The online Asian American discourse often involves accusations of "Stockholm Syndrome," which infers that particular Asian American writers and other public voices suffer from a kind of white worship as a result of being under white supremacist or colonialist oppression. However, this stark relationship doesn't seem to properly describe the relationship we have with liberal, multicultural institutions such as the New York Times, which conscientiously includes Asian American voices. We consider whether Munchausen By Proxy is a better analogy to describe why such institutions seem to promote tropey Asian American narratives of our own lack of authenticity, not seeing ourselves in media, and feeling chronically trapped 'between cultures.'

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TWITTER:

Jess (@cogitatotomato)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

Why Are Asian American Kids Killing Themselves? https://planamag.com/why-are-asian-american-kids-killing-themselves-477a3f6ea3f2

The Banality of Empathy: https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/03/02/the-banality-of-empathy/

'Parasite' Won, but Asian American Are Still Losing: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/10/opinion/parasite-oscar-best-picture.html

Why Is Asian Salad Still On The Menu: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/opinion/sunday/why-is-asian-salad-still-on-the-menu.html

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Over virtual mimosas and eggs benedict, Teen and Chris (FKA Oxford) talk about the impending 'Parasite' remake, why "woke" movie marketing often fails, and how Mayor Bloomberg ushered in the 'Sex and the City' era of Manhattan elitism that is now fiercely battling to maintain its lost relevance against Trump and Bernie's respective political/cultural movements.

Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag

TWITTER:

Chris (@JesuInToast)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

Tweet noting how To All The Boys 2 erased Blackpink's Korean lyrics: https://twitter.com/camerouninema/status/1228289344307441664?s=20

Sonic fans vs. Birds of Prey fans on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSMark_/status/1226958098289635330?s=20

21 NYC Women Confess the Dumbest Thing They Spend Their Money On: https://www.thecut.com/2014/11/21-women-on-the-dumbest-things-theyve-bought.html

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:

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Yasmin Nair joins Teen to talk about the trope of navel gazing Asian American essay. We find it all the time these days in places like the New York Times -- politically limp-wristed writing about our childhood insecurities, cultural homelessness, all to appeal to white readers to 'understand' us. Some call it Mango Poetry. We also talk A LOT about Jason Momoa for some reason...

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TWITTER:

Teen (@mont_jiang)

Yasmin (@NairYasmin) (yasminnair.net)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

'Parasite' Won, But Asian Americans Are Still Losing: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/10/opinion/parasite-oscar-best-picture.html

Jason Momoa, Aquaman, and the Art of Queer Friendship: http://www.yasminnair.net/content/jason-momoa-aquaman-and-queer-art-friendship

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:

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Diana, Bryant and Teen hang out in Boston together for the first time (along with her lovely dog Minus) to talk about a topic that simply refuses to go away from the Asian American online discourse. Just why are Asian men so fixated on the topic of WMAF? And why does Asian masculinity/emasculation take up so much of the bandwidth? Has the amount of time spent on masculinity issues actually been of use to people?

Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag

TWITTER:

Diana (@discoveryduck)

Bryant (@mfbt)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:

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Diana, Jess, Filip and Teen talk about personal incidents of racism related to the coronavirus outbreak. Despite the WHO calling for international solidarity, there is a dramatic rise in anti-Asian racism fueled by a media which seeks to take political advantage of a public health crisis.

Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag

TWITTER:

Diana (@discoveryduck)

Jess (@cogitatotomato)

Filip(@@filipgwriting)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

Jess's Tweet on how attacking Chinese people for exotic meat is shocking in its historical ignorance: https://twitter.com/cogitatotomato/status/1222255735884541952

Teen's Tweet on the personal effect of the unfair and cruel demonization of Chinese people in America, as an American: https://twitter.com/Mont_Jiang/status/1223119539409260544

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:

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Though this is not an official Escape From Plan A endorsement (who the hell are we to endorse anyone?), Teen and Oxford are joined by returning guests Trevor Beaulieu of Champagne Sharks and Phan of Pod of Most Resistance to talk about their reasons for supporting Bernie Sanders. Special focuses are placed on the last-ditch desperation attempts to paint Bernie's campaign as sexist (e.g. Warren allegations and Rogan endorsement) and why the seemingly official AAPI endorsements of Warren and Biden were bullshit.

Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag

Phan's podcast, Pod of Most Resistance: https://www.podofmostresistance.com/

TWITTER:

Trevor (@rickyrawls)

Phan (@phannyfishcakes)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

Oxford (@JesuInToast)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

Bess Kalb's tweet about Warren vs. Bernie controversy: https://twitter.com/bessbell/status/1219721500950851584?s=20

Jeff Yang's tweet about AAPI For Warren: https://twitter.com/originalspin/status/1220282384341295104

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:

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In light of The Farewell's (expected?) lackluster performance in China, Jess and Oxford talk about whether the Asian American storyline, especially those of 2nd-generation AsAms, has a limit. Oxford ponders whether AsAms are a Lost Generation and whether we can simultaneously stay true to our roots while not rehashing the same tropes, while Jess talks about the suffocating effects of "good representation."

*This is a bonus episode for Patreon subscribers! For the full episode, please become a patron at: www.patreon.com/planamag

TWITTER:

Jess (@cogitatotomato)

Oxford (@JesuInToast)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

'The Farewell' flops in China: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-farewell-richard-jewell-flop-china-1268915

Momtaza Mehri's Tweet about immigrant parents with cooler stories: https://twitter.com/RuffneckRefugee/status/1219617855177732096?s=20

‘Asian-American actors are ugly & your films make us look backward’: https://www.rt.com/op-ed/478793-hollywood-china-farewell-failure/

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:

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Cut through the political noise, and get to the low notes, the bass-line. It's all about immigration. Who gets to be an American going forward. Trump represents a discontinuity in how we think about immigration, a sharp departure from the system we've had in place since 1965. Jess, Mark and Teen discuss how, just because this shift began with Trump, does not mean it will end with him. What does this mean for Asian American political identity going forward?

Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag

TWITTER:

Jess (@cogitatotomato)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

Mark (@snbatman)

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:

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Teen speaks with the journalist Tim Shorrock (The Nation) to look past the simplistic mainstream narrative of "Good Korea/Bad Korea," and into the troubling legacy of American militarism on the peninsula. Tim's recent article "Welcome to the Monkey House" details the kichijon system, a coercive system of prostitution that bears a disturbing similarity to the Japanese "comfort stations" employed during the Second World War.

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

"Welcome to the Monkey House": https://newrepublic.com/article/155707/united-states-military-prostitution-south-korea-monkey-house

Tim @ The Nation: https://www.thenation.com/authors/tim-shorrock/

Tim's Blog "Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears": http://timshorrock.com/

TWITTER:

Tim (@TimothyS)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:

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The Boston Plan A crew (Diana, J and Bryant) get together to talk about the persistence of Miss Saigon in American culture, why that's a problem, and why are so many Asian Americans fans of this musical built on the worst Orientalist and imperialist tropes?

*This is a bonus episode for Patreon subscribers! For the full episode, please become a patron at: www.patreon.com/planamag

TWITTER:

J (@j_maraan)

Diana (@discoveryduck)

Bryant (@mfbt)

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:

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