Our friends at the Heroic Melon Collective have done it again! They released their latest episode of the Awkward Compilation on Christmas Eve entitled “Awkward Again – episode 03: Holidays“. This Christmas themed episode was not as comedic as their usual entries, but it was definitely in keeping with the holiday spirit. It’ll warm your heart just watching it.

You can check out season 1 and season 2 of The Awkward Compilation here!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

-phibz.

Its been a little dry on the blog side of The Banana Times as of late, but I assure you its for good reason. Just bask yourselves on poster above and you’ll know its for good reason. Before I get into what I’ve been working on in the past 2 weeks, I first want to promise I will write reviews on all the amazing films I watched at the Reel Asian International Film Festival, just as soon as things ease up a little.

Now, I am happy to say that I am once again part of the amazing movement of Kollaboration Toronto for their upcoming 6th annual show in March 2011. This year I will reprise my duties in producing videos for Kollaboration Toronto as well as being part of the marketing team. I can already FEEL the excitement of this year’s show, because I know it will be awesome. Here are the two videos I’ve proudly done for them so far. Pump. It. UP!

Kollaboration Toronto 2011 Volunteer Video
A mash-up and montage of sorts, highlighting the success of the Kollaboration movement across 11 North American cities (the video is missing Boston, I sincerely apologize..). Did you know Far East Movement was a winner at one of the Kollaborations in LA? Yes. The guys who brought you LIKE A G6 and ROCKETEER (:

An Interview with ESLY – Winner of Kollaboration Toronto 2010
A short interview with last year’s champion of Kollaboration Toronto 2010. She shares her relationship with Kollaboration, what it has done for her, and her overall musical background.

So what are you waiting for? Log on to the Kollaboration Toronto website and get your friends, families, foes to audition! Keep this movement alive! Empowerment through Entertainment. This year’s gonna be huge. 100% guarantee. Stay tuned!

-phibz.

PS: It’s not to say that I didn’t have some time to myself. I carved for American Thanksgiving (:

After working three days straight with TorontoALPHA’s historic Educator’s Conference 3 weekends ago, I had a lot to think about. There were a lot of thoughts roaming around inside my head regarding the events of World War II in Asia and how it is lost in most history books. A lost chapter in history it seems. So I tried to relate with the many scholars, speakers, and brilliant minds who voiced their thoughts throughout the conference, but ultimately, I couldn’t relate. Due to my lack of experience and knowledge with history and anything political, I did as I always did, I listened and admired. The only way I could relate is to connect with my own perspective and my own story. I had to see everything through the lens of a Banana. And thus, I wrote down a speech of sorts, and I voiced it in front of a camera. Enjoy.

A Dire & Personal Topic by Philbert Lui – A Banana’s “Embraced Contradiction” & TorontoALPHA:

The video is fairly long, but I hope you get something out of it. If you prefer reading, below is the written version of what I said (with slightly better grammar and sentence structure and more typos):

Hi there. I’m Philbert Lui of The Banana Times. This particular video blog is going to be a little different. Usually, traditional video blogs would have many cuts in the timeline to jump from shot to shot or scene to scene to make some kind of point. Well, that’s not happening today because of the nature of what I’m about to talk about, I feel that this has to be uncut just so my train of thought is evident.

For those of you who have been following my personal twitter account or the Banana Times twitter account, you might know that I have been working for TorontoALPHA. Now TorontoALPHA is a non-profit organization aiming to promote the education of the events of World War II in Asia. And three weekends ago, TorontoALPHA hosted a very significant conference for the educators of Canada and others; to help spread the word on this lost chapter of history.

Now, to summarize, or to attempt to summarize any of the topics and amazing speeches seen at the conference would do the entire event injustice. Due to the amount brilliant minds that congregated at the conference, me trying to relay any of it would be feeble and quite offensive. So in order to shed any light on the event, on what I learned and on what I feel, I would have to speak from my perspective. For the few people who actually read The Banana Times blog or watches our once-in-a-blue-moon video on Youtube, may have noticed that I take pride in recognizing my own bias and that I embrace the contradictions within myself.

When I say being a contradiction, I mean it on several levels. For one, I think many people who assimilate with the Banana identity, whether you think you’re completely Westernized on the inside or that you feel like you’re multicultural on the inside, sometimes unknowingly lack the understanding that you are on some level a contradiction. Now I say and mean this in the most inoffensive way I possibly can. When I say you or people, in this context, are a contradiction, it is not an insult or an attack. Rather I think it is something to be embraced, and is also what my team and I strives for in The Banana Times. Being a Banana requires a capacity to embody more than one set of cultural values and attitudes beyond your native Asian identity, thus making you a liaison between certain boundaries of society. Being a person of Asian descent and be influenced and inspired by Western cultures and societies, in its very basic, traditional and prejudice form, is a contradiction. But going back to the origins of the term “banana”, it was used by an older generation of Asians who considered themselves purely Asian, against a younger generation who have been brought up or influenced by Western cultures. In short, it’s a derogatory term. And yet today, we embrace it with pride. And with that pride comes an embraced contradiction. An acceptance that with this nation-less but global label, comes the ability to withstand conflicting forces of culture, society, politics, gender within yourself. A power to hold and contain contradiction, which otherwise have been deemed negative by many others.

Now even though I identify with this “embraced contradiction” it is only 100% guaranteed applicable to me. To say it is applicable to others is nothing less than presumptuous. With that said, I also take pride in expressing through the lens of my own bias. Everyone’s point of view, perspective or opinion is in itself a bias, and can be beneficial if embraced. Again, this is all me. I take pride in calling Craig Ferguson one of my modern day heroes because a few years back he said “I am no expert or alcoholism or anything, but I am an expert on my own story. I was there when it happened”. These two sentences stuck with me, and perhaps will continue to for as long as I live. I claim to have the ability of “embraced contradiction” and the recognition of my own bias, because this is my own story. Out of everything I will learn, or come to learn or teach in my life, I will only be an expert on one thing. Myself. And thus I take much pride in saying and indicating that I have a bias and that I walk with contradiction with whatever I express or create.

I constantly reference the “Banana” or “Banana culture” because it is a significant of my story. And being able to reflect on my own story as an expert, I discovered something. Sure, after hearing my theories on biases and inner contradictions being good things, always talking about Bananas makes a lot of sense. But this is also valid because it is a case study. Being a Banana, in my words, means you have a beneficial ability to withstand, contain, and excel with more than one set of values and attitudes within you, but this is not only applicable to Bananas. Rather, it applicable to any similar form that also has an embraced contradiction. Meaning that anyone of any race who were raised, inspired, influenced, lived in a different society or culture from their ethnic origin can have this embraced contradiction. The Banana is only a case study in which me and The Banana Times specialize in, there are many other case studies related to multicultural capacity that I would not be nearly qualified to talk about. But I urge those who are experts of their own story to explore this capacity, to embrace this contradiction, and to be proud of your own unique bias.

Now that I’ve talked a little bit about how I operate and how my mind kind of works, I’d like to return to the weekend I’ve had. TorontoALPHA held a historic and important educators conference last weekend, I believe the first of its kind since WWII, and I was lucky enough to volunteer for them as a videographer. They aim to raise global awareness on the history of WWII in Asia specifically, as many people don’t know about the atrocities that happened on that side of the world, especially those of us who grew up in the West. Many studies and books have been written about the European side of WWII with the genocide of the Jews, but there was also a similar Holocaust in Asia instigated by the Japanese Empire. And ultimately, TorontoALPHA aims to convince the Japanese government to make a sincere apology for their war crimes and admit to the atrocities they committed over 60 years ago. There were many speeches, testimonies, videos from many scholars and filmmakers, and to try to relay their knowledge would be egotistical of me.

But I would like to say this. I identify myself as a Banana. A person of Asian descent, more specifically Chinese descent, who was born in the West and have been influenced and surrounded by Western culture throughout his life, therefore creating a contradiction within myself as I said before. This contradiction is what I thrive on, and I tell stories and accounts of this contradiction through my own bias. And from this, I want to tell you something that I feel bananas are obligated to do. Learn about the events of World War II in Asia.

As members of the Banana community, we know more than one set of values and attitudes, that is our nature. But like any culture, it originates from history. The post-WWII era is a period in human history where mass-diaspora and migration increased, thus creating hybrid identities like Bananas. Not only do we need to learn about the events of WWII in Asia because of justice, but also to learn how identities such as the Banana came about. We are not only Asian or Western; we are international because of the nature of our identity. The Holocaust of Asia is not a Chinese problem, or a Japanese problem, or a Korean problem or an American problem, it is a global problem and a human problem that has yet to be resolved even after 60+ years.

Many of our grandparents were alive during WWII and without their strength and their vigor we would not be here. If there were a time where you should practice the Asian tradition of respecting your elders, this would be the time. Respect them by learning what they had to go through and what they had to endure for you to be here. Without our grandparents and their peers, Bananas would not exist. We would not exist. I would not exist.

Now what I have said comes out of the brief experience I have had with Toronto ALPHA. These are all thoughts from my own bias, and may be flawed. But if you are going to take anything way from what this contradictory, presumptuous Banana boy has said, take away this. If you believe you are a Banana, or have any other identity that enables you to have a multicultural capacity, and that you think that you have a contradiction within yourself that you can benefit and excel from, talk about it. Tell people your own story, because that’s the best tale you can tell. You are the expert of your own story. Learn more about the Holocaust in Asia and maybe that would become part of your life and part of your story as well. Banana Culture is a culture that is both local and global. If your voice is heard, it will travel far.

Good luck.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot them my way – philbertlui@thebananatimes.com – I’ll be happy to answer them. I have to stress that everything I have said is only 100% applicable to me, for others it may be different. But even so, this is just a gathering of thoughts from a person who is trying to tell his own story, but I hope it connects with people in any way possible. Because what happened to our grandparents and forefathers during World War II in Asia must be heard and learned.

I wish you luck.

-phibz.

It has almost been a month since the conclusion of the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival but I have continued to review the 9 films I watched through written and video form. With the help of friends who came to watch the films with me, and some Q&A footage of the screenings, I have compiled 3 video reviews on our Banana Times youtube channel. Enjoy:

Banana Reviews – TIFF 2010 – Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (with Dexter Chu):

Banana Reviews – TIFF 2010 – Late Autumn (with Alison Chan):

Banana Reviews – TIFF 2010 – 127 Hours (with Lester Calleja):

I will probably make at least one more video review before the month goes out so stay tuned! And for those of you who want to read what I had to say about the 9 films I watched at TIFF, here they are:

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
Late Autumn
Break Up Club
127 Hours
I Saw The Devil
Red Nights
Bunraku
Poetry
Black Swan

Until next time!

-phibz.

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

Another Heroic Melon Random Antic! Lent is a Christian tradition where one gives up something  for 40 days to represent the 40 days Jesus wandered the desert resisting Satan’s temptation. This year’s lent began on February 17th and ended on April 3rd. As I am not a Christian, that is the extent of my knowledge on this religious practice. Three out of five of the HMC members took on Lent regardless of religion. Lester tried giving up drinking and caved after the first two days. Kevin and myself were more successful. I gave up eating chips, and Kevin decided to give up swearing and McDonalds.

Kevin was not entirely successful because sometimes swearing just comes naturally. For every time he accidentally cusses, he granted me the pleasure of slapping him across the face. We didn’t spend every waking minute together, contrary to popular belief, so Kevin informs me of his slip ups and I follow through by slapping him the next time I saw him. And thus, spawned this awesome Random Antic:

Heroic Melon Collective presents,
Random Antics Volume 18: Slapping Kevin

I will honestly never get sick of this episode (: This will be the third Random Antic that The Banana Times has edited for the HMC, but don’t worry, there will be many more to come! Especially if it involves inflicting slapstick pain on another HMC member (see what I did there?). I’ll leave you with this:

The day lent ended, I wanted to seal myself in my room with a wall of chips. But unfortunately, I ate the wall. Mmmm…

-phibz.

I’m proud to be part of a creative group of people who are brilliant enough to create great works of awesomeoness (and otakuness), shown in the Central Squares Saga. In the name of loving martial arts, anime, and all things nerdy, Central Squares is a true testament to the power of popular youth media, both Eastern and Western.

In 2006, the first installment of the Central Squares Saga garnered over 18,000 views on YouTube with its intended slapstick cheesiness and low-budget appearance. Above all, its ridiculous humour caught the unexpected waves of the Internet. Unknown to many, the title “Central Squares” has no direct connection to the narrative (or lack thereof) of the video series, but is simply the name of the area of York University in which it was filmed.

A surprise to most, four years later, a sequel was born. With a better set of hands provided by the Heroic Melon Collective and a departure from the beloved handycam look, Central Squares II was bigger, better, flashier, and more nerdy, with a plethora of references to popular video games, anime and television shows:

Dragonball, Star Wars, Naruto, you name it, and Central Squares II pays homage to it in some way. If my nerdiness serves me right, I counted at least 9 references to popular youth media. As I mentioned on our Twitter page, “It has references up the BUTT!”, which makes it all the more epic.

It took four years before a sequel was released, do we have to wait until 2014 before we see Central Squares III? I highly doubt that. Considering the diverse body of work the HMC have created, they are more than capable (not including myself, of course) of doing one, if not two, more installments to this great fanboy saga. With that said, RJ Tumanguil (Perfect Destiny Pictures) has sacrificed blood, sweat, tears, and many nights of sleep to polish the grand display of special effects in CS2. For now, we’ll let the trooper rest. For now (:

-phibz.

Its been quite a February, considering it is the shortest month of the year. We had the NFL SuperBowl XLIV, the NBA All-Star Game, Chinese New Year, Valentines Day, and last but not least, the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

To celebrate this wondrous month, The Banana Times made the move to start blogging in the form of video. It is not like the usual video blogs you see, where the speaker talks and looks straight into the camera. We here at TBT love to mix things up, and like any worthy and great genre, it adapts and adopts. We hope you enjoy our little spin to the video blog style!

The Banana Times Productions presents,
BANANA BLOG 01 – TIGER! TIGER!

恭喜發財!

-phibz

On January 16th 2009 The Banana Times, as part of the Heroic Melon Collective, hosted a film screening and music event at O’Grady’s Tap & Grill in Downtown Toronto. The event was titled The Best Case Scenario. We had an audience of around 70 people, almost double the amount of our last screening, Awkward Night Out.

We showcased a lineup of films that were very diverse, to show the HMC’s versatility and varying styles. Along with our short films, the very talented Kevin Lam from Bujumed Media and others, performed several musical numbers that eased the crowd into the event.

The Banana Times screened three things on the night, A Melon’s Journey: The Beginning, a teaser trailer for our upcoming film Dry Cups and a short version of our definitive documentary Peel Me. Videos below:

A Melon’s Journey: The Beginning

Peel Me – Trailer

Other works of the night included The Homecoming from Reuben John A. Tumanguil’s Perfect Destiny Pictures, Central Squares I & II from Lester Calleja’s Lemon Meringue Productions, and the headliner Process Of Elmination from Alex Chung’s Saunica Films. Videos below!

The Homecoming

Central Squares I & II

Process Of Elimination

All in all the event very well! On behalf of the HMC, we’d like to thank everyone who came and for everyone who helped! Please tune in to www.HeroicMelon.com for more details on our upcoming projects, updates and events!

-phibz

The first decade of our second millennia is coming to a close in 6 days, and it seems a little anti-climactic. But to highlight this landmark event, we here at TheBananaTimes are going to countdown to 2010 with a series of posts called “Decading Bananas: Hong Kong”. As I am now in Hong Kong and will be dissolving into the new year here as well, I will comment and enlighten some cultural, historical and social topics in the past 10 years, mostly relating to the my own experiences and more importantly, the big picture – The Banana.

PART I – THE COMMERCIAL HARBOUR

Being an international student growing up in Hong Kong, the pop culture we absorbed was mainly from the television (Note: International students in HK attended schools where English was the primary language being taught, local students were taught in Cantonese). Those of my generation experienced their childhood and adolescence in a Hong Kong still under British rule with the looming and inevitable handover on the horizon. This meant that the media that we were surrounded by were not necessarily national, and as our schools implied, but were mixed in Eastern and Western cultures.

Post-handover and into the 2000s, Hong Kong TV still retained its bilingual tendencies and its international reputation even increased. Due to the dip in the economy after the 1997 handover from British rule, tourism was a financial savior, and thus the international, consumerist and packaged Hong Kong was more apparent than ever. Spawning from this tourist dependency was a flurry of intricate, touching, narratively rich television commercials and advertisements.

My first day back in town, I had the privilege to check out a Cathay Pacific commercial shoot. I got to Cathay City, the main headquarters of the corporate airliner. They had a half a floor filled with interior sets of airplanes, from models of the 80s up until the latest “fishbone” model today. Walking around the sets was nostalgic and almost dreamlike.

The director was an Englishman, Laurence Dunmore (directed The Libertine), whose fast-pace efficient style controlled the flow of the set intricately. His direction was voiced in a firm and demanding tone but was not intended to be forceful or even rude, just efficient. This attitude suits Hong Kong’s work ethic perfectly, where unnecessary work and roundabout methods are frowned upon. Any thing or time that is wasted is a hindrance to success. It is a dream for any Hong Kong artist in charge of a multilingual set to operate like this.

Another CX commercial directed by Laurance Dunmore

Other than the director and 4 or 5 other people, the rest of the crew were Cantonese speakers. Even with the majority of the cast and crew being Chinese, Dunmore’s fast-pace efficiency still held out. This goes to show the potential of international collaboration in a place like Hong Kong. After realizing this, I discovered where my inter-disciplinary mindset and attraction to cross-cultural creativity originates. This way of thinking was how The Banana Times came about.

The commercials that I have been drawn to, and that have inspired me in the last decade was a clear foundation behind The Banana Times and what we aim to do here. I only hope that even after 12 years after the handover from British rule that this collaborative and unified ideology will not fade, and that Hong Kong is not the only post-colonial region that has adopted this creative practice.

One of my favourite CX commercials

I shall conclude Part I of Decading Bananas here, and ask why not encourage cross-cultural understanding and integration under the common goal of creativity and art? Even if it is for commercial purposes. Until Part II, I bid you all a very happy Christmas!

-phibz.