Guest Poster: Noesis

In an effort to continue our battle against carpal tunnels syndrome, the FOBBDeepers have outsourced and asked the homie, Noesis, to offer his take on America’s Best Dance Crew. And a disclaimer to the reader, this is what a obtaining a graduates degree in Ethnic Studies does to you (jokes… kinda… err… but we do bow down to the brother’s knowledge). -Ninoy

Americas Best Dance Crew is a a show on MTV which is becoming more popular by the episode, the competition for naming the Best Dance Crew in America is receiving massive attention that is reaching American Idol Status. What I am interested is looking at a critical cultural analysis that takes us beyond crews and dancing look into the indirect or direct ways Kaba and Jabba are intertwined. I do not want to add to the debate of KABA VS. JABBA, I just want people to realize why these groups are breaking through the STATUS QUO!

I have no historical affiliation to Kaba Modern of the UCI but what I do understand is that, Kaba Modern historically a Filipina/o American dance troup birthed out of the University of California Irvine-PCN culture. Traditionally, Pilipino Cultural Nights which takes place on college campus around the westcoast, developed by Filipina/o American students, have a MODERN DANCE, typically a hip hop routine. Kaba Modern comes from the Filipina/o American student organizationg UCI’s KABABAYAN. Which translates in Tagalog as Townmate, Homie from the neighborhood. Kaba shows there multigendered, multigenerational, and multiethnic appeal, housed inside Filipino American organization.

I have no history of the Jabbawockeez, but what I theorize is that this group is inspired by Star Wars scene, of EWOKS talking in Tagalog. Youtube It. Come on, younglings and Jedi fans, Jabba the Hut, EWOKS hence the term Jabbwockeez, but I knew ya’ll new dat, but I bet you did not know that EWOKS really did speak Tagalog. On a literary note, I wonder who would Lewis Caroll vote for, maybe a Jabberwocky. Who knows? But what is evident is that this diasporic group is not only groundbreaking in their performances and dance, they show and display that Filipino Americans can get down, but that multi-ethnic dancers like phi Nguyen is a Phenom of a Choreographer/Dance, and regardless ageism does not exist in the group, Kevin Brewer dances as if he were a “Pretty Young Talent”. Jabbawockeez are definitely an interethnic and interregional talent. It’s important to note that Jabba The Hut was a gangster in Starwars a thug slug. Ewoks it short for Ewokese, that cartoon got cancelled. “If you kan beleeb it, you can acheeb it, PERIOD”.

When I suggest that Kaba vs. Jabba vs. Status Quo, I don’t refer to the group “Status Quo”, the dance group from Boston, I am referring to the idea the status quo of how Asian Americans are perceived in popular culture. The Status Quo notions persists that Asians are kung fu-fighting, massage workers, geeks, nerds, super intelligent, asexual, men are not masculine, women are hypersexual beings, Asians are foreign. Asians are “strangers” from multiple landscapes and shore.

Yuri Tag, is an example of her position as an Asian American Female BODY in a spectacle of Americas Best Dance Crew. While she occupies a Kaba Modern identity at the same time, she is Americas Best Dancer, female sex symbol. She’s cute, she get’s the limelight. She get’s camera attention. How bout recognizing that she is a participant in a predominantly male, non-Asian art form hip hop. What I think should get equal limelight, is the fact that the Asian American males are representing all over the stage, regardless of Ethnic Affiliation Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc. It is showing that Asian American males are capable of going beyond the status quo and are not strictly engineers, their Entertainers. The truth of the matter is, is that hip hop dance, allows for the niche of Asian American subculture to manifest. You cannot deny hip hop is African American and Latino American inspired art form regionally westcoast-eastcoast dialogic culture. What we need to recognize that through hip hop dance, djying, mceeing, and graf-writing Asian Americans are transforming and participating in these elements. Maybe, I am being biased but daym the westcoast is representing on this show.

Regardless of the outcome, we cannot deny that Asian Americans are putting on a new bounce in their step, as well as their identity. The world can no longer put Asian Americans in the box of the status quo.

-Noesis

*Sidenote: In regards to last week’s results, was it due to votes split, or to this:

“MTVN reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend either or both the phoning in or text messaging voting process and reserves the right in its sole discretion to determine the winner(s).”

This entry was posted on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 10:46 pm and is filed under Media, Pop Culture, Race, Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.