Before Hard NOC Life goes off the air for a few weeks, Keith and Dominic have a few more Andor takes to share. Not only did the final episodes rekindle a love for Star Wars for our hosts, it will forever change how they watch the franchise going forward.
The final episodes of Andor Season 2 no doubt will lead many to rewatch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, because Andor adds so much meaning and context to its 2016 predecessor. Rogue One’s story begins a matter of days after Andor S2 concludes. Those in full completist binge mode may then feel compelled to watch Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (a.k.a. The First One), because its story starts about five minutes after the end of Rogue One.
Continue reading “‘Andor’ and the Asian Soul Within ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Rogue One’”
Five years ago in the before times, my Secret Identities partner-in-crime Jerry Ma exhibited a solo art show called A Chinatown Odyssey about a modern interpretation of The Monkey King and his adventures throughout New York’s Chinatown. Well, for this AAPI Heritage Month, Jerry and the Monkey King are back at Pearl River Mart, but this time he’s brought along some legendary comics artist pals for the ride.
Continue reading “Jerry Ma and Friends Bring The Monkey King Back to Chinatown”
It’s still Star Wars Day on Hard NOC Life! Dominic and Keith celebrate the combination of AAPI Heritage Month and new Star Wars content via the latest Acolyte trailer. Keith also explains why “Revenge of the Fifth” makes zero sense when “Sixth” is the better pun. They also share their initial reactions to the first look at David Corenswet as Superman.
Nielsen — a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics — has released their latest Diverse Intelligence Series report to kick-off Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The report titled, Reaching Asian American Audiences: Understanding Asian Influence and Media Consumption, highlights that Asian Americans are spending nearly equal time watching content on their TVs and smartphones. Check it out after the jump!
Continue reading “New 2024 Nielsen Report Highlights AANHPI Viewing Trends”
Los Angeles theater survives and thrives on community collaboration now more than ever. In conjunction with AAPI Heritage Month, Chalk Repertory Theatre will present the world premiere of PANG SPA directed by Reena Dutt in collaboration with EST/LA’s world premiere production of TWO STOP directed by Tracey A. Leigh.
Continue reading “Chalk Repertory & Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA Present World Premiere Companion Productions”
It’s the last day of AAPI Heritage month, Lionsgate gifted audiences with special character posters from their new comedy, Joy Ride. The posters speak for themselves on each of their unique personalities. The four main characters consists of Audrey (Ashley Park), the responsible one; Lolo (Sherry Cola), the mouthy fun one; Kat (Stephanie Hsu), the almost-famous one; and, Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), the chaotic — and unexpected — one.
Continue reading “‘Joy Ride’ Celebrates Individuality with Character Posters”
May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, a cause for celebration of these many diverse communities. But far too often, many who champion this month have belied and ignored specific groups within this collective, often presenting a limited scope of who counts as “Asian” or “Asian American” in this collective consciousness.
Continue reading “For AANHPI Heritage Month, Here are 50 West Asians in Pop Culture You Should Know”
It was a pleasant surprise to see an email invite from Super Smack inviting me to the listening party for his next single. It had been a few weeks since I had last seen him but I heard his voice everywhere. “Cute!” and “Grind!” started to show up in rotation through my TikTok For You Page and several of my personal friends would remark hearing the songs in their feeds as well. It was no denying his songs were picking up traction, but what exactly was resonating with the listeners? I finally had the perfect opportunity to find out.
Continue reading “Super Smack is Shamelessly Asian American in “Orange Chicken!””
In one week, on the 45th anniversary of the original Star Wars, Disney+ will be premiering the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Filling in the gap between Episodes III and IV, Obi-Wan Kenobi brings back Prequel era stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to reprise the roles of Kenobi and Darth Vader, respectively.
Continue reading “‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Director Deborah Chow on the ‘Star Wars’ Legacy and Toshiro Mifune”
Poorna Jagannathan is an honoree of Gold House’s 2022 A100 List, which recognizes the 100 APIs that have most significantly impacted American culture and society in the last year. The actress currently portrays Nalini Vishwakumar on Netflix’s Never Have I Ever. The third season of the series premieres on August 12.
Continue reading “A100 List Honoree Poorna Jagannathan on the Impact of ‘Never Have I Ever’”
Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month everyone! Last year, to acknowledge both this annual commemoration of contributions from the AAPI community and the ever-present following of the ’90s Disney Channel original series, So Weird, I compiled together a list of supernatural recommendations, created by and about people of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Continue reading “More AAPI Supernatural Recommendations for Fans of Disney’s ‘So Weird’”
Gold House — the leading Asian and Pacific Islander changemaker community that unites, invests in, and promotes API creative and companies — has announced its annual A100 List. The list recognizes the 100 APIs that have impacted American culture and society during the last year. Gold House has also revealed that for the first time ever, these honorees will be honored and celebrated in person!
Continue reading “Gold House Has Shared the 2022 A100 List and will Launch the First-Ever Gold Gala”
Asian Pacific American (APA)/Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is approaching and that means we’re about to get more AAPI spotlights and movements coming out way.
Continue reading “HBO Max Highlights AAPI Content and Announces Short Film Competition For May”
The City of Santa Monica will celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month with two virtual community events on May 19 and 20 celebrating the diverse cultures within the AAPI community, highlighting AAPI contributions, and exploring the challenges faced by the community during the pandemic.
You don’t need to be in sunny California to enjoy these events planned by Santa Monica. There are some interesting panels and performances being presented at the two-day event.
Continue reading “Santa Monica to Celebrate Cultural Diversity, Explore Identity During AAPI Heritage Month”
All month long, BoxLunch is highlighting stories of the Asian American and Pacific Islander diaspora. They have also set up a special landing page that links out to merchandise that celebrates AAPI culture and fandoms. Net proceeds from purchase will also benefit AAJC.
Continue reading “BoxLunch is Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month”
For the fourth year in a row, Gold House has unveiled its annual A100 List, spotlighting the year’s most impactful Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders in entertainment, business, politics, and beyond.
Continue reading “Gold House Unveils its Annual A100 List for 2021”
For AAPI Heritage Month, Dominic and Keith are joined by writer Pornsak Pichetshote to talk about his new book, The Good Asian!
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life 215: How to Be ‘The Good Asian’ with Pornsak Pichetshote”
Heyyy! It’s Kuya P back again with another NOC EXCLUSIVE! I recently sat down for a conversation with my pal, Comics Creator, Jerry Ma! No stranger to the NOC, Jerry is dropping a brand new comics project today for Asian American Pacific Heritage Month called, The Monkey King: A Chinatown Odyssey! Find out all about it and how you can show support for this amazing project!
Continue reading “NOC Exclusive Interview: Comics Creator, Jerry Ma”
What better way to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month than to help fund a new graphic novel project by one of Secret Identities partners, Jerry Ma?
Continue reading “Kickstart This: ‘The Monkey King’ Graphic Novel by Jerry Ma”
It’s been well documented that I am a fan of the ‘90’s Disney Channel original series, So Weird; a paranormal drama that balances out both the supernatural and tender-hearted moments of a grieving family. But when you’ve watched the same episodes over and over again, you can’t help but ache for something new, but with a similar vibe. To balance out the desire of also wanting to see more stories created by and starring people that look more like you can make for a grand adventure.
Continue reading “AAPI Supernatural Recommendations for Fans of Disney’s ‘So Weird’”
As a proud FilipinX / Asian American / Nerd of Color, I am often asked about my culture and upbringing and dependent on how I’m feeling that day… that situation can go many ways; BUT, for AAPI Heritage Month, I am loud and I AM PROUD. However, it must be said that this past year and a half has been a rather difficult one for our community. The ugly face that is racism became even more pronounced and we now rally under the banner of #StopAsianHate. Life has become traumatic for many of us… but for me and others I know, it only deepened our pride, because we know that WE BELONG. We have fought hard for us to be here and we will not allow the negativity to deter us. Our existence is our resistance. You are going to SEE US.
Continue reading “HBO Max Celebrates AAPI History Month with ‘See Us’”
PORTLAND, Ore. 04/08/2021 — Skybound Entertainment announced today that many of their comic book releases in May will feature new variant covers honoring Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Each of these covers will be penciled by creators of Asian or AAPI heritage.
Continue reading “Image and Skybound Announce Charity Variant Covers For AAPI Heritage Month”