Filling A Gap

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 27, 2005 2:45PM

(Note: Most of the links for this post might take you to pages whose material may lean towards the Not Safe For Work side. You’ve been warned.)
Has anyone else ever seen the Daily Show segment on Asian-American studies professor Darrell Y. Hamamoto? Seems that Dr. Hamamoto had just about enough of seeing the world of porn (isn’t that the name of a place just over the Illinois-Wisconsin border on I-94?) dominated by White folks and thought it high time that there was some porno made by, about, and for Asian-Americans. Even Star Strek's Mr. Sulu can't get a callback! (You haven't lived until you've heard Sulu intone the words “young, wet bitches.” It makes us giggle like schoolgirls.) Oh sure you’ve got your big stars like Asia Carrerra and Kobe Tai…but when’s the last time you saw an Asian-American male in porn? (Yeah yeah, we know. You’ve never seen a porno. But we know you have a friend who has so what does he say?) Right, never!

Now you’d think that in the anything-goes world of porn that Dr. Hamamoto’s ideas would be welcome with open…arms. But no! So the good doctor shot the film himself and also took the time to appear in a documentary on the project called Masters of the Pillow. With appearances by some leading Asian-American film artists as well as some Asian-American academics, the film explores the resistance in American culture to Asian sexuality as well as how Asians view their own sexual mores. Plus, there’s naked boobs.

The film is now playing in several small theaters after making the festival rounds and hitting the college circuit. Its brief run at The Gene starts Saturday the 29th at 7:45 PM. Dr. Hamamoto’s own short film, Yellowcaust: A Patriot Act, follows.

Image: Mastersofthepillow.com