Aly Morita Protests the Remake of Karate Kid

 
Having grown up in Hollywood, Aly Morita is a writer and Asian American activist. Her late father Pat Morita played the original Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid and garnered an Oscar nomination for his performance. I caught up with Aly amidst a controversial Facebook discussion sparked on my personal page after I posted the link to the Facebook page “Boycott the Remake of Karate Kid,” a grassroots campaign that Aly herself has spearheaded.

FH: Have you seen the remake of The Karate Kid?

No.

FH: What are your issues with the remake?

My issues are based from my point-of-view as an Asian American, and my stake is mostly Asian American. I feel that the remake is a blatant disregard of Asian American issues and concerns. The most obvious fact is that they interchange Kung Fu and Karate.

Not only that the producers didn’t utilize the vast pool of Asian American talents, they continued to perpetuate the stereotypes of Asian Americans. Even in the first Karate Kid, the whole idea of the wise Karate master was already problematic. It’s now 25 years later after the original film was made and we are still dealing with the same issues.

Ironically it doesn’t matter that Will Smith is a person of color. He certainly doesn’t seem to care about Asian American issues.

And why did they take it to China?

It’s because China is a huge market for Hollywood. They are racing to target their market. That’s the only reason it’s taking place there. They’re not going to portray Chinese culture properly. They are going do what they want. But millions of people are going to see it and think that’s what China is like and what China is about. It perpetuates racist stereotypes. It’s all formulaic bullshit really. But the time is right is to talk about it now.

FH: How would you connect the problem to Hollywood politics?

Having grown up in Hollywood and in nepotism, which is what Hollywood is based on, the remake is an ugly display of nepotism. Essentially Will Smith bought the franchise for his 11-year-old kid to star in. Yes, it will be entertaining with all the new technology and budget, but it frustrates me that people don’t see it as a display of nepotism. If people go watch the movie I hope they will think about what it is all about.

FH: How did you feel about you dad’s success as Mr. Miyagi?

I was embarrassed by my dad playing Mr. Miyagi in the height of his 80s’ popularity. I was constantly having problems with it as my own identity politics grew. Eventually I was able to separate my struggle and my dad’s struggle.

My dad fought fought tooth and nail for that role. He struggled and struggled as an actor. After Happy Days, he got his own TV series developed but it got canceled. He went into depression and came from the bottom when The Karate Kid happened. He was ready for it and knew he had to work hard for it.

The role of Mr. Miyagi could easily have been a two dimensional character. But it was really the chemistry between Ralph Macchio and my dad that made it so special. A lot of those one-liners and jokes were very much my dad’s. He poured his heart and soul into that role.

FH: Where do you think activism in the industry should come from?

It has to come from the Asian American community in the industry. For example, someone like Justin Lin who has visibility as a director. There are more Asian Americans working in the industry but even they are at the mercy of the powers to be. The issue at hand is about how Americans perceive Asians and Asian Americans. It has to come from us and we have to create new roles and tell different stories for and about Asian Americans. People have to be judicious about the roles and projects they pick. And the reality is tough because there are so few roles for Asian American actors and they will take what they can get.

What do you hope to get out of spearheading this discourse on the remake?

Awareness. It really doesn’t matter what I have to say. The public will determine the success of the film. It’s a much bigger beast than me.

I’ve known about the movie for more than a year. Initially, I was disturbed by it and I pushed it to the back of my mind. I had forgotten about it for a while. Then recently when I was driving around I became disturbed by it again. The reality hit me hard and made me angry.

I wrote a little blurb on my Facebook page and many people wrote to me and said you should do something about it. Maybe I should create a Facebook page or something. I thought about it, and I didn’t want to be passive anymore. Asian Americans are known to be passive, so I decided to do something.

I don’t know what would come out of it, and if there’s anything it will be awareness and creating discourse. There are issues that need to be addressed.

FH: How has the response been?

People have been great. Justin Lin and Phil Chung wanted me to write a piece on their blog YouOffendMeYouOffendMyFamily.com about my recollection of my experience and my dad's in the first film. So I’m trying to finish that tonight.

Seriously, I don’t want people to boycott the movie or protest outside the theater. "Boycott" is a strong word. People will respond how they will respond. Nevertheless, it infuriates me that 25 years later we’re still dealing with the same shit.

Why? Still?

Asian Americans need to get angrier and be more vocal and visible with their anger. Don’t be passive. And I’m trying not to be.

Aly is currently residing in artist colony in Liberty, Tennessee.

Comments

[ugg knightsbridge]

You have a good understanding of China! Deeply the Chinese people I admire you! Thank you for your love! We will be better in China

[Jordans 3]

Like what movie? this? And to share it!

[je]

[Rob Siu:....China is argueably the most egocentric country in the world. ]

Shame on you- a Chinese American, for spewing such stereotypes, and neglecting to bone up on history. China's isolationism, from the 18th century Manchu rule to the Cultural Revolution, is only a blip in her 5000 year history. China was already trading with Rome and Persia 2000 years ago. Diplomatic relations with numerous countries resulted in a very cosmopolitan capitol city of Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty, including an influx of Arab and Jews in the country.

Do some thorough research before spouting anymore nonsense.

[Watch The Karate Kid]

I had the extreme good fortune to catch the tail-end of The Karate Kid a few days ago. Now, I've watched that movie about 14 times and the final fight montage is an absolute classic. Awesome Movie !

[FredB]

I was embarrassed by my dad playing Mr. Miyagi in the height of his 80s’ popularity. I was constantly having problems with it as my own identity politics grew. Eventually I was able to separate my struggle and my dad’s struggle.

she must have stopped "growing"....

"Asian Americans are known to be passive"

who is stereotyping NOW?......

You will have your 10 minutes of fame....
now clean out the back of your car....

[Film Hustler]

All these comments are great!

[sm]

Enjoying the to and fro comments and the willingness of all of you to weigh in and speak...
sm

[Carvin]

Also, she doesn't have to go watch a movie to know if its good or bad. Previews are good enough. I read the plot on wiki and thats all I needed to know. I don't have to watch a movie to know if I will like or hate it and neither does she. For the most part, any Asian that is okay with what Hollywood is doing is not even proud of their culture to begin with. Its like what the Whites did to us Native Americans, they try to make us look submissive but God if it wasn't for Chief Sitting bull, we would still be serving whites like their GOD.

[Carvin]

China is the most Egocentric? That is pure Bullshit. If anything America and Japan are the most Egocentric. Think about it, in every most there is. Americans are always the heroes and they make every other country look like shit.

[MM]

salty

[DB]

POSSIBLE MOVIE SPOILER...

she definitely should done more research on the remake. i watched it today, and being a chinese-american who has been back to mainland a few times, hollywood definitely showed broad views of china and of chinese males. maybe not enough variety of personalities of chinese females, but every movie is not going to be perfect. and in the movie the made it pretty clear that karate and kung-fu isn't the same.

i mean how are you going to judge a film without watching it? as they say, you can't judge the book by it's cover. the title of the movie isn't everything. Aly Morita, i understand you want awareness, but you are going to feel a bit salty when you watch the movie. I personally thought the remake was awesome, and i definitely won't forget Pat Morita's role in the original Karate Kid.

[Rob Siu]

I can understand the frustration from the daughter of Pat Morita and her opinions about this movie. With that said, I don't necessarily agree with all of her points of view.

Yes, this movie displays nepotism at it's fullest, but that's how the world is. It's not just in Hollywood. Nepotism has been prevailant since the beginning of time. You will never be able to slay that beast nor do I think that you should. Although I am not a parent myself, I try and understand as best as I can what parents feel or want for their children. It's fair to say that parents want the best for the kids; they want them to succeed in life and not have to worry about their survival. With that said, who can blame the successful business man or the migrant worker that works 3 jobs to get their children through an ivy league college? Who can blame a father hands over the family business to their heirs? Who can blame Will Smith for providing for his son? Nepotism? Should there really be a problem with it? Granted, it sucks if you're on the other side of the fence and aren't bestowed with such luxuries or opportunities, but that's life. This world revolves around nepotism in all facets of life.

Regarding your disdain about Asian-American issues with this movie, I sense true anger and scorn towards the insensitivity for interchanging kung-fu for karate. I can appreciate your passion for wanting to educate America between the differences of the sub-cultures and country of origins within the Asian ethnicity, but I don't really think it's an issue of magnitude that you propose it to be. You mentioned that the movie was being filmed in China. China is argueably the most egocentric country in the world. Throughout it's history, there is evidence that it's isolationistic characterstics (which led do the countries difficulties in the mid-1800's to late-1900's) were based off of their cultural pride. The country's name in Chinese is translated as Middle Kingdom based on the idea that China was the center of the universe. If a country like China can overlook the fact that the movie is titled Karate Kid, I think we can too. If anything, it's a marketing scheme for the American population to watch the movie.

Overall, I think this country has made tremendous progress when it comes to racial sensitivity. Personally, I think it's become too sensitive at times. As a 30 year old Asian American male, I can tell you for a fact that America's views on Asians and Asian Americans have changed dramatically from the days I can remember as a child till now. Back in the 80's there were no Asians or Asian-Americans in pop-culture as there are today. It may not be to your approval at how few there still are, but to change a beast of this nature will take generations. It took Blacks (the debate continues regarding which is more politically correct, African American or Black) over 200 years to get to where they are at today and there are still criticisms about racial insensitivity. In any case, I might not be as demanding as you are and maybe I should be, but I am one to appreciate the changes I have seen in this world. I never thought I would see a non-Caucasian as our Commander-in-Chief and it's happened. Growing up, I never imagined that Asians would be successfuly a part of pop-culture. Yao Ming, Japanese MLB players, and now a full-blooded Asian American getting drafted into the NFL... when I was growing up, the beloved Pat Morita was pretty much the extent of Asian representation in entertainment. The next group I could remember in telelvision or the big screen was Bruce Lee, Dustin Nguyen & Russel Wong. Today, we have Ken Jong, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, John Cho that are actually on the silver-screen with prominant roles. They may play cliche roles, but to me it's about being in the spotlight. Ken Jong won an MTV Movie Award. Granted, it might not be all that prestigous, but in the pop-culture world, I think that speaks volumes. Aziz Asnari was the first Asian American to host a televised awards show. Asians are slowly but surely becoming a fixture in American pop-culture.

I may be rambling now, but all I can think about is when I was in Navy boot camp (in the late 90's) and for many of my comrades, I was the first Asian they had ever seen. Now, Asians are everywhere in commercials, movies (acting/directing), music, sports, politics. It's been quite a change.

Sometimes, I feel that instead of focusing on the negativity, we can appreciate the progression. I'm not saying that as Asian Americans we should be satisfied, but sometimes when I come across these pro-Asian American rants, I sense bitterness that I don't really relate to. Racism and stereotypes rule this world, there doesn't seem to be a way around it. I'm reminded of a Family Guy episode where there is an interaction between Peter Griffin and an Asian character that was, "Oh, look it's Jackie Chan! Oh, look it's River Phoenix!" Basically, I'm just saying that people may stereotype us, but we stereotype them. It's not right, but it happens.

In the end, I'm just glad that America recognizes Asians and Asian Americans with some sort of significance. With that said, I can be patient when it comes to individuality. It may be annoying not to be correctly identified as Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc., but to this day, I admit at times, I have a hard time differentiating between English & Irish not to mention some of the former Soviet Union countries without some help or education.

I applaud your passion for the good fight to keep America aware of certain Asian American issues, but this particular "boycott" is a little hard to stand behind. Maybe, if there were no Asians at all in the movie then the "boycott" would work. Another thing, if you really don't want people to boycott the movie, then you shouldn't title your campaign "Boycott the Remake of Karate Kid". This is just as misleading as titling this movie Karate Kid when it's kung fu.

[Sarah]

Aly, I am proud of you.
You write/speak/think and answer the questions with purpose...and smarts. I am with you 1000%. Keep talking girl, and educating. The world is listening.

[Bohemianeddy]

I would so pay Aly's movie ticket so she can see it herself and then we can discuss for hours on end on what we both thought. If she's against that, I can buy a ticket for "The A-Team" instead and then we sneak out to a different screening.

[Film Hustler]

I think in spirit and essence the Karate Kid is a "Hollywood" movie regardless of its financing. Columbia/Sony has been producing movies in Asia for over two decades, including Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Kung Fu Hustle. But you wouldn't consider those films to be Hollywood films, even though they were co-financed by Bill Kong and Sony.

It's interesting to look at all the producers involved on the Karate Kid with the exception of Solon So who's Chinese. But Mr. So was probably given a co-producer credit because he managed Jackie Chan.

Likewise, if we go strictly by financing, wouldn't we consider all of Sony's U.S. slate to be Japanese because, after all‚ Sony is owned by the Japanese?

[Bob7821]

I've been looking stuff up on Pat Morita and The Karate Kid in general this morning after reading Ta Nehisi Coates post and discussion on his blog at The Atlantic.

One thing that wasn't really adressed there, or by Aly Morita's comments here is that the film is a "Hollywood" film, but is been partially financed by both Japanese and Chinese capital and seems to have been specifically made to be released in China itself seems to preclude the idea that it will show Chinese culture or society in a bad light. From what I've read, it will be the reverse.

I don't want to seem to be excusing the exclusion from American mainstream media of complex and realistic portraits of Asian Americans. (especially having come here from reading Aly Morita's essay on the life of her father) And, obviously this movie does nothing to help further understanding of Asian Americans in the United States, which Pat Morita's role did, by personalizing, for example, the effect that World War II had on Japanese Americans. However, just knowing the background of the production of the film and the goals of the producers and having not seen the film, I'm not sure that goes hand in hand with this movie having an inaccurate portrayal of Chinese culture and society.