We’re Not All Ninjas the Podcast : Repping the Concerns of Asian American Performers

Alex Chester

  • OnStage New York Columnist

Stereotyping, white washing, and yellow face is something Asian American actors have been dealing with since the dawn of cinema. You’d think in this day and age we would be past all that and have progressed to a point where API (Asian Pacific Islanders) actors are seen and heard equally in film. Sadly, this is far, far from the case.

Just look at the upcoming feature film “Ghost in the Shell” starting Scarlett Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi.

Does that even sound like a white girl name? I do not think so. Ms. Johansson is portraying a Japanese character. There’s also the film adaptation of “Dr. Strange” where Tilda Swindon plays the Ancient One, who is typically seen as older Asian man in the comics…

What the fuck Hollywood? Seriously, WTF! Because of all this white washing bullshit my lovely friend Melissa Slaughter came up with the idea of a podcast where we watch and review movies with Asian American Actors in them.

I asked Melissa why she decided to create We’re Not All Ninjas. This is what she had to say:

Melissa – I was listening to a podcast called “Black Men Can’t Jump In Hollywood,” which is the same premise as our podcast “We’re Not All Ninjas” but with black men.  When I did a search about Asian’s in film, there was lots about Asians and racism, Asians in media, anime, and Asian foreign films. But none directly relating to Asian-American’s in major motion pictures. So since I couldn’t find one, I decided to produce my own!

And she did. Melissa brought me and Rachel Liu on board and we are now on iTunes and you can download our latest podcasts. We’re Not All Ninjas on iTunes

We have a lot to say. We also love to geek out about Harry Potter.

I hope you find our podcast funny, entertaining, and enlightening. Because guess what? We’re Not All Ninja’s.

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BroadwayChristopher Peterson