Author: Evan Yi

Where did All the Asians Go?: A Future with No Asians in Blade Runner and Her

Evan Yi

“I love Asian fusion!” When Joaquin Pheonix’s character Theodore shouts these words to his date, played by Olivia Wilde, in the critically acclaimed 2015 film Her, they are not meant to be particularly illuminating in any way. Rather, the words are meant to be trivial chatter that Theodore shares with his date as a part of the dating game; he will ultimately betray his fear of commitment to her later that night, and Olivia Wilde’s character leaves him, never appearing again after her ten minute cameo. But whatever Spike Jonze meant…

“Asians Do Poetry Too!” Vol. 1

Evan Yi

I think there’s an unfortunate assumption among younger Americans that poetry is from and for old, dead, white men when, in fact, poetry has such a rich history. With that in mind, I want to kick off an ExpectAsian series titled “Asians Do Poetry Too!”, where I upload recordings of my reading both my own poetry and the works of great Asian American poets. This first one is an original piece titled “Sleeping Dog”. I’ve included the text of the poem along with a photo of the Ozarks, where I…

What It’s Like Beneath the Bootstraps

Evan Yi

The conversation is incredibly familiar. Your white friend said any of the following: “If you people stopped seeing race everywhere, then it wouldn’t be a problem.” “Stop being so sensitive.” “The American Dream is possible for everyone who is willing to work for it; nobody deserves handouts.” From there, the conversation becomes a series of frustrated attempts to convince them that the experiences are valid. Almost always, your friend maneuvers around their own whiteness while you emerge from the conversation with the same exasperation. Why do conversations about whiteness always…