DEPT : Pop-Arazzi
AUTHOR: Honestine Fraser
ISSUE: Spring 2013
PHOTO: Keith Munyan

The teen stare tackles fashion, tv and film. Next up: Her debut album, Passion.  

“Former Nickelodeon star Cymphonique Miller is making a name for herself as one of the hardest working teen stars out there. After starring in her own television show, How to Rock, which ended in December, she’s now shooting a movie, has an upcoming album, and continues to work on her T-shirt line BYOU. Did we mention she’s the daughter of Master P and the little sister of Lil’ Romeo? We caught up with the Filipino-African American actress in between her many projects.”

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DEPT : Pop-Arazzi

ISSUE: Winter ’12-13

AUTHOR: Honestine Fraser

“Many know him for his stunt work, but there’s more to Osric Chau than just an amazing jump kick. With two movies out this past fall — Fun Size with Victoria Justice and The Man With the Iron Fists — and a pivotal role on The CW hit Supernatural, it’s safe to say that the Chinese Canadian actor has talent beyond martial arts. The up-and coming actor takes a break to chat with Audrey.”

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DEPT Pop-arazzi
ISSUE SPRING 2013

Recent shocking headlines make Associate editor Kanara Ty realize we are NOT living in a post-sexist society.

Some time ago, I was talking to one of my good guy friends about the challenges women have in dating. I said, “Women have it worse than men — we have a lot more to lose when it comes to dating.”

He was taken aback by my statement and said, “You know, you sound incredibly sexist right now.” An argument ensued, and inevitably, I was upset.

As much as people like to believe that we live in a post- racial society, they also like to believe we live in a post-sexist world, where women have equal standing and equal opportuni- ties as men. In actuality, we don’t. The shocking case of the New Delhi gang rape of a physiotherapy intern last December was a brutal reminder. And it wasn’t just the rape. When female protesters emerged demanding the safety and respect for women, they were met with cries of misogynistic Indian males who went so far as to say that the protesters should be raped for even daring to speak out.

Why would these men take to the streets to speak out against these women? I believe it was because they do not believe rape is a crime. And they don’t believe sexual violence (and on a larger scale, violence in general) against women is a crime if she was deserving of it. And it’s not just men in poorer parts of the world; it happens here too, like in the Steubenville rape case, where a gang of football players raped a high school student and then posted the photos on various social media. They didn’t think the rape was a crime because she deserved it.

It’s the same sort of sexist mindset that affects how women are often treated in the Asian entertainment industry. One of the more recent cases was Minami Minegishi, a member of the Japanese girl group AKB48, who was caught by a Japanese tabloid magazine spending the night at her boyfriend’s house. In addition to posting a tearful apology and being demoted to a research student within AKB48, the 20-year-old also shaved off her hair (supposedly of her own accord). Minegishi was punished because of AKB48’s chastity clause — no member is allowed to have a relationship — and there are grounds for punishment (including dismissal) if the rule is broken. It’s baffling that a multi-million-dollar pop group is aggressively marketed as sex symbols, and yet the members themselves are not allowed to have sex.

Cases like this make it clear: We still have a long way to go in the fight for women’s rights — and more specifically, the rights of women of color. Even while we find more women taking on increasingly powerful positions, the fact of the matter is that men are still in control of the message that are being projected on women, especially in the entertainment industry.

Ga In and Cho Hyung Woo has released the music video to their single “Brunch”. To the excitement of their fans, the two have combined as a duo to create the mini-album “Romantic Spring “.

Although the song is soft, sweet, and pleasant to the ears, we couldn’t help but be distracted half the time. The food looked amazing! (We should have expected this- the song is called “Brunch” after all) While we enjoy pancakes and orange juice just as much as the next person, we wanted to show off food thats a little close to our hearts. In honor of the new music video, we’d like to share some Popular Asian Breakfasts:

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We live in a society which pressures its women to look beautiful. We are surrounded with images of women who set unrealistic standards of beauty and make us question every inch of our body. Its strange then to think that we may actually have it easy compared to women elsewhere. Where can the pressure to be beautiful possibly be worse? How about a country that produces flawless celebrities- Korea.

In South Korea, the need to be beautiful is alarming. With the popularity of Kpop becoming national, the  pressure to be attractive has people dishing out thousands of dollars to do so.  People strive to be as beautiful as their favorite celebrity and turning to surgery has become normal. In fact, many students even receive surgery as a highschool graduation gift. When asked, students say that just about everyone gets at least one surgery done and celebrities get tons of procedures to look the way that they do.  Has Kpop set the standards for beauty too high? Has it become a necessity and a normality to go under the knife? Watch The Kpop Effect- South Korea below and let us know what you think.

(Photo Source)

Its no secret that G-Dragon (the Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and model) has a lot of fans. Entering the entertainment industry at the young age of six has allowed GD to create his huge fanbase- especially after his debut with the Korean group Big Bang. GD has a number of awards under his name, has single-handedly shaped many of the trends in South Korea, and is known world-wide. What is there left to do?

Be a pillow, apparently.

For the price of about $57, you could own your very own GD Hug Cushion. If you are one of GD’s many hardcore fans, we want to hear from you. Would you sleep with this pillow or have the fans gone a little overboard?

Check it out here!

Since their debut six years ago, Korean boy-band FT Island has worked hard to create quite a name for themselves. Check them out for their Marie Claire fashion photoshoot. The boys clearly have no problem showing off their vibrant and confident looks.

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One of our girls, Liu Wen, looking as fresh as ever for spring. Check out the rest of the editorial below!

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One of LA’s true gems is the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival – every year, the festival never fails to curate an amazing lineup films – and trust me, there’s something for everyone every year. Check out some of the highlights (yes, Linsanity is coming to the festival!) below!

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