On July 20th, 2010, Jeremy Lin, was signed by the Golden State Warriors. After being undrafted coming out of Harvard University, the 6’3 point guard dazzled in the NBA summer leagues, including going toe to toe with the NBA’s 2010 first pick, John Wall in a summer league game against the Wizards. An American born to Taiwanese parents, his exciting and ferocious play in 5 games has turned Jeremy Lin into a fan favorite even before having an official NBA team. This, for more reasons than the average NBA fan would understand, matters.

Basketball to me has always been my favourite sport for a number of reasons. There’s pace, there’s drama, there’s tension, but most importantly, it is the most vicarious sport. Everyone has their inner athlete, or at least their yearning to become one, even though a majority of us are not athletically gifted. We go to playgrounds and rec leagues, trying an Iverson crossover, a Steve Nash behind the back, or a Lebron crab dribble drive (that’s called less and therefore easier to perform). Those who are lucky can pull off a Hakeem (and now Rondo) Dream -Shake, or God-forbid even dunk once in a while. We try these moves because we all want to be these athletes, and even though we can’t string all these athletic gifts together, we dream. It’s why we watch basketball; so that we can live vicariously through these amazing physical specimens that do what we cannot. They defy gravity. They will themselves to greatness.

This is even more important for the banana community.

There’s no arguing around it; Asians are generally less athletically gifted than most other people, and those that are are usually deemed finesse players (like in baseball), are gifted in sports that do not require pure athletic power (such as racquet sports), or need to be trained non-stop by their Government to produce results (diving, skating and gymnastics). Even back at Boston University, there was a rec league for Asian players 6’0 and under (which is about 90% of us). We need more than most others to live through our television sets, because if we can’t do, we can watch, and feel like we are taking part in something bigger than ourselves.

This is where Jeremy Lin comes in.

Yao Ming was no doubt one of the largest factors in marketing NBA and the sport of basketball to Asia, and specifically China. But even before Yao was drafted, people joked about how he was a creation of the Chinese Government, just a way to manufacture a player into the NBA like they have done in other sports. Even to some of his most die-hard fans, we were proud to finally have a Chinese star in the NBA, but didn’t really believe that a regular Chinese person ever could unless we were 7’6, never mind being put under a state controlled farm system. And this is why Jeremy Lin matters. A division II state champion in high school, Lin has always been about proving that Asians can play, and more importantly, showing that this sport can be had by the new breed of banana’s (whether it be ABC, BBC, CBC or other westernized Asians). Despite never getting a Division I scholarship or being drafted by an NBA team, Lin is trying to overcome stereotypes to realize his dream in the association, entering with a chip on his shoulder like many other Asian athletes may have had. Though he will not create a basketball buzz like Yao did back in 2002, he does have a drive and slash game that relies on his athletic gifts that previous Asian players like Yi Jian Lian, Yuta Tabuse and even Yao himself do not have; the type of game that fans of the game watch basketball for. Though he will not break all Asian stereotypes (there’s a joke I’ve heard a few times about how Asian parents wouldn’t let their children become athletes unless they graduate 4 years from an Ivy League school first), he will be an important stepping stone in proving that Asians have got game too, whether it be in dominating all-star games or contributing 10 minutes off the bench. And we all should be watching.

Just a little less vicariously this time.

-Garron
twitter/thegarz88

PEEL ME is an award-winning film made by us, The Banana Times, that began its film festival run in July at the Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival. Our next step is to bring our film to as many film festivals as we can, meaning PEEL ME won’t be available on our Youtube channel until our festival run is over. But we will be periodically uploading short clips from the film to let everyone know what PEEL ME is all about! This week’s clip features Andrew Kim, an actor who was part of the play The Boat People, which was recently featured at the Hamilton Fringe Festival.

A Clip from PEEL ME – The Grey Area of a Banana

In this clip Andrew refers to a very common issue of cultural identity crisis many Asians in North America experience due to their parents being immigrants or themselves being immigrants as well. I had the pleasure to watch the play he was in, The Boat People by Sylvia Vuong, and it tells a true and universal tale regarding the struggles of the countless Asian immigrants that had to leave their homeland and flee to the West. As a result of this mass-migration of our previous generation, many of our generation experience struggles with culture and identity. But of course, our current problems, which are at times overdramatic and immature, are nothing compared to those who came before us.

Andrew can be considered lucky in a sense, to be able to distinguish himself from set archetypes of Asian-North American cultural identity. He realizes that because of his Korean ethnicity, he is never going to be Caucasian-Canadian. Nor can he be fully Korean due to some of the Western cultures and influences he’s been brought up with. The term “grey area” rarely has a positive connotation. But when it comes to the context of the “Banana”, I think we should take pride in being part of the grey area. We are not purely white nor purely Asian in any sense, but somewhere in between. It has been birthed out of two extremes into something new that has a global following and relevance. What’s not to be proud of?

-phibz
youtube/thebananatimes
twitter/bananatimes
twitter/philbertlui

You can watch the trailer for PEEL ME here:

PEEL ME is a short film created by us, The Banana Times, that recently screened at this year’s Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival in July and we also took home the Spectator Award of the night. We are immensely proud of this film and will continually shop it around various festivals in the coming year. Many have made requests for us to upload the whole film up onto Youtube, but due to the nature of the film, we would like to finish our festival run before letting cyberspace know what our film is about. But don’t fret, we will be releasing various clips from the film in the coming weeks to spread the word of PEEL ME. Here’s the first:

A Clip from PEEL ME – Old School Bananas VS New School Bananas:

As our co-founder Wilkin Cheung states in the clip, we find that there is a distinction in today’s society regarding the Banana. In later weeks we will upload a clip of our interview with Professor Theodore Goossen who specializes in East Asian Studies where he explains the origin of the term “Banana”. The term was originally used by an older generation of Asians who regarded themselves as purely Asian, against a younger generation of Asians who grew up or was heavily influenced by Western, North American or European attitudes and values. We here at The Banana Times find that there are more people who fit the New School Banana rather than the Old School Banana, where there are Asians who are completely Caucasian on the inside. This extreme Banana, so to speak, is rare in modern North American society where there are Asians who have no trace of their cultural heritage within them. Maybe with a few exceptions of Caucasian parents who have adopted Asian children might this be the case.

I guess we’re trying to beg the question: “Which is more prominent in today’s multicultural society: the Old School Banana, or the New School Banana?”

-phibz.
youtube/thebananatimes
twitter/bananatimes
twitter/philbertlui

Check out the trailer for PEEL ME:

Last week, a heartwarming, heart-sinking, and heart-exploding display of love appeared on the Heroic Melon youtube channel. One member of the HMC went above and beyond to show his affection for his one and only leading lady, and the result of his efforts is something the whole world (well, maybe only the females in the world) should bow down in envy for. Our courageous and heroic Lester Calleja of the Heroic Melon Collective created an epic music video, that absolutely contains no sign of fail, and presented it to this one lucky lady for her birthday.

The Banana Times is proud to be part of Heroic Melon Collective’s:
OPERATION: BLOSSOM BOY

Only a handful of people are able to notice the various locations this music video was filmed in were places where Lester and his lady spent many memorable moments. Rest assured we tried to keep the production as authentic as possible. Lester and our lead guitarist (also HMC member) Kevin both are able to play guitar, I can also play the bass, Alex used to play the drums, and of course what made the MV look amazing was our always-awesome cinematographer, RJ. Overall, the experience was very enjoyable and even more so now that we get to see this amazing final product. We shot on no budget, got some farmer’s tans, and something great was made.

Now, the question, “Is Lester a good boyfriend?”. Well, I won’t answer for obvious biases (we used to date, too much for me in bed). But if your answer is anything less than “yes”, “of course!” or “no, he is a GREAT boyfriend”, then you are a moron. A giant one.

Enjoy!!

-phibz

If you haven’t seen Christopher Nolan’s latest film Inception yet, it means your having a pretty crappy summer. It is hands down the best movie of 2010 so far. Its a pretty tall order to top The Dark Knight, but he did it, and boy was it entertaining! I’ll refrain from doing a review on Inception seeing as all I have been doing lately are reviews. And I think the film speaks for itself, if you’ve watched it that is, and if you havent, again, you’re summer sucks.

With a phenomenal piece of cinema such as Inception, there are many surrounding factors that make it bigger than it already is. Things such as awards, viral advertising, and whether or not it will gain legendary or cult status. What I’m trying to say is that you know a movie is going to make some kind of mark when a flurry of mash-ups flood cyberspace. And. Here. They. Are.

The Simpsons-Inception Trailer Mashup: (my personal favourite)

Up-Inception (Upception) Trailer Mashup:

The Dark Knight-Inception Trailer Mashup:

Toy Story 3-Inception Trailer Mashup:

These are the few that are worth watching. There are others but are poorly edited and a little lazy in my opinion. It doesn’t really do the great movies they use justice at all. Movies such as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Shutter Island and even Avatar: The Last Airbender. Maybe we should do one here with The Banana Times. Some thing really ridiculous like The 40-Year-Old Virgin!!

-phibz.

PS: Did anyone else find it annoying that some characters pronounced Saito as “Say-toe” and others pronounced it correctly, “Sigh-toe” (or “Sigh-toh”, to be more authentic)?

After being spoiled by the likes of Harvey, The Women, and The Ideal Husband at Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Shaw Festival, and Fela! on Broadway, I expected some saturation to my neutral slate of critique prior to the more local, up and coming piece at the Hamilton Fringe Festival – The Boat People. And thankfully, I was wrong.

Not to say that The Boat People is on the same scale as the age-old tales of the Shaw Festival, rather it felt like the classmate you knew growing up who’s just about to make it big. And boy, I really hope this play makes it big. Because after watching old English and American tales of Shaw to the politically and musically charged vibe of Manhattan’s Fela!, I was in an immediate search for a theatrical performance that adheres to the Asian community with potential to really make a mark.

What started off as a short 15-minute performance at York University’s playGround in 2009, Sylvia Vuong evolved The Boat People into a strong hour-long piece debuting at a the Hamilton Fringe Festival. It was everyone’s debut in many ways, but due to Jeff Yung’s direction, the cast seemed to be at ease even when juggling multiple characters. Jasmine Chen and Kathy Huynh-Phan, who played the two daughters Amy and Ngoc, established a notable sisterly connection right from the start during Amy’s controversial confession. Well, controversial in their father’s eyes anyway. Asian tradition and stereotypes complimented each other in the father-role, Tuan, played by Miquelon Rodriguez. The character’s history was told in flashbacks to his time back in Vietnam during the war, which still haunts him, causing struggles between him and his family. The performance to look out for was definitely the mother, Trang, played by Danielle Ayow, who successfully portrayed her character budding through the years of the narrative. And of course, to top it all off, there was the ever-hilarious Andrew Kim providing needed comic relief to this touching immigrant tale.

Rest assured that I do not have a background of theater nor am I in any position to critique it, but this is a play that is worth a lot of praise. Adding to that, I have the bias of being able to relate to the Asian immigrant tale due to my “Banana” nature. Also my friends were part of the play. Biases are always frolicking about. Nonetheless, this is a play to seriously look out for, regardless of ethnicity or other questionable partialities.

Check out their news and updates here!! –> http://rpcboatpeople.blogspot.com/

-phibz.