Congratulations to the cast and crew of My Life Disoriented, which will become mainstream television's first Asian American family drama if you help us out with a simple e-mail.
If you ever moved during high school, or you had to fit into a situation that you weren't comfortable with, or you didn't fit in in general, this is a great show for you.
The show revolves around sisters Kimberlee (Di Quon) and Aimee (Karin Anna Cheung) Fung, who move from San Francisco to Bakersfield when their dad leaves a corporate job to help with the family business.
The show is based on ideas by lead actress Di Quon, who had a similar upbringing as the only full Asian American in her high school.
Screenwriter Claire Yorita Lee helped create the script. "She [Quon] decided that she was tired of playing 'best friend' roles and decided the way to get a lead role was to start a new show."
[Note: This is good role modeling for all of us: if your current situation is not suiting your needs, well then... create another situation!!!]
PS: Claire believes in her dreams. Filming cost only $11,500, and when funds were short, she asked her own dad to kick in some capital.
Actress Karin Anna Cheung stars as the older sister, who is witty, wry, and is still embarrassed from something that happened at her old high school.
The show is one episode, called a "short", and it will become a regular series if we all speak up and let our local PBS affiliate know.
Check screening dates and thank your station if they're airing My Life Disoriented: http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html
Director, Eric Byler (Charlotte Sometimes, Americanese) has explained that PBS, MTV and ABC Family have expressed interest in turning the show into a series, but "the real challenge is convincing the powers that be that there is the need and the audience."
"Year in and year out, the network television Pilot-to-Series Bus leaves without us. The bus leaves without Asian Pacific Americans... because there is a perception that there is no audience for stories about our community..."
"Seriously, it's almost 2007. Can it really be true that no one wants to see Asian Pacific Americans on TV unless they kick someone and/or speak with an accent?" asks Byler on his MySpace blog.
Check out the previews on Youtube:
See clip #1 (High School Sceen) on YouTube
See clip #2 (with Tamlyn Tomita and Dennis Dun) on YouTube
Listen for the line "See, I'm the only Asian guy in Bakersfield..." by the hapa (mixed) trenchcoat-wearing, black-lipstick and white facepaint Goth cousin, played by actor Phil Young.
There hasn't been a regular Asian family on TV since Margaret Cho's groundbreaking attempt with "All American Girl."
Cho had to be "coached" by a Caucasian consultant on "how to be more Asian" for the audience at the time. (She was also criticized for being "too Asian" and being "not Asian enough" -- whoa!)
It's been over ten years since that attempt, and now the time is right for this type of show.
Audience and cast demographics are starting to diversify, with actors like Yunjun Kim on "Lost", Masi Oka on "Heroes" and Sandra Oh on "Grey's Anatomy," as well as Daniel Dae Kim on "Lost" and Yul Kwon, who I blogged about when he won Survivor.
So let's get this show on road. Thank you for supporting women of color everywhere, and let's start in on network television by seeing more of the cast and crew of My Life Disoriented.
Screening Dates:
http://deerstudio.com/myspace.mld/
E-mail your thanks to your PBS affiliate if they aired the show and/or ask them to program My Life Disoriented if they haven't yet: www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html
Read more for the Cast and Crew of the show...
