AANHPI's (Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander) presence has always been important in the domain of art—whether it be music, literature, or any other type of entertainment. Many who belong to this identity find art to be a wonderful vehicle of expressing their experiences and sharing what they have gone through. AANHPI heritage is also nationally celebrated through the White House Initiative on AANHPI and AANHPI month, which is in May, encouraging the population to make themselves aware of the importance of the community and their experiences. To celebrate the wonderful presence and art of the AANHPI identity, we have decided to ask you, the student body, to talk to us about various AANHPI artists that you appreciate.
An AANHPI actress that I personally appreciate a lot is Kelly Marie Tran, known for her role as Rose Tico in the Star Wars franchise. While born and raised in the United States, her parents were from Vietnam, having immigrated to the US as refugees because of the Vietnam War. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in Communication and went on to become an actress in 2011. In 2022, she did an interview with Star Wars called, “‘Imagine Yourself Doing Impossible Things’: A Conversation with Kelly Marie Tran for AANHPI Heritage Month.” In the discussion, Tran brought up how she struggled to find representation in her search for a role. She says, “The first agent I had was a commercial agent, and he was awesome. He was Asian, and honestly, he told me at the meeting, ‘You don't have a lot of experience but I want to take a chance on you because I know a lot of people don't take chances on Asian people,’ and I was like, ‘Thank you.’” She also discussed the joys of being the first Asian lead in the Star Wars franchise, saying, “ The first emotion that I felt—and I try to remind myself of this—was just pure joy and pure ecstasy. [...] It’s the same thing that I think happened for my parents where something in our brains just changed, when it was suddenly the idea that impossible things were possible and that there’s room for everyone. Like that just changes you as a human being.”
An AANHPI artist that a student enthusiastically talked about was Beabadoobee, also known as Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus. Beatrice was born in the Philippines but grew up in England. She later went on to create music, starting her career in 2017 at the age of 17. Vivienne Lupu (sophomore, social work) discusses, “I think that her Filipino background has influenced her music in some small ways. She recently visited her hometown back in the Philippines where she was able to record a music video for her newest song ‘Glue Song’ which went viral on TikTok.” In an interview with People magazine, Bea opened up about Filipino representation, saying, “It's almost like it's the same feeling I get when a little Filipino girl comes up to me and is like ‘I've never seen anyone like me up on stage with an electric guitar.’ I'm like, ‘This is totally what I needed.’ And it's so awesome to be that person for someone.” Her happiness at the opportunity to be someone to help others realize that it is possible to do what one wants with any identity speaks of the importance of inclusion. Vivienne ended with, “I think her art is impacted by adding small little hues of her culture here and there because I think she likes to incorporate it as much as she can.”
Valerie Akinyi (senior, political science) expressed great admiration and appreciation for two personalities: Chanel Miller and Amanda Nguyen. Chanel Miller is an American writer and artist, known mostly for her memoir “My Name: A Memoir,” which discussed her case of sexual assault. Amanda Nguyen is the founder and CEO of the non-profit civil rights organization Rise. She was also involved in proposing and drafting the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act in 2016. Valerie commented, “They are Asian women which means that they've experienced a certain type of experience that informed them of whether they should or should not speak up about what happened to them.” Both of them ended up speaking up about their abuse, which impacted the world in a positive way, thanks to the courage of these strong women.
Nailea Soto (sophomore, global studies) talked to me about Bruno Mars, a popular singer of Hawaiian, Filipino, and Puerto Rican origins. She said, “I really appreciate his artistic work, the way he expresses himself artistically. I think that he has influenced a lot of our generation because of his music.” When rumors emerged that he adopted an Americanized name instead of his birth name, he replied, “I never once said I changed my last name to hide the fact that I’m Puerto Rican. Why would I say that? Who are you fooling? And why would anyone say that? That’s so insulting to me, to my family. That’s ridiculous. My last name is Hernandez.” He embraces his heritage and is proud to show it.
Looking at all these strong artists, whatever their art may be, one can only feel a sense of pride and astonishment. When all odds are against you, stories of success serve as a powerful drive to reach for more, and one can never be thankful enough for the strength and courage of these individuals. Remember this as you go into finals week: you guys got this! :)
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The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.