There are enough of my kind lurking around this blog to understand what that header means. *shows them the secret handshake* For those who don’t know, I’mma need you to step your popular culture knowledge up enough to recognize a relatively easy to spot euphanism for “May The Force Be With You.” It’s famous enough to not call you again after the first date. Heard Vadar was like that. Bastard.
Anyways, I wanted to do this post by jumping off a debate on Twitter, but last time that happened, people got angry (like Hulk Smash rage angry) so I quickly backspaced outta that disaster. But I wanted to leave you with something that didn’t require me to post the dissertation of my personal opinions on the bottle of angst that is Anakin Skywalker, the hilarity that is Darth Vadar or that one fanfiction I wrote in 04 about Anakin and Padme’s sex adventures on the rolling hills of Naboo. (ya’ll really ain’t ready for my literary awesomness when it comes to fanfics).
They say I, BlackNerdJade, have an affinity for all things Asian. I do, I won’t lie. It was something I was raised with, my parents meeting in Korea and having friends and family still over there. But this isn’t about that. It’s about something different, something that hasn’t been seen in years. It’s vibrant and uplifting and it’s only been a week, but it has managed to grab masses by the neck and refuses to let go.
What is it, you say?
What else?
Not to be cliché but it’s (and by it I mean Linsanity) taking the nation by storm. People who hadn’t lifted the remote to tune into a NBA game in years suddenly are setting their DVR’s to Knicks Games. People who haven’t rooted for the Knicks in years, suddenly shifting their radars to figure out what the change is. People who would have never expected a 24 year old Taiwanese-American man who graduated from Harvard with an Economics degree, was dropped twice by two other NBA teams, to take advantage of the lockout, never give up, and garner a starting spot on the New York Knicks. Literally the first of his kind.
But why does it matter? This story has been told before. When the underdog triumphs. We’ve heard it before, we know it by heart. We can recite what’s going to happen at the end. But there is something special, something effervescent and exciting when stereotypes are shattered, myths are overturned and everybody is reevaluating their preconceived thoughts.
Anybody remember the hype surrounding Tiger Woods when he emerged on the greens all those years ago, a dark face amongst light ones who commandeered the attention with his talent? Or when Venus and Serena Williams took on the tennis world with their curvy bodies and unbeatable prowess on the tennis courts?
It matters because we have this stubborn state of mind that is usually unmovable, ingrained and saturated with small clumps of “expectations” that muddy up the waters for everybody else. Stereotypes cloud our mind and what we expect is what we expect. A Black man in the NBA, a White man in the PGA. A White woman as a secretary, an Indian who is your math instructor or your customer service operator. Black women to have weave, a Mexican man who works in the fields. Korean ownership of a hair store, a man of Arabic decent owning a gas station. When a Black man is dominating golf, a White rapper is dominating the charts, or an Asian baller is dominating the courts, things snap, and realign and we are forced to focused on how misconstrued our every day thoughts are. When these stereotypes are rocked with no only pretenses but TALENT, the world goes crazy.
Floyd Mayweather recently tweeted….
Outside the fact that Mayweather is a known idiot and all around crybaby troublemaker (my opinions, sue me), he brings up the point of what people, coincidentally Black America in particular, may think about Jeremy Lin’s success.That if a player isn’t white or black, he has no place with a basketball in his hand and if by chance he HAPPENS to be good, the hype comes from his exoticism on the court, not his actual talent. Many attribute that to a sensational fact. He’s a sensation because of his race, not his talent. Hog-fucking-wash. Jeremy Lin has ALWAYS been a talented basketball player, but due to his race, he was overlooked and dropped. Twice.
Lin is Asian, duh. But he isn’t the first. Wataru Misaka first Japanese American to play for the NBA; ironically the Knicks. First Filipino-American, Raymond Anthony Townsend . Rex Walters, former Miami Heat player and now coach at the University of San Francisco is a Japanese-American. I could keep going. Kurtis Townsend, assistant coach for the Jayhawks. Corey Gaines, Japanese-American who ALSO played for the Knicks.
Each of these players presented a change in the scenery. Predecessors to what could be a fast growing movement. The reason for the mania is the fact that even with this impressive undercurrent of Asian Americans in the NBA, Jeremy Lin is proving that despite what many may THINK about Asians, stereotypes are just that, stereotypes, and when ideology is placed up against facts, facts win every time.
Another attribute to his seemingly overnight, wildly popular movement, is his background. Out of high school, not offered an athletic scholarship, but continued to play on the Harvard basketball team. Graduated, goes un-drafted. After five summer camps, and after being offered contracts from the Mavricks AND the Lakers, he decided to go back to his hometown. Who dropped him. He eventually moves to the Rockets. Waived again. Finally the Knicks. On the verge of being dropped ONCE again, Coach Mike D’Antonio decided to give him a chance (with a helpful suggestion of “Let him play, dawg.”[paraphrasing of course] from teammate Carmelo Anthony). And guess what happened after that?
With a Tebow like devotion to his faith, smarts that outclass just about every player on the court, and enough skill to garner him some well deserved attention, Linsanity might not last long (as humans are creatures of frivolity), while it does last, this blogger here will enjoy.
Just in case you haven’t seen it, here is Lin’s game winning shot against the Toronto Raptors on Valentines day. bon appetit!
Sometimes as fans, we have a burning desire to see the animated tales we love so much, in live action. Not because the anime themselves are too simple, or our imaginations aren’t complex enough; sometimes we wanna see if they can JUST DO IT. Can they live up to our imaginations, our expectations, and really bring our favorite characters to life.
Most of the time they can’t. *shrug* And then they surprise us and really do it, and it’s fantastic and we are squealing in excitement (READ: ROROUINI KENSHIN, Oh dear god)
Yet, we don’t have the time to wait for a producer to like the anime/manga/game enough to adpat it (READ: ruin it)
read:
So we as fans decide to do it ourselves. Which requires a deep level of commitment (and a set of deep pockets in some cases). Costumes, videogrpahy, choreography, scene setup. All in the name of a fandom.
Now there are some fan made video that are just… how do I say it….you can tell they REALLY love the anime…and they are doing this for the hell of it. Fuck production, fan appeal. They just needed to get it off their chest.
See.
Then there are those you’re not quite sure WHAT the fuck to thing. I mean….
Then there are those who put SOME effort into it, and it’s pretty damn good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIMwsh8sVKA
Then there are those who put so much effort into it, that you’re wondering what the hell is going on? People like this exist? These gods amongst humans with their awesomeness?
Here are several VERY WELL MADE fan-videos ranging from DBZ to Naruto.
Very. Well. Made.
Naruto Shippuden Dreamers (Part 1/4)
(Shoutout to Dr. Hip Hop @ www.drhiphop85.com for the GakAttack Introductions. Run to his blog. Like RIGHT now.)
Dragon Ball Forever
GakAttack’s Epic Anime Time
Mario Street Challenge. Bonus: Ichnigga fights Ichinigga. Rate it how you must.
You don’t have to be heavy in comics to know the whole Superman mythology. Sole survivor of Krypton who ends up on Earth as a baby and is taken in by a kind couple who raises him as their own. From there grows up to be 1 of our greatest hero’s. He then spends the rest of his life battling all types of villains (including arch nemesis Lex Luthor), stopping regular crimes and trying to maintain a relationship with the likes of one Louis Lane.
I have a lot of issues with the Superman story. For one, the costume. Aside from removing his glasses and rocking a Ricky Ricardo curl, there was no real disguise. You mean to tell me not ONE person could connect the two?
…..SERIOUSLY?!?
They had police Stations. Detectives on the payroll. Not one? You mean to tell me everyone in Metropolis was a stone cold idiot? How did they get jobs or handle heavy duty machinery? This really speaks volumes for their public school system. There’s no chance Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker could parade through the streets without a mask and not be recognized in minutes. Chicken Boo had better disguises than Superman and got caught every single time. It’s complete bullshit.
Next? Lex Luthor. The fact that Superman, a superior being with the ability to stop moving trains using just his bare hands actually had a regular nigga with money believe himself to be a worthy adversary is ridiculous. The FIRST time he mouthed off, I would’ve held him up by his chopper suit and punch a hole clean through his chest. Problem solved. Like how did they go back and forth for so long? Why wasn’t he dealt with? Because Superman is a dweeb, that’s why. Infact, there was no real reason for crime to still take place in Metropolis or anywhere in the world for that matter. Superman should’ve put the fear of god into the hearts of all mankind. Who was going to stop him? He’s motherfucking Superman. Bank Robberies? Nope. Snatch an arm out the socket and watch the crime rate drop 97% within the next 2-3 hours.
His love life. Dog, you’re Superman. Why is that a secret? I’m telling everyone and getting all the hoes. Wtf. Why would I have the ability to fly and still work a 9-5? If you can fly, you shouldn’t have to do anything regular people do. I’d dance in all the old Bad Boy videos and Suge Knight wouldn’t DARE tell me shit. The world would be a safer place because of me and I’d live like a Rockstar. The Fortress of Solitude would be the biggest bachelor pad known to mankind. I’d really just have sex, eat pizza, kill bad guys and twitpic my adventures. Yes, I’d tweet. I’d want you all to know how awesome I was.
With all this in his very grasp, he’d rather sit around and struggle to say something to Louis Lane. Louis isn’t even bad bro! There was no style of finesse with Superman. I’d seriously fight crime in sneakers and they’d never crease. Infact I would’ve been the ONLY person with concords and Michael Jordan wouldn’t take god out his thoughts and turn down the offer of taking picture with me ( Hi Chamillionaire! ). I’ll just end this rant here and sum it up by saying, Fuck Superman. Seriously. I wanna wrap my fist in a Kryptonite glove and punch him in the stomach then stuff him into a locker anytime he gets mentioned.
