Asian Bitches Down Under

In this episode, Helen chats with Maria Tran, a super-talented actor, producer, director, and martial artist. We chat about her journey as a child of refugee parents, how bully led her to martial arts, her passion for martial arts choreography and her advocacy for diversity and inclusivity in the film industry.

Maria Tran 

Maria Tran X Phenix Eye 

Maria Tran - Phoneix Eye YouTube 

Maria Tran X TED Talk

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We will be taking a break for a couple of weeks! But stay tuned for some interview episodes.

We start this week's episode with the announcement of time away from work, our thoughts on the Australian drama Wellmaina and how much we enjoy watching BEEF.

00:00 – Helen is going to Taiwan! Books as companions on a trip.

11:40 Jessie on ‘Pineapple Street’

18:31 Wellmaina (Helen mistaken JJ Fong and Stephany Jacobsen, the movie Helen referred to was Occupation, and JJ Fong is actually from Creamerie)

27:29 Why we feel that Beef is so relatable

55:50 Reclaim  

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In this week's episode, Jess shares her experience of reporting on ACMI conference and Helen only wants to hear requiems at the church. Our cultural consumption of the week includes some more films by David Fincher and the Hong Kong 90s film Tempting Hearts. We conclude the episode with a conversation on resilience and how it differs in time and culture.

(01:00) Jess and ACIM event, where to go from story-sharing to real changes?

(15:00) Jess’ thoughts on Melbourne

(16:45) Helen and end-of-school-term concerts, do we really need to listen to requiems at concerts?

 (20:34) Jess’ Cultural consumption: Panic Room, The Game, Shawshank Redemption

(25:10) Helen’s cultural consumption: Tempting Hearts, and our plan to watch Sylvia Cheng’s films

(39:55) Resilience in the modern age

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This week we chat about our thought on infidelity and the reality of horror films' impact on our perceptions. We also talked about the study by the Swiss on the relativity of divorce rate and women winning the lottery. 

(00:00) Helen’s first mammogram/breast ultrasound, our preference of doctors

(12:11) David Fincher’s Se7en

(15:25) David Fincher’s Zodiac

(17:06) Our perceptions about horror films, and different horror film genres   

(27:35) Helen finally watched Get Out

(33:40) Blue’s Point bookstore and Kate Legg’s Infidelity and Other Affairs;  our thoughts about infidelity

(51:30) Winning lotteries accelerate women’s decision of getting a divorc

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**Correction 41:50, South Africa, not South America**

This week we chat about the irony of Harmony Day in Australia when we still have systematic oppression against many minority groups. While the rest of the nation 'celebrates' Harmony Day, a speaker from the UK spreads her transphobic views which attracted the support of Neo-Nazis. We conclude our episode with a discussion about the happiest countries in the world. 

(01:36) Tiredness and Jamie Lee Curtis’ request for the afternoon concert, going out at night

(13:00) Welcome Merchant and the perception of the Uyghurs community

(22:16) John Wick Chapter 4

(27:00) Dancing Bears – Witold Szablowski

(33:45) The Love Songs of WEB Du Bois

(37:30) The irony of Harmony Day, transphobic speak and MP, and Neo-Nazis in Australia

(49:57) Happiest nations on earth

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This week we tackle a conversation that is difficult to come to a conclusion; Maid's Cafe. Originated from Japan, a culture that could be perceived by westerners as misogynistic and backward, but could it be harmless entertainment, and should people separate the illusion of performance and reality? We also share our views on self-confidence, the value of time through cultural consumption, and the deeply ingrained fear of male strangers.

(00:00) Random chat on being a child VS adult

(01:30) Oscar 2023 and our individual confidence

(11:30) Replying to a listener’s question: men and childcare, the fear of male strangers

(24:08) Saving Time, Jenny Odell, and our conception of time

(32:50) Courage Under Fire

(34:50) Ensemble theatre; RHINESTONE REX AND MISS MONICA

(41:40) Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko’s House

(47:47) Maid’s café in the UK and discussion of western feminism’s perspective into other cultures

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This week we discuss the love-hate relationship with 90s music and how we never feel connected to the community of music festivals. We also discuss the reasons for the decline of sports genre films, the prediction of Oscars 2023, and picking up the same book but for different reasons.

(01:30) BBS Concert, Jess’ dislike of music festivals

(09:20) The shift in pop culture, algorithms determined what we engage in pop culture.

(11:50) What happened to sports genre movies?

(24:28) We accidentally bought the same book! “How to feed a dictator” Witold Szablowski

(46:31) Prediction for the Oscar

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This week, we share our TOP 5 WISHLIST for this year’s International Women’s Day. If we had the power to create laws and affect policy, what would we enforce to make society a better place for women? Jessie’s No. 2 wish is mandatory domestic duties for 30 mins per day (MON-FRIDAY) for all men in heterosexual relationships. 
PLUS: We talk about our cultural consumption for the week, including 90s classics starring Julia Roberts such as Sleeping with the Enemy, The Pelican Brief; and the 2016 Japanese TV drama Quartet 

Tell us what you wish for this IWD 2023!

(01:00) Colour implications of the summer fruits, nectarines

(06:00) Screen Actors Guild Awards: Big Win for 'Everything Everywhere All At Once

(22:00) Cultural consumption: Julia Roberts’ Sleeping with Enemy and The Pelican Brief

(25:00) Cultural consumption: Quartet

(32:55) IWD 2023, our wishes for women in the world: medical, domestic duty, social, education

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This week, we chat about the re-writing of Roald Dahl’s books, and what it really means for English books. We also analyse a pair of Op-Eds from Hazel Edwards and Özge Sevindik Alkan - one of them was not telling the truth (wanna guess who?!?) 
We talk about the movies we watched this week (Paris Can Wait, 2017: White Noise 2022) and the books we read: Inconceivable by Alexandra Collier and Build Your house around my body by Violet Kupersmith) 

(01:30) Paris Can Wait

(04:40) White Noise, and the love-hate of Adam Driver

(13:18) Inconceivable: Alexandra Collier 

(20:44) Build your house around my body: Violet Kupersmith

(27:04)Revisions to Roald Dahl's books stoke anger about censorship, but authors say change is justified

(34:45 Dear Young Girl in the Bubble-Gum-Pink Hijab: The power to write, who benefits from that power, and who gets to determine what is cultural appropriation

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This week we look at several recent articles that address the declining rates of marriage in China and fertility in South Korea. It’s a choice more women in those countries are making. And the reasons are simple: patriarchy. Women are coming to terms with the tragic vileness of what it means to be a woman in a patriarchal society. Meanwhile, we talk about cultural consumption including A League of their own, and Frida Kahlo's life-experience. 

(00:00) Intro, A League of their own, Sister Act 2

(02:19) Frida Kahlo's Experience at Barangaroo

(09:40) Sydney Observatory Night Tour

(10:58) Valentine’s Day and the social expectation on performative acts

(14:36) South Korea’s low fertility rate and the reasons behind it 

South Korea’s misogyny problem

Feminists are protesting against the wave of anti-feminism that's swept South Korea

(21:40) SCMP: Declining rate of marriage in China

(29:50) Praising male partners on the bare minimum – The Guardian: My most romantic moment: I had just given birth – and my boyfriend made me a perfect bowl of pasta

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