'Harold & Kumar' Opens Today

Harry Mok
April 25, 2008

All the people (me included) who complain about the lack of Asian Americans in movies should go out and support this film so more like it can be made. The first "Harold & Kumar" didn't actually do that well at the box office, but DVD sales helped make the sequel a reality.

Go out and see it!
Look for an interview with "Harold & Kumar" star John Cho, who also plays Sulu in my most anticipated movie of 2009, "Star Trek," in The Spaces Issue of "Hyphen" (out soon).
The Spaces Issue will also have a story (by yours truly) about how Asian Americans and other people of color have been marginalized and stereotyped in "Star Trek" even though the TV shows and movies have had diverse casts by Hollywood standards.
Categories: 
Film
Contributor: 

Harry Mok

Editor in chief

Editor in Chief Harry Mok wrote about growing up on a Chinese vegetable farm for the second issue of Hyphen and has been a volunteer editor since 2004. As a board member of the San Francisco and New York chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association, Harry has recruited and organized events for student members. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also a graduate student instructor in the Asian American Studies Department.

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2010 Asian American International Film Festival

Comments

Comments

lala wrote on Mon, 04/28/2008 - 3:52pm
Not as good as the first one, but entertaining and amusing.
Harry wrote on Mon, 04/28/2008 - 9:48pm
Any other thoughts from people who've seen it? Don't post any spoilers. I committed to seeing it this week with a group of people so I had to wait didn't get to go on opening weekend.
Kim wrote on Wed, 04/30/2008 - 12:39pm
So much better than the first one! actually very clever and some powerful political social justice topics. "We're not Muslims, and even if we were that doesn't make us terrorists!". I like how they address some issues of racism as well. They approached it in a comedic way, undermining and then making fun of them as well as commenting on some truth/origins to stereotypes. I thought that it was an interesting approach to more honest discussions on issues of race, poverty, class differences. I loved the freakin Ikea shack in Alabama. Not what you would expect. Therein lies our ignorance all to often...
lizbeth wrote on Thu, 05/01/2008 - 5:54pm
The Harold & Kumar movies are seriously probably the most important Asian American films out there, in terms of impacting a diverse audience, rather than just preaching to the choir.Being a sequel, this one was constrained by, well, being a sequel, but I love that they upped the racial and social commentary.
Ridicter wrote on Sat, 05/03/2008 - 3:21pm
"The Harold & Kumar movies are seriously probably the most important Asian American films out there, in terms of impacting a diverse audience, rather than just preaching to the choir."Werd