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Eddie Huang’s Boogie challenges perceptions of Asian Americans

Focus Features and Immersive Pictures

By Louis Chan, AsAmNews National Correspondent

Writer, chef and TV personality Eddie Huang has one eye on the Knicks game and another on his live stream.

He’s taking part in a live Q&A with ESPN personality Cassidy Hubbarth and the Asian American Journalists Association’s Sports Task Force.

Huang is described as a true Knicks fan by Hubbarth who seems amused by his divided attention.

Huang’s directorial debut Boogie is about high school basketball phenom Alfred “Boogie” Chin and his struggles to get a basketball scholarship to an elite college. The movie is now in theaters and streaming on Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.

Like Huang, Chin, played by Taylor Takahashi, is from a family with lots of tension.

“There was a lot of violence in my family,” he said. “The parents were always fighting. The discipline was violent. No one intervened. No one helped out. I can’t call the cops on my parents. No one came to save us.”

Just like Chin, Huang’s passion for basketball was his way to “plug into America.” The sport helped him make sense of America.

And just like Chin, Huang depicts himself as a serious student. He grew up reading a lot of 6th century classic Chinese literature and poetry.

“I think its important to intake as much culture from our native land as possible,” he said.

Focus Features and Immersive Pictures. Taylor Takahashi and Taylour Paige

Huang’s directorial debut doesn’t shy away from the emasculated Asian American male stereotype. Boogie comes off as both cocky and smooth with the girls. Yet he questions the size of his own penis before his first romantic encounter with his girlfriend, Eleanor, as played by Taylor Paige.

The scene showed Boogie’s vulnerable side, insecurities and all. He describes the title character as a classic Asian American male trying to overcompensate.

“People don’t expect us to be worth anything physically,” said Huang. “We’re always picked last. It is impossible to pick a coming of age story without addressing the stigma.”

Asian Americans have very few role models, particularly in the world of sports. It’s something the film touches on as Boogie and is dad, as played by Perry Yung, watch a replay of Michael Chang’s come from behind French Open championship victory in 1989.

Huang shot the movie in 2019, well before the current climate of anti-Asian hate came to the forefront. The timing of his movie’s release, although unintentional, is fortunate.

“With everything going on in the world, I’ve never felt this hated in America as an Asian person. I remember kids called me a Charlie or a communist. Now it’s like they hate us. Won’t say it’s everybody. There is a segment in the population that hates us. We have to speak out. It’s really hard. You really feel it.

Hubbarth introduced Huang as “truly a difference maker who continues to expand the reach of Asian Americans in media, entertainment and pop culture.”

Repping Asian Americans is something Huang accepts and a role he takes seriously. Yet he points out he makes sure everyone knows he wants to e seen as American.

He’s never been one to shy away from controversy as he did when he openly expressed displeasure at the direction Fresh Off the Boat, the TV series based on his own memoir and one he executive produced.

Yet Huang acknowledged the conversations he has about his movie make him few uncomfortable.

“I’m quite vulnerable in the media,” he said. “There’s not much separation between me and what the characters are going through. After I talk about these things, I feel like I want to hide under a rock.”

One thing he won’t hide is his love of the New York Knicks.

He made sure Hubbarth know that the Knicks beat the Washington Wizard 106 -102.

Did Huang score with Boogie? You can find out for yourself by watching it in theaters or your favorite streaming platform.

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