very bad/good movie that completes the Harold & Kumar trilogy--what's changed since the first movie, (29:14) how the movie reflects on the ugly truth of Christmas (30:36) and how it represents the end of the stoner movie genre. (32:43) (also, how it breaks ground by showing asian american penis on the big screen)
We end the episode by debating waffles vs. pancakes (36:58) and I share my first encounter with Black Ice. (43:01)
InfoSubscribe to our newsletter: Electric DreamsE-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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In Episode #29, Shannon Fong and Blake Lew-Merwin come back to revisit To All the Boys I've Loved Before: the 2018 high school Netflix romcom written by Jenny Han that notably features Lara Jean, a half-asian protagonist.
After sharing our first reactions, Shannon, our resident asian drama expert (and the only one of the shares the movie's plot similarities to Asian dramas (17:04) before we have a roundtable discussion on Jenny Han's "pragmatic" approach to racial representation (21:11), and where the non-asian creators dropped the ball in adapting from the book. (32:41) At (36:27) we react to the male romantic leads and some missed opportunities before Blake, our gen Z intern, gives her take on the accuracy of To All the Boys in representing modern high school culture. (45:17) Finally, I give my hot take on Netflix content (1:00:15) before we end (1:07:36) with Shannon giving her two favorite recommendations of where to go eat and drink in Taipei, a recurring feature that listeners can always find in our Google Maps bookmark on our website.NOTESBlake's interview with her young adult author sister in law InfoFind our hidden geo bookmarks here: [Website] (https://theelectricimageexpress.carrd.co/)
Subscribe to our newsletter: Electric DreamsE-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express -
In Episode #28, we FINALLY get to the Wong Kar-Wai episode! Hon Hoang, photographer and director, joins me to talk about my favorite (and I suspect, one of his favorite) directors and his movie Fallen Angels. Hon starts by sharing his journey to become a visual artist (10:18) and where he gets inspiration for his stories. At (16:44), we start revisiting Fallen Angels. I asked Hon to pick a WKW movie to revisit, so at (25:11) he explains why, and how it encouraged him to break the rules of photography and filmmaking. At (31:16), I ask Hon as an Asian American filmmaker, if the WKW style has any limits in the visually different landscape of America vs. Asia. At the end, (37:09) I introduce a new segment where I show Hon 5 stills from the movie and ask him to react to the characters, cinematography, and more, including some really fascinating theories on Blondie and the Assassin’s amnesia!NOTESHon’s website Subscribe to our newsletter: Electric DreamsE-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express**
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Today we have a special episode of the pod recapping the Vice Presidential Debate! I'm joined by Minh-Thu-Pham, Kim Thuy Seelinger, and Anuj Vohra-- legal and policy experts as well as founders of New American Voices, Asian Americans Against Trump, and Desis United to share our thoughts on Kamala Harris and Mike Pence's performance and what their organizations are doing to help Joe Biden and Kamala Harris win in 2020. After our guests share a little background on themselves and their organizations (1:21) we start with our immediate overall reactions to the debate an hour after it completed and how it felt seeing an Asian American woman on the VP debate stage. (6:47) Then, @ (18:22) we explore topics the VPs covered as they relate specifically to Asian American voters like China (19:04), social justice (31:35), the supreme court vacancy (40:41), and health care (43:50). We close out our final thoughts on the debate and how it will affect the election @ (48:36) before sharing our most important thoughts on how listeners can get out and help win this election! (54:23)
Interested in helping? Check out the links below to our guest's organizations!*New American VoicesAsian Americans Against TrumpDesis United
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In Episode #26, we revisit Alice Wu's Saving Face:quietly one of the most important movies of the last 20 years for Asian American cinema. Our guest is Katie Quan,who teaches Asian American Issues through Film in San Francisco (basically, she's way more qualified than I am to host this podcast!) and runs This Asian American Life, a platform for highlighting and empowering Asian creators from all walks of life. Katie is joined by Vivian Liu, a former student whose passion and personal connection to the movie motivated her to lead and organize discussion in class.
After sharing our reactions (16:50) Katie helps us understand what this movie brings to the table as the cornerstore of her Womxn Up module before I give a quick primer for our non-Chinese audiences of what "Face" means in Chinese society, and why it is crucial to the social fabric. (18:44) Next, we get personal and share our experiences of losing face in Chinese-American society (22:29) before Vivian gives her perspective of where Chinese American society still encoutners pitfalls for understanding queerness in 2020. (29:28) At (35:40), Katie shares how Saving Face succeeded in unearthing taboos around family relationships and race-- we then spend some time understanding Alice Wu's complicated journey and how her new movie Half of It is a spiritual successor to Saving Face. (43:59) Finally, we end with a few questions: Where do we see Vivian and Will's relationship going? (49:35) What would be on Will's Mom's 2020 dating profile? (53:33) and finally, Why has Saving Face not gotten the spotlight it deserves? (56:33)
NOTESVivian's link on the double standard in rom-com behavior: Rape Culture and White Supremacy in Alice Wu's New FilmSubscribe to our newsletter: Electric DreamsE-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express**
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In Episode #25, we revisit Parasite: one of the most acclaimed Asian movies of recent history...and the movie that caused our last collective moment of joy in 2020. Minji Chang-- actor, producer, activist and a whole lot more joins to offer her valuable insight into the movie and the Asian American creative community. After sharing our initial reactions to rewatching the film post the ongoing disaster of 2020 (8:55), I pitch a new measure of movie success: the memability of its scenes. (20:22) Parasite certainly has many relatable scenes stemming from themes of class divide and the perils of capitalism that is relatable to everyone. Minji then helps us understand how Parasite has influenced the Asian American film community. (Hint: representation isn't enough if your script is crap) (27:00) before extending our comparison to other Korean cultural exports, like Kpop (BTS, PSY) and how we feel about the American reaction to those trends. (35:04) Later, I put on my economic historian hat and point out what Parasite has to say about neocolonial free market ideals exported from America (42:05) which leads to some mind blowing stories from Minji about how American ideas of beauty were incepted into Korea. Finally, we end the show by bringing back Unanswerable Questions like: 1) How much was Kevin's tutor salary? 2) Is Art Therapy a real thing? and 3) Did our parents really sacrifice for us... or for themselves?
Subscribe to our newsletter: Electric DreamsE-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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When you think of Asian American icons in animation, The Animated, OG 1998 Mulan quickly climbs to the top of the list. When we started this podcast, Mulan was definitely on the shortlist. What better time to revisit this milestone thanthe release of the new Mulan? Returning guest Shannon Fong and rockstar intern Blake Lew-Merwin join us to share their memories of watching an Asian Disney princess growing up (for Shannon) and for the first time (for Blake). After we share our reactions, we give a brief history lesson on the original ballad (22:42) and where Disney took liberties with the plot. (Hint: the ballad had no lucky cricket and talking dragon) While some liberties are understandable for the audience and time period, we examine where a lack of diversity in the creative board room shows in the movie (25:27). While at least '98 Mulan had one Asian American writer in Rita Hsiao, '20 Mulan is criticized for not having any Asian American or Asian creative leads. Still, '98 Mulan was a huge milestone for Asian Americans, especially Millenials who grew up with her and we discuss why '20 Mulan might be for a different audience. (31:07) We're not making men out of anyone or fighting for any girls in 2020, but we still give '98 props for sticking its head out more than its peers with regards to mixing up gender roles, creating strong, intelligent female figures and masculine asian male characters. (34:21) We finish with a story of Shannon's 11-year old cousin's reaction to the movie (41:09) and choose our fav song from the movie. (48:55)
LINKSTranslation of Original Mulan Ballad**
Subscribe to our newsletter: Electric DreamsE-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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The Wandering Earth gives us a once in a lifetime chance to observe a new superpower get behind the director's seat for the first time and inject their culture's values and world view through science fiction. Eric Lee and Mazy Yap join me to revisit The Wandering Earth, the Mainland China's first modern science fiction epic and explore the Remembrance of Earth's Past book trilogy written by Liu Cixin, whose short story is the foundation for The Wandering Earth.
After reacting to China's first foray into this genre, we discuss what Cixin prioritizes: science or characterization?(16:05) Then, we list our favorite absurd plot holes of the movie (19:06) and discuss how Ken Liu, the English translator of the book, helped avoid some of these issues. (22:08) We then as ourselves: what does this mean for a potential 3 Body Problem series or movie? (24:11)
At (27:06) we get into our big theme: how sci-fi allows you to potray the world hierarchy through your own POV and what The Wandering Earth might have to say about the Chinese government's perspective. We contrast this with how the Chinese government is portrayed in Hollyood movies like Arrival (shoutout to Ted Chiang!) and The Martian.
We then transition to discussing Liu Cixin's background and novels (33:59) and compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the books and movie. (39:51) We toss around topics like collectivism, wall facers (my favorite sci fi concept), long term planning, and the evolutionary limits of an individualistic society.
LINKSAccented Cinema's Wandering Earth ReviewWandering Earth Short Story**
Subscribe to our newsletter: Electric DreamsE-mail us at [email protected] us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_express
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Wait, didn't we already cover Lost in Translation? Yes-- but the Japan ex-pat experience is so close to my heart and so fresh in my mind that I had to get Mike back on the podcast and cover some specific experiences related to living life as a foreigner and a minority in Japan. Mike first gives his reaction to the movie (7:55) before we give our thoughts on the unique expat culture in Japan. (9:28) Foreigners come to Japan for different type of reasons-- and we share why we left America and how living in Japan changed our life goals. (12:33) At (18:40) Mike gives us his POV as a white man leaving America and how living in Japan has given him new perspectives, before I share my own constant internal conflict as a Taiwanese-American in Japan. Later(28:40) I tie up the movie discussion by relating to how expat life can give you a misguided distraction from relationship problems.
TOKYO SECRETS: If you came for the insider knowledge, you can find it at: (38:54) Building on Episode 21 on San Francisco Chinatown, we're back with more of our favorite spots in Tokyo. Mike and I spent a LOT of time poking our heads in random alleys, nondescript basements, and people's apartments as we tried to find the most interesting gems in Tokyo. Tokyo is a city where the more dig, the exponentially more you will understand the city, and so we thought we would provide our listeners with an extra bonus for being such great fans. THIS PART IS OPTIMIZED FOR YOUTUBE SO CHECK OUT THE VIDEO HERE: YOUTUBE
Subscribe to our newsletter: Electric DreamsE-mail us at [email protected] or DM us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_expressFeedback: [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0o4Mdbk5nCRjga-uvoBS5BFNRgT8fXqQk5Dhe2IYHMziVoQ/viewform?usp=sf_link](Feedback Form)Website
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The NBA is back! To celebrate, Andrew and I take a look back at Jeremy Lin's historic career through the documentary Linsanity. Can you believe it's been 10 years since he entered the NBA?? Time flies. We start with recalling our favorite memories from those crazy few weeks (10:01) and I break down how some league-defining events shaped his career for the worst. (13:47) Even with the NBA giving up on him, we admire how he took on the mantle as one of the faces of Asian America, even while he was constantly trying to prove himself in a league that always doubted him (18:34)
We can't talk about Jeremy and Linsanity without getting into Jeremy's faith. Having come from a similar religious background, Andrew thinks about how Jeremy's devotion fit into how he approached pivotal moments in his NBA career, and perhaps exacerbated some of the barriers he had to overcome. (23:22)
At (38:37), we start looking into the aftermath of Linsanity and how his success impacted the prospects of other Asian American ballers, and discuss the disparity of success for Asian Americans in team sports vs indiviual sports. (47:04) We finish off with some NBA bubble thoughts: who to watch out for, who can succeed, and of course, how the Lakers will continue their dominance.(1:03:48)
Subscribe to our newsletter: Electric DreamsE-mail us at [email protected] or DM us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_expressFeedback: [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0o4Mdbk5nCRjga-uvoBS5BFNRgT8fXqQk5Dhe2IYHMziVoQ/viewform?usp=sf_link](Feedback Form)WebsiteKobe's disrespect was 'hella annoying': Jeremy Lin***
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Episode 20! Wow! It's crazy how quickly we got here and we couldn't have done it without your encouragement, support, and constructive feedback.
This week Eric and Akshay join me to get real deep into a topic near and dear to our hearts: Chinese Food in America, while revisiting Padma Lakshmi's Taste the Nation "SF Chinatown" episode. Specifically, San Francisco and New York Chinese Food. We start out by explaining why, in a world of self-proclaimed foodies, you should trust our opinions about food (7:22) before explaining why Padma's show is as much about the culture and politics behind food...and how her show chooses an entirely new direction from the GOAT, Tony Bourdain. (15:47) At (41:15), we start getting into the good stuff: CHINESE RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS! Including when to go, what to order, including some off the menu items. To finish the epsiode we look at a (58:13) case study of Lan Zhou Noodles vs Xian Famous Foods: will our favorite mom and pop shops that maintain delicious tradition survive in the face of savvy innovation, superior marketing, and appeal to broader (non Asian) tastes?
The Electric Image Express Map!As a special treat for our 20th episode, We have shared a Google Maps bookmarks list below so if you're interested in any of the restaurants we recommended, you can check them out yourself post COVID! CLICK HERE FOR THE MAP
**Want to tell us your favorite Chinatown restaurants? Want to reassure us that traditional Chinese will survive? E-mail us at [email protected] or DM us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_expressFeedback: [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0o4Mdbk5nCRjga-uvoBS5BFNRgT8fXqQk5Dhe2IYHMziVoQ/viewform?usp=sf_link](Feedback Form)***
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In Episode 19 Stephanie and Michael Yap joins us to revisit Andrew Lau's Infernal Affairs. We kick it off by establishing some sides: Team Tony Leung vs Team Andy Lau? (8:28) After reflection of our rewatch, I describe how Infernal Affairs represents the wonderful memory of discovering incredible content from one world (Asia) and sharing it with another (America). (16:50) At (21:23), we start exploring the big theme of the podcast: agency over identity. By (43:38), Steph and Michael have gotten real deep into the therapist chair as they explore their radically different approaches to integrating family tradition and expectations into our identity, and at (50:12) I share how my mindset is somewhere in the middle: not having ties to physical space, but still highly prioritzing my family's desires .
I STARTED A NEWSLETTER!Do you want to read an excerpt from my book on Chinese Diaspora identity? Do you prefer reading over listening? Do you want to just have all of our content sent to you in an e-mail instead of checking Spotify? Read and Subscribe here!
*Want to tell us how Andy Lau's character will never be a good man? Want to share how Infernal Affairs compares to The Departed? E-mail us at [email protected] or DM us on IG/Twitter @electricimageexpress/@the_electric_image_expressFeedback: [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0o4Mdbk5nCRjga-uvoBS5BFNRgT8fXqQk5Dhe2IYHMziVoQ/viewform?usp=sf_link](Feedback Form)
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