YELLOWCAUST Director Darrell Hamamoto Interviewed
By Amy Ikeda
Why did you structure your film with a seemingly distinct difference between the visual narrative and the elements composed of sound and the on screen crawl narrative?
I'm glad you pointed that out, because a surprisingly large number of people block out the other dimensions you identify and focus just on the hard-core action aspect.
I wanted to [create] pure unadulterated physical pleasure between a Yellow couple to cut against the grain of our common history rooted in U.S. imperialism and the systematic acts of genocide that have been inflicted upon us in order to sustain that social order. So that accounts for the narrative line, which I tried to make as lyrical as possible; again in the attempt to rub against the underlying violence done to Asian and Asian American people through 150 years of U.S. history. After the cries of the ghost of Asians and Asian Americans sacrificed in the “Yellocaust” subside, the music track becomes prayerful. I modeled this after John Coltrane’s "Alabama," which was inspired by the terror bombing of a Black church by White supremacists in which four girls were killed.
Note that when the narrative line takes an affirmative, regenerative, revolutionary turn at the end (after the "money shot"), the music becomes joyfully funky. Something along the lines of the James Brown experience Asian American O.G.s grew up with.
Now that you have had time to reflect on your first film making experience are you satisfied with the end result? Is there anything that you would have changed?
I am quite satisfied with the result. But for most viewers, it will take them several viewers to absorb the different visual and aural elements that compose the film; not to mention the history lessons I provide in the narrative. There is little that I would have changed other than having it shot in 35mm.
What changes have to occur in society in order for you to feel that you have accomplished what you set out to do when you filmed YELLOWCAUST?
Asian American and the Yellow world in general will have had to demolish the system of White supremacy both at home and abroad. This is already taking place in the sciences and technology. The empire of White supremacy has been hundreds of years in the making. It will take considerably less time to overcome it.
Layla (l) and Chun stay decent—but not for long—in Darryl Hamamoto’s YELLOWCAUST: A PATRIOT ACTSuppose you become the “Larry Flynt of Asian American porn” to dispel the desexualized stereotypes of Asian men in the media, yet these changes in society were still not taking place. Would you consider alternative ways to get your message across and how would you do so?
Money I earn with Asian American erotica a la Larry Flynt will be used to build an autonomous AA culture and society that will lead to political power and substantive equality. Once the bank is made, this wealth can be used to create a variety of AA institutions including a university, which would bring me full circle.
Do you think there are other problematic issues relating to the Asian American community that need to be addressed and do you plan to be an agent of change for those issues as well? And if so how would you go about doing so?
Problems and issues are one of the defining characteristics of human communities. We will tackle them all…. For now, I want to explore in greater depth the politics of sexuality with the intention of forcing Asian Americans to confront fundamental questions of their very being. A tall order to be sure. But that's why there are artist and intellectuals around.
More specifically, I'm working on literary, fiction while in Okinawa, Japan. It's the perfect vantage point in observing the global US empire since most of the island is colonized by American troops and their dependents. A nation, within a nation, within a nation. I am working with Okinawan intellectuals and artists on how to combine our talents in a global effort of challenging the system of US empire. I'm trying to devise a new vocabulary to describe and explain what is going on in the world today. Certainly, it's not classic colonialism we're talking about here. Something qualitatively new has occurred and it remains for the artists and intellectuals to begin articulating the contours and meaning of this regime. I will be experimenting with new literary forms to accommodate this sea-change. My efforts might turn out to be a disastrous failure. No matter, I'll keep plowing ahead just like the generations of Yellowz that preceded us.
