{"id":44309,"date":"2016-12-16T21:42:59","date_gmt":"2016-12-17T01:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=44309"},"modified":"2020-12-17T22:43:14","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T03:43:14","slug":"rogue-ones-new-alien-race-asians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=44309","title":{"rendered":"Rogue One\u2019s new alien race: Asians"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the face I imagined Donnie Yen making when being told that his character was going to be basically a blind martial artist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Disclaimer<\/em>: I will not give away any Rogue One<\/em> plot, but I make no promises that I will not state any character characteristics.\u00a0 But who are we kidding, you\u2019re not going to actually even have the chance to read this until my brog is back up, which really might be never.<\/span><\/p>\n

To cut to the chase, mythical gf and I went and saw Rogue One on \u201copening night.\u201d\u00a0 Frankly, I\u2019m not thrilled to have to shell out $40 for movie tickets that cost more than a home edition would be, but we live in a world that puts importance on immediacy, mostly because people on social media don\u2019t know how to shut the fuck up, and not seeing things the very moment they\u2019re released leaves one subject to the litany of spoilers that internet blabbermouths are inevitably going to barf out as soon as their fingers reach any sort of keyboard.\u00a0 It also sets the bar extremely high for me to feel like a movie is remotely worth the cost of admission.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rogue One was an entertaining movie.\u00a0 I found it enjoyable, and nowhere near as bad as anything with Jar-Jar Binks in it.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t $20 admission-per good, but honestly short of live performance and\/or sports, I\u2019m hard pressed to think of many things that are.\u00a0 But I feel like there was an evident amount of care put into the movie that made sure to act as an appropriate addition to the franchise while not stepping on the toes of existing canonical storylines, while executing creative ways to tie existing plots together.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s not kid ourselves here, the main reason that intrigued me to Rogue One was the fact that for the first time ever, a Star Wars film was actually going to have some notable Asian characters.<\/span><\/p>\n

New paragraph for emphasis: don\u2019t even try and fucking convince me about the fleetingly sparse times in the other seven films where an Asian actor may have portrayed an alien character, or been on screen for three seconds to look concerned about the impending destruction of a planet, or the numerous Asians that have allegedly been under the helmets of a Stormtrooper.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that they never counted, but it goes to hammer down the notion that Asians have been given the shortest straws possible when it comes to representation in the Star Wars universe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seriously, LucasArts would rather blow a massive CG budget to create Jar-Jar Binks and the entire Gungan race rather than to cast some Asian actors and try to create another galactic culture.\u00a0 Yes, I\u2019m sour about the topic; I\u2019ve watched all the movies, indulged with numerous toys growing up, played countless SW video games, and read enough fan-fiction pawned off as SW novella to have my own opinions of what a real-life Mara Jade should look like; I\u2019ve kind of been into Star Wars for a long time.\u00a0 Long enough to recognize that Asians get almost no recognition in the entire fucking universe, despite the fact that watching the end credits to any SW-related media would yield nearly 45%+ of Asian contributors, with nearly double that if there\u2019s anything that needed to be animated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Needless to say, my excitement towards Rogue One was heavily skewed towards the fact that for like the first time ever, a Star Wars film was actually going to have some notable Asian involvement.\u00a0 Donnie Yen is pretty much the pinnacle of multi-cultural crossover action stars these days, and I was stoked to see that he was going to be in Rogue One, even if it seemed like he was there to satiate some need for some martial arts sequences.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m happy for Donnie Yen and how he basically gets to be immortalized in Star Wars history forever, but I can\u2019t help but think about his portrayal, and how it might have come to fruition when the story was concepted.\u00a0 Donnie Yen\u2019s pretty much known for one thing: martial arts.\u00a0 The guy is a Wing Chun god, and he\u2019s done a countless number of films beating people up and displaying his martial arts acumen on screen.\u00a0 But he\u2019s gone on record<\/a> for stating his excitement for getting to be in Rogue One, because his kids love Star Wars, and such was his primary reason for getting on board, but lately I\u2019ve been imagining the conversations he\u2019s had with his agent and Lucas people when it came to shaping his character.<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: Donnie, we have an extraordinary offer for you.\u00a0 How would you like to be in a Star Wars film?<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: Star Wars?? Are you kidding me?\u00a0 Of course I\u2019d want to be in Star Wars!!<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: There\u2019s a role in the upcoming Rogue One one-off that seems perfect for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: Of course I\u2019m interested! My kids love Star Wars!\u00a0 They\u2019d be so stoked to know that their dad got to be in a Star Wars film.\u00a0 Where do I sign??<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: Great!\u00a0 I\u2019ll let the Lucas guys know that you\u2019re on board.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: Also, Star Wars has been lacking in Asian representation throughout the decades.\u00a0 They\u2019ve had a bunch of white characters, a lot more black characters, and characters of visually various cultures.\u00a0 But not enough Asian portrayal.\u00a0 Fuck Jar-Jar Binks!<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: I think that\u2019s what Lucas is realizing now too.\u00a0 They are trying to be more diverse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: So have they said what they\u2019re interested in me for??<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie:\u00a0 Tell me I\u2019m not going to be just some Darth Maul bad guy, and they want me to do some acrobatics and kung fu.<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: No, they want you for a good guy\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: Good guy?? Do I get to be a Jedi??\u00a0 Do I get to have a lightsaber????<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: You do get to fight Stormtroopers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: So what am I then?\u00a0 A hero?\u00a0 An adventurer?\u00a0 A rebel?? Do I get to be a rebel??<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: No.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to be a blind monk who uses martial arts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: Blind\u2026 monk?<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: So am I a Jedi, and use the Force to act as my senses so I can fight Imperials with a lightsaber?<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: No, you\u2019re not a Jedi, so you don\u2019t get a lightsaber.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: So how do I fight Stormtroopers?<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 You\u2019re just\u2026 astute with your senses and can competently fight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: Like a kung-fu master?<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: Uh..yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: So in the Star Wars universe, I\u2019m wanted to do the exact same thing I do in all 27 films I\u2019ve portrayed Wong Fei-Hung, except against Stormtroopers?<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: I mean, when you put it that way\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: Seriously?\u00a0 Do I get to actually speak in this movie?<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: Of course you do!<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: I\u2019m guessing in like Mandarin and I\u2019ll be subtitled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: Don\u2019t be ridiculous Donnie.\u00a0 They want you to speak English.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: Well, at least there\u2019s that.\u00a0 Let me guess, they want to provide some sage monk-like advice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: No, you\u2019re going to be kind of a comic-relief guy with some witty one-liners.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donnie: I\u2019m not going to lie, I wish I would be portrayed as something slightly less kung-fu and a little more galactic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Agent: Baby steps, Donnie.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I like to imagine there being a modicum of eye-rolling when Donnie Yen was informed that he would be needed to provide some martial arts and staff expertise; in a Star Wars film.\u00a0 Bringing some Ip Man<\/em> into the Lucas Universe, when some Darth Maul for the light side is what he really had in mind.\u00a0 But nope, let\u2019s go with some staff expertise against blasters, and introduce a key Asian character to the universe in the most stereotypical manner possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Rogue One was still enjoyable, and I take shots at the Asian integration with tongue in cheek.\u00a0 At least there were finally some Asians introduced in the racist-ass galaxy far, far away.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the face I imagined Donnie Yen making when being told that his character was going to be basically a blind martial artist. Disclaimer: I will not give away any Rogue One plot, but I make no promises that I will not state any character characteristics.\u00a0 But who are we kidding, you\u2019re not going … Continue reading Rogue One\u2019s new alien race: Asians<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[76,41,83,91,89,146],"class_list":["post-44309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brog","tag-geeks","tag-movies","tag-observations","tag-pf","tag-racism","tag-triggered"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44311,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44309\/revisions\/44311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}