Masters
of the Pillow
Yellowcaust: A Patriot Act
review by Jon
Waterman
MotP – *1/2
Y: APA – *
Dr. Darrell Y. Hamamoto, Professor at the University of California,
Davis, wrote a paper concerning Asian Americans’ place
in society – sexually speaking. He believes that the
severe lack of Asian-American representation in the adult film
industry is hurting the perception of the Asian male. If a
change were made, and more Asian males were to penetrate the
market – as it were – then they would be seen in
a more favorable light and be more desirable to the opposite
sex. If you want change, you have to do it yourself. So, Dr.
Hamamoto sets out on a quest to shoot his own pornographic
film.
The documentary, by James Hou, provides good insight about
the topic. It’s filled with interviews of mostly famous
Asian Americans from various walks of life. Each gives his
or her opinion on the good doctor’s project and its potential
repercussions. The discussions are varied, and it’s clear
that the perceived ramifications are anything but. A couple
of senior citizen males also say their piece on the matter
(as well as provide the best and most hilarious sound bytes),
but there isn’t enough variance in the participants.
I’d like to hear from a fuller spectrum. It should cover
all ages of Asian Americans and hit the streets to get the
reaction from the general public. See what other races think
of the idea. I doubt a clearer consensus would be formed, but
if nothing else, it would inform them that this potential revolution
is in the works.
Intertwined with the interviews is Hou’s quest to get
his movie made. We see a very little bit about the casting
process, which should have been a more formative, substantially
important chunk. I’d rather hear the phone conversations
with candidates than see the chosen one get picked up at the
airport. The real meat (sorry) of the section is the day of
the shoot. We essentially see everything that’s going
on – kept in softcore mode for the easily offended or
weak, etc. that shouldn’t be watching the movie to begin
with. There’s some decent behind the scenes footage here,
but mostly it’s us looking at a camera that’s looking
at the sexual activity.
Just like Hamamoto’s concept, it’s an interesting
idea, but there’s not much to it other than that. I guess
the best way to sum up the movie is to say that there should
be more of it. I’d like to hear from more people. I’d
like to see more of the filmmaking process. I certainly want
to know what happened after the movie was released.
However, if it’s the short film that accompanied this
feature, “Yellowcaust: A Patriot Act,” I can already
assure you that no impact was made. This is Dr. Hamamoto’s
video. You can see all the full-fledged action between the
two Asian American stars. The reason I know it will do nothing
to sway society’s opinion is because it is made too artistically.
That’s not to say the production value is high, because
it’s not even close to being good. It’s to say
that the sound mix and the applied message come off as too
pretentious. If he really wants to see Asian American’s
make it in porn, he needs to show that the pornographic work
can stand on its own as such. His short hides in the guise
of pornography. I’m not sure the best way to approach
the problem is to have two Asian Americans on screen together.
If you really want to boost the perception of the Asian-American
male as a sexual creature, he should be paired with women of
a different race. Two Asians can be seen all over the place.
The fact that they might also be American, I don’t believe,
would resonate with any new impact or importance.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
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