Who I Am Matters

Back in high school, I gave out dinner boxes to the homeless people on the streets of Central, Hong Kong regularly. Gradually I developed a deep-rooted awareness for this issue that is not only local but is prevalent around the world. If it wasn’t for the experience of doing on-site volunteer work, I think I would not have been informed about the severity of the issue. People in LA are no stranger to this issue either. I have sighted numerous homeless people on the metro and particularly downtown--the situation is quite alarming. Although I have not conducted study in this area, there are obvious reasons as to why this might be a common problem in our society. Firstly, I believe unemployment might be the root cause. People roam the streets because they cannot afford housing and are not able to make a living. This might be due to their limited knowledge and skills, which arises from lack of education. Therefore, all of this boils down to education as a foundation for mitigating the...

“What does it mean to be white when black bodies are under attack?” “How would you define you manhood if it didn’t mean oppressing women?” “Who does America belong to?” These are some of the many questions posted on random walls across America by a special group of artists. Last month, I attended an event sponsored by USC Annenberg Institute for Diversity and Empowerment and Visions & Voices. The movement “When Women Disrupt” is a collaboration between artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, muralist Jessica Sabogal, and filmmaker Melinda James. Together they created outdoor public art installations that brings issues of racism, sexism and xenophobia to the forefront. From their self-introductions, I could get a sense of the reasons and the driving force behind this creative concept. Being an immigrant herself, Jessica talked about how she had faced problems of feeling isolated by the “white supremacist”, xenophobic society. Tatyana talked about how she feels that gender inequality ...

There are some interesting takeaways from my reading of Born on Third Base by Chuck Collins. In “I Heart the 1 Percent” of Part 1, Collins talks about how we hold the richest of the richest to a different standard when it comes to their apparent generosity. The example he used—Mark Zuckererg’s decision to give away 99% of Facebook shares—is testament to the idea that our society has complicated feelings and views on the rich and their actions. As Collins puts it, “A munificent gesture by a 1 percent can only be explained as a venal attempt at calculated public relations, pride, or an extension of ego.” This highlights the double standard the society places on people with different economic standing. Looking at the full picture, the issue of social inequality has always been present. Therefore, he does wrap up part 1 with a direct call to action by inviting the reader to engage with the world’s wealthy to do “the right thing”. I think Collin does a great job at playing on the r...

Going into the cinema, I was expecting Black Panther to be just another superhero movie. Of course, a Marvels movie would not disappoint with its huge productions and engaging plot. But I was truly blown away by the depth and complexity the audience could delve into. Thought-provoking. Trailblazing. Powerful. These are some words that immediately come to my mind when I saw this movie. Not only was it a visual spectacle with action-packed fight scenes and dramatic cinematic shots, the director Ryan Coogler ingeniously infuses social awareness by featuring front and center black characters, including strong female characters, and dropping subtle yet relevant political remarks. Yes—there are cool suits and costumes but beyond that there are deeper meanings and hidden treasures left to be explored and analyzed. Black Panther was one of the most anticipated films of 2018. In fact, it topped the rank for most tweeted films of 2017 even though it hadn’t come out then yet....