The Chameleon: Ryan Higa
This is part of our cover series on Asian American YouTube stars. Check out our recent profiles on Wong Fu Productions, Dumbfoundead, Megan Lee and David Choi
actor, writer, comedian
Call him Ryan, R-Dizzle, Regina…or “Boob,” the accent-heavy ninja named Bob who can’t pronounce his own name. He responds to all—he talks to all—and he is all: the ultimate package. In a world where superpowers exist, he’d probably play some form of a shape-shifter, whose charm would be making mankind of all ages roll on the floor laughing. In the real world, Higa, 20, is the number one subscribed YouTube star. His infinitely popular three-to-five-minute skits that range from comedy to satire to opinionated rants garner over 1 million views. A couple years ago, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas student faced his ultimate test scenario yet: realizing his love for film. “When I started college, I was in nuclear medicine, but I’ve always wanted to act and do film,” says the now-film major, who was raised in Hawaii. “It’s really hard and not a stable job, but YouTube gave me courage and reassurance. It’s changed my entire career.”
By Julie Ma
Photographed by Eric Sueyoshi in Pasadena, California.
Check out a video by Ryan after the jump!
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This is part of our cover series on Asian American YouTube stars. Check out our recent profiles on Wong Fu Productions, Dumbfoundead, Megan Lee, David Choi, Ryan Higa, Just Kidding Films and Clara Chung
Kevin Wu / kevjumba
actor, writer, comedian
Thank goodness for high school stress, or we might have never met the smooth-talking comic Kevin Wu … or his dad, YouTube’s token “DILF,” the equally adorable and hilarious Papa Wu who gets pranked to no end. The Houston born-and-bred wisecracker is the Renaissance Man of YouTube comedy. His rise to stardom began when he was in high school, escaping the pressures of SATs and college apps by animatedly talking straight into his webcam about everything from “elbow zits” to stereotypes. He’s collaborated with most of his fellow YouTube counterparts, attended two years at the University of California, Davis and even created a YouTube charity called JumbaFund. “I want to try everything,” says the 20-year-old. “I want to try having my own show; I want to do acting; I definitely want to pursue stand-up. I don’t want to be restricted by one thing.” Wu will also be appearing on a national television show, so be sure to catch him on the real tube sometime in the fall. Hint: He just might be racing around the world with a companion—his one-and-only Papa Wu.
By Julie Ma
Photographed by Eric Sueyoshi in Pasadena, California.
Check out a video of Kevin and his dad after the jump!
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This is part of our cover series on Asian American YouTube stars. Check out our recent profiles on Wong Fu Productions, Dumbfoundead, Megan Lee, David Choi and Ryan Higa
Joe Jo and Bart Kwan / justkiddingfilms
writers, directors, comedians
It’s hard to get past the laugh-out-loud, sometimes crass and generally facetious humor, but once you do, it’s almost heartwarming to see what the boys behind Just Kidding Films are trying to do. By producing comedic videos about long-standing stereotypes, Joe Jo, 26, and Bart Kwan, 25, end up throwing up a big middle finger to everyone who thinks archaic conventions should still stand. In their Korean History videos, Jo and Kwan transform into Korean ajeoshis, complete with pama-ed wigs and golf hats, and break down why Koreans will win the World Cup (because they invented the ball), or how to get a date for Valentine’s Day (buy a Mercedes, get her drunk and then beat her). But for all their joking, this duo is just trying to keep it real. “For the majority of our videos, we try to teach some moral or lesson. [The skits] focus mostly on pursuing your dreams, to not be a female dog, and to go after what you want,” says Kwan.
By Elizabeth Eun
Photographed by Nathaniel Fu in Los Angeles.
Check out a video of JK repping Korea with Dumbfoundead and PK after the jump!
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This is part of our cover series on Asian American YouTube stars. Check out our recent profiles on Wong Fu Productions, Dumbfoundead, Megan Lee, David Choi, Ryan Higa and Just Kidding Films
Clara Chung / claracmusic
singer, songwriter, all-around musician
If anyone could pull off the one-woman band, it would be Clara. She plays the instruments that you might expect a typical Asian American to play (piano, trumpet, flute, guitar), but also plays the glockenspiel, melodica, and the cajón. Huh? And, oh yeah, she dabbles in the drums. It would be easy to dismiss her as a jack-of-all-trades, except she’s the master of them all and has a melodic, husky voice to boot. “[Being a singer] was always a quiet dream,” says Chung, 22. “I didn’t believe in myself as a musician, but I had friends who believed in me and then it started getting really fun.” It’s perhaps all of these skills that led to her winning both the International Secret Agents (ISA) 2009 and Kollaboration 10 talent competitions. Her debut album, Art in My Heart, is out this month.
By Elizabeth Eun
Photographed by Daniel Chae
Check out Clara’s official music video for “Offbeat” after the jump!
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The Brat Pack: (from left) Bart Kwon, Clara Chung, Ted Fu, Megan Lee, Ryan Higa and Joe Jo.
By Elizabeth Eun and Julie Ma
Photograph by Eric Sueyoshi
It all seemed self-indulgent and border-line narcissistic before 2005, uploading videos of yourself belting out pop songs or talking to an invisible audience. But YouTube made it not only acceptable, but also a cultural norm. And while videos of screaming babies and neurotic cats have flooded cyberspace, there’s been a not-so-quiet revolution stirring within the YouTube arena. Asian American artists are practically omnipresent on the video-sharing website, posting clips of themselves and each other singing, dancing, playing instruments and telling jokes. Which anyone can do these days, right? But these artists actually get views.
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Featured Event
One of the the biggest Asian cinema events to hit Southern California opens on May 10. The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, features the latest works by established and emerging filmmakers, along with seminars, panel discussions and symposiums on topics relevant to Asian Pacific cinema.
Opening Night features “Shanghai Calling,” directed by Daniel Hsia and starring Korean American Daniel Henney, who plays a Chinese American expat lawyer navigating his way through the mean streets of Shanghai (the picture above also indicates he is a raisin smuggler). But does he take off his shirt? Go watch the movie to find out! read more
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Robert, did you kiss him yet?
In a world that is dominated by corporate media, Ryan brings his good-natured folksy youth oriented humor to youtube and wins a larger audience than most TV shows do (And he did it all by himself)
He exaggerates the “good boy” mantra for comic effect in his recent video, but he is, in fact a very genuinely nice young man (And what’s wrong with that?) I think it is a huge ingredient in his success.
He is dispelling the myth that one needs to be either exhibit a phony manufactured “wholesomeness” or an equally phony and manufactured “douchebaginess” in order to be a popular young entertainer .
Go Ryan!
Ryan is not a chameleon. He is a platypus or a “Fluffy Bunny”. TeHee! Less than three <3
[...] Check out our recent profiles on Wong Fu Productions, Dumbfoundead, Megan Lee, David Choi and Ryan Higa Joe Jo and Bart Kwan / justkiddingfilms writers, directors, [...]