Bong Joon-Ho Addresses Anti-Asian Violence and Film’s Role in Confronting It

Labor News, Industry News

Bong Joon-ho from his Facebook page.

Reprinted from Deadline Hollywood by Bruce Haring on April 8, 2021.

Directors and creators should be bolder when dealing with issues like Anti-Asian violence, said Academy Award-winning director Bong Joon-ho in a Wednesday night interview at Chapman University’s Dodge College in Orange, California.

Addressing questions remotely from his Korea home and speaking through a translator, the Parasite director admitted that being so far away, he had an outsider’s perspective. “But as someone who is a part of mankind, as a person, it’s quite fearful to watch the hate crimes against Asian-Americans and the BLM movement,” he said. “I do think about what the film industry can do at this time. With films, creating a film takes a lot of time and a lot of money; it’s a big unit that can’t really respond quickly to issues that are currently happening in society.”

However, he added, “But ironically, because of that, I think creators and filmmakers can be bolder with dealing with issues and they shouldn’t be afraid to confront them. I’m currently thinking of Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing.“ …

Deadline Hollywood 4/8

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Jeff Burman served on the Guild’s Board of Directors from 1992 to 2019. He is now retired. He can be reached at [email protected].