Asian Futures Without Asians
It\u2019s a future we\u2019re all very familiar with. The rainy streets are full of neon dragons, noodle shops, and other Asian iconography mixed up and decontextualized amid sci-fi flourishes, but something is often missing: Asian people. In her video presentation \u201cAsian futures, without Asians,\u201d the artist and writer Astria Suparak breaks down dozens of films and TV shows, showing that there\u2019s a shadow genre across different sci-fi franchises which presents a future that taps into old anti-Asian stereotypes at subtle levels of designing sets, costumes and even props. I also talk with University of Utah Professor David S. Roh about his book Techno-Orientalism, which looks at the psychology behind these kinds of futures, and what they have to say about current day anxieties in America. And Jason Concepcion, host of the podcast X-Ray Vision, discusses how he tries to engage with these types of worlds as a fan and as an Asian American.\nThis episode is sponsored by Inked Gaming. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you\u2019re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices