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Samurai are big in Western pop culture these days, what with Tom Cruise's hit "The Last
Samurai" and of course, Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" movies. The "Kill Bill" movies are a
typical Tarantino mish-mash of homage to various Asian action genres, including the samurai
movies. That's really what the movie was, a Westernized tale of a (woman) lone samurai's
quest for justice and revenge. The genre has a long and rich history in Japanese literature,
arts, and pop culture including television and film.
You'd think in the 21st century, that racial epithets would be so old-fashioned that anyone
using them would be laughed out of the country. But no, that's not the case. At issue today,
as it has been for decades, is the use of the word "Jap" to describe a person or thing that's
Japanese or Japanese American. Amazingly, there have been a couple of instances of "Jap" in the media in recent weeks.
McDonald's, the world's largest food retailer, is reaching out to Asian Americans. And I say,
it's about damned time. The golden arches from the company's corporate Web site. For the Lunar
"Chinese" New Year in February, the company launched a marketing campaign that includes
Asian-themed placemats and packaging, plus a website that
proudly proclaims: "I am Asian!" In
fact, Mickey D's is so proud of their campaign to reach Asians that they trademarked the slogan, "I am Asian."
I think this is both a good thing and a bad thing.
The great thing about being Japanese American is that sometimes I can feel more Japanese, and sometimes more American. These days, I'm wanting to feel more American.
I've been following the sad story of the Japanese hostages who were released by Iraq and returned to Japan.
It's as if the honor of the country itself had been smeared by the reckless result of these poor brave Japanese, who were just trying to make a difference.
Instead of being welcomed back, they've suffered nothing but criticism for placing themselves in peril, and for the shame the incidence caused the people of Japan. It's as if the honor of the country itself had been smeared by the reckless result of these poor brave Japanese, who were just trying to make a difference.
Everybody loves Chinese food. Or at least, Chinese-American food. Erin and I tend to be food fanatics and we love Chinese Chinese food - the stuff that's usually available on a Chinese menu. Thank goodness there are restaurants that print their "Chinese" menu in English, so we don't have to dine with a Chinese-speaking friend! I've heard that such common staples of Chinese restaurants as chop suey and chow mein aren't actually Chinese in origin.
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