Asian Americans (2020)

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! To celebrate, PBS released a five-part docuseries chronicling the story of Asians in America, from the California Gold Rush and the transcontinental railroad to today. It is both informative and emotional. It does an extraordinary job at covering a variety of stories. Asian American is an incredibly broad term comprising people as diverse as South Asians, East Asians and Southeast Asians and the documentary gives each group some screen time. The series zooms in and zooms out effectively, picking individuals to highlight the essential role of Asian Americans in building the fabric of America. Three Asian names in early Supreme Court jurisprudence help define America: Wong Kim Ark, Yik Wo and Bhagat Singh Thind. Hawaii sends a majority Asian American delegation to Washington. Filipino Americans in the California fruit fields go on strike. Students fight for ethnic studies. The Rodney King riots are a definitive experience in creating a Korean American identity. For over a hundred and fifty years, Asian Americans have contributed to American life. This wondrous docuseries should be required viewing for all Americans.

Little Fires Everywhere (2020)

This miniseries adaptation of Celeste Ng's New York Times bestseller is good, not great, but certainly interesting in its deviations from the source material. First is the casting of Kerry Washington. In the novel, Mia is not racially ambiguous but by casting an African American actress, it reified layers of racial subtext. The racial undertones are extremely uncomfortable, intentionally so. Reese Witherspoon as the "well-meaning", oblivious white lady is very unlikable, kind of curious that she would cast herself in what is surely the villain role. For the first several episodes, Washington isn't very likable either. The way she plays Mia is very off-putting. If she was just a little more sociable, she would be more sympathetic. The actress that plays young Washington nails her mannerisms precisely. But the young Elena and Bill look nothing like Witherspoon and Joshua Jackson--he actually looks older than Jackson. The second half of the series is better than the first, in my opinion, after all the secrets have been revealed to us. I think that's because I didn't care much for the secrets.

Schitt's Creek (2015-20)

Schitt's Creek is the delightful Canadian import that surprised Emmy prognosticators last year when it nabbed nominations Best Comedy Series. Since coming to American Netflix, it has found new audiences looking for something positive and uplifting in these uncertain times. That's right, this was our Coronavirus binge. And we watched six seasons in about a month. The Rose family gets scammed out of their immense wealth, left only with the deed to a town they bought as a joke, called Schitt's Creek (serious tinges of Arrested Development). Naturally, they come to make a home at the motel in the small town in the middle of nowhere comprised of an array of charming and infuriating characters. And that is when the show really starts to get into its stride after the first couple seasons, when they've gotten past the fish-out-of-water jokes. The family was unfortunately very relatable. Alex, David, Johnny and Moira are hilariously quotable. It was tender, sometimes verging on saccharine, but that's kind of what we all need, isn't it? We all need a Patrick, a Ted, a Stevie, a Twyla. Even the supporting characters have their moment in the sun, some musical. Stevie's rendition of Maybe This Time was perhaps the show's finest moment. Oh, and David's outfits are fabulous.

Modern Family (2009-20)

Modern Family has been on for eleven years, and in many ways it represents a past era of television. Modern Family was arguably the last great network sitcom amidst the takeover of cable and streaming (and maybe the last great mockumentary after slew of hits like The Office and Parks and Recreation while the gene was in vogue), 24 episodes of sustained excellence per season, a big ensemble cast, and multiple star-making turns. We've watched the child actors grow up. New Lily and Joe grew on me as time went on, assigned funny one-liners. The earlier seasons have become iconic in syndication. There were some less funny bits in the later seasons, but I always appreciated its Shakespearean sense of comedy, relying on miscommunication and mistaken identity. The writers balanced comedy and emotion nicely.

Modern Family came at a time when Obama was newly elected president. And in the intervening years, Obgerfell v. Hodges legalized gay marriage across the country. Mitch and Cam had their own wedding in the show. What Will and Grace did for our society's acceptance of gay men, Modern Family has done for a gay couple. It normalized a non-traditional, wholly modern, and newly socially acceptable family. And several seasons in, Trump became president. And progress was not only halted but our society regressed. Modern Family never really reckoned with that new reality. Rather than recognizing this as a fault, it actually provided some reprieve from the infuriating reality that we live in. TV had the power to change the way people think in the days when we had network shows that everyone was familiar with. In the golden age of television when there is simply so much quality programming, I'm afraid these impactful cultural touchstones get lost in the inundation.

Fresh Off the Boat (2015-20)

Fresh Off the Boat, loosely based on Eddie Huang's memoir. An Asian American family on network TV in a family 90s-era sitcom. That's not nothing. It is a watershed moment in American culture. It paved the way for Crazy Rich Asians. It paved the way for Awkwafina, Lulu Wang, Hasan Minhaj and the plethora of new Asian voices we're seeing in film and TV. Representation matters. You don't fully comprehend how much it matters until it is achieved and you realize what the world has been missing out on. Not only does it normalize your own experience, it exposes white society to broader expectations of normalcy too. While maintaining its cultural specificity, it also clearly demonstrates that we all undergo similar experiences. It was always pleasing to identify my friends and family being represented on screen in these relatable characters. Constance Wu and Randall Park became mainstream stars in their own right. And we watched the kids grow up over the last six years. It has been a good run. Let's hope we don't have to wait long for more Asians on network TV.

The Oscars 2020

My Top 12:
1. The Farewell
2. Amazing Grace
3. Parasite
4. Pain and Glory
5. Little Women
6. Booksmart
7. High Flying Bird
8. Ad Astra
9. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
10. Jojo Rabbit
11. Uncut Gems
12. Marriage Story

This year, Lulu Wang's The Farewell got snubbed across the board. Adam Sandler should have been nominated for Best Actor. And Booksmart should have gotten a writing nomination. But alas these are the nominees we got...


Best Picture Personal Ballot:
1. Parasite
2. Little Women
3. Jojo Rabbit
4. Marriage Story
5. Joker
6. 1917
7. The Irishman
8. Ford v. Ferrari
9. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


Best Picture Prediction:
1. 1917 (can it win without a Film Editing nom?)
2. Parasite
3. The Irishman
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Marriage Story
6. Joker
7. Little Women
8. Jojo Rabbit
9. Ford v. Ferrari


Best Director:
Will Win/Should Win: Bong Joon Ho, Parasite

Best Actress:
Will Win: Renee Zellweger, Judy
Should Win: Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

Best Actor:
Will Win: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Should Win: Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory but they're all really great

Best Supporting Actress:
Will Win/Should Win: Laura Dern, Marriage Story but Florence Pugh, Little Women is delightful

Best Supporting Actor:
Will Win/Should Win: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (he is the epitome of cool, but this is actually not as good as his lead performance in Ad Astra this year)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Will Win: Jojo Rabibt
Should Win: Little Women

Best Original Screenplay:
Will Win/Should Win: Parasite, but I wouldn't mind if Marriage Story won

Best Cinematography:
Will Win/Should Win: 1917, probably the biggest lock of the night

Best Costume Design:
Will Win: Little Women
Should Win: Jojo Rabbit

Best Film Editing:
Will Win/Should Win: Parasite

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Will Win/Should Win: Bombshell

Best Production Design:
Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Should Win: Parasite

Best Score:
Will Win/Should Win: Joker, but they're all good

Best Song:
Will Win: I'm Gonna Love Me Again, Rocketman
Should Win: Stand Up, Harriet (that will give Cynthia Erivo an EGOT)

Best Sound Editing:
Will Win: 1917

Best Sound Mixing:
Will Win: 1917

Best VFX:
Will Win: 1917
Should Win: The Irishman

Best Animated Feature:
Will Win/Should Win: Toy Story 4, but it has been a weird year for animation awards

Best Documentary Feature:
Will Win: American Factory
Should Win: For Sama

Best International Film:
Will Win/Should Win: Parasite, but I also love Pain and Glory

Best Animated Short:
Will Win/Should Win: Hair Love

Best Documentary Short:
Will Win: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone
Should Win: In the Absence

Best Live Action Short:
Will Win: Nefta Football Club (the least predictable category)

I did decently this year. I scored 20/24. I got Live Action Short wrong, which was a tossup, but having watched the winner and my choice after the fact, I think Nefta Football Club was better. Who could've predicted that the sound categories would split? Parasite winning the night's top prize was a pleasant surprise. It's a big deal for the Academy to award a foreign language film, especially an Asian one. It's a bigger deal for the Academy than it is for the movie itself which would have passed into legend even without a win. Honestly, Bong Joon Ho's charm (4 times on stage!) and Hollywood's love for Parasite saved a pretty terrible show. It had a presenter present a presenter present a clip present Eminem--inexplicable. And Parasite lost film editing, but it won enough so I'm satisfied.

Watchmen (2019)

In a word, Damon Lindelof's HBO-adaptation of the beloved graphic novel Watchmen is extraordinary. It is actually not really an adaptation, it is a sequel that takes place 34 years after the comic. It satisfies fans by respecting the source material in themes, characters, and structure. You don't need to be familiar with the original, but you can certainly better appreciate the brilliance if you are.

Lindelof uses Watchmen to make the an incisive, honest, and hard-hitting reckoning with race in America. Our hero is Angela Abar, played by Oscar-winner Regina King (and surely a future Emmy-winner). She is a former Tulsa police officer who has since retired but now dons a mask and costume as the vigilante Sister Night who collaborates closely with the police. In this alternate Tulsa, the police by law are now required to wear masks to protect their identities. It asks the question that the original did but brilliantly about the police: what do people feel empowered to do behind a mask? Tulsa was the sight of the real-life massacre in 1921 that demolished "Black Wall Street", one of the most prosperous black communities in the country at the time. This is an event that is inexcusably not taught in schools. Our society has not reckoned with the wrongs it has committed. And until it does, it will never move past it. Watchmen gives this massacre the respect it deserves. The ending is extremely satisfying. The story closes all its loose ends perfectly. The early episodes have you asking lots of confusing questions but if you can make it to the end, it will all make sense.

In addition to writing a compelling story, Lindelof has crafted beautiful character studies. Episodes 5, 6 and 8 are character studies of Looking Glass, Hooded Justice and Dr Manhattan respectively. Tim Blake Nelson's Looking Glass is probably the most interesting character and he is an excellent actor. Hooded Justice was the first masked crusader. Assumed white, he is cast black here and not only does it make sense, you realize he must've been black all along. Without spoiling it, his origin story makes clear that the first superhero had to be black, as the superhero emerges out of necessity. The symbolism obviously pointed to lynching; it was all right there and we didn't realize it. This episode, a bad trip on Nostalgia, is mostly in black and white and is filmed in what looks like one long take. Dr Manhattan's episode tells a beautiful love story to explain who he is. The music supervision is fabulous throughout the series, but this episode cleverly uses multiple songs with the theme "blue" as Dr Manhattan is blue.

This is a TV program for our time and for all time. 

Notes:

• Veidt's alien squid is literally Professor Daniel Deudney's theory on space politics! 
• We are not told who Lube Man is but in the supplemental documents online, we discover it Agent Petey. It's not crucial to know this, but it makes sense. Just like the original comic, there were supplemental materials; yes, even down to that level Lindelof respects the source material
• No season 2! The ending is so perfect and self contained, I'm ok with just one season.