BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Beauty is a weapon. In South Korea, widely known as the plastic surgery capital of the world, one finds themselves needing to be armed to the teeth at all times. “Korea is a place where you can’t leave the house without makeup if…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: PAVANE FOR A DEAD PRINCESS (2014) BY PARK MIN-GYU – WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “UGLY” IN A WORLD MADE FOR THE BEAUTIFUL
GABY RUSLI WRITES (in an on-going series of reviews of Indonesian classics) — A grandfather who seeks to marry off his granddaughters to his wealthy friends for connections. A young, successful model who suffered the consequences of her early success. A Chinese-Indonesian family was left with the scars and traumas…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: FAMILY ROOM (2010) BY LILY YULIANTI FARID — THE MANY FACES OF A FAMILY UNRAVELED
BENJAMIN BARRETT WRITES — Like other travel documentaries, Midnight Asia: Eat. Dance. Dream. captures the food, art and culture of various Asian cities, but what makes this documentary series different is that it is solely focused on nightlife. The Netflix original, which premiered in 2022 and was directed and produced…
Full Article TV REVIEW: MIDNIGHT ASIA: EAT. DANCE. DREAM.
ASIA MEDIA INTERNATIONAL WRITES — William J. Fulco, SJ, died recently after a long illness – but after long and devoted service to this university. And, much like other Jesuits on this campus, he was a source of inspiration and ideas to those of us at AMI who’d need a bit of serious uplift from…
Full Article IN MEMORY OF A JESUIT PRIEST: FR WILLIAM J FULCO
ALYSSA MONTALVO WRITES — The iconic and dearly loved children’s television show, ‘Sesame Street,’ will add its first Asian American muppet, named Ji-young, on Thanksgiving Day with its ‘See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special.’ According to Channel News Asia (CNA), “At only seven years old, Ji-young is making…
Full Article SESAME STREET: THE NEW ASIAN MUPPET THAT IS NO PUPPET
DEREK GARCIA WRITES — Star Wars’ ‘Visions’ was a great TV series that pushed the boundaries of the ‘Star Wars’ franchise and animation, but why didn’t it get more buzz? Well, Disney severely hurt and possibly killed its potential due to its method of release management. Let’s begin with what,…
Full Article ANIME: DISNEY’S NEW ‘STAR WARS’ SERIES HAS CRASHED ON EARTH
HEIDI SCHUBERT WRITES — A new Netflix series called “Squid Game” is a popular, ultraviolent drama in which people take part in a fatal game derived from traditional children’s activities. In doing so, it provides a window into how South Korean people might behave towards one another and what they’ll…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: NETFLIX’S ‘SQUID GAME’ WILL MAKE YOU SQUIRM
FRANCESCO FIMIANI WRITES — I’m deeply honored to have had the opportunity to interview Father George Bet-Rasho of St Mary Assyrian Church of the East in Tarzana, CA. Father George gave me a tour of the Church grounds and he explained each biblical reference painted on the walls of the…
Full Article INTERVIEW: HISTORY IN ALL JUSTICE MUST SAVE THE ASSYRIANS
LAUREN CRAVEN WRITES — Kawaii, a term meaning “cute” in Japanese, has morphed into an entire culture that can be seen in the everyday experiences of Japanese natives, tourists, and even in the lives of those outside of Japan. In the 1970s and 80s, the Kawaii aesthetic started as a…
Full Article JAPAN: DOES KAWAII CULTURE INFANTILIZE WOMEN?
AIDAN SMITH-FAGAN WRITES – As I walked out of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, I couldn’t help but note a few of the similarities it has with 2018’s Black Panther: a Marvel hero breaking ground for a historically underrepresented minority, a fictional secret paradise, and a…
Full Article SHANG-CHI REVIEW: CRAZY QUICK ACTION
ANDREA PLATE WRITES — Forget about Naomi Osaka, for a moment. For all the whining-and-dining out by the press on the tennis superstar’s mental health struggles, and her difficulty facing their not-so-friendly post-game fire, she is, after all, just one international superstar. One. Forget, too, about Britney Spears, if you…
Full Article JAPAN, KOREA, AMERICA: CAN YOUNG SUPERSTARS THE WORLD OVER EVER BE HAPPY?
NELLY CARRILLO WRITES — Earlier this year, the Borgen Project, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating poverty and hunger, published an article on the harmful effects of fast fashion. What is fast fashion and why is it a harmful way of thinking about garment manufacturing? Fast Fashion is defined as “an…
Full Article BANGLADESH: LET’S SLOW DOWN ON FAST FASHION
FRANCESCO FIMIANI WRITES — Recently, the Africa and Middle East Regional Forum on Conflict Prevention and the Protection of Human Rights of Minorities concluded its 2021 meeting. Hosted on a virtual platform by The Gambia, the goal of the two-day meeting was to provide “regional insights” to feed into the…
Full Article MIDDLE EAST: CAN CULTURAL DIVERSITY BE PROTECTED IN THE CRADLE OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION?
JONAR COWAN WRITES — It has been little longer than a year since the start of the pandemic and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. As vaccines are given out, the world seems to be slowly returning to normal, especially for moviegoers. Movie theatres are…
Full Article JAPANESE MANGA: DEMON SLAYER – MUGEN TRAIN STEAMROLLS INTO THE THEATERS
JONAR COWAN WRITES — In Japan, with the pandemic at hand, many businesses are slowing down and closing down. And as more family-owned businesses and restaurants are closing down, one form of entertainment is doubly impacted: Arcade centers like Sega, which has to sell around 85 percent of their arcade business…
Full Article JAPAN: GAME MAY BE OVER FOR ARCADE GAMES
HEATHER CREAMER WRITES — It’s a short 25-minute train ride from Central Station in Hong Kong to Quarry Bay, a tightly packed neighborhood on the Eastern side of Hong Kong. The number of commercial buildings in this district has increased exponentially over the past two decades, and more buildings go…
Full Article CULTURE: LIFE IN HONG KONG’s ‘MONSTER BUILDING’