Gok Wan returns to his ancestral home to explore the largely unseen world of Chinese mass production, meeting the people working in the factories that supply the West.
He visits the village his father grew up in for the first time as part of a journey of discovery round a country that now produces one in every four man-made objects on the planet.
Gok goes to 'Jeans Town', 'Bra Town', the factory that makes London cabs, and 'Thames Town', as well as to ultra-modern Shanghai, where he meets a stylist pushing the boundaries in Chinese fashion.
Gok Wan Made In China Channel 4 8pm Wednesday 7th March 2012
Not content with calling Chinese 'Chinks' - CLICK HERE , if you missed his latest programme where the bumbling buffoon Gok Wan calls Chinese People 'Chinaman,' whilst his father calls himself yellow - WATCH IT HERE: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/gok-wan-made-in-china/4od#3298240
boring programme
ReplyDeleteJust watched up to 12:36 of the above channel 4 link couldnt be arsed to watch any more. Heres a few snippets:
ReplyDeleteTalks to his FOB dad in English not Chinese.
First stereotype reference 'chinese are bad drivers'
To a Chinese shopowner ( in cocky cheeky chappie accent): 'do you speak english?'
C4 in commissioning this has paid Gok to take the piss out . He tries to be more Chinese than he is,
Hapa having his cake and eat it too - taking a paid holiday to represent British Chinese but in fact takes the mick by being 'involved' in the culture but then constantly addressing the audience with chinese 'insight' mockery.
And he can get away with it because he's 'Gok'
@12:38 'Im just going to some shopping and theyre looking at me because im really weird!'
Yes Gok, its probably because you ARE.
IMO, Gok Wan did the right thing in the programme in terms of trying hard to get in touch with his ancestral roots in the village, he tried harder than a lot of white washed BBCs that I know who make no real attempt to get 'in touch' when they go to HK, but the bottomline is that no matter how hard Gok tries, he can't do it because he's not ethnic Chinese, but mixed race.
ReplyDeleteThe fact his father after all these years has never taken him to his ancestral home and would rather speak to him in terrible pidgin English than teach him how to speak Chinese shows what a pathetic weak FOB parent he is. He probably also thought he could have his cake and eat it... Discussed here...
http://bbczeitgeist.blogspot.com/2012/02/playcantonese_23.html
How can you call his father a 'weak FOB parent'? His father worked his ass off at his Chinese restaurant just to provide for his children. And, yes of course it is regrettable that Gok (who is supposed to 'represent' British Chinese) does not speak a Chinese language himself, but:
ReplyDelete1) Gok is only half Chinese - he has a white English mother (who mostly raised him as dad was at work all the time), also he would have been surrounded by white English relatives on his mother's side (Chinese relatives are mostly still in Asia, probably)
2) They were poor (council estate) so there was no TVB Europe via satellite (also no internet at that time, of course)
3) (Unfortunately) Many 'pure Chinese' BBCs don't speak a Chinese either. Britain is an English-speaking society - English language is in your face everywhere. Perhaps only in London can you experience "multilingual realism" on a daily basis (eg. Chinese-language supermarkets, Chinese-language hairdressers, Chinese-language dentists).
HBC also made a post about BBCs being 'expected to speak Chinese': http://bbczeitgeist.blogspot.com/2012/01/why-british-born-chinese-shouldnt-be.html
Live commentary:
04:10 - 'Modern day China'; video: clips of Hong Kong, hmm...
04:35 - 'It's huge economy is driven by its ability to copy foreign designs and mass produce them'. Actually it's more to do with cheap labour and mass manufacturing, not 'copying'.
10:10 - Cute moment where a worker sews 'Gok' on a piece of cloth for Gok. But, Gok says in English: 'thank you'. So, he didn't even bother learning how to say that in Chinese, then?
21:50 - 'Free speech...is not something that is encouraged'; video: shot of Hong Kong skyline......
25:00 - 'Ancestral ritual' turned into a 'big joke' in the style of 'Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'
29:25 - Gok complaining about 'no one speaking to him'...yeah because you are speaking in English.
31:29 - Gok on Thames Town (fake 'British' town): 'Why recreate someone else's heritage?' So true.
33:58 - On the London taxi factory: 'They've copied a British design and flogged it...' Actually, the factory was relocated from Britain to China.
45:10 - 'I've encountered a nation that places productivity and profits before people.' That's just capitalist industrialisation.
45:30 - "I've seen a glimpse of the China of the future: A confident, innovative and free society where ideas and individualism are cherished." At best, ignorant about Chinese culture, and naive about the Chinese communist party.
Verdict:
Never mind the fact that he cannot speak a Chinese language (somewhat forgiveable, see above), he did not even bother to learn a few simple phrases in Mandarin. How hard can it be? It's a matter of common courtesy. His attitude is that of an egotistical foreigner who expects everyone to speak to him in English. This is related to the fact that, in Britain, he is used to getting attention from people coming to speak to him - so of course he selfishly expects people in China to do the same.
He has clearly never read a book on modern Chinese history or Chinese economy and politics. He does not read a newspaper.
He laments that he is not any closer to understand what 'being Chinese' really means, but if his idea of 'finding out about the culture that shaped [him]' is touring bra factories and meeting up with a Chinese fashionista then he can't .
A dumbed-down programme largely about clothes (what else) posing as an 'informative' 'documentary' on China.
For an american Jew blog troll China-obsesssive you do try hard to impress people with your comprehensive copy and pasting dont you.
DeleteUnlike like Gok, who as a hapa tries to have his cake and eat it too unfortunately you will always be a white Jew blog troll with China-fetish.
Just because BBCs dont comment on here Ive no idea why BBCz is so laisse faire about allowing the likes of you to post on here. If It was me running this blog, id delete your comments in a heartbeat.
Gosh Alex, you're not usually this critical. No mandarin, however he did say some cantonese - bai san, although it was tonally incorrect, at least he knew what it meant. And also when meeting the factory workers he said kung hai fay choi! Was it even New Year though?! And was he even in a Cantonese speaking area? Funny.
DeleteDidn't the TVB dramas used to be on VHS? The restaurant staff used to illegally copy them and distribute them around the restaurants, that's how I managed to watch them when I was little.
HBC, Anyone can post here, its an open blog.
I thought i was jook sing but Gok is totally, his ignorance and lack of respect for "buy son" rituals and his inability to pronounce simple cantonese is of a tragic upbringing, I think his village is the NT maybe saigon somewhere where there are scattered hakka families residing in tofu houses. I agree a lot of BBCs have pathetic FOB uneducated parents, but at least I learnt to speak the lingo with proper accent and in regular contact with family members which is the vital connection of cultural linkage, understanding and identity. There is a superb phrase which means we are of the same family, say it to any hakka, chinese and you are usually greeted with a deep warmth. Gee gar yan or in canto jee gey yan. At the end of the programme he admits that he doesn't know what being dual race and made in china means, haha I am not surprised if you go round calling yourself chinky, dil.
ReplyDeleteSai kung you mean. He is hakka?
DeleteI think his father is at fault, if he knew his son was going to the village for the first time, the least he could have done was go with him, he has to introduce his son to people, that's his 'ying fun' as a father.
I have absolutely nothing positive to say about his father. He raised his son to be obese and gay, he failed to protect him from racism and bullying, he failed to teach him to speak Chinese, he failed to take him to his ancestral village once. In fact his father seems to have negligence stamped on his forehead.
yeah typos or freudian slip... saikung, I been thereabouts many times, may even rubbed shoulders with the "Wan" clan even Zeitgeist yourself LOL in which case i would offer a beer and a frank social chat, as you know it has a history of poor uneducated farm people who are bought up with no worldly education and skills other than a simplistic ethic to make money and work hard, so many FOBs are so misguided, thinking by coming to the west and starting a family cutting off their cultural roots is a great idea. Most HK people in similar circumstances don’t leave their family they get by fine with their delicious claypot rice meals lol, nor have any racism or identity issues BBCs have, they are just who they are, HK Chinese people accepted no questioned asked.
DeleteIt is also typical CH4 The Missing Chk type entertainment, so they going to make it over exotic, take the mick basically that here in UK people aren't like emotionless robots with free-speech, and that fashion stylists don basin haircuts.
Also Gok’s father married a someone of a different race which is fine as long as you take proper responsibility and can deal with these very complex consequences, you have created. Otherwise the kids suffer, read the grievances in the blogs.
sad thing is, even those FOBS who ARE educated, still have the same ethics. Isn't this basically 'The Chinese Dream?'
DeleteFOBS just dont know how good they have it until its gone.
DeleteFor those BBCS who think that Gok represents them, which basically is what he does with a name like Gok and looking mostly Chinese for a hapa, this is really bad news for BBCS who think they can project their ugly duckling fantasies onto this fat kid transformed into successful british chinese celeb .
ReplyDeleteInadvertantly it sends the message to BBCS that its okay to behave like him - crass, obnoxious, gay etc, casual racism towards Chinese, but seemingly looking for his culture at the same time, when his own dad sold out in the first place by giving birth to him - isnt it all like a pointless exercise? Its like BBC Alex trying to get in touch with his Chinese roots by copying from wiki to get credibility from BBCS when we all know he's a non-Chinese troll that likes to copy and paste on ethnic Chinese websites.
Yes i blame his sellout dad as well for raising him badly in terms of respect to Chinese culture, but once again Gok is a hapa so what do you expect. As a hapa with a Chinese name, or a 100% ethnic Chinese BBC with a british name, which one would you people really support?
He's not british chinese, he's a hapa so he cant 'sellout' because he IS a sellout. Not sure why people want to accept him and address him as a BBC when he isnt. Wish fulfilment? Or are some BBCs wannabe eurasian? I guess we are THAT desperate for someone to represent us - even a crap-talking gay hapa trying to get in touch with his Chinese roots on camera, whilst mocking Chinese culture ..even though his dad gave up long ago. I have no empathy him. You've seen his shows, we all know where he stands.
That BBCS so desperate for legitimisation in popular culture have to turn to this freak for aspirational value is brainwashing of the highest order. They are casting their aspirations on this hapa who as already said tries his best to get in touch with his roots but cant. And we feel sorry for him. And in doing so, it subliminally wants us to be eurasian. Its have your cake and eat it too but its done in a way that we have empathy for the celebrity HAPA because, yes we secretly want to be a freely expressive celeb as his. Gok wan is like the Obama to BBCS - like a distorted mirror represents all things to all people, and yet represents nothing
Thats why I refuse to watch anything this guy appears in. I dont need to see an illusion of BBC representation perverted before its even happened.Would rather have none. Its a stretch to say this but I blame Gok wan 's all things to all men as the blueprint for the modern mindset of BBCS. And the sad thing some BBCS would probably take that as a compliment.
He is British Chinese, British Chinese includes anyone of Chinese descent. i.e British born mixed race of Chinese descent, but not ethnic Chinese and not a BBC. It really goes back to the discussion on the link below...on inter racially married turtle Chinese fathers/mothers thinking they can have their cake and eat it by raising a mixed race child to be a Chinese child, it generally can't be done in the west.
Deletehttp://bbczeitgeist.blogspot.com/2012/02/playcantonese_23.html
Your other point has been discussed here -
BBC's have pretty much zero representation within the mainstream media, therefore no role models, so BBC's desperately seek representation from anyone with dark hair and squinty looking eyes even though they're not ethnic Chinese. If BBC's had representation, we wouldn't need to have a wasteful discussion on a Eurasian.
http://bbczeitgeist.blogspot.com/2011/03/mixed-race-chinese-those-of-chinese.html
DeleteI watched this program and thought it was a loads of bollocks. I never minded watching Gok before but I got really annoyed as he came across as an ignorant white English person. I suppose in a way he is and as he's mixed he can't even be called a banana. The longer I watched the program, the more i wanted to bitch slap him.
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteI made an earlier comment on a previous article about how BBC (as in British born, ethnically Chinese) only tend to last 1 or 2 generations at most before interbreeding, thus destroying their roots and confusing their sense of identity - this is what you have with mixed people like Gok Wan, the very fact that he's talking with "his people" shows he feels guilt on some part to identitfy with his roots, yet at the same time he's catering to a white audience - his other, "new" half - and so he has to appease them by appearing white. Only, his only experience of trying to fit in with whites is to insult Chinese.
ReplyDeleteYou get this a lot of with ethnic Chinese, pure bred or not, quite simply it is EXTREMELY RARE for someone with Chinese blood to stick up for that.... maybe that's why Chinese people are interbreeding with others, they have no pride in their identity. Compare this with blacks and asians, they always stick up for themselves - even on their own - when regarding race. That is why they still have a pure black or asian community, several generations old. Whereas ethnic Chinese must rely on new Chinese immigrants' kids to become BBC... only for them to lose that in a generation or two - and so the cycle repeats.
Most Chinese are too complacent to want anything more than security and privilege even at the cost of their own heritage. Until that changes, there will never be much cultural/political progress for British Chinese, or any overseas Chinese,if any, for that matter IMO. And for that reason hapa British Chinese will continue to be the default identity. BBCS are wannabe Eurasians. They want the privilege of being white whilst their Chinese heritage is only mentioned at dinner party conversation for a touch of the 'exotic'. And like another article that was referenced a while back says ' a culture that doesnt get developed is just ready for the museum'
DeleteThat's what I don't get - security comes WITHIN the community, not looking to a different race to interbreed with. Think about it - since the dawn of time, tribes group together for support and safety from neighbouring tribes - they don't go "in order to be safe we need to forget who we are and be like the neighbours" - the logic is ridiculous. And exclusively East Asian.
DeleteThis report was just released today
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17319136
70% of young asians - even the women, which suggests they do not feel trapped (or just well brought up by the parents) - want to live by "honour" - that usually means keeping with and sticking up for their community. Orientals are severely lacking in this regard - other races call us clever, but it's the asians who are doing it right - not only do some (indians) educated theirs well, but also RETAIN their identity and racial heritage.
Chinese parents seem to have abandoned all that (or are too weak in administering that with their children - I admit, even mine were rather liberal about it all - it took a this non stop racial abuse I get every day for me to really look within the community, not whites) in sole pursuit of "education". That is not being clever, that is having tunnel vision.
And the results are for all to see.
Well bro. I cant answer you why we are like this. I do sense that the younger genertaion of BBCS like the ones sitting behind me in the restaurant today have a sense of pride and wanting to connect, but its feint and obscured by the BS that is modernism, post modernism and technology that simple principle is obscured IMO.
DeleteI mentioned on an article ages ago about a new BBC mindset. But noone seems to have taken up the hint. Its just still me and BBCz toiling away getting BS on facebook by sellouts and only the handful like yourself, and a few anonymous regulars who actually care but still we need to take things seriously otherwise its just pumping out more articles ad infinatum.
If you seriously want to support us, send BBCz an email, whilst its appreciated with the comments and the fun and games, it gets a bit long in the tooth going around in circles barking the same tune and people voice their concern but noone wants to put forth an article or suggest more solidarity than an opinion, which whilst is appreciated, just goes around in circles after a while.
If theres anything you think you can do ,any ideas, just shoot BBCz an email, anything from approaching nat wei to starting a channel, to meeting up, or something anything. Because we are just two bloggers on here. And trying to lead the way, give bbcs a voice, fight back white trolls, self promoting hapas, there has to be many more BBCs that care about BBC issues, surely.
If we dont, then itll be like your own situation, racial abuse non stop until you figure things out yourself. why the hell should every chinese go through this ? Its just a waste of time. Anyway I wont go on. Send him an email if you can maybe we can all meet up or something.
make some posters/ cards - hand them out to other Chinese you see
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I disagree with a lot of the comments made here about Gok Wan. Especially after seeing his cookery show, I have more respect for him. He has displayed signs that he did take on this Chinese side, and a side that the public never got to see until now. I have heard a lot of people saying it's scripted and coached, so therefore all the bits between cooking are fake and not really him speaking.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I disagree with that. A lot of the comments made including rice washing grading to the person in life are part of Chinese culture. Never saying no to your parents intrinsically part of Chinese culture. Dare I say, he is playing down the fact that he can't speak the language. I can say, Cantonese is one of the campest dialects going, and it suits Goks mannerisms down to the ground.
I understand how BBC males might find him quite tragic, but he is probably more connected with his Chinese side than a fully ethnic Chinese. That can't be bad. SF.
Read this too:
Deletehttp://bbczeitgeist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/goks-teens-naked-truth.html
I did see that thread very early on. My take is simple. It's wrong and he was very mis-guided to use such a derogetory term. Of course, many look to the black culture borrowed from the Americans when they started to 'claim' the word nigger and use it as a way to make mainly the white people embarrassed. I believe that Gok Wan tried to do that in his northern humour kind of way, but as far as I'm concerned, it's a step too far.
ReplyDeleteI don't follow celebs like him on Twitter, so can't say whether he uses such words now, but I sincerely hope not. It will only be hijacked by a newer and younger generation who think it's funny to use such an offensive word.
As for the reasons for Gok Wan using such a word, it's quite simple. In being able to do that, he considers himself more Chinese than mixed race, and I believe he did that because he was bullied and suffered immensely when growing up, and it's through the cruelty, can he develop such crudeness and brash attitudes. I don't like his brashness myself, but maybe, he had to go over-the-top in life to fight for himself, and the reason he uses such words shows he wants to claim that word for himself. It could be a coping mechinism, but a dangerous game to play. SF.
nope he uses "race" card, for himself and for its all business, its not real it's all unfinished stage school FAKE about himself and for himself.
DeleteWhy would he refer people from China as "short" to Jonathan Ross or lower himself to Geri Halliway as her chinky friend on his previous crap fashion TV series. The very same words uttered to a chinese victim of crime who had a violent end.
I don't think he is actually confident, but insecure or well dressed either.
He is basically being self derorgatory to himself and his race, to appease the white majority.
DeleteNo other race does that.... would a black guy in a sea of white folk say "Yeah, I'm his nigger friend"....?
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ReplyDeleteBBCZeitgeist and happybritishchinese,
ReplyDeleteI hate to say this but
you're both right to attack Gok Wan
He is worst ambassador for any one of the ethnic minorities Britain has
If the BBC community made a petition that allowed other ethnic groups to sign their signature towards this:
[In which the petition would be: "Ban Gok Wan from having any sort of a media career whatever (to the point where his face and name becomes censored in future media publications)]
The BBC community would free itself of a few jokes white Brits hacve chucked at them in years gone past relating to Gok
And some respect might start appearing
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