TOP FILMS COVERED IN THIS ISSUE: INCLUSIVE FILM FINDER ISSUE Q1 2024
• Dune: Part Two
• Kung Fu Panda 4
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
• Bob Marley: One Love
• The Beekeeper
• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
• Mean Girls
• Madame Web
• Night Swim
• Ordinary Angels
DUNE PART I & II
Released MAR 2024
‘DUNE’ ISN’T WORTHY OF YOUR PRAISE
SCI-FI / DRAMA / ACTION
Dune, dune, dune! For a time last fall, it seemed as if all anyone could talk about was “Dune.” Met with approval from both critics and fans alike, it made over $400 million at the global box office. Beyond commercial success, it went on to win six of its 10 Academy Award nominations, sweeping in nearly every technical category. Within four days of its official release, “Dune: Part Two” was greenlit. To get ahead of the madness that will inevitably occur once people figure out that Florence Pugh (“Don’t Worry Darling,”) and Austin Butler (“Elvis”) are in the sequel, I beseech you to think critically next time you see Timotheé Chalamet (“Bones and All”) crusading across the desert. Because although we may praise “Dune” as being a critique of the white savior narrative, its adaptation is nothing more than a white story in culturally ambiguous clothing.
The first and only time I watched “Dune,” I went in with a clean slate. I’d taken peripheral notice of the trailers, Timotheé Chalamet’s tweets and the fact that Zendaya
(“Euphoria”) was in it, but that was about it. I dragged an equally uninterested friend with me for a 10:30 opening night showing, looking for entertainment and little else. Two and a half hours later, it was past one in the morning, we were struggling to stay awake in our seats and I was in for one hell of a rude awakening.
Once the credits rolled, my friend and I exchanged a glance of mutual contempt for what we had just witnessed and sat in bewilderment as the rest of the theater erupted into applause and unanimous exclamations of praise. On the sleepy walk back home and during brunch the next day, we discussed the film’s superficial merits (easy on the eyes, or “good cinematography” if you’re a film snob), as well as its faults (too much sand, not enough Zendaya). But in all seriousness, I found myself returning to a persistent state of uneasiness as I reflected on the film, a disquietude that crept into my mind, a consternation that seemed to rapidly pool within the pit of my stomach at the mere thought of it. What bothered me most,
perhaps, was that as uncomfortable as I was watching that film, no one else seemed to be as affected. In fact, the only reason that what I’m about to say could even be remotely considered a “hot take” is that whether you loved “Dune,” or dozed off midway, you probably didn’t see the cultural appropriation staring you in the face.
I’ll put it bluntly, so as not to skirt around the issue my fellow moviegoers seemed to have so blatantly missed: “Dune” is a story about Arabs, but is in no way written for the Arab viewer. It’s no secret that the fictitious religion that forms the foundation of much of the “Dune” universe is based in Islamic doctrines, but the film engages with it in a way that both generalizes such cultural influences and relegates them to the role of ornamental scifi backdrop. The film’s vague resemblance to the Arab world is utilized solely as an “exotic” otherworldly aesthetic, mere tokenizations of a deeply nuanced, complex culture with no substantive effort made to engage with it in an accurate and/or respectful
manner. In fact, the best, most succinct way I can describe the concept of “Dune” is Islam from the perspective of a white guy that just learned about it yesterday. And to a Muslim viewer, I promise you, it shows.
“Dune,” first and foremost, is a commentary on religion, environmentalism and Western imperialism in relation to the Arab world, rebranded as a scifi story. Full disclosure, I have not read the book “Dune.” I cannot speak to the original intentions of the author, Frank Herbert, and frankly, I don’t really care if he wrote it out of a fascination with Islam or as a critique of white saviorism or as an attempt to dismantle biased perspectives of the Middle East, because nearly 60 years later, this adaptation only serves to reinforce the same tired, offensively inaccurate notions that have plagued Hollywood for decades. Looks like it was all for naught, Frank.
For better or worse, the source material is heavily steeped within Islam and the greater Arab culture
— the latter of which is a truly illusory term that doesn’t refer to anything aside from a westernized view of the Middle East and North Africa, or MENA. Conceptually, it’s about as vague as referring to the general idea of “European culture,” but seeing as Hollywood can scarcely distinguish between distinct Arab countries, it’s befitting to my point all the same. “Dune” utilizes Islam as an opposing ideology to the traditional religious framework of the West to enrich the story’s environmental allegory on Western imperialism – the blatant hypocrisy of nations invading the “desert” land, pillaging for a magical spice resource (yes, that is oil, and yes, calling the magical resource “spice” does come off as mildly racist) with zero regard for the land they’re destroying or the wellbeing of its native inhabitants.
Now that’s all fine and dandy, but the real issue here is that although “Dune” is telling an Arab story, its actual Arab representation is zilch, on and off the screen. Evidently,
[pull quote] OPINION PIECE
“Dune” is Islam from the perspective of a white guy that just learned about it yesterday.
Hollywood has stooped to not only pilfering pieces of our culture, but erasing us from the narrative entirely. Take the invented languages used by the Fremen, for instance. With absolutely zero context going into this movie, I could tell right away that I was hearing some strange diluted amalgamation of mispronounced Arabic in all of their dialogue. Or the “primitive” tribal score from Hans Zimmer that plays every time Timotheé Chalamet starts having a divine hallucination in the middle of the desert. Or the headdresses worn, or the “holy war” Chalamet’s character has premonitions of, or the messianic figure in Islam he is directly referred to as. How about the fact that the vast majority of those stunning, amazing, gorgeous, show-stopping cinematic desert landscape shots that won “Dune” an Academy Award for Best Cinematography were filmed in Jordan, which is, you guessed it … smack dab in the Middle East. I could go on. And on. And on.
Let’s talk about the most painstakingly obvious
example: The Fremen, a savage tribe that lives in the wilderness of the desert planet Arrakis, raided by imperialist powers time and time again. The oppressed class of this world’s analogy, they’re the more generalized representation of the story’s “people of Color.” Surprise, surprise, despite parading an ethnically and racially diverse ensemble of characters, not a single person of MENA descent makes up the cast, which feels … ridiculous. In 1984, David Lynch’s solution to including Arabs in the story was simple: whitewashing. In 2021, it’s a little more complicated. In touting an ethnically diverse cast, “Dune” is able to err on the “politically correct” visual standpoint of maintaining inclusivity, yet this sort of diverse casting begins to mean very little when it’s done to the sole effect of ensuring that the characters simply “appear” as ethnically ambiguous, rather than being actually representative of the real-world Arabs they’re so unquestionably based on.
By hiding behind its fictitious nature to justify its efforts to expunge traces of realworld Arab culture, “Dune” avoids reckoning with the very real-world implications of the story being told. Rather, “Dune” views its genre as a hall pass to wholly disregard the Fremen’s ties to any specific ethnicity or peoples; hence the culturally blurry smorgasbord of Arab influences it resides in. This watered-down imitation of its source material indicates that while “Dune” certainly attempted to remove any direct ties to its Muslim influences, it just ended up with a nonspecific vague resemblance of MENA culture with no real tangible purpose or explicit intention to its use or real-world relevance. It’s a sneaky 21st-century way to go about it, but it’s erasure all the same.
What infuriated me most is that the simplest solution to the cultural incompetencies and misappropriations at hand was to simply hire Arab and Muslim creatives. It sounds almost idiotically obvious to say, yet it seems to not have crossed the mind of anyone involved in the production of this film.
If they genuinely cared about integrating the Muslim influences of the story in a way that both honored Herbert’s original work and felt appropriate to a Muslim audience, they could’ve very easily done so. But that’s the thing, the message that this instance of “Dune” makes loud and clear: this film is not meant for you. It’s for white Western audiences to be wowed by the exotic aesthetics of a culture and ideology that is as foreign and mystical to them as anything else in the realm of science fiction.
Watching “Dune” that fateful night, I recall looking around the theater, preening for glimpses of other people’s reactions. Were they seeing what I was seeing? Were we watching the same film? Sitting there, dazed and halfshrunk into the fabric of my seat, I don’t think I’ve ever sat through a film feeling quite so irrevocably ill at ease and painfully aware of my own invisibility.
Clearly “Dune,” and the rest of Hollywood for that matter, still have leagues to go. It truly vexes me to no end that this film is able to have its culturally
appropriated baklava and eat it too. Under the label of sci-fi, the elements it steals from the real world are rendered fictitious, but in doing so, it effectively undermines the very statement it’s supposedly trying to make about a biased Western view of the Middle East. Instead of complicating any such perspective, it just manages to overtly perpetuate it, as nothing in this film’s creation indicates that they had any substantial motive to challenge the Western audiences viewing it. Misrepresenting Arabs under the guise of “calling out” problematic misconceptions is about as helpful as not including us at all.
While it may be tiresome to witness “Dune” fumble the bag and whitewash an Arab story right down the drain, it’s hardly a novelty. When you spend decades getting cast as nothing but twodimensional terrorists and bad guys, and at the very best, victims for white heroes to save, it’s all you ever really come to expect. Herbert’s “Dune” is outdated, as is Lynch’s ’80s adaptation, but this film had no such excuse. The system entitled Denis Villeneuve into telling this story the same way that every white man before him has, with stiflingly little room to grow.
Growing up, I can only really remember one Arab actor playing an actual Arab role in a mainstream movie – Rami Malek (“Amsterdam”) in “Night at the Museum.” He had a small part, and our laughs were always reserved for Ben Stiller (“In the Dark”), but Malek was, in totality, my entire registered awareness of Arabs playing Arabs on screen. With this depressing little tidbit in mind, when my mom told me that Aladdin was actually just Steve from “Full House,” I was emotionally distraught, utterly blindsided by the preposterousness of such a notion. But that’s the standard, the flagrantly inaccurate crumb of “representation” we’re forced to contend with. Steve from “Full House.” The bar, in case you can’t tell, is in hell. And that’s where “Dune” belongs as well.
My key interest is to set up the People & Culture function with start-ups / scale-ups, and/or to improve the people strategy, roadmap, operational processes, and employee experience. I am deeply committed to creating positive employee experiences and making sure that the needs and well-being of our people are a central consideration in all strategic decisions within the HR / People department.
OPINION PIECE
Released JAN 2024
FATPHOBIA REMAINS PROMINENT AS THE NEW ‘MEAN GIRLS’ TRAILER DEBUTS
ROMANCE / COMEDY / DRAMA
Paramount Pictures recently released the trailer for its movie adaptation of the 2018 Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” While many fans are excited to see the newest musical-movie rendition of Tina Fey’s original 2004 comedy film, some folks online have voiced harsh criticism towards specific cast members saying they were not what longtime fans expected — to put it lightly.
The trailer was released on Nov. 8 and featured stars like Christopher Briney from “The Summer I Turned Pretty” as Aaron, Jenna Fischer from “The Office” as Cady’s mom, Jon Hamm from “Mad Men” as the health teacher and Auli’i Cravalho from “Moana” as Janis. Also featured playing their original roles from 2004 are Tim Meadows as Principal Duvali and Fey as Ms. Norbury.
Reneé Rapp, famously known for her role on “The Sex Lives of College Girls” starred as Regina George on Broadway from 2019 to 2020 so it only made sense to have her play George in this. However, fans online disagreed and are coming at Rapp saying George is
“mid and fat now,” as “Pop Culture Crisis” YouTube star Mary Morgan wrote in a post on X.
Morga was not the fan online to share this opinion. One user known as @defnotcybrdivr continued with the bigotry by writing, “they ACTUALLY made regina george fat omg,” in a post on X that has since been deleted. Their bio on X indicates their body mass index, which Yale Medicine has described as an inaccurate tool to determine if someone is “healthy” solely based on their height and weight with no regard for other factors, along with the quote “still fatphobic af.”
To be blatantly fatphobic and to be proud of it is not only concerning and damaging to other viewers, it is ignorance at its finest. While there are many fat-positive accounts online, comments and accounts dedicated to spreading fatphobia are all too common.
Fat is not a bad word. Being fat is not a bad thing and it is not directly linked to being unhealthy. Plenty of fat people live long, healthy
“Fat is not a bad word. Being fat is not a bad thing and it is not directly linked to being unhealthy”
and happy lives. Yet many people still view being fat as a bad thing and therefore still use it as an insult to bring people down, or to project their own problematic insecurities onto others.
The issue still at bay though is that Rapp is not fat by any means, yet she is bigger than the thin beauty ideal set by societal norms so folks are not backing down. Unfortunately, this is not the first time Rapp was subjected to body shaming and fatphobia. She was 19 when she moved to New York City to join the Broadway scene. At the time she had an eating disorder and it was only worsened by the people in production. She shared in an interview with The Guardian that folks, “would say some vile f****** things to [her] about [her] body.”
When it got worse and started affecting her personally, The Guardian shared that her parents flew to the city to pick her up and pull her from the show. She has been very open about her eating disorders and mental health online as she shared that she “suffered in silence for so many years” and does not want others to feel obligated to do the same.
Other critics of the trailer have flat-out said the cast is ugly. One user on X, known as @gracelessdream, reposted an update from @ FilmUpdates about Briney playing Aaron along with
the statement, “the new Mean Girls film said, ‘we’re not going to cast a single attractive person in this movie’ and really stuck to that.”
Though the post highlighted Briney, plenty of commenters defended Rapp. “Don’t SPEAK on my girl Reneé EVER again,” wrote @punkrxckjonas. “Renee rapp is literally gorgeous please delete,” wrote @madsz6180. “???? MY QUEEN RENEE,” wrote @ barbarameastman.
Unfortunately in the current climate of social media, almost everything is subject to hate. Only time will tell if fans can look beyond physical appearances and appreciate the musical movie for its ode to both the original film and the Broadway hit, but for now, people will continue to hide behind screens and be outwardly hateful.
Regardless, the movie is set to release only in theaters on Jan. 12 and features well-known aspects of the original film like Cady’s scary bride costume gone wrong, weird sex education lessons in health class and the notorious burn book. It will combine plot aspects of the 2004 movie with musical hits from the Broadway show for a brand new ‘Mean Girls’ viewing experience.
DUNE 2
BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE
GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
COSTUME
The IFF uses the Authentic Inclusic and Representation (AIR) as a model to write and analyze our reviews. The AIR model for films represents a groundbreaking approach to cinematic storytelling, emphasizing Authenticity, Inclusivity, and Representation. In an era where audiences demand more than just entertainment from their movie-going experiences, the AIR model seeks to ensure that films not only tell compelling
stories but also reflect the diverse realities of their viewers. By focusing on Authenticity, films. strive for genuine portrayals of characters and cultures, moving beyond stereotypes to depict real-life complexities. Inclusivity ensures that a wide array of voices, especially those historically marginalized, are given space and prominence both in front of and behind the camera. Lastly, Representation underscores
the importance of diverse casting and storytelling, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background, can see themselves reflected on the big screen. Together, these principles aim to foster a more empathetic, understanding, and unified world through the power of film. The IFF highly recommends exploring the AIR Model.
After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior
PART OF A SERIES
ACTION / COMEDY / ANIMATION
WRITERS
MARK KENNEDY ANONYMOUS
KIMMY YAM
RICHARD BERNSTEIN
“Kung Fu Panda 4” finds our trusty, rotund hero Po at a career crossroads and he’s nervous. “Change doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” he is told. “Kung Fu Panda 4” also finds the franchise at an inflection point, but there’s no reason for us to be nervous. DreamWorks knows what it’s doing.
The series’ first new installment in eight years is a reliably funny, sweet and wonderfully realized passing of the torch, with a paw in the past and another into the future — an elegant goodbye and a hello. Many other filmmakers — ahem, Marvel and DC — might learn a thing.
When we meet him, Po — voiced as always by a lively Jack Black — is being asked to give up his dream role as Dragon Warrior and pick a successor. He’s being kicked upstairs to be Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. (This is basically the Peter Principle illustrated in animation.)
Except Po doesn’t want to go into management. He loves smashing skulls and still has that lovable imposter syndrome he’s
had since the franchise began. He tries to shortcircuit any succession plans, change being too frightening.
A new enemy threatening an existential crisis offers a reprieve — The Chameleon — a wicked, powerful sorceress voiced by Viola Davis — looks like the lizard from the GEICO commercials who spent too much time at Graceland.
Po teams up with a new character — a Corsac fox named Zhen voiced by Awkwafina — who is an orphan-turned-thief and teaches the too-trusting panda to trust no one. The movie then becomes a buddy road movie as these two hunt The Chameleon and a chance to bundle their home and auto insurance.
Wait a minute, you might be asking: Where are The Furious Five — Tigress, Viper, Monkey, Crane and Mantis — who have been in each “Kung Fu Panda” iteration so far? They’re not really in “Kung Fu Panda 4,” but the film reaches back to the first installment to bring back the snow leopard, Tai Lung, voiced by the sonorous Ian McShane.
Bryan Cranston is also back to voice Po’s goofy
9.3/10
biological father and James Hong returns as his spirited adoptive goose dad, while Dustin Hoffman reprises his role as eyerolling master Shifu.
It’s a good balance of new and old characters but a masterstroke is coming: The Chameleon finds a way of accessing the spirit realm and bringing back every villain Po has ever faced. That results in a greatest hits-like fight scene that may be hard to top if there’s a “Kung Fu Panda 5.”
The third installment’s writers, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, are also back this time, joined by Darren Lemke. The film is helmed by “The Lego Movie 2” director Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine, who worked on “Raya and the Last Dragon.”
The last three movies have largely stuck to the rural Valley of Peace, so the filmmakers change
it up this time and take Po and Zhen to an urban environment, Juniper City, packed with busy animals, rickshaws, and bulls as police officers (watch for a hilarious bull-ina-jade-shop joke).
As always, it’s the animators who are the real heroes here. From the thick fur on the pandas, to clay tiles smashing on roofs to rain splashing on stones, barroom brawls and petals wafting from cherry trees, this is a visual delight.
Creating The Chameleon — and her scary Komodo dragon guards — gives the animators a chance to show a tiny lizard metamorphosize into an elephant in a few seconds and they relish it. They also sometimes dip into different animation styles, giving a viewer a visual break.
There are some missteps, like a pelican character controlled by a fish
in its mouth and three cute bunnies who appear adorable and yet are deeply psychotic. (“Violence makes my tummy tingle,” one says.) Plus, the teaming up again of Po’s dads, while welcome, is also sort of pointless here.
But, as Po would say, “Skadoosh!” The filmmaker have managed a very tricky assignment: Pave the way for a new franchise direction, find new ways to entertain us, remind us of lessons like “It’s never too late to do the right thing” and end the whole thing with the Black-led cover by Tenacious D of “... Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears. Embrace the change.
“Kung Fu Panda 4,” a DreamWorks Animation is rated PG for “for mild violence, martial arts action, scary images and some mild rude humor.” Running time: 94 minutes. Three stars out of four.
[pull quote]
It not only fully respects Chinese culture in the story setting and presentation of details, but also provides a profound explanation of Chinese traditional values and Eastern wisdom
Recently, the panda Po returned to the big screen. “Kung Fu Panda 4” , which is based on typical oriental cultural symbols such as “Kung Fu”, “Panda” and “Chinese Food” , won the singleday and weekend box office championship in North America upon its premiere, showing the excellent traditional Chinese culture to global audiences. of unique charm. Taking Chinese culture as its theme and integrating Western narrative methods, the film brings a novel yet familiar feeling to the audience. The concept of harmony and symbiosis and justice will eventually defeat evil conveyed in the film arouses emotional resonance among Chinese and Western audiences.
“Kung Fu Panda 4” is an active exploration and active integration of Chinese culture. It not only fully respects Chinese culture in the story setting and presentation of details, but also provides a profound explanation of Chinese traditional values and Eastern wisdom, which has a positive guiding effect. This kind of presentation not only allows the audience to come into contact with the external aspects of Chinese culture, but also allows them to deeply experience the thoughts and emotions contained in it. In recent years, Chinese culture and Chinese elements have continued to go abroad through film and television carriers. Through cultural integration again and again, overseas audiences can better understand and understand Chinese culture and fall in love with Chinese culture.
On the basis of continuing the comedy action style of the first three films, “Dragon Hero” Po relied on his extraordinary courage and the Kung Fu skills of “beating the master to death with random punches”, and defeated the world’s best kung fu masters in the first three thrilling adventures. Villain, and this time, Po has had new growth and transformation, and has been promoted to the soul master of Peace Valley. He has also become a partner with the clever and straightforward fox Xiao Zhen, who is both a teacher and a friend, and fight side by side against the Phantom Demon, the strongest villain in the Kung Fu Panda series. back.
This film is full of profound Chinese cultural heritage from the overall material selection to the detailed presentation. It not only embodies oriental aesthetics through Chinese-style buildings such as pavilions, pavilions, bridges, waterside pavilions, and the Great Wall, but also incorporates kites, shadow puppets, Chinese jade, Tai Chi, Bagua, and lion dance. and other rich Chinese cultural elements, cleverly showing the essence of Chinese philosophical thought and Eastern wisdom through the growth story line of Abao and Xiaozhen.
Different from the Chinese village in “Peace Valley”, “Kung Fu Panda 4” creates a new scene - Juniper City, which presents the bustling urban street scene in ancient China, with well-proportioned pavilions, high-hanging red lanterns, and colorful lights flying in the sky. The kites and the food stalls on the street
corners...are all full of strong Chinese style. The film is full of heart and soul in many subtle elements. The plot of the fox Xiao Zhen playing mahjong in the tavern has brought the film closer to Chinese audiences.
Since it was released in the Chinese Year of the Dragon, the film is also full of Chinese dragon elements, from the dragon decoration on the drum surface, to the flying dragon-shaped kite, to the special effects of the dragon bursting out of the Tianhui staff, through the beautiful The dragon shape conveys the beautiful meaning of “dragon” in Chinese culture to audiences around the world.
The growth process of Abao and Xiaozhen in the film also shows the profound meaning of Chinese philosophy that “only by achieving others can you achieve yourself.” “Youlan Cao” says: “Cooperation is like an orchid, spread its fragrance; pick and admire it, win-win for all parties.” Only when you help others and achieve others, can you truly realize your own value. At first, Po was unwilling to step out of the comfort zone of being the “Dragon Warrior” and didn’t know how to become a soul master. In the final showdown with the Phantom Demon Queen, Abao chose to let Xiao Zhen use his own strength to defeat the Phantom Demon Queen. This made Xiao Zhen successful and allowed Abao to truly understand how to be a grandmaster and find the “Dragon Hero” heirs. As it is said in the film, “A peach core, given space, can grow into a towering tree.” 10/10
“The movie’s undeniably Asian elements and homage to Chinese culture are bolstered by the presence of its heavily Asian cast”
In the new film “Kung Fu Panda 4,” comedian Ronny Chieng, much like his castmates, doesn’t voice anyone who remotely resembles himself. He doesn’t even voice a human. He’s a grumpy fish that lives inside of a pelican’s mouth.
But that doesn’t mean that the representation behind the screen doesn’t matter in this case, he said. Even though the characters in the film are all animated, the movie’s undeniably Asian elements and homage to Chinese culture are bolstered by the presence of its heavily Asian cast, Chieng told NBC News — one that features some heavy hitters like Ke Huy Quan, Awkwafina and James Hong.
He said part of the appeal is that Asians everywhere can get behind the film. “Despite being made in America by Americans, people in China love it,” too, he said, because they cast “people who are authentic to the source material to do the voices for it.”
“I think all those little things add up to the overall kind of authenticity and love of the movie,” he said.
9.8/10
The film, which opens Friday, follows lovable panda Po, voiced by the returning Jack Black, as he’s tasked with appointing a successor to his esteemed role as the Dragon Warrior. But Po, who’s expected to move on as the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace, isn’t thrilled to do so, still enamored with the glory and action that comes with being a kung fu fighter. The search, however, takes a turn when a thieving fox named Zhen, voiced by Awkwafina, comes into the picture. To get herself out of trouble, Zhen distracts Po with word of a treacherous sorceress, the Chameleon, voiced by Viola Davis. And the pair set off to search for the villain. Chieng’s character, Captain Fish, is hired to ferry the pair to Juniper City, where the Chameleon’s Palace lies.
The role adds to Chieng’s vast body of work that includes culturally significant Asian projects like “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” to the kooky sci-fi horror film “M3GAN.” Chieng says he enjoys taking on Asian projects if they’re done “tastefully and respectfully.” But he also
acknowledges that many actors of Asian descent fear being pigeonholed into predominantly Asian projects, rather than also being included in other casts. Their careers involve striking a balance.
“Is the Asian American experience about telling people, ‘We’re not Asian, we’re Americans. Stop making us tell Asian stuff.’? Or is it, ‘Hey, we’re Asian American, here’s our culture. This is how we do it in America,’? said Chieng, best known as a standup comedian and senior correspondent on “The Daily Show.” “We’re always battling that.”
But with expanding types of roles available to Asian actors in recent years, Chieng said he respects those who refrain from taking any role offered to them.
“I do understand there’s some really serious Asian American actors out there, who went to Yale School of Drama, who … do hold
out,” he said. “I’ve seen them turn down roles. Because they have their own artistic integrity. They’re willing to wait for it. They’re willing to wait for the right role. They don’t want to just take a paycheck.”
As for Chieng, he’s pretty much down for anything that comes his way.
“I’m desperate for work. I’ll do anything, as you can tell from my IMDB page,” Chieng joked. “I will really do any role that pays money or even some that didn’t pay any money.”
There is, however, one gig that Chieng isn’t so sure he’d be interested in: the coveted host spot on “The Daily Show.”
“I love being on the show. I think the show’s great,” he said. “I think there’s much more qualified people for it.”
9.4 /10
Silliness aside, there’s a lot to love about the franchise. At the heart of the story, there’s a great inspirational core about becoming who you were born to be. All of that is rendered with China as the backdrop, where Po, the “hero” of the story, isn’t a “hero” purely because he’s a kung fu master. He’s a hero because he doesn’t let others tell him he can’t be one.
I guess the reason why I love “Kung Fu Panda” so much is because I could relate to Po, who doesn’t quite fit in and is just trying to figure that out — you don’t have to be a Dragon Warrior to struggle with insecurities about your abilities. So, while I could argue that “Kung Fu Panda” is incredible because of its universality, there’s something to be said about a story that respects Chinese culture and values storytelling about China. There’s something significant in that, when animators create a story about belonging, it is destined wholeheartedly for its culture and audience.
After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior
SECOND MOVIE
ACTION / DRAMA / SCI-FI
SHARAREH DRURY
SAKSHI
Few directors have as much respect in the industry as Denis Villeneuve. His filmography makes him something of a living legend: Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners, Blade Runner 2049 and, of course, Dune – the franchise many critics consider his crowning jewel – are seminal works of our time.
An adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic series by the same name, the release of Dune: Part Two has been met with the same reverence as the first movie.
It is, in some ways, understandable. Like its predecessor, the sequel is a visual feat that’s rare, almost unparalleled, in an era of filmmaking where most big budget films look lifeless. Dune 2 does
not have that problem; there are certain shots so perfectly put together that they should be hung in a museum.
But what it accomplishes visually is undermined viscerally by the moral hypocrisy that underlies the entire adaptation.
Every moment of visual brilliance – the introduction of FeydRautha (Austin Butler) with a fight sequence shot entirely in sickly blackand-white infrared; the wide, expansive sandworm rides that hide the elegant menacing power of the Fremen; close-up shots that frame Paul’s inner conflict as he’s seduced by power perfectly and patiently – are all reduced to directorial grandstanding when you
take into account the actual content of the movie.
We follow the Atreides as they try to rebuild after their betrayal in Dune, trapped on Arrakis as the only two surviving members of their family.
Paul (Timothée Chalamet), touted as a legendary messiah who is foretold to be the saviour of the galaxy, spends his time fighting alongside the Fremen against the menacing power of the Harkonnens. He’s also trying to figure out whether his loyalties lie with his lover Chani (Zendaya), a Fremen warrior and the supposed anti-colonial core of the movie, or with his own destiny.
quote]
“Dune” is Islam from the perspective of a white guy that just learned about it yesterday.
3.8/10
Veteran costume designer and five-time Oscar nominee Jacqueline West — whose nominations include Dune and (most recently) Killers of the Flower Moon — talks with The Hollywood Reporter about her work creating 4,000 costumes for Villeneuve‘s latest installment of the film franchise based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel. An art historian by training, West seamlessly weaves together a vast array of art, cultural and fictional references to fashion to create a richly layered futuristic desert world in Dune: Part Two.The costumes of new characters Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler) and Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) were among the stand-outs. West says that she was inspired by “the circles of hell in Dante
[Alighieri’s] Inferno” and H.R. Giger’s biomechanical-style artwork while crafting the black leather and vinyl gothic looks for FeydRautha. Princess Irulan, adds West, is “kind of the voice of reason, so you want her to have a certain intellectual simplicity about her.”
That translated into Brutalist and Japanese influences melded with the Bene Gesserits’ “modieval” — which is West’s combination of medieval fashion with a modern twist — and nun-inspired touches, culminating in a spectacular chainmail gown and headpiece for the warrior princess that took two weeks to make.
“That dress probably made a lot of eyes roll up in accounting,” says West. Four thousand. That’s not complete costumes; some of those are
pieces. We constructed all the jewelry from old antique, ethnic jewelry. We made masks and shoes. We dyed every piece of fabric, bought in natural colors to control our color palette and then printed over it or painted it with gold or dyes. We would roll out bolts of fabric and hand block print them, hand paint them on 50-foot tables. I had Tom Caddy with me, who was also my ager on Killers of the Flower Moon and Dune. He works closely with Matt Reitsma, my textile artist who controls all the dyeing and designs on the linens that the Fremen wear — the cloaks and shawls and veils. The production was absolutely massive, all done in a huge warehouse area at Origo Studios in Budapest, where there were about 80 people with the pattern makers, cutters, seamstresses, fitters, dyers, agers and textile artists.
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“4000 pieces. That’s not complete costumes; some of those are pieces. We constructed all the jewelry from old antique, ethnic jewelry. We made masks and shoes”
Critics around the world hailed the first installment of Villeneuve’s take on Frank Herbert’s 1965 scifi classic about false idols, imperialism and religion back in 2021, and now, three years later, reviews are also strong for the long-awaited sequel. But despite praise for the film’s stunning cinematography and visual effects, “Dune: Part Two” is being criticized by some commentators for failing to properly contend with the book’s Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) influences and commentary on Western imperialism. These critics offer a wide range of objections, including faulting the production for failing to cast many MENA actors in speaking roles, as well as leveling objections to story choices that diminish MENA influences.
In the sequel, Villeneuve offers a deeper exploration of Arrakis and its inhabitants, the Fremen, whose lives are changed by the arrival and rise to power of Paul Atreides, an outsider whose actions dictate the fate of their society.
Paul (Timothée Chalamet) is marooned on the desert world with his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), where he seeks justice for his father’s murder. He immerses himself in the ways of the Fremen, growing close to one named Chani (Zendaya) while grappling with the possibility that he is their prophesied messiah, known by the Fremen as the Lisan al-Gaib.While “Dune” is set in a fantastical universe, populated by fictional peoples like the Fremen, Herbert’s novel, and subsequent
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“The Lack of Middle Eastern and African Inclusion and Influences a big Missed Opportunity”
works, drew heavily from Middle Eastern, North African and Islamic culture. Key creative inspirations include historical figure T.E. Lawrence and his 1962 Oscar-winning biopic “Lawrence of Arabia,” and Lesley Blanch’s 1960 novel “The Sabres of Paradise,” which details Muslim resistance to the Russian conquest of the Caucasus.
Herbert also based the Fremen and their conflicts with outside forces on historical events from the MENA region. The starkest might be the Algerian War of Independence, in which Algerians won their independence from France, as the first “Dune” novel was
released just three years after it ended. Herbert’s son Brian acknowledged that Algerians as well as “Bedouins of the Arabian plateau, separated from civilization by vast scratches of the desert” were among MENA people who inspired Herbert’s Fremen. Rasoul emphasizes that final point — that Herbert, the father of the “Dune” universe, delved deeply into the MENA region for his worldbuilding, pulling from its languages, religions and cultural practices. As for the recent film adaptations, they “did very little to engage MENA actors, artists, consultants, musicians, and linguists. Instead, it continued to mythologize and exotify a Middle Eastern-inspired world.”
5.2/10
For Rasoul, when it comes to the “Dune” films: “Our stories are good enough, but our people are not.”
When Timothée Chalamet’s character Paul first lands on the “Dune” desert planet Arrakis, the son of Duke Leto Atreides is naturally greeted with a crowd. Onlookers, called Fremen, in dark head and face coverings shout in a tongue almost identical to Arabic. Women ululate in the background as they first lay eyes on their white “chosen one,” their future leader. “Dune” uses explicit Islamic imagery and cultural elements, experts say. But the main cast doesn’t feature a Middle Eastern or North African, aka MENA, actor in a prominent role.
“It’s an erasure,” said Serena Rasoul, a casting director and founder of Muslim American Casting. Viewers were quick to point this out on social media in the days after the film’s release in theaters and on HBO Max.
For Rasoul, the setting, the garb, the use of Arabic and Muslim religious constructs throughout the film were more than enough to feel a distinct cultural influence.“You don’t cast MENA or Muslim actors, yet you profit off their culture,” she said. “That’s where it’s painful for us as creatives. ... It means that we are not good enough to be part of the film.” This vaguely Middle Eastern aesthetic set in a sandy terrain is not something new to American media, said Ali Karjoo-Ravary, assistant professor in Islamic studies at Bucknell University in a Slate column, “Is ‘Dune’ a white savior narrative?”
“The image of an Arab-ish crowd or veiled wailing women, not to mention when it’s injected with violence, has a history that is steeped in the dehumanization of entire peoples,” he wrote.
Despite the shortcomings, Rasoul acknowledged that “Dune” is a complex work that doesn’t fall completely into orientalist tropes. She also nodded to some diversity in the cast, which features Black and Asian characters in a few prominent roles. But she said the lack of actors of MENA descent or Islamic faith is a hole that’s hard to ignore, and the extracted elements feel like fetishization.“It’s like we’re stuck in this creative colonialism,” she said. “Where our homes and foods and songs and languages are just right for Western stories, but we humans are never enough to be in them.”
With the second installment of “Dune” scheduled for 2023, Rasoul said she hopes the cast will reflect the MENA culture they portray. Muslims are part of the present and future, she said, and she wants that shown in media.
“We want to be included, but we also want to be centered,” she said.
4.9
/10
RAMAN HUI TALKS ‘THE TIGER’S APPRENTICE’
The ‘Monster Hunt’ director’s all-new, original 3DCG animated adventure, based on Laurence Yep’s children’s book of the same name, follows Chinese American teenager Tom Lee, whose life changes forever when he discovers he is part of a long lineage of magical protectors known as the Guardians; now streaming on Paramount+. He’s come a long way since “That’ll do, donkey!” Raman Hui, who cut his animation teeth as a story artist, character designer, and animation supervisor across the Shrek franchise, as well as co-directing Shrek
the Third, brings his storied animation chops to an all-new 3DCG adventure, The Tiger’s Apprentice, now streaming on Paramount+. Let’s not forget, he also directed both live-action/CGI hybrid films Monster Hunt and Monster Hunt 2.
Based on Laurence Yep’s 2003 children’s book of the same name, the film follows Chinese American teenager Tom Lee, whose life changes forever when he discovers he is part of a long lineage of magical protectors known as the Guardians. With guidance from a mythical tiger
named Hu, Tom trains to take on
Loo, a force that is as powerful as a Guardian but has evil intentions of using magic to destroy humanity. To fight against Loo, Tom must reunite all 12 Zodiac animal warriors and master his own newly discovered powers.Hui also notes that he was lucky to enlist such an amazing cast. “Henry Golding, Brandon Soo Hoo, Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, Bowen Yang, Sherry Cola, Leah Lewis, Jo Koy, Kheng Hua Tan, Greta Lee, Deborah S. Craig, Poppy Liu, Diana
Lee Inosanto, and Patrick Gallagher gave us fun, engaging, and entertaining performances,” he says.
“They inspired and encouraged us to push the best in animation to represent their great work.” Tan, Greta Lee, Deborah S. Craig, Poppy Liu, Diana Lee Inosanto, and Patrick Gallagher gave us fun, engaging, and entertaining performances,” he says.
“They inspired and encouraged us to push the best in animation to represent their great work.”
Tan, Greta Lee, Deborah S. Craig, Poppy
Liu, Diana Lee Inosanto, and Patrick Gallagher gave us fun, engaging, and entertaining performances,” he says.
“They inspired and encouraged us to push the best in animation to represent their great work.”
Hui also notes that he was lucky to enlist such an amazing cast. “Henry Golding, Brandon Soo Hoo, Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, Bowen Yang, Sherry Cola, Leah Lewis, Jo Koy, Kheng Hua Tan, Greta Lee, Deborah S. Craig, Poppy Liu, Diana Lee Inosanto, and Patrick Gallagher gave us fun, engaging, and
entertaining performances,” he says. “They inspired and encouraged us to push the best in animation to represent their great work.” Tan, Greta Lee, Deborah S. Craig, Poppy Liu, Diana Lee Inosanto, and Patrick Gallagher gave us fun, engaging, and entertaining performances,” he says. “They inspired and encouraged us to push
the best in animation to represent their great work.” Tan, Greta Lee, Deborah S. Craig, Poppy Liu, Diana Lee Inosanto, and Patrick Gallagher gave us fun, engaging, and entertaining performances,” he says. “They inspired and encouraged us to push the best in animation to represent their great work.”
“After I read the working script, I immediately felt connected to the characters. I was drawn to the cultural references and the intriguing story.”
THROWBACK REVIEW Released DEC 2003
“THE
I chose The Last Samurai because it is a look in Asian history, which Hollywood doesn’t do very often, and because I thought I could clear up one point. When the movie was set to be released I remember everyone complaining about Tom Cruise’s role in the film. How could he be the last samurai? He’s not Japanese. Was Hollywood going to pull some horrible Tom Cruise is Japanese racist nonsense?
No! I exclaimed. He’s a captured solider, surrounded by Japanese men who are the last samurai (samurai is both the singular and plural). Surely he is just a witness to this story.
Then I watched the movie. Tom Cruise might not technically be the titular “Last Samurai” but he does practically serve at the reason for all their honor and rebellion. Hollywood produced a different kind of racism in this film. By turning a story of Japanese history and struggle with western modernization into a film that audiences can only relate to if it stars a white man.
The film does not claim to be “based on a true story”, although it is based on the Meiji Restoration of Japan and the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. That means that when the events don’t
follow exactly as they did in real life, that the filmmakers can claim they shouldn’t be penalized as much as they would be otherwise. Maybe I am being too harsh, and you might think that. But after watching the film I was appalled by how matters were carried out, and the blatant Americanization of an event and time in history that has little to do with America. If you’re going to dramatize history, at least pretend to have done some research.
PERIOD HISTORY Released DEC 2003
For many hundreds of years Japan remained isolated from western cultures. Countries like Britain and Russia kept poking at the island, but they kept repelling all insistence that they become part of the world at large. There is nothing wrong with rejecting this outside attention, particularly when they could see that China was suffering greatly at the hands of western intervention (the Opium Wars). They were a little harsh, perhaps, sometimes killing or forcing suicide upon leaders who supported opening up their borders, and killing anybody who washed up on their shores. This debate between remaining isolated and interacting with the west began to create conflict, and then in 1853 America showed up to ruin everything.
Matthew Perry (not the one from the sitcom) essentially forced Japan in the 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa, which opened up trade with the US. Other countries quickly followed suit, and because Japan was not equipped in the ways of western country dickery, most of these
treaties were completely unfair. This caused more unrest in Japan (as you might imagine), and people began to fight over whether they should maintain an old system of government or whether a new one should take hold and start fixing things.
In 1868 a rebellion against the shogunate in power succeeded in taking hold, putting a 15 year old emperor on the throne. They then began to change up how Japanese society was run. Among some of the most important things they did (or at least relative to what happens in the movie) included changing up Japan’s strict social caste system. Whereas lords in the country had previously owned tracts of land and had groups of samurai loyal to them for fighting purposes, land now became nationalized and the social hierarchy changed. No longer were occupations restricted to a certain class, commoners were allowed surnames, and with the idea of an imperial army growing out of conscripts, the idea of samurai began to get outdated very quickly.
Most samurai were encouraged to take up other professions. They received a certain amount of income from the government – this could either be taken in monthly, decreasing amounts, or in a lump sum – but this would let them maintain a lifestyle. Some did go into business or government, and it should be noted that the Emperor’s main advisers were samurai who had helped put him on the throne. However, many didn’t know how to do much, felt that their honor was being completely compromised, and lived off their little bit of government money, disillusioned and upset. Keep in mind that this wasn’t some group of 200 angry guys. The samurai could have numbered into the hundreds of thousands.
In addition to all this insult, in 1876 samurai were officially banned from wearing swords, which was like a final slap in the face.
In addition to this social change, the government also adopted a policy of adopted from the west. The last article in their Charter Oath stated that they would learn from the
west to strengthen their country. As a result they hired men from various countries to help them in specialization of technology, military, etc. These men were given contracts of about three years and paid at an incredibly high rate. In addition, they were not taught the language, but would pass their knowledge on through a translator to men who would then pass the information on to a larger group. They were not only American, and it should also be noted that their military tactics were largely gained through the French and Germans. Immediately, the premise of this movie becomes incredibly shaky. It should also be noted that these experts that were brought in were never intended to become part of Japanese culture, and were almost being exploited for Japanese benefit. A clever bit on the side of the Japanese, who were interested in becoming a superpower without compromising their culture or people. Today, Japan is one of the most homogenous nations.