The ALIA
Volume I. Issue XV. Nov. 10, 2020.
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the fifteenth issue of The ALIA, a weekly newsletter dedicated to the lives of Asian women in America, and beyond, where we bring you the latest news and insightful conversations with industry professionals. In this volume, we feature women in fashion, media and arts. Find us on Instagram. Subscribe for free here.
Letter from the editor:
How are you all doing? It’s fair to say that last week felt like the longest week of my life. Celebrations erupted all across the country in light of the Biden-Harris win. I hope you all had victory celebrations and masked up while outside.
Not only was this a massive win for the Democratic Party, but Kamala Harris made history as the first female, Black and South Asian Vice President-elect. In addition, four iconic congresswomen known as “The Squad” were reelected in the congressional races. Check out more election-related news in our community news section.
This week, I chatted with former Wong Fu producer Ashley Matsunami. You might recognize her from the classic “Lunch Break!” series on Wong Fu’s second channel, More Wong Fu. She shares why she left the company and advice for those pursuing the entertainment industry.
P.S. Ashley could not share details of her new job at Marvel Studios (shh, it’s top secret), but we still have plenty of interesting insights about her remarkable career in the entertainment industry.
I hope you enjoy!
Sincerely,
Annie Lin
Founder of The ALIA
If you could like to learn more about this project, please contact us at contact@alia.news
Asian Creatives
Clockwise from top left: @beccabeczten, @caroline_hu, @waikeezy, @paudictado
Community News
History • Kamala Harris makes history as the first female, first Black and first South Asian to be elected into office as Vice President. “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they’ve never seen it before, but know that we will applaud you every step of the way,” Harris said in her victory speech. Read: Time
Power • Let’s take a moment to appreciate Kamala Harris’s all-white Carolina Herrera power suit, paired with delicate pearl earrings for her victory speech in Wilmington, Del. Refinery29 writes, “dating back to the suffrage movement, women have long worn white as a symbolic way of resisting gender inequality.” Read: Refinery29
Victory • Adrian Tam, 28, became the only openly LGBTQ person in Hawaii’s Legislature. Tam, a first-time candidate, defeated a leader of the Hawaii chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group. “It feels really good to know that someone who is openly LGBT can win. There was a time when people like me could not win. I’m glad that I can bring that representation to the capital,” Tam said. Read: NBC News
Wins • NBC News exit polls showed that Asian Americans voted for President-elect Joe Biden 63% to 31%. While Biden is favored among the community, Paul Ong, a research professor at UCLA, said he expected a greater shift “given Trump's xenophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric.” Read: NBC News
In Conversation with Ashley Matsunami
This week, we’re joined by Ashley Matsunami, 27, digital asset coordinator at Marvel Studios and former Wong Fu Productions producer. Matsunami delves into her Japanese American identity and adjusting to the transition in her career from startup culture to the corporate world.
This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you began in the entertainment industry
I was born and raised in Hawaii as a fifth-generation Japanese American. After high school, I went to Concordia University Irvine, a private Christian college, where I studied business administration and marketing. My main goal for moving to California was to get into the skateboard industry. I know, very random. At the time, my dream was to have my own skate shop. But by the time I graduated, I had grown out of skateboarding and didn’t know what I wanted career-wise. I took a staffing job just to pay the bills.
One day, a friend and I were watching “Wong Fu Weekends.” He was like, I can introduce you to someone who worked with Wong Fu. That’s how I met JP. I kind of owe everything to JP. He sent my resume to Dan Matthews at International Secret Agents (ISA), and that’s how I started interning there. I was working full-time and interning for ISA part-time. My day began as early as 6 a.m. and ended around 9 p.m. It was one of those do it while you’re young things. I did that for eight months. At the end of the internship, I knew I wanted to continue working with the community, but jobs in the Youtuber industry are one in a million. JP came in clutch again. He heard Wong Fu was looking to hire a producer, and he introduced me to Christine Chen. Once I started working for Wong Fu full-time, I left my staffing job. The rest is history.
As a fifth-generation Japanese American, what was your upbringing like?
My mom is more of a friend than a parent. I didn’t grow up with a tiger mom who wanted me to be a doctor or lawyer. My parents just wanted us to be safe, and whatever job brought that safety was cool. They sat back and watched it pan out. My mom supports what I do as long as it makes me happy. If it doesn’t work out, she’ll be there to pick me up. My dad likes to point out potential mistakes I could make and wants me to avoid making those mistakes. I had to sell Youtube to him more than to my mom. New media is so new to my parent’s generation, but my dad prides himself on being hip and cool. He does his research. The engagement and views on our videos helped him see the validity of it. My dad really came around when Wong Fu had a viewing in Hawaii for “Everything Before Us.” We sold out the movie theatre, and all the fans came out. He came to the event and was like, “Wow, this is a thing!”
My dad likes to be involved. He’ll always say, I saw the episode you guys released, have you thought about this or how about this? He will call or text me when he watches a new video my friends release and ask me if I’ve seen it yet. When he met the Wong Fu crew for the first time, he profusely thanked them for taking a risk on me, spending time with me and for being my friend. They were all like, she’s great, she’s no trouble at all. He’s like, no it’s fine, I know she’s a pain, but I appreciate you. They’re definitely not the traditional strict Asian parents.
Do you feel connected to your Japanese identity?
I’ve thought about this a lot growing up. I do feel bad that I can’t speak Japanese. Neither can my parents. The language faded out with my great grandparents. I wish we were closer to the Japanese culture in that regard. In some ways, I feel a closer connection to my Hawaii upbringing. It sounds cliché, but there’s a whole ‘aloha spirit’ back home. I didn’t realize how Asian I was until I moved away for college. On-campus, I was probably one of 10 Asians, and most of them were exchange students. In Hawaii, Asians are pretty much the majority, so it was a culture shock. I’m still figuring out what it means to be Asian.
Why did you decide to leave Wong Fu?
It got to a point where I felt like I wasn’t growing in ways the company needed me to, or I was interested in. I think I was 25 when I left, and I had a quarter-life crisis where I was thinking about the steps I needed to take to be at a certain point in life. What if I wanted to own a home? What if I wanted to start a family? What kind of paycheck and benefits do I need? It would’ve been harder to do that at Wong Fu. The company requires 110% of your heart and soul. I felt I had given everything I could. If I had stayed, it would’ve been a disservice to the fans. The way I see it, if I’m doing the job, someone else can’t. But there is someone out there who could find more fulfillment and bring more enthusiasm to the role than I could. It was better for me to move on.
Christine and I had the same role. She brought me in to replace her, but I didn’t know that. Once I started getting comfortable, she decided to leave. The plan was to create a Team B to take over the second channel, More Wong Fu, while Team A worked on Wong Fu Productions content. When Christine left, I became the producer for both channels. Team B dissolved and everyone became one team.
The role is very demanding. As with any startup, you wear many hats. Not only were you producing, you’re casting, confirming crew, finding locations. We didn’t have makeup artists or costume designers, so you had to do that too. Before shoots, I would ask Phil and Wes what they see the characters wearing. Then I would run out to Forever 21 or H&M to find outfits. I had to get meals and snacks for the shoots so I would be the first one on set. We managed bookings for Phil and Wes to speak at colleges and organizations. We helped to book flights, hotels and a bunch of other things. It can get taxing on one person after a while.
The mentality was to always give 1,000%. But everyone has different thresholds of where they tap out. My limit didn’t coincide with the company and we didn’t see eye to eye in that way. At Wong Fu, we worked closely together as professionals and as friends. When you draw a line professionally for your mental health, it could be perceived as drawing a personal line in your friendship. That gets a bit muddy.
What did you takeaway your experience at Wong Fu?
I went into it thinking, I don’t know anything, but I’m going to learn and do whatever I can. Through my time there, I gained confidence. I learned what I’m made of and what I’m capable of accomplishing. That was a valuable lesson. I also connected with the Asian American community. The community in LA was great because I met people like me with shared values and Asian morals. There are things that non-Asians don’t align with like taking your shoes off in the house, or letting the elderly sit down first. I owe a lot to the community. I met great friends and my boyfriend through it.
It was a humbling and terrifying experience to realize how big of a responsibility you have in terms of producing content. For the second channel, we didn’t have scripts. It was very much, just me, who I am, my thoughts and opinions that I bring to the table. Reading comments from fans was very rewarding, knowing that I helped someone in some way through the videos. Team B was thrown in front of the camera on a whim. I didn’t have much time to think about what would happen if I was in front of the camera. I think it worked out because had I had time to think about it, I don’t think I would’ve done it.
What is your experience working in a corporate space now?
One of the amazing things about working in a corporate environment is having set responsibilities and boundaries. I get to say that’s not my job. I don’t know if it’s part of being Asian, where we always want to help and provide for someone. You keep giving and giving, but after a while, you look at your cup and realize it’s empty. You wonder why you don’t feel great, and it becomes pretty clear. I don’t know if it’s specifically Asian American women and how we were raised. I’ve noticed with my mom, aunties and friend’s moms, who are all providers and anticipating your needs. Moms will always take care of you first before themselves. It’s a perpetual cycle because that’s how their moms were too.
The downside of working in corporate is being so compartmentalized. There’s corporate politics and approvals, whereas at a startup, I can make things happen and they trusted me to do whatever I wanted. In a corporate job, you have to run it up the chain for approval. The teams operate separately, and they’re not aware of your workflows. Transitioning from startup to corporate was an adjustment for me.
What advice would you give to people who want to pursue a career in entertainment?
The thing that has helped me most in my career is being open and willing to learn. Even if it’s something that you think wouldn’t be valuable to you two years from now. Be open to anything and everything in the field that you want to be in. For me, I have no training in anything entertainment related. I didn’t study film or even take a film class. I have a business background, so I’m good at planning. I think ISA and Wong Fu saw organizational skills that translated well into the entertainment industry.
Do what you can to put yourself in the room. Once you’re in the room, do what you can to stay there. Put yourself out there and make yourself uncomfortable within reason. Often, you grow the most in those moments. Keep at it. I think it helps to have a direction. If you want to be an editor, take editing courses. There’s lots of programs and networking groups you can join. I think connections are huge. It’s about who you know and what you know. I’ve found that it’s easy to teach skills, but it’s hard to teach the willingness to learn. You can teach someone how to organize assets on a server, but you can’t teach them drive and a positive attitude.
In some professions, it helps to go to an Ivy League school. But a lot of the time, it doesn’t matter. Companies care that you graduated, they care about the things you did at school, but they don’t care if you’ve got all As. When I was in college, I wish I had done more internships. It allows you to try on different hats in a professional capacity. By the time you’re out in the real world, you’ll have more of a sense of direction. Having said that, I have been incredibly fortunate and lucky to be where I am today.
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