Who has the Last Laugh Anyway?

We are students at the University of California, Irvine that admire the work of these artists. In our Asian American Studies class, Asian American in Media, we were asked to make social media that will promote and discuss about Asian Americans in Media. We decided to highlight our favorite comedians, Margaret Cho, Aziz Ansari, Kristina Wong, Ken Jeong, and David So. This blog is dedicated to all the Asian American badass #funnyasian that make comedy. Join us in our conversation about Asian Americans and comedy.

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By Andrew Cheng

The most viewed video of DavidSoComedy. This is straight up a parody of Psy's famous song Gangnam Style. David So acts as Psy himself and he sings and dance his version of the song. The video has reached to about 15 million views. There has been a lot of renditions and parodies of Gangnam Style, but this one is one of the best. I cannot really explain it in words for this one.

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Written by Michelle Vu

Alright, now that the public knows about Asian fetishism and the stereotypes of Asian women as perfectly subservient girlfriend material has been lifted, it should be smooth sailing for Asian American women from now on. But then… why do Asian American women statistically have the highest rate of depression and suicide in America? In her most celebrated solo theater performance, Wong Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kristina Wong explores the reasons as to why so many Asian Women are committing suicide. This performance brushes upon the Asian model minority myth, the misrepresentation of Asian American women, and how society misinterprets and denies the psychological help these Asian American women need. See the video below of the making of Wong Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Kristina Wong’s references to the model minority myth.

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Written by Michelle Vu

Great, now that the general public knows about the frequent sexual objectification of Asian women and how it may be in part due to stereotypes of Asian women to be “submissive, delicate, model girlfriend types,” what do we do now? Well, according to Kristina Wong and her theatrical/web personas Fannie Wong and Big Bad Chinese Mama, we smash these stereotypes to pieces; with touch of class of course, because they are all such lovely, dainty little ladies. See Fannie Wong and Big Bad Chinese Mama at work.

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Written by Michelle Vu

Although their main priority as professional entertainers is to incite laughter from their audiences, comedians have the power to influence society by bringing to light significant social issues and humorously providing their personal commentary and criticism on these issues. As incredibly clichéd this statement may have sounded just now, we all know that it’s true. And hopefully, after reading my previous several posts about her work as a comedian and solo theater performer, we will also know that Kristina Wong is a contributive and influential comedic force to be reckoned with. While Kristina Wong has been exceptionally influential across many social issues, including but not limited to problems pertaining to environmentalism, social equality, and feminism, for the purposes of this blog, I will be focusing primarily on her contributions to issues concerning Asian American women.

Since the initial release of her most critically acclaimed article 9 Wack Things White Guys Say to Deny Their Asian Fetish and the accompanying response article 10 More Wack Things People Say after You Write an Essay About Wack Things White Guys Say to Deny Their Asian Fetish, the unusual prevalence of Asian fetishism became a significantly more publically acknowledged issue. This increased recognition of Asian fetishism as a social issue is demonstrated first-hand in the following news report hosted by HuffPost Live and features comedic input by, you guessed it, Kristina Wong.

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By Andrew Cheng

This is David So's most recent vlog. Here, he's talking about some of the funny moments and problems of teenage relationships. Oh, how I can somewhat relate to a few of his points...

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By Andrew Cheng

Here is something a little different that David So did. Unlike most of his videos, this is when he talks more about himself than others. Here is when he talks about what most people has been or is going through now: having your first crush. And instead of one video, he has done a 4-part series of this topic. Each part - except the last one - has cliffhangers which causes some dramatic, but somewhat comedic effects. Check them all out!

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzQYHx54vcc

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgfuNNuHBbc

Last part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pngzNfxbusc

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By Andrew Cheng

David So's response to "Asian Stereotypes"... Again! Covering more common stereotypes, especially in response to another Youtuber's video.

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Written by Kim Chu           

 So I’ll make this entry a little less formal like the previous ones. I guess this is acceptable because it’s tumblr. Recently, since it’s been for class, I’ve been watching a lot of Aziz Ansari’s stand up. I figured I wanted to write about him because, well for a couple reasons. One because I love stand-up comedy, it amusing and admirable to see people stand up and talk to a mass of people and try to make them laugh as a profession. It’s hard, because different people find different things as funny. Also, because Aziz is an Asian American stand-up comedian. That in itself isn’t very common because of the whole model minority thing, but because of that, I wanted to know, if he, as a brown guy would make a difference in the way people perceive Asians. I’m not a connoisseur in any sort of the sense, but I’ve seen comedy on both ends. For example, take Dat Phan; when I was in middle school and high school I didn’t know any better and for the most part because I identified with his experience, I thought that Asians making self-deprecating jokes as the majority of their act was funny. Sometimes it was funny would those experiences were so relatable. Nowadays, I’ve seen other *hilarious* acts like Aamer Rahman (and his piece “Reverse Racism”) where the act consists of cleverly done political commentary into comedy. I know that Aamer’s type of comedy is really hard to come by because the comments are tailored to a very particular audience who can appreciate race conscious, news conscious, social justice-y sort of comedy.

And then I tried comparing that to Aziz’s acts. Aziz’s comedy, from what I’ve noticed, is mainly not about being Asian like Dat, but also is definitely not PC like Aamer. Aziz tends to have a lot of silly mundane sort of jokes that are self-deprecating but have a really hilarious twist at the end. His comedy incorporates satire and he does display that he is race conscious (like with his James Franco roast) but he never goes beyond that level.

*another clip about racism* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsFjewV4QZc

I think that I appreciate his comedy because he is able to avoid pitting Asians and other people of color at the butt of his jokes for the most part and I can’t really blame him for not becoming more political. It’s not a bad thing necessarily, and I can understand. I find myself laughing more at his wit when he makes more imaginative remarks whether it be as insults (see the hippo part or mac and cheese part from “dangerously delicious”)

or just as quips from lived experiences as he talks with Jimmy Fallon here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiLaukbxQMs

Just as a wrap up, yes Aziz Ansari is funny and I really like his stuff for the most part. No, he doesn’t need this post to validate his career, but I do wish he’d be a little more political/little less problematic.

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David So's response to "Asian Stereotypes."  

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By Andrew Cheng

Another one of David So’s most viewed comedic videos, reaching to about 4.4 million views. Instead of being a vlog, this is like an “Honest” commercial of the Iphone 5c and 5s. David acts as the Senior Vice President of Apple, and he makes fun and talks about the “flaws” of the new Iphones. He even points how these “new” Iphones are very similar to the old Iphones and there’s little to no innovation to them, yet many people still buy them.

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By Andrew Cheng

This is David So's one of his oldest but most viewed vlogs. At 3 years old, this videos has about 5.5 million views today. Here, David gives out his comedic reaction about Alexandra Wallace's video about Asian students in UCLA and how "annoying" they can be. David's goal of this video, and essentially most of his comedic videos, is to have his viewers "laugh at things [they] wouldn't laugh about it." This video is one of the reasons that made his channel DavidSoComedy popular. To this day, people still watch and talk about this vlog.

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Why "So" Important?

By Andrew Cheng

David So is one of the many Asian Americans who utilizes Youtube to his advantage as his way to strive for his passion, which is comedy in his case. Through his presence from his comedic videos, he has completely broken, criticized, mocked, and even ridiculed the typical Asian stereotype. When people think of Asian stereotypes, David is certainly not one of them. As a result, he has inspired many Asian and Asian Americans to also break the stereotype and to express themselves through their passion, whether they use Youtube or not.

As stated in the previous blog post, David has covered a number of topics through his comedic videos, making things very universal. He has made many vlogs, skits, and parodies, and he even talked his own story life such as his My First Love four-part series and Funny Fat Fit vlogs. Since he mainly does comedy through Youtube videos instead of doing live stand-up comedy, he has a lot of ways and advantages in appealing his audience. Through editing, cutting, and adding effects to videos, David can bring a style of comedy that comedians would not be able to do normally live. He can use these types of features to make his comedy funnier, to act and imitate people more easily, and to be able to perfect his comedy more effectively. When working on his videos, he takes it very seriously while still having fun. As with a lot Youtube stars, he has “a hunger to better [his] craft everyday.”

David has been using his Youtube account DavidSoComedy ever since 2011 to basically and ultimately to entertain his viewers and make people laugh, and he still continues to this day. Because of his usage of Youtube and dedication to keep posting videos consisting for the sake of entertaining his audience, David So has made a name for himself in the media through his comedic style. Not only he has brought appeal to the United States, but to other places such South America, the Middle East, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Without the website, he most likely where he would be standing today, his strive to pursue comedy might much harder, and most people might not know about him.

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David So's Works

By Andrew Cheng

There are many different types of topics that David So talks about on Youtube. It varies from Asian and Asian American culture, relational issues, media news, and more. As stated from the previous blog, one of his early but most viewed videos was Vlog #4: Asians in the Library - UCLA Girl (Alexandra Wallace) going wild on Asians. In this vlog, he talks how Alexandra Wallace from UCLA recorded herself and ranted about how Asian students around her act while she is on campus. Basically, this is David’s comedic reaction of Alexandra’s video. He says some of the stuff she is true, but “she said it out loud, and that’s where we got problems.” Because Alexandra “tried” to imitate a Chinese person with the usage of “ching chong ling long ting tong” words, David in his video “imitated” a white person and how they bring small pox to the world. He even states that she is stereotyping the Asians, especially since she does not seem to know the difference between a Chinese and Japanese person. Regardless, he points out that people should not attack her, especially physically, despite her ignorance to Asian culture.

Another one of his vlogs was VLOG 49: Freshman Survival. This one is regarding the life of being a freshman in college. He talks some stuff to his viewers the things they should do when they start college. He even brings ups his own comedic experience to emphasize the things his viewers should not do, such as not studying and treating college like high school.

Not only does David So does vlogs, but he also does some parodies. Recently, he did a parody commercial called Introducing the Iphone 5c and 5s. This is also another one of his most viewed videos and here, he acts as a Senior Vice President for Apple and talks about the flaws of the Iphone 5c and 5s in terms of their design and how they are very similar to the other previous Iphones. Regardless, many people still have the incentive to buy these products because they are from Apple itself. In short, this video is like an “Honest” commercial for the Iphones. The last thing he said on the video was, “Iphone, buying the same [stuff] over and over again. Give us your money."

As of today, David So has hundreds of comedic videos on his Youtube channel. He has a variety types of videos that do not cover about one certain topic. Regardless, the one main thing that most of his videos have in common are that they are funny and make people laugh.

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In her song “My Fat Pussy,” Margaret sings about her pussy live in front of a huge audience. In this interview, Margaret talks freely about her sexuality and sex. This song is both comical and sex positive. She sings, “nothing better, nothing wetter… I am boneified.” Margaret Cho is hilarious singing about her vagina squirting and makes space for people to express their sexuality. In the song, she sings about hetero-intercourse but addresses the trans* community briefly in the community about the word pussy. I think this song allows her to joke about sex while enjoying people’s reaction to her singing “vagina.” 

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Wow, Much Talent, So Wong

Written by Michelle Vu

Although most of her efforts are concentrated on her solo performances and writing, Kristina Wong has a myriad of other accomplishments, only a few of which I will mention in the following points. 

Kristina Wong has performed stand-up comedy on multiple instances, an entertainment medium that used minimal costumes, sets, and preparation compared to her theatrical performances. Click here for her very first stand-up performance

She is the main vocalist and lyricist for the international hip-hop collaborative album Mzungu Price, a project she participated in during her research expedition of poverty in Uganda. Click here to hear one of her original songs from the album. 

She is a popular guest lecturer at universities nationwide where she frequently talks about her work and her inspiration. She also hosted hundreds of hands-on workshops for teens and adults.

She has made many guest appearances and guest commentaries in projects written and directed by other artists. And much more.

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Dr. Wong's Diagnosis: Yellow Fever and Denial

Written by Michelle Vu

In addition to her work as a solo performer, Kristina Wong has written and contributed numerous articles to the website XoJane.com, an American online magazine intended primarily for female audiences, as well as Playgirl Magazine. It is on the XoJane website that she published her two most well-known and most debated articles 9 Wack Things White Guys Say to Deny Their Asian Fetish and its accompanying follow-up article 10 More Wack Things People Say After You Write an Essay About Wack Things White Guys Say to Deny Their Asian Fetish. The following are links to the two articles. 

9 Wack Things White Guys Say to Deny Their Asian Fetish

10 More Wack Things People Say After You Write an Essay About Wack Things White Guys Say to Deny Their Asian Fetish

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One Wong in her Time Plays Many Parts

Written by Michelle Vu

            Although without a doubt best known for her work as an Asian American solo theater performer and writer, Kristina Wong has experimented in and achieved success in many other entertainment disciplines, including stand-up comedy, music, and acting.

            Since the debut of her entertainment career in the year 2000, Kristina Wong’s most acclaimed works as a solo theater performer are five solo shows, each of which have toured in many theaters across the globe. Through the use of costumes and projectors, each of these five solo performances sheds light on and criticizes problems that are frequently observed in society, ranging from issues such as environmentalism to depression and suicide. In her satirical play Going Green the Wong Way, Kristina Wong emphasizes the importance and difficulties of being eco-friendly by poking fun at her misfortunes of owning a vegetable oil-propelled jalopy that eventually implodes and dealing with the inconveniences of public transportation. In her most acclaimed performance (later adapted into a film in 2011), Wong Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kristina Wong uses both humor and psychology to portray and examine the high incidence of anxiety, depression, and mental illness among Asian American women and how she would “singlehandedly save them all.” At the present time, Kristina Wong is actively touring and performing these two shows as well as her three remaining shows (Free?, Whoring for Hollywood, and Cat Lady) and working on her sixth solo performance which will debut in 2015. Below is an excerpt for the show Wong Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05O2-QYiAgI