A ridiculous 'Chinese-y' video from Coldplay

If you haven't seen it already, here's the so-clichéd-it's-funny video for 'Princess of China', the new single from Coldplay recently performed at the London Paralympics.

It's not like they went with the obvious or anything...



Oh dear!

China's Got Talent to hold UK auditions

Calling all karaoke stars, musicians and performers...This could be interesting.

A lot of UK talent shows already feature Chinese or Asian auditionees - often, it has to be said for comedy value (see Goldie Cheung)

But now, a show that was conceived in the UK and was then exported to China is now coming back to the UK to search for British contestants to compete in China!

According to Shanghaiist:

... contestants must 'have a connection to China, either through language, family, or simply an appreciation of Chinese art forms.' Which sounds to us like the floodgates are open for hordes of random non-Chinese people trying to get famous by singing Chinese songs.

This sounds like a great potential opportunity for the many talented singers and performers out there.

Want to give it a shot? head over t the 'CGT' facebook page here.

"How can you call them noodles?!!"

More melodrama from the world of TVB miniseries.

Only, if one of the highlights of the show is someone saying "The noodles made from this flour... How can you call them noodles?!!" then I'm not sure how captivating the drama is going to be. The last shot seems to sum it all up! :)



PS I know nothing about this show, just saw the trailer.

Did you catch the BBC children's programme based around Chinese/Asian characters?

Well, this is very rare indeed! 'Spirit Warriors' is an action-based drama for children that aired last year on the CBBC (Children's BBC) channel. It draws on Chinese legends and mythology and features a mainly East Asian cast.

I think it's really good for young bbc kids to be able to watch TV and see Chinese/East Asian faces in such prominent roles (as opposed to bit parts). Check out the brief trailer below and see what you think. Hopefully the series will be re-run soon:



Longer clips and more info can be found on the official BBC website.

The creator of Spirit Warriors is an award winning British born Chinese script writer called Jo Ho and her series is now in the running for Best Children's Programme 2011! Well done, Jo!

Link: Jo Ho profile on Visible Chinese

Link: Spirit Warriors, CBBC

Link: Jo Ho feature on Dimsum.co.uk

Introducing bbc-Youtubers, MissYau and bubbiosity!

Asian American youtubers have already gained a degree of fame and notoriety (see thewinekone and Peter Chao)

So it's great to see some bbcs getting in on the act with their own distinctive Youtube channels - and very good they are too. Check out the sample vid from MissYau (aka Garbo from Swansea) below and go to her Youtube channel here.



Keep it up MissYau! Respect! :)

And from Northern Ireland we have a Triad-based epic from bubbiosity who seems to be playing at least three roles here:



You'll find the multi-talented Bubbi's channel right here.

Enjoy!

Big Brother pushes the boundries: Heterosexual Chinese male in the house!

They've had a one-armed, lesbian Cockney, a Portugese transsexual and a black albino American rapper. But surely Big Brother has gone too far this time? For the first time in 10 years of the show, they have put a straight, Chinese man in the house.

Yes, you read that correctly: New housemate Kenneth Tong (a millionaire who divides his time between Hong Kong, Scotland and New York) is Chinese, is not mixed race, isn't gay and he is on national television. Whatever next?

Link: Channel 4

EDIT: Oh dear. Some comments about Kenneth's, erm, interesting character are springing up already.

We do invisibility so well...

I just spotted this article on the Guardian website: 'It's time to put British east Asian theatre in the spotlight'

In it, theatre director David Tse Ka-Shing comments on the lack of British East Asian faces in the British media, when other ethnic groups seem to get plenty of airtime.

Of the three largest ethnic minority groups in the UK, the British east Asian (BEA) presence in arts and culture is still the most invisible. Go to any subsidised theatre or turn on the TV and you'll know what I mean. EastEnders, in 23 years of being broadcast, has regularly featured south Asian and black families but the only Chinese presence so far has been someone selling dodgy DVDs.

It's a far cry from the 100,000 or so British east Asians – the majority of them professionals – living and working in London.

...We are not temporary visitors, so why are the majority of BEA actors asked to put on foreign accents? It's as if we don't belong here or that we can't sound British.

It's true. It seems to be an uphill struggle getting more Chinese faces on TV screens. Especially men, for some reason. I've noticed that East Asian women generally get more screen time for example in commercials and pop videos but they are usually in the background, not saying anything. 'Ornamental Orientals', you might call them.

Proper characters played by East Asian actors do appear every now and then, but ever so rarely. I've tried to use this blog to highlight any new Chinese actors or performers I spot on TV but that in itself is probably a sign of how little coverage we get - i.e. it's a rare enough occurrence to justify a blog post!

I know what you're thinking: Gok Wan is never OFF the telly, what am I complaining about? Whilst it great that Gok has become perhaps the biggest, most recognized bbc celebrity of our time (respect!) wouldn't it also be nice to have a few more faces on our screens regularly? A male presenter, maybe? A comedy actor? As David Tse says, a character in EastEnders? And I'm sure there are sociology experts out there who can offer an explanation as to why East Asian women and gay men are more readily given air time in the media, as opposed to straight, East Asian men.

All things considered, this makes the Halifax commercial starring Thomas Yau something of a major achievement!

I remember when I was growing up, if I ever saw a Chinese face on television I would jump up and tell my parents. It was a fleeting moment not to be missed, like the sighting of a comet or a rare animal. Years down the line, I'm writing about the same thing on a blog. Things have not changed that much.

Related: Thomas Yau, star of new Halifax commercial
Related: His name is Gok and, ladies, he might change your life.
Related: From Potter to Popworld...The bbcs are coming!
Related: Maye Choo joins the growing list of British Chinese in the media

Moonlight Resonance

Moonlight Resonance was this year's big miniseries from TVB. The series was entirely sponsored by a Hong Kong bakery chain and was set in the high powered world of, erm, mooncake manufacturing.

The show achieved TVB's highest ever ratings for a drama series and it's not difficult to see why: A large, extended family with lots of siblings, a character with a disability which doesn't stop them looking pretty and an evil character whose evilness is signified by an unusual haircut... This show has everything!



Wikipedia: Moonlight Resonance