Longtime Sacramento media leader joins Crossings TV + ‘To All the Boys’ trailer: Your AAPI newsletter
It is Thursday, Jan. 14, and this is The Sacramento Bee’s AAPI weekly newsletter.
Here’s a recap of the stories I’ve covered and ones I’m following:
Longtime Sacramento broadcast media leader Elliott Troshinsky has joined the board of the Asian in-language network Crossings TV to help expand the Asian American network’s reach across the country.
Troshinsky joined the board on Dec. 7 after retiring as president and general manager of Sacramento news stations KCRA and KQCA in June, according to a statement from Crossings TV. He brings nearly 50 years of experience with broadcast media to the network, where he will help bring the station’s in-language programming to televisions nationwide.
“With the rapid growth of the Asian American population across the country, I believe that there is a great opportunity for Crossings TV to provide a wide range of programming and information options on multiple platforms to this fast growing and important community,” Troshinsky said in the statement.
Crossings TV was founded in 2005 to provide news and entertainment programming in several Asian languages, such as Vietnamese, Hmong, Mandarin and Japanese.
In other news
- NCAPA slams lack of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in Biden’s Cabinet [The Hill]
- Thousands petition Stanford to ‘save’ Cantonese program, renew sole lecturer’s contract [The Stanford Daily]
- Behind the viral photo of Rep. Andy Kim cleaning up at midnight after riots [NBC News]
- Critics say Elaine Chao’s resignation falls short: ‘The damage has been done’ [NBC News]
- Shaw Gets a New Ghost Kitchen Full of Asian-Leaning Mash-Ups Like Char Siu Pizza [Eater DC]
- Why the flag of South Vietnam flew at US Capitol siege [The Conversation]
- One Foot in the World of Black and White: An Interview With ‘Westworld’ Writer Charles Yu [The News Lens]
Baroo chef opens Shiku at Grand Central Market, Q sushi returns and more news [Los Angeles Times]
- Opinion: Gov. Newsom should consider Goodwin Liu for California attorney general appointment [The Sacramento Bee]
This week in AAPI pop culture
High school romantic comedies often get a bad rap (sometimes for good reason), but that’s because the people who disparage them have never seen any of Netflix’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” films.
On Wednesday, Netflix dropped a trailer and a release date for the third and final installment, “To All the Boys: Always and Forever.”
Based on the bestselling books by Jenny Han, the films star Lana Condor as Lara Jean Covey, a mixed race Korean American high schooler navigating first love, friendship and burgeoning adulthood. In “Always and Forever,” Lara Jean must reassess what she wants from her post-graduation life when she and her boyfriend Peter Kavinsky, played by Noah Centineo, fail to get into the same university.
(I find it hard to believe that Stanford University would reject Lara Jean, a borderline-neurotic star student, but accept Peter, who doesn’t really seem to care about school beyond playing lacrosse. But that’s a debate for another time!)
Known for its snappy dialogue, non-patronizing portrayals of teenagers and Lara Jean’s amazing wardrobe, the film series has garnered critical acclaim since its release.
Something I personally appreciate about the films is that, while Lara Jean’s Asian identity plays a part in her characterization, it doesn’t define her story. Rather, it acts as the backdrop for her life, whether it’s the Yakult drinks that bring her and Peter together or the hanbok she wears for Korean New Year in one scene. The third film will also feature a family vacation to Seoul, so it’ll be interesting to see how the films depict her there.
“To All the Boys: Always and Forever” is out on Netflix Feb. 12.
Got a story suggestion? Please reach out to me at awong@sacbee.com.
That’s it for this week’s newsletter. Stay safe this weekend. Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
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