A CALL TO ACTION discrimination
WHAT: Protest Fox at the annual Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour.
WHERE: The Renaissance Hotel at Hollywood and Highland, 1755 North Highland. Hollywood.
For directions:
http://www.renaissancehollywood.com/directions.asp WHEN: Thursday, July 17, from 8-10 a.m.
WHY: Express your disapproval at the new Fox Television Show, "Banzai."
Background: In March of 2003, when the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) learned that Fox was acquiring the rights to the British gameshow "BANZAI," we wrote letters and made phone calls to Fox executives expressing a serious concern over the blatantly racial stereotypes portrayed in the show.
Our communications were ignored until the following month when Fox agreed to sponsor a Comedy Night for Lodestone (a Los Angeles Asian American theatre organization), where they showed clips of "Banzai" between comedy acts at their fundraising event on May 10th.
The clips were met with resounding boos from the 300 or so attendees and Fox executives were on hand to see the negative reaction to "Banzai." Most agreed that the offbeat game show, while perhaps humorous for its quirky contests (e.g. how many helium balloons does it take to get a chicken airborne?), also included unnecessary racial elements. The cast includes a heavily Japanese accented voice-over host along with a geeky Asian man in business attire and A bald martial arts character named "Cheeky Chappy." The two appear on screen to mock and goad viewers into playing the games while repeatedly shouting "Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!" See for yourself at Fox’s website:
http://www.fox.com/banzai/, and then go to
http://www.fox.com/community/askfox/index.htm and tell them what you think.
Despite the obvious disappointment over "Banzai," Fox has decided to ignore the wishes of the Asian American community and will begin airing this summer replacement series on Sunday, July 13th after "The Simpsons" at 8:30 p.m./7C. In an attempt to modify the offensive elements of this program, the chair of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, Karen Narasaki, and the President of MANAA, Aki Aleong, met separately with Fox officials, but none of the minuscule changes the network made to"Banzai" had changed its basic nature.
MANAA, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Search to Involve Pilpino Americans (SIPA) Korean Immigrants Workers Advocates (KIWA), Korean Resource Center (KRC), Northwest Asian American Students United, East Coast Asian American Students Union (ECAASU), Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU), and National Asian American Student Conference (NAASCON) are asking you to show your disapproval at Fox’s program by joining US Thursday, July 17th, at a protest outside the Renaissance Hotel--- where media from around the world will be gathered to hear FOX network’s hype about their upcoming television season.
If you are interested in joining our cause, please contact us for further information at
manaaletters@hotmail.com or call us at (213) 486-4433 or 1-888-90-MANAA.
We will be holding an informational meeting on Tuesday, July 15th at 7 p.m. at the JACL offices located at 244 S. San Pedro Street, Room 406, in Downtown Los Angeles. Anyone interested in the protest is urged to join us to help plan and send the message out to Fox that we will not tolerate this kind of programming.
Please spread the word. And make your voice count.
Since 1992, MANAA has been the only organization solely dedicated to monitoring the media and advocating balanced, sensitive, and positive depiction and coverage of Asian Americans.
