AsAm PSA gives a new twist to the iconic "American Gothic" to counter anti-Asian hate

 

SCREEN CAPTURE

"Asian American Gothic" is a fresh interpretation of the famous painting "American Gothic" (inset).

One of the factors that fuels the recent surge of anti-Asian hate is the image as a "perpetual foreigner," no matter how long individuals have lived in the United States.

To counter this negative impression, San Francisco Bay Area-based indie director, Brian G. Cheung, has partnered with the multiple Emmy-winning Portland, OR production company, Only Today to release "Asian American Gothic", the first in a series of PSAs with a simple, single-minded message, “Asian Americans are American.”

"Asian American Gothic" is just the first of a handful of videos they will be releasing over the next few months. The PSA features moving portraits of everyday Americans of AAPI descent, posed similarly to the iconic piece of American art, American Gothic. The end of the video encourages viewers to support various AAPI organizations fighting Asian hate.

“The goal is not to tell people how to feel or guilt them into anything. We want people to reflect on their own thoughts on the matter and perhaps start a discussion over a meal or two," says Cheung.

VIEW Asian American Gothic at Vimeo.

The killing of 84-year-old Thai American Vicha Ratanapakdee, (whose daughter is shown holding his memorial portrait in the PSA) and more recently, the assault on a five-year-old girl and her father in Portland, Oregon, are just two of many attacks ongoing against people in the Asian community.

According to the California Department of Justice, crimes against Asian Americans increased by over 177% from 2020 to 2021, rising from 89 attacks to 247. Reports from other states and the Department of Justice reflect similar increase of hate incidents.

Stop AAPI Hate, a community-based nonprofit, collecting reports of anti-Asian incidents and crimes from across the nation. Since March 2000, Stop AAPI Hate has amassed over 11,000 hate incidents against Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.  

From simple verbal harassment to the deadly attacks in public to mass shootings in Atlanta, the incidents have instilled a feeling of fear, especially among women and elderly, who have been the main victims of hate.

Cheung, who is of Chinese/Korean/American descent, thought of his own mom who goes for daily walks alone. He approached production companies Only Today’s Joyce and Raymond Tsang for guidance on whether or not he should pursue the idea for this PSA. Not only did they encourage him to create it, but they also offered to fund and produce it.

Says Cheung, “An attack on the Asian American community is an attack on an American community. Let’s look after our neighbors.”

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