Missed Opportunity: Blue Crush Review (2 of 3)

So an insult and missed opportunity it is again with “Blue Crush.” In a state that is overwhelmingly populated with Asian/Pacific Islanders, we see instead an Asian woman who is the nagging boss of the lead and her two friends (one of whom is a mixed Asian/white, the other Latina), Asians as bell hops, Pacific islanders dancing the hula at the obligatory and trite luau scene, and, of course, as the aforementioned villains.

Think about it: If white producers made a movie about hip-hop and denuded it of Blacks, then installed whites as leading lights of hip hop, and relegated Blacks to inconsequential side roles, what do you think would happen? Chances are that the public would get an earful from any number of spokespeople on behalf of Blacks.

With the way the political climate is, white producers wouldn't displace and “dis” Blacks or at the very least are disinclined to. However, white producers such as Brian Grazer evidently feel okay with culturally looting Asian Pacifics and installing white leads as the heroes/heroines while demonizing Asians. Worse, they may even play the part of the “good white liberal” by maintaining their “commitment to diversity” by dint of just having made the movie at all. If like me you scratch your head at that kind of rhetoric, just file it under "that sounds like it makes sense, but it doesn't." It‘s next to the “Miss Saigon” file.

But there are plenty of other fingers left for pointing. For instance, Asians feed right into this mess with their complacency and lack of a strong voice that says “You wouldn’t do this to Blacks, so why are you discriminating here against Asian Pacifics???”

Until Asian Pacifics learn to stand up and demand to be heard, they can’t expect things to change, because the mirror of reflection and shame isn’t being held up. They aren’t holding it up. So, the one two punch: "The Fast and the Furious," and now "Blue Crush." As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. But there is still hope; Asian Pacifics and Others can gain currency for themselves by taking a page from Blacks who struggle and trace their history through great advocates and leaders in all pursuits of life

Missed Opportunity 3: Shameless Cluelessness