Interview with Justin Lee, Asian American Film Lab's New Shootout Coordinator

Today's interview is with Justin Lee. Justin is Asian American Film Lab's new Shootout Coordinator. Justin joins AA Film Lab at an exciting time. AA Film Lab just had the Asians on Film Festival in Los Angeles, which is the first event that it's had in LA. Justin Samuels: What has interested you in working with AA Film Lab?

Justin Lee: I wanted to be around independent filmmakers. I wanted to be around more people like myself, people who are all making sacrifices to be around what they love. That was my initial interest. However, after talking to lovely Jennifer (board member); she made me realize the wider spectrum of the 72-hour shootout. For example, I get to come up with the theme! JS: Have you yourself dealt with the lack of diversity in the media?

JL:Yes. I work at a advertising production company- and the lack of diversity in the whole industry is astounding. Not that it’s on purpose or inherent- it just is. I think it’s backlash from not having more diversity when filmmaking was just coming out, but I’m sure a film historian could tell you more about that.

The lack of diversity isn’t just racial, it’s everything. Their promoting a certain shape: chiseled chin, dark brows, tall, skinny, ripped, big breasts...etc. If you don’t meet the criteria (I certainly don’t), people tend to pay more attention those who do. It makes who you are as an individual, what makes you interesting & good- irrelevant.

I think due to the lack of diversity, people lump minority groups together and stereotype them according to what they see. I deal with the lack of diversity in the media every time someone calls me Jeremy Lin, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Bruce Lee...etc. I want to be defined by me, not by some middle age white guy sitting in some Hollywood exec office saying “This Kung-fu movie is going to be great!”

JS: How do you think the film, tv, and commercial/advertising media can be diversified?

JL: I was attending a panel where Spike Lee mentioned how films got green-lit. He brought up the film Soul Plane, a movie considered hurtful to Black America. It’s a film that basically reinforces black stereotypes.

I remember Spike Lee reeling about how there was probably no black person in that conference room when they decided to make the film. No one in that position of power who can say “Hold on a second, this movie is about what?!”.

We need more diversity among positions of power and influence. We need someone in that conference room saying “You know what? That’s pretty racist. No.”

JS: What can you tell us about the 2014 72 Hour Shootout? Where are the films screened or shown?

JL: The screenings are usually run through Asian American International, and a theatre will be provided to the shootout as time gets closer.

I can tell you that I’m super excited for it! I’m a big advocate for individuality and visual expression. I can tell you that we’ll probably see some form of those two as the 10th annual theme for the shootout.

JS: What does the Shootout Coordinator do?

JL: I think the most exciting thing about being the shootout coordinator is how much of our personality/work can be put into each shootout. We get to come up with a theme, a promotional video, do interviews, and basically represent each years shootout.

Usually when I coordinate it’s to support the producer. A lot of bookings, budgets, and a logistics (Which I will also be doing for the shootout). It’s kind of refreshing to be able to put some of my personality into this job.

JS: Have you ever worked with a non profit film organization before?

JL: Yes! I volunteered for the Asian American Film Festival back in 2011- but I think that’s it.

JS: Do you have any additional work planned with AA Film Lab?

JL:I really hope so, but you should get back to me at the end of the shootout!

Communism, Anarchism, and other Leftist Ideologies the Enemies of Blacks and Other Non Whites

Communism, anarchism, socialism, and other leftism isms are the enemies of non whites (actually of all human beings). Despite the fact that they claim to be for the poor, the oppressed, and the colonized, they care nothing about them.

Take Occupy Wall Street for example. There are a number of homeless occupiers. The well to do anarchists in occupy, living home with their parents, care nothing for them. They would gladly sacrifice the homeless amongst them if they thought it would advance their anti establishment ideals. And so therefore when occupy had a large amount of money in its general fund, there was no real attempt to help the long term homeless not become homeless. Ridiculous solutions such as short term housing in the churches were put in place.

Look at the nation as a whole. One way poor blacks and hispanics were successfully marginalized was to separate them from society. Give them help in the form of public assistance, put them in housing projects, and psychologically isolate them from the rest of society. Make them self aware that they are poor victims, and then the poor victims will become too psychologically crippled to function outside of ethnic enclaves. This is marginalization. As Wikipedia explains:

"In sociology, marginalisation (British/International), or marginalization (U.S.), is the social process of becoming or being relegated to the fringe of society e.g.; "the marginalization of the underclass", "marginalisation of intellect", etc."

In short, marginalized groups exist at the fringe of society, or they are not even considered to be a part of the society. The leftists organizations and groups exploit marginalized people by telling them they can never be a part of the mainstream, and by giving them certain types of aide to keep them dependent on the left. This can be welfare, or on a smaller level, this can be the church housing,metrocard, and food programs in occupy wall street.

An interesting thing about marginalized groups is a neighborhood full of the marginalized, say poor blacks, is said to be a bad neighborhood. For years places like Harlem, Bedford Stuyvesant, among others, were considered horrible places. But the fact is that they were always very close to business centers in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan, to airports in the NYC region, and to everything else the city has to offer. Whites and Asians began moving into these neighborhoods in large numbers because it was close to their sources of income, and these neighborhoods ceased being bad neighborhoods. So the problem wasn't that the area was actually bad, the problem was the people in the area were cut off from societal participation.

How can marginalized groups break out of being marginalized? One if for people to realize we all have the rights to be where we want to be. Marginalized groups often have extremely low self worth and esteem, and this mentality makes them afraid to operate outside of the so called "community". On an individual level people have to boost their self worth, realize that we're all human, and go for all they want or need. Increased contacts with people who are not living in abject poverty would increase the chances of employment, or of learning the system well enough to be gainfully employed.

Successful non whites in this country, such as the Obamas, Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Richard Parsons (former Time Warner CEO), Kenneth Chenault (American Express CEO) all had successful careers precisely because they were not marginalized. The East Asian and Indian students and professionals across college campuses, in medicine, in engineering, etc also aren't marginalized, and therefore they do well in their careers. In short, find ways to bring the marginalized out of the holes they were condemned to, not only do you end their poverty, but you end the jobs of many leftists.