Original: The Night Passes Like History (2012)

The Night Passes Like History

3:14 gives the only light

In the night of my shuttered bedroom,

A red reminder of the hours left to go.

And though my eyes stagger with heavy-lidded sleep,

I remain awake.

Through the gloom,

I peer up to where I know the ceiling is,

Letting my thoughts meander from me.

I muse on the days I’ve had

And the days to come.

I try to summon the dreams I need

And watch lifetimes Rip van Winkling away

In the space above me.

The days I’ve never had

Or will never know

Stretch out in both directions

As I ponder

My wandering thoughts.

The scenarios play far beyond

Any logical sense of conclusion –

Civilizations rise and fall,

Songs are composed, loved, and forgotten,

And worlds change hands

In that nothing where the ceiling ought to be.

My pupils shrink as I turn from it,

And I’m half blinded by the same 3:14

Glaring at me out of the blank.

Favorite Characters: Pietro Maximoff a.k.a. Quicksilver (The Avengers)

Okay, so I’ve already talked about Pietro in conjunction with his twin sister, but I wanted to talk about him on his own as well.  For a relatively small character within the larger scope of the Avengersverse, he makes a strong impact (spoilers for Age of Ultron.)

For me, Pietro (and Wanda, of course!) had me from my first glimpse of him at the end of The Winter Soldier.  Both twins are so compelling in that scene, and I remember being pulled in by how distressed Pietro seems compared to Wanda’s eerie calm; whether it’s a struggle to get a handle on his new powers or a combo of having super-speed while being trapped in a confined space, he is not okay.  Right off the bat, it tells you the Maximoffs aren’t equal partners with von Strucker and his Hydra buddies – no matter how willing Pietro and Wanda were in the experiments that gave them their powers, they’re guinea pigs/assets, and no one else there cares about them in any meaningful way.

But I’m getting into the Maximoffs in general, and today is about Pietro; it’s hard to talk about him without bringing in Wanda, so forgive me if I digress from time to time.  When we next see Pietro in Age of Ultron, he’s far more in control of himself and his powers, and it’s clear that, rather than explicitly working with Hydra, he (and Wanda – see, there I go again!) is in this fight strictly to see through his version of justice against Tony and the rest of the system that’s brought so much harm to him, his family, and his country.  Because this is his ultimate goal, not any philosophy or ideal, he operates as much more of a free agent, aligning himself with various people/AIs throughout the movie – and within any temporary alliances, he usually sets his own agenda.  He teams up with anyone who offers him an outlet for his anger and need for restitution, and his only unwavering loyalty is to Wanda.

I like that he’s impulsive and angry, and I like that he can be a cocky smartass (not sure if the arrogance came with his superpowers or if it was a preexisting condition.)  With these traits, he’s often not a nice character – although he knows how to come through in a pinch, and he will do anything for his sister – but he remains a fairly relatable and hugely watchable one.  He’s fully believable as someone who’s been through the ringer, made some rash decisions, and now has these incredible powers that he doesn’t always use responsibly.  I like his distrust, the brittleness of his anger, and the way he can’t help rubbing it in when he leaves someone in the dust.

In part, these more unsympathetic traits work so well because they’re balanced out by his better qualities; he’s not just one thing.  Even when he’s one of the “bad guys,” his attentiveness toward and care for Wanda is so absolute.  Not in a patronizing way – I’m sure he would admit she’s way more powerful than he is – but in an “I’m your twin, and I’ve always got your back” way.  And because he doesn’t do much of anything by half measures, when he and Wanda do decide to follow Team Avengers, he throws himself into it completely:  openly defying Ultron, rescuing civilians left and right, and ultimately giving his life to save one of his teammates.  Finally, in a nice bit of power/personality synchonicity, I love how easily distracted (making an ill-advised grab for Thor’s hammer as he sees it leisurely floating past him mid-run) and impatient (racing around to put the temporary kibosh on Vision with an “eff that noise” attitude when he gets bored of the Avengers’ arguing over what to do) he can be.  He may have been a very short-lived character, but he definitely makes the most of his time in the franchise.

Further Thougts on The Jungle Book

As I said in my review, I wound up pleasantly surprised by Disney’s new version of The Jungle Book, and not just because of how great the CGI is.  No – I also really enjoy the story, which explores some interesting themes.  It’s those themes I’d like to look at today (spoilers.)

Obviously, the immediate elephant in the room for The Jungle Book is the fact that Mowgli isn’t a wolf like everyone else in his adopted family.  In fact, he’s not any type of jungle animal – he’s a “man cub,” and that means he’s out of place.  While his family and friends love him, his status as a human earns him stares wherever he goes, and even within his family, he can’t shake the feeling that he doesn’t fit in.

Like Disney’s other major “diverse animals” movie this year, Zootopia, we can find some thoughtful metaphors for multiculturalism.  Although Mowgli was technically born in the man village, he was found by Bagheera as a baby and raised by the wolves since infancy, and yet he’s still seen as an outsider.  Animals who don’t know him whisper and keep their distance when he approaches the watering hole.  More significantly, Shere Khan is overtly hateful towards Mowgli and isn’t content to merely see him leave the jungle; he wants the boy dead by his paw.  In the present climate of stirred-up xenophobia, I don’t have to tell you what that kind of hostility feels reminiscent of.  It’s important, too, that Shere Khan’s hatred is rooted in both ignorance and fear.  Because he believes all humans are the same, he believes Mowgli will grow up to fit his expectation of what that looks like, and it’s not in a flattering one.  In his mind, all humans are inherently dangerous, indiscriminate killers, and he tries to fan the other animals’ wariness and mistrust into a fear that matches his own.  Gee, that doesn’t sound familiar, does it?

In light of all this, the movie couldn’t very well have ended as the animated version does, and I’m super relieved that it doesn’t.  Sure, in the real life, it’s of course better for a child to live among humans instead of jungle animals, and if this was real life, it would be criminal to suggest otherwise.  However, I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice that this isn’t real life.  It’s a movie with talking animals and a singing bear, so the rules are different, and when it uses Mowgli being human as a metaphor for immigration, it would be terrible to end the movie by sending Mowgli “back where he came from” (even though the man village has never truly been his home in any meaningful sense of the word) because he “belongs with his own kind,” the implication being that he doesn’t belong with the animals who are physically different than him.  So glad, then, that the film is ultimately about Mowgli and those around him recognizing the jungle as his real home.

Even better, it’s about Mowgli belonging in the jungle just as he is.  There’s an intriguing thread throughout the movie about Mowgli’s “tricks,” which is what the animals call his natural instinct toward making and using tools.  Other characters discourage him from tool-making (again, because it’s unfamiliar and therefore troubling to them,) arguing that it isn’t “the wolf way” and try to reshape him to fit their ideas of the correct ways to behave and get by.  However, Mowgli isn’t a wolf and physically can’t do the same things they do, and it’s only by accepting himself the way he is that he’s able to find real success.  As he and the other characters come to terms with this, the message is clear:  Mowgli can be different and still belong in the jungle.  He doesn’t have to assimilate to be one of them, and I love that.

The Garage (1920)

The last Arbuckle-Keaton short is a pretty good one.  It has some major Bustery tendencies, always a good thing in my book, and the cinematic partnership pulls out most of the stops for its last hurrah.  Really fun.

Fatty and Buster are working at a combination garage/fire station.  Naturally, whether they’re working with other people’s cars, the garage’s, or the fire hose, they cause plenty of havoc.  Meanwhile, a very determined but overly-slick suitor is trying to woo the boss’s daughter (Molly Malone,) and he could prove to cause a little havoc of his own.

What little plot there is is very meandering, but it’s the type of short that’s funny enough that it hardly matters.  The gags come fast and furious (even if the cars do not) in a variety of shapes and sizes, with Fatty and Buster’s clowning always at the center of things.  There are lots of mechanical gags to be found here – natural, given the setting – and you can definitely feel Buster’s influence.  I like the turntable used for the car wash (and of course, it’s only a matter of time until Buster and Fatty get stuck on it while it’s moving,) and the ready-for-action system they have rigged up in case of a fire alert is a ton of fun.  There’s also a really impressive shot of a car falling apart piece by piece.  It’s like the famous car gag from Three Ages, but slower, and in both cases, I really don’t know how they did it.

That’s not the only gag that feels like Buster all over.  At the start of the short, Fatty does Buster’s cleaning-the-imaginary-pane-of-glass routine, and there’s a sequence of out-of-control grease-flinging that really reminds me of The Blacksmith; Fatty and Buster gradually (and mostly unintentionally) rendering the dandy’s white suit filthy is particularly reminiscent of how Buster gets oil all over the white horse in that short.  Buster getting on the wrong side of a police officer due to an unfortunate mishap is also very familiar.  In fact, the cop situation in Daydreams similarly begins because Buster is inappropriately clothed in the street and goes through much the same struggles to obtain a pair of pants.  (In this case, though, the Fatty-Buster version is funnier.  I love Buster using the paper kilt he tore off of a poster, and Fatty is a great help during the unfortunate circumstance.  Their movements here are expertly timed, especially Fatty lifting Buster so he can put his pants on while they’re still walking.)

The final sequence, with the fire, is really top-notch.  I’ve previously mentioned Buster’s impressive fire-pole moves, and the whole bit with the leaky hose is great, both from Buster’s end of trying to use it and Fatty’s end of trying to plug the leak.  No surprise, there’s a nice daring rescue, although this one comes with a few good twists.  Also, it’s a little thing, but I laugh so hard at Fatty and Buster racing back to the fire station when they realize they’ve put on the wrong helmets – so absurd, so perfect.

All in all, a great finale for a great partnership.

Warnings

Slapstick violence and a little drinking.

Some Thoughts on New Who Post-Regeneration Episodes

I’ve already talked about regeneration episodes on new Who, a Doctor’s last farewell, but what about his hello?  We’ve now seen four regular-run Doctors introduced in the new series, which gives us four episodes to compare (spoilers for “Rose,” “The Christmas Invasion,” “The Eleventh Hour,” and “Deep Breath.”)

“Rose” is the most out-of-place, since, while it’s clear Nine hasn’t been around too long, he’s not immediately post-regeneration.  So, he’s had time to find his outfit, discover his accent, and get an idea of what his personality is like (but not, apparently, see himself in a mirror.)  This episode has some major clunkiness for me in terms of the alien plot, the “whacky” humor, and the Auton Mickey, but when it comes to introducing us to a new Doctor, it delivers on every level.  The second Nine pops out of nowhere, grabs Rose’s hand, and exclaims, “Run!”, you know you’re in for a ride.  With no regeneration crisis to deal with, he’s able to be in full Doctor-mode from the start, which is excellent.  It’s all there:  flippancy, humor, cheeriness (real and put-on,) impatience, brilliance, pain, determination, and heart.  What a Doctor, and what an intro!

“The Christmas Invasion” is the lowest on the list for me, but to be fair, a) it was my first regeneration, and b) I was having to give up Nine.  While I like a lot of the plot, such as seeing Harriet Jones again and Rose trying to cope with the Doctor’s regeneration, this episode on first watch didn’t do much to sell me on Ten.  The main reason is that it feels like he spends most of the episode unconscious (again – my first regeneration, meaning my first regeneration crisis.)  He lies there for what seems like ages, and it feels like a waste of an episode.  And I like Ten now, but at the time, the little this episode does show of him didn’t really endear me to him.  The only standout bit for me is when he catches himself quoting “The Circle of Life,” the swordfight on the wing of a spaceship feels like the show trying way too hard to show off the Amazing!!! new Doctor, and the “no second chances” moment unsettles me.  Overall, not a winner.

“The Eleventh Hour” is a bit like “Rose” for me in that the new-Doctor part works a lot better than the alien-plot part.  I like young Amelia and the crack in the wall, but the Prisoner Zero storyline leans too hard on a lot of Moffat’s typical moves.  Eleven, though, is magic.  I’d been among the “okay, can this kid really pull off playing the Doctor?” crowd, but I was all in by the time they got to fish custard.  This episode does a great job showing off the core of who Eleven is.  He’s fun and puppyish and sweet, but he’s also smart and take-charge and really perceptive.  He knows how to be commanding when he needs to be, he’s very compassionate, and you never lose sight of the fact that his youthful-looking eyes are actually that of a 900-year-old alien.

Which leaves us with “Deep Breath.”  The plot is kind of all over the place, and some of the writing is much too heavy-handed and defensive-seeming about having an older Doctor, but for the most part, the stuff that works in this episode is the stuff that’s Twelve.  Despite all the noise going on around him (the speechifying by other characters about whether or not he’s the same, the stuff about his age, the pointed Dark!! moments that seem to shout “not your mama’s Doctor!”), he himself is wonderful as he navigates a whollop of a regeneration crisis, wonders who he is now, and tries to convince Clara not to give up on him.  We get the unfiltered brusqueness and the angry eyebrows, but we get the vulnerability, too.  After my first watch, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of all I’d just seen, but I knew I was going to love Twelve.

Relationship Spotlight: Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde (Zootopia)

I love Zootopia for its sharp commentary and its inventive imagination, but I also love it for its story.  In particular, I love the characters of Judy and Nick, both individually and in their interactions with one another.  Undoubtedly, two great tastes that taste great together!  (A few spoilers.)

The unlikely partnership is a true tale as old as time (why no, I didn’t immediately watch/squee over the live-action Beauty and the Beast teaser when it came out – why do you ask?), and Nick and Judy fit the bill well.  She’s a chipper optimist who’s straight as an arrow, and he’s a slick grifter with a wellworn jaded streak.  She’s prey and he’s a predator, and while he’s not an especially big animal, he’s bigger than her, which matters in their society.  And naturally, it’s not just their contrasting personalities and social situations that start them off on an uneasy note.  The actual set-up of their partnership is less than idyllic as well.  Judy initially takes an encouraging, if rather patronizing view of Nick, holding him up as proof that not all foxes are bad, only to realize that he’s just conned her.  This makes her put her guard up, but she’s nothing if not tenacious, and when she realizes Nick might have important information in the case she’s working on, she comes back ready for her second round.  Modifying a page from Nick’s book, she blackmails him into helping her.  No surprise, he doesn’t take too kindly to this and spends the first portion of their time together trying to sabotage her.

However, even if it might take Nick and Judy a while to figure it out, we don’t need long to see how well-matched they are.  Both bring different skillsets to the table, one’s strengths often complementing the other’s deficits.  Judy is generally braver than Nick, but she can also be way too eager for her own good, and his healthy survival instinct helps keep both of them safe.  The sideways approach he takes to things can also be more effective at times than Judy’s more direct methods.  Meanwhile, Judy is better at catching flies with honey; when they’re in a tight spot and Nick’s usual insincere charm isn’t working, they’re saved by a chance encounter/random act of kindness that Judy performed earlier that day.  Another of Judy’s invaluable qualities is her determination.  I wouldn’t say Nick is defeatist, precisely, but he doesn’t have Judy’s inherent and indefatiguable belief in himself, and there are plenty of times when Judy’s never-say-die attitude keeps him going.  Nick’s skepticism balances out Judy’s trusting nature, and her talent for dreaming up creative legal work-arounds goes nicely with his street smarts.

I’ve already talked about the ways in which they both come to recognize one another as individuals rather than homogenous stereotypes of predator/prey, but it deserves another mention.  It’s so rewarding to watch these two learn to understand each other, and more than that, to see them become genuine friends.  Neither probably would have ever expected to develop such a strong friendship with someone so apparently different from themselves – Nick because he’s been burned too many times by prey, and Judy because, although she talks a good game about not discriminating against foxes and is mostly honest about that, she still has some unconscious biases that she has to deal with over the course of the movie.  But they do become friends, close friends, and I love how they gradually start to open up to each other.  When they hit their third-act rough patch, there’s real hurt there, which wouldn’t happen if they both hadn’t started to care.  I like that it takes them time to work through it and that they come out stronger for it – so great to see.

News Satire Roundup: June 19th-June 23rd

Sunday, June 19 –After opening with Trump’s disgusting, xenophobic reaction to Orlando, the show looked at the NRA and its lethal efficiency in shutting down gun legislation or research.  Many of the points shared here were things I already knew, but John emphasized the real power of the NRA – not its member numbers or even the money it gives to Congress, but their sheer tenacity to speak out loudly against any forward progress.  Until the rest of us put forth the same effort, he argued, nothing will change.  The main story was on the UK’s proposed (now passed) Brexit.  A strong piece, dismantling various PR-friendly reasons to leave the EU (more money staying in Britain, less fastidious trade regulations) as misleading at best, while also examining the less-acceptable motivations shared by many prominent Brexit supporters (a strong nativist bent, with the hopes that cutting ties with the EU will leave the UK free to tighten up its borders.)

Monday, June 20 – A quick bit on Cleveland's win, and then it was straight to a Trump catch-all – highlights included a montage of Republicans in Congress avoiding answering questions about him, his renewed call for a ban on Muslim (Trevor’s abhorrence was quite satisfying,) and his gross “good guy with a gun” remarks about how Orlando could have been prevented.  Another two-guest night (seems they’ve had a lot lately.)  The first was Representative Jim Himes, talking about congressional gridlock over gun legislation despite widespread support across America.  The most affecting moment, for me, was his observation that every two years, America loses as many people to gun violence as it did in the Vietnam War: around 60,000.  Musical guest Jack Garratt was on last.  I loved his voice, but while his multi-instrumentality was impressive, his songs were pretty stripped down, since he can only play one instrument at a time.

Tuesday, June 21 – First up was Trevor’s delight at the Trump campaign’s out-of-control spending, particularly into his own businesses; I liked his speculation that the campaign is an elaborate money-laundering scheme.  The failed gun bills in the Senate got a lot of attention, including a game show segment called “Let’s Do Anything.”  In it, Roy and Jordan – standing in for Senate Democrats and Republicans – played with the aim of making the slightest progress on gun violence and only succeeded in blocking one another in petty power struggles and accepting money from the NRA.  Quick story on media coverage of the heat wave, from “using eggs to measure temperature” to giving lots of air time to women in bikinis – light but amusing.  Tavis Smiley was the guest, discussing icons like Michael Jackson and Prince with the hope of looking at a whole person rather than latching onto salacious tidbits that come out after they pass away.

Wednesday, June 22 – After Trump gave a buzzword-laden speech that echoed one Jordan made on Tuesday’s show, Trevor decided Trump must be a fan; I laughed at Jordan’s reveal that he and Trump are “linked” like Harry Potter and Voldemort.  More on Rio and the disaster that’s shaping up to be the Olympics, with bonus commentary on why a city would want to host the Olympics when the costs seem to far outweigh the revenue.  Roy had a field piece on the Army Corps of Engineers, talking about their wasteful/ill-advised building projects (you’ll never guess – turns out lobbyists are involved.)  Interesting information, but the tone wasn’t quite right for me; it felt a little lacking.  Guests Mark Halperin and Joel Heilemann discussed their show The Circus, which is about this insane election cycle.  They admitted that the title was perhaps rather insulting to circuses and shared a bit about what it’s like on the front lines of the campaigns.

Thursday, June 23 – Excellent piece on the sit-in among the House Democrats.  It joked about and hit on numerous aspects:  the protest/sleepover atmosphere, CPAN playing videos the representatives livestreamed on social media after Paul Ryan had them shut the cameras off, Republicans dismissing the sit-in as “trying to get attention” when that’s the whole point of a protest, and Ryan refusing to “give in” to a “vocal minority” when that’s exactly what the GOP is doing with the NRA.  Michelle had a piece on Second Amendment, which she declared poorly-worded and overly vague, blaming the Founding Fathers’ recent bad breakup with England for the problem.  Rapper Macklemore was the guest.  He talked fatherhood, hip-hop, and the opioid epidemic, and Trevor mused on the pleasant irony of having a white rapper and a Black president meet.

The Jungle Book (2016, PG)

At first, I wasn’t quite sure about this movie.  Realistic-looking CGI animals that talk rarely come off that well, and I didn’t remember enough of the original movie (other than the famous songs and the freaky snake) to recall if the story was that much to write home about.  In the end, though, the effects looked so impressive and the voice cast was so enticing that I had to see it.  And I’m glad I did!

The jungle holds the only life Mowgli has ever known.  Raised by wolves since infancy, this “man cub” loves his world and the animals who inhabit it, even as he feels the weight of not quite fitting in.  When his life is threatened by the tiger Shere Khan, who thinks that Mowgli, as a human, is their natural enemy, the boy is led on a journey toward the “man village,” where his friends believe he’ll be safe.  Along the way, he has a number of adventures as he travels to leave his home and contemplates where he really belongs.

At some point, I probably ought to stop being impressed by what visual effects can do, but I doubt that day will come any time soon.  After all, I’m still amazed by how well multiple versions of Tatiana Maslany are placed and interact in the same shot on Orphan Black, and that’s a BBC America production.  This, on the other hand, is Disney we’re talking about, and you know they know what they’re doing.  The CGI animals look astoundingly lifelike (and their moving lips when they talk stop feeling weird within the first few minutes of the film,) and the CGI jungle is as gorgeous as it is unbelievable.

But while awesome effects can blow me away, that’s not what I ultimately go to movies for.  I’m in it for the story, and the film delivers awfully well on that front too, more than I was expecting.  Like I said, it’s been far too long since I’ve seen the animated movie to remember much about it, but I’m pretty sure that the two stories are fairly different.  From what I recall of the original, this one is a lot more sophisticated, with interesting themes that I’ll go into more on another day.  The plot is straightforward but well done, a nice rendering of a coming-of-age/journey story.  Likewise, none of the characters are especially complicated, but they’re used to good effect in service of the narrative, and Mowgli has a fine arc with lots of heart.

Newcomer Neel Sethi plays our lead man cub, and while his greenness is definitely felt, he carries the film laudably.  His Mowgli can be obstinate or pestery, but he’s also brave, curious, and clever, and I like watching him try to figure himself out.  As for our animal characters, the voice cast is packed with goodness:  Bill Murray as Baloo and Christopher Walken as King Louie are the biggest and most obvious “gets,” but we get terrific work from Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o,  and Giancarlo Esposito as well.  Yes, please!

Warnings

Some big-time scary moments for kids.

Dear Hollywood Whitewashers: Kevin Feige (Doctor Strange)

This Wednesday, sadly, is not quite so marvelous.

Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One.  Sigh… Why, Marvel, why?  This one really pisses me off, because I’ve loved so much of Marvel’s casting.  Virtually every major character in the franchise has been cast spot-on.  I like that they have a nice mix of “names” like Robert Downey Jr. and suprising choices – how many people in the US knew Chris Hemsworth before Thor?  I like that they’ve cast a few traditionally white characters as PoC, like Nick Fury and Heimdall (which doesn’t negate my argument, by the way.  Ongoing racial disparities in Hollywood mean we’re nowhere close to it being okay to walk this the other way,) and I like that this isn’t the first time they’ve gender-flipped an originally-male character (like Jeri from Jessica Jones.)  But casting a white woman as a character who was originally a Tibetan man doesn’t work for me. 

Here’s Marvel president Kevin Feige defending Swinton’s casting:

“I think if you look at some of the early incarnations of the Ancient One in the comics, they are what we would consider today to be quite, sort of, stereotypical.  They don’t hold up to what would work today.  Also, within the storyline of the comics, and our movie, ‘the Ancient One’ is a title that many people have had.  We hit very early on on, What if the Ancient One was a woman?  What if the title had been passed and the current Ancient One is a woman?  Oh, that’s an interesting idea.  [Clicks fingers.]  Tilda Swinton!  Whoah!  And it just hit.”

The argument here is that the character as originally written is a racist stereotype and the movie is looking to correct that, all admirable.  But that’s the thing.  Casting a white person doesn’t fix the problem – it only avoids it, and it makes the film less diverse in the process.  Marvel has made a lot of awesome, smart movies, and I have no doubt that they could have applied theirselves to the issue and figured out how to write their Tibetan character in a non-racist, non-stereotypical way.  Being Asian doesn’t make a character a stereotype; it’s how that character is presented.  If Marvel had decided to do their due diligence on the writing side, a talented Asian performer could have brought that out and given us a richer character.

But that’s not what you did, Kevin Feige.  You swept race under the rug so you wouldn’t have to do the hard work of addressing it.  One could argue that you’re doing a different kind of work by changing the gender of the character – you certainly want us to focus on that – but I don’t know why the two have to be mutually exclusive.  You’re right that it’s cool to think of the title being passed down and the current Ancient One being a woman.  It is cool, and you’re also right that a female master in itself already starts reducing the “wise old man/Asian mystic/Orientalist” stereotype.  Why does she have to be a white woman, though?  It’s neat to have a woman as the head of a Tibetan monastery, but having a white woman in change of all these Asian monks, in addition to perpetuating Asian erasure, feels rather imperialistic.  So, essentially, you’ve exchanged one race problem for a different one.  Why not an Asian woman?  (Maggie Q?  Michelle Yeoh?  Just putting it out there.)  That could’ve been awesome.