Author: Anna Gracia

  • I have BEEF with AsAm representation

    I know, I know. It’s wildly unpopular to complain when our people (the nebulous grouping of what constitutes “Asian Americans” in the US which generally just means East Asian) are finally becoming mainstream, but come on. Here are our designated “representatives”: Jackie Chan (who is not American, but people can’t be bothered to even check),…

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  • Mike Sans Magic

    I’m finally ready to talk about it. “It” being, of course, Magic Mike 3. I went to it on opening night (ok, opening day. at the matinee) and happily plunked down $13.75 for what I assumed had to be better than Magic Mike 1 and Magic Mike 2 on the addition of Salma Hayek alone.…

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  • HallMark My Words: Change is Coming

    Are you tired of my title puns yet? Too bad! Since Twitter is slowly dying, I am running out of places to dump my unhinged steam of consciousness. (what? into a book? who do you think I am???) If you’ve followed me for literally any length of time, you probably know I’m obsessed with Hallmark…

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  • I’m Persuaded Not to Recommend This

    Let’s talk Jane Austen. It’s always tricky adapting her work, as each reader has a specific feeling or aesthetic they have already set in their mind. It’s the reason why, nearly 20 years after the latest “straight up” Pride & Prejudice adaptation, people still argue whether or not it’s better than the 1994 Colin Firth…

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  • The Accessories Can’t Hide This

    Let me start off by saying I love Shang-Chi. Any issues I have with the casting (hello Hollywood, the Asian community has more than one actress! Feel free to use them!) is overshadowed by the excellent choices of Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh, who my kids take every opportunity to remind me that she once…

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  • The Chair-y on Top

    It is a rule of all Asian Americans (well, Asian North Americans) that you must commit to watching something of Sandra Oh’s each year. It’s why I sat through movies like Under the Tuscan Sun and Mulan II before finally getting to knock out a few years’ worth with Grey’s Anatomy (until, well, you know).…

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  • Put Us Out of Our Misery, Shonda

    Dear Shonda, Breakups are hard. I get it. You have all this history with someone – remembering how you’d sit down together on Thursday nights to watch Grey’s Anatomy because DVRs didn’t exist yet (or maybe you were just too cheap to pay for one). You remember rolling your eyes at teased scenarios, thinking they…

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  • We Need to Talk About the Whiteface

    Listen. I know there are real issues with Asians’ proximity to whiteness and toxic colorism within the community. I remember my mom constantly warning me to slather sunscreen on as a kid so my skin wouldn’t get darker. I’ve seen the skin-whitening creams that are sold all over Asia. I get it. What I’m talking…

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  • The Curious Case of Benedict Cumberbatch

    If you’re anything like me (American, consuming predominately US-centric media), you remember the abrupt emergence of Basilica Cumberbund as a leading man and somehow a sex symbol out of seemingly nowhere. Like, we were just supposed to accept his promotion to one of People Magazine‘s Sexiest Men Alive because he played the bad guy in…

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