By Yvonne Lim Wilson “Crazy Rich Asians” has blown up into a cultural movement. As the first film in 20 years featuring an all Asian cast, with box office sales of more than $165 million making it the highest grossing romantic comedy in ten years. Before the movies, there were the books. Author Kevin Kwan…
By Yvonne Lim Wilson “Crazy Rich Asians” opened Wednesday, Aug. 15 and the film has exceeded industry expectations bringing in $34 million over the five-day opening beyond the expected $25 million projection. Part of that enthusiasm has been fueled by the Asian American community buying out showings during opening weekend with the #GoldOpen movement. The…
By Yvonne Lim Wilson I first met playwright and founder of Color Arc Productions Christine Hoang a few years ago through her book club exploring works by Asian American authors as well as Asian American topics. When she posted that she would be hosting a book club event for “Crazy Rich Asians,” I was excited…
By Yvonne Lim Wilson At age 15, Maya said she had been having an ongoing identity crisis within the past few years. She was tired of having to explain who she was given her mixed background. Her mother is Jewish and her father’s family is originally from Northern India, but he was raised in Malaysia.…
By Yvonne Lim Wilson Local writer and liscensed professional counselor Irwin Tang drew from his own experiences to create “Cheese,” his new play about the generational conflicts within one Chinese American family. The play is based on a short story he wrote of the same name and makes its debut this weekend in a production…
By Yvonne Lim Wilson There’s a dramatic story behind the creation of the Center for Asian American Studies at UT Austin. In the Spring of 1999 ten students were arrested during a protest regarding the future director for the Center for Asian American Studies. The arrests were not the beginning or the end of the…
By Yvonne Lim Wilson Mark Singh,* 12, had been dealing with name calling at school: “Buddha,” “Ghandi,” and had been told “go back to Al Qaeda.” After one particularly bad harassment after school, his mother Amala* reported it to school authorities. The assistant principal asked Mark to stay after school to identify the harassers. Every…
With Asian Americans as the fastest growing ethnic minority in Austin and the nation (making up about 6.3 percent of the Austin population), it shouldn’t be so surprising to have multiple Asian Americans campaigning, but this is a major moment for Austin. It is with particular pride and excitement that we have four Asian American…
By Yvonne Lim Wilson Arthur Dong is a veteran filmmaker producing, writing, directing and editing independent social issue documentaries for more than 30 years. His latest film, “The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor,” is based on the autobiography of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia who…
By Yvonne Lim Wilson Listening to the music of AnDa Union, one can vividly picture life on the Mongolian grasslands, horses galloping, ancient sorrows and everyday joys. The sound is like nothing else, evoking the energy of Native American music, the operatic vocals of Chinese music, even strains of American country music, yet the sound…
Asian Austin 