This article mainly talks about the Asian American’s film market and how they build a profitable film economy based on Asian American Grassroots. The film makers are using a kind of positive policy on community-focused marketing, which is clear and effective, rather than TV promotion policy. Thus, the main argument of the author is how the Asian American filmmaker use the community-focused marketing policy to extend their film market in American and gain the great success on generating large enough box offices.
The article uses the example of CAAM. (pp.5) On the day of their 20th year celebration, a national convening was held in San Francisco and attract those in the Asian American media community to discuss the state of film condition in the America. One consequence as well as the biggest success is to establish the “APA First Weekend Club”, which can inform people when the Asian American movie shall show in the cinema. It devotes a lot of value into maximizing the box offices and extending the film market for Asian Americans. This policy was encouraged by a lot of Asian American community.
Another important example is THE DEBUT. (pp.6) Since it used an almost exclusively grassroots, self-distribution strategy, it become the first success that show the economic and effective advantage of the strategy.
One key term I want to identify is the community-focused marketing. The Asian American’s film maker initially doesn’t have any advantage in US film market. However, it is also hard for them to enter the market. So, they try a different way is the grassroot revolution. It means they promote their movie by sending emails, making some activities in community and closing the distance between movie stars with audience. It takes less money than traditional promotion like TV ads but can have a more profitable value back like more fames and box offices.
In A Look Back at the Campaign: Asian American Political and Cultural Representation written by Konrad Ng / University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, the author talks about Asian American community achievement in politic area. Barack Obama, the first “Asian American president”, won the vote by 62% Asian American population. Not only film makers but also politician realize the growing importance of Asian American community. How they make Obama won vote is to use some Asian American medias as well as YouTube to attract others by Asian American special culture, which is becoming an absolutely necessary part of American society. They are using Asian Americans’ way to acquire stages as well as rights for Asian Americans by the Asian American medias. That is similar to how they promote Asian American movies, based on community and grassroot revolution.
Meanwhile, it has become the unique and most adaptive living ways of Asian American in much more other situations. And I believe, with the development of Asian American cultural, the community-based policy will become more complete to solve the conflict with traditional promotions like paper advertisements, since it may hard for filmmakers to convey the importance of their films. (pp.7)