Sunday Read: 'This Is America' video a breakthrough for its Asian American director

FX

Hiro Murai has directed most of the hit series 'Atlanta.'

LAST WEEK, Childish Gambino's new music video "This Is America"  exploded into America's Internet consciousness prompting discussions about race and violence.
Some of the scenes have people gasping in its shocking imagery and the matter-of-fact reaction to violence from the performer, AKA actor Donald Glover.

It has also brought an avalanche of attention to its director, Japanese/American Hiro Murai. FX, the network that airs Glover's creation Atlanta, has contracted with Murai guaranteeing that it gets first look at any development ideas of the Japanese-born director.

What the video boils down to, Murai explained in a New York Times interview, is "a really crazy confluence of tone changes — that’s the premise of the whole video and the song, in a way." The "harrowing" yet "cartoony" violence also plays a huge role: "There’s Looney Tunes logic in there somewhere. Obviously we’re dealing with very provocative images, so it’s a total tightrope walk."

In other words, in today's America, we've become numb to the violence around us. We're no longer horrified, aghast or shocked. Violence has become normal; yet, the show must go on.

How does a Japanese/American director interpret, reflect or depict the black experience in the video and in Atlanta? (He's directed seven of the 11 episodes of the surprise hit.)

“I’m an immigrant and I think being an outsider in your home is something that I really relate to,” Murai explained to Indiewire. “I was like, 10 [when I immigrated].

Atlanta's writers are all black. Murai doesn’t pretend to know what their lived experience is like. He told MTV News he “wasn’t about to go in there and tell stories about what it’s like to be black in Atlanta.”

But he was able to use his experience as a first-generation immigrant -- as a perpetual outsider. "So when Donald was saying how strange it is to be black in America, and how you’re kind of outside of the main conversation in a way, I really related to that in a lot of ways.”

Murai also understands that as an Asian/American in the entertainment industry, the “outsider” feeling is all the more prevalent.

“When we were in the room for the Golden Globes, I look around and it’s just me and Alan Yang,” he told GQ. “And obviously that’s very odd. It’s ... weird to even grow around not that many people that look like you.”

There are only a handful of Asian/Americans out there making a living as a director. According to the Director’s Guild of America, Asian/Americans directed 5 percent of all TV episodes. White directors, on the other hand, directed 78 percent of all episodes.

So the attention Murai has gained through the music videos he's directed for big-name artists, his work for Atlanta and now the controversial "This Is America," has given him strong street cred in the business.

“Hiro has excelled as a director and a creative force in commercials, music videos and episodic television, and we welcome the chance to see him develop his own series through FX Productions,” said Nick Grad, original programming president for FX Networks and FX Productions. “He helped make Atlanta the most acclaimed comedy series on television, greatly contributing to its signature style and tone and becoming an integral part of the creative team led by Donald Glover. With his boundless artistry, Hiro is poised to take the next step as a television creator.”

It's only a metter of time that he directs a feature film. You can bet that Murai makes it unlike anything else we've seen.

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'This is America' hurled at reporter, her powerful response

Television journalist Nydia Han

By Louis ChanASAM NEWS

"THIS IS AMERICA."

Those words have different meaning when used in different contexts.

By itself, its an affirmation in our pride of being called American.

Used in another context, it can also be considered racist.

That’s what Nydia Han, a longtime reporter at ABC6 in Philadelphia encountered.

She was crossing the street on a green light when she says a car making a left turn just missed hitting her by a matter of inches.

“Did you not see me?, Han asked.

“I had the right of way,” Han recalled the woman saying.

The two argued the nuances of traffic laws. As the woman sped away, she yelled out “This is America.”

Han’s heartfelt response to those three words on Facebook live has been viewed almost 1.3 million times in three days. You can watch her response below.

WATCH Nydia Han's powerful response to 'This is America.

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“Yes, this is America. Born and raised and I know America,” Han eloquently said on Facebook. “You have the audacity to yell at me ‘this is America.’ Are you kidding me? You see this face and you think this face belongs to an outsider or a foreigner? And let me tell you something, I have two kids. They have this same face, especially my daughter who’s a carbon copy of me. If you see her on the street, and if you say anything to her to suggest that she is an interloper or an outsider, or a trespasser or someone who does not belong in this country, I challenge you to think again. Did you think this face would not stand up to you, stand up against ignorance. Well, you were wrong.

“I am Asian American. I am strong. I am proud and I am speaking out against you today. Do not ever ever see a face like this and make a mistake that it does not belong.”

The post has 37,000 likes and 21,000 thousand shares.

If I could, I would add one billion more likes.

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