The Melting Blog

A Respite

The weary (that's me) is finally seeking some rest. I'm off to that Pacific Rim gem of a city north of the border -- Vancouver -- for the remainder of the week. TMB will resume next Monday. I hope to come back reinvigorated and will post up a frenzy upon return. Peace out.

Demography Is Destiny

Hark there! Here's a glimpse into our not-to-distant geo-demographic future and why the United States, more so than any of our first-world industrialized peers, is poised to thrive deep into the century ahead:

While the world's population is expected to increase by almost 50 percent by 2050, Japan could lose 20 percent of its population over the next half-century, according to data released Tuesday by the private Population Reference Bureau.

Russia's population is expected to decline by 17 percent, and Germany's by 9 percent.

The United States is the biggest exception among industrialized countries, with its population expected to rise by 43 percent from 293 million now to 420 million at mid-century.

Sam Huntington and Patrick Buchanan cover your ears: the reason America doesn't face the same population malaise experienced by greater parts of Western Europe, Japan, and Russia is because of that storied American bedrock-- immigration.

While the United States, like other developed nations, has an increasing number of older residents, the U.S. population is expected to keep growing in large part because of immigration.

Some European countries have considered loosening immigration curbs as a way to help fill shortages for highly skilled workers and to build a tax base to replace dwindling funds for programs for the aged.

Immigration is something that other developed countries don't have enough of, but now say they want. Despite nativist blubbering over how it fundamentally threatens the national character of the United States, blah, blah, blah, immigration has always been a rich source of strength for the country, and recent geo-political trends have done nothing to diminish many people's desire around the world to uproot themselves from their home countries and make life anew here.

This isn't patriotic jingoism, it's just a matter of fact. Herman Melville once wrote, "You cannot spill the a drop of American blood without spilling the blood of the whole world." At no point in history is that more true than today. Now if we could only get our leaders and institutions to acknowledge and reflect this...

The Emerging Democratic Majority

With November 2 right around the corner and the Presidential race still too close to call, MTV today announced the launch of Voto Latino™ in an effort to mobilize the nation's Latino youth. The bilingual campaign, part of MTV's "Choose or Lose" initiative, and launched with the support of celebrities Rosario Dawson and Fat Joe, will be comprised of PSA spots encouraging second generation Latinos to vote in the upcoming elections:

According to Phil Colón, co-founder and interim executive director, the campaign is about “bringing Latino youth together through a shared philosophy of fair representation in our country’s political process. It means putting aside nationality differences and forging a common U.S. Latino identity and political agenda. Our goal this year is to help mobilize one million young Latinos to vote by complementing the on-the-ground efforts of Latino and other youth-focused organizations with on-air and online messaging that speaks directly to second-generation Latinos. Young Latinos will help decide this presidential election.”

You can see Rosario Dawson's PSA spot here.

So how does the 2004 Presidential Horse Race stack up among ethnic voters right now? Here are a few updates gathered from the latest research polls around the country:

THE HISPANIC VOTE

Among likely Latino voters, Kerry leads over Bush about 2 to 1 -- 60% to 30% to be precise. Latinos may be 13 percent of the country, but they comprise only 5 to 6 percent of the national electorate. Nevertheless, they're well represented in key swing states in the Southwest, and it's all about capturing those almighty electoral college votes there. Both parties are lobbying hard for the Hispanic vote in these battleground areas. For Republicans, it's about getting just enough support to tilt the scale of those states -- New Mexico, Arizona, Florida (remember them?) -- Red. Dubya did successfully manage to do that back in 2000, but I doubt he'll pull it off this time around. (Source: Univision/Tomas Rivera/Washington Post poll)

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTE

Black voters -- 10% of the electorate -- are lopsidedly in favor of Kerry over Bush, about 8 to 1. Hardly surprising, and many of these voters are still bitter about the Florida 2000 controversy. God bless 'em. Despite the one-sided match up here, the Bush campaign is making a big push to gain at least a few of their votes, esp. in key battleground states like Ohio and Michigan. Again, it's for purposes of picking up just enough to tip the ever-so-delicate balance of these states in their favor. I'll tell you one thing, Alan Keyes ain't helping their cause. (Source: BET/CBS poll)

THE AMERICAN JEWISH VOTE

The Jewish vote is at more than 3 to 1 -- 75% to 22% -- in favor of Kerry. Pretty much the same as 2000, solidly in the Dems corner. (Source: National Jewish Democratic Council)

THE ASIAN AMERICAN VOTE

Sadly, no polling data is available on the Asian American vote (about 2 to 2.4% of the total electorate; 4.5% of the U.S. population). Although this is a group that is twice the size of the U.S. Jewish population, there's considerably lower voter participation rates for a number of reasons. While Asian American voter participation rates are roughly equivalent to the proportional levels of Latinos, most Asian Americans do not reside in critical battleground states (California, New York, and Hawaii are decidedly Blue). Plus, I'm certain the linguistic diversity of this population scares away pollers. (Next time, hire us! -- ed) So what does this mean? Basically, a lack of political clout as a voting bloc, but as a potential viable resource to tap into for campaign fundraising (which I know through direct sources John Edwards has effectively courted fer sure).

Nevertheless, I'm going to use the Dad Meter here to gauge the temperature swing of the Asian vote: My pops has voted Republican as far back as I can remember (he came here in 1963). This year, however, he's breaking ranks for the first time and casting his lot with Kerry. My pops *disdains* Bush. In 2000, the Asian American vote went 55% to 41% in favor of the Dems -- generally reflecting an upward trend for Democrats over the past several election seasons. Thus, expect over 60 percent support this time around. You heard it here first.

On the other hand, my moms -- a registered Democrat all her life -- is voting Elephant this November. So go figure.

THE U.S. MUSLIM VOTE

Someone has actually tracked the U.S. Muslim vote believe it or not. American Muslim voters -- who gave Bush 55% of their vote 2000 -- say they are giving 54% of their votes to Kerry this time around, and an astonishing 26% to Nader. Only 3% support Bush this time around. An almost unheard of turnaround if you ask me. (Source: Council of American-Islamic Relations)

All Blinged Out

I was struck by these lines from Oliver Wang's recent piece on the 25th anniversary of "Rapper's Delight":

The thing is, hip-hop isn't the best-kept secret anymore. It doesn't need another canon erected in its honor. People used to backlash against rap music because it upset the status quo, but these days people rail against it because it's become the status quo.

How true, how true. To wit:

* According to this Time magazine article Chrysler's Bling King, the new 300C is now the de facto ride of the hip hop generation: "The sedan, which went on sale in the spring, is the hottest iron out of Chrysler in a generation. Beefy, brash, styled like a gangstermobile, it is resonating with urban hipsters, popping up in music videos and car-makeover magazines, tricked out with big wheels, lowered suspensions and interiors with mini-bars and reclining seats. Shaq owns one; so does Snoop Dogg."

* There's more to this story. When the Chrysler 300C first came out, Snoop actually offered to be the official hip hop spokesperson of the vehicle (in a viral marketing sense). Reportedly, he placed an immediate call to Chrysler's CEO. The request went something like this: "What I gotta’ do to get that brand new 300 up outta’ you? If you want this car to blow, give it to me. Get back in contact with my nephew so he can make it happen, then it’s official like a referee with a whistle.” Fo' shizzle.

* But hip hop isn't just moving the needle for American vehicles, it's used to sell everything now. Many of hip hop's top players are actually behind the start-up of advertising and marketing agencies according to Hip Hop's Ad Men in this past week's Times.

* Not only was P.Diddy all over last month's DNC ("Vote or Die, baby"), further proof of hip hop's mainstream consciousness is this form of Big Pimpin' philanthropy, courtesy of Nelly's Pimp Juice.

* Lastly, there's this new novel -- from one Erica Kennedy -- which satirizes the hip hop world. It's called -- what else? -- "Bling" (found at Mixed Media Watch)

The City of Angels (updated)

Is the east coast media elite finally shedding its west coast bias? It's like all of a sudden, they're casting their sights westward and discovering Los Angeles -- only the second largest metropolitan region in the U.S. mind you -- for the very first time. And they're like -- whoa! -- seeing a unique patchwork of diversity. For instance, last Sunday, the New York Times did this lengthy expose on L.A.'s vibrant Koreatown district as if it's revitalization was just a recent phenomenon (you've been scooped, folks, Le Prive is *so* played out). Until this piece, they probably wrote off K-Town after the 1992 riots as a hotbed of simmering racial tensions.

So it's a good thing that National Public Radio opened up a west coast affiliate last year. Since NPR West opened, their coverage of this corner of the country has improved exponentially. For instance, NPR's Morning Edition this week is airing daily segments on the diverse ethnic quilt that comprises the City of (multi-hued) Angels. Here's a brief rundown (with excerpts) so far:

MONDAY - Inside the Melting Pot of L.A. County

"Speaking several languages is pretty much par for the course in this area (Artesia, CA). According to the US Census Bureau, of the top 40 languages spoken in this country, 39 of them can be heard in Artesia and surrounding cities in LA County. That makes this area one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the country."

TUESDAY - Armenian Teens A Touchpoint for L.A.'s Immigrant Issues

"The school opened almost 30 years ago when the Armenian population of Glendale started to grow. In the late 1970s, war broke out in Lebanon and Iran, and the Armenians from the Middle East flooded into Los Angeles. Today's immigrants come mostly from the Republic of Armenia. They're looking for economic opportunities they can't find in the chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet occupation. At Chamlian, Armenian communities that were separated for decades, even centuries, are reunited for the first time. Megan Megasarian(ph) is part of Chamlian's eighth-grade class. Her parents came from Iran. After hearing their story, she says she appreciates the freedoms of America."

WEDNESDAY - Ideology Shifts Among California's Vietnamese Immigrants

"The 23-year-old No recently moved back to Little Saigon after graduating from college. She works for Planned Parenthood and writes a column in the Viet Weekly newspaper. Like Vu Nguyen, she says communism is not her issue. As one of the hosts of a local open mike night for poets and musicians, she says she's putting her energy into creating a thriving Little Saigon.

MS. NO: For the young people who are just growing up and this is the only thing they know, there is a gap. I think that young people need to realize that they need to have a vision of the community, too.

Taylor No says Little Saigon is now reinventing itself, somewhere between an anti-Communist enclave and an assimilated Vietnamese-American suburb."

THURSDAY - Tempo Bar: A Hot Spot for L.A. Israelis

JACK: I come into Tempo since it was--conception. It was that far back.

"1977, to be exact. Years before that, in the early 1940s, Jack's father moved to Israel from Greece to help create the first Jewish state. In 1957, less than 10 years after Israel achieved statehood, Jack took off. He was looking for a wife and a job. He found them and he fell in love with something else: America. Now he's an American citizen. He says he still has feelings for Israel, but he can't love a place so far away."

And for all you NPR junkies who just can't get enough of this, here's a few more links to other similar stories from the past couple weeks. Stay tuned for tomorrow!

UPDATE: Am I prescient or what? Today's NPR segment on Los Angeles is about none other than the now officially overexposed K-Town.

Univision's Head Gringo In Charge

The forthcoming Business Week features an intriguing profile on Univision's head honcho, the enigmatic Jerry Perenchio. The guy may be media-averse, with a ruthless reputation, but you can't fault his business instincts:

In an era of publicity-courting media moguls such as Rupert Murdoch and Sumner M. Redstone, the self-possessed Andrew Jerrold Perenchio quietly runs what may be one of the more valuable pieces of media real estate in the business. Univision Communications Inc. (UVN ), with two broadcast networks, a cable channel, a radio network, and three music labels, is the biggest player in the fast-growing Hispanic market, which today includes one in every seven Americans. Perenchio made an early bet on what seemed like a niche market by buying five TV stations and a struggling Hispanic network. Today that niche has exploded into a demographic phenomenon: Univision draws more young viewers in prime time than MTV and more men than ESPN, according to Nielsen. And in Hispanic-rich markets such as Los Angeles, Miami, and Phoenix, it often beats English-language rivals to snare the younger viewers advertisers crave.

While Perenchio refused to be interviewed for the article (no surprise there), the piece does offer some fascinating insights into the way he rules Univision -- which is also indicative of Univision's reputation and public persona (hint: no one likes 'em very much, but advertisers can't afford not to deal with the #1 Spanish-language network in the nation if they want to reach the Hispanic market).

For all of Univision's success, though, few folks really know what's on Perenchio's mind. Perhaps more than any other media company, Univision reflects the secretive, often combative personality of its boss. The onetime college boxer was well into his 60s when he wrestled a business partner on a snowy sidewalk outside a Manhattan restaurant over who got to pick up the check. At Univision, Perenchio rules with a 20-point manifesto that demands that employees think big, avoid mistakes, practice teamwork, and "hire people smarter and better than you." The No. 1 rule: "Stay clear of the press. Stay out of the spotlight. It fades your suit. Only promote the brands."

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In building Univision over the past 12 years, however, Perenchio hasn't always been so genteel. Univision executives, say those who deal with them, push advertisers to pay hefty rates and have tried unsuccessfully to require them to buy ads on the two-year-old Telefutura network and Galavision cable channel along with Univision spots. "They went at it very aggressively and it ruffled a lot of feathers," says Jessica Pantanini, vice-president of media-buying firm Bromley Interlink, which spends $60 million a year on Univision. The company declined comment.
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Univision's hardball tactics extend to just about everyone the company does business with, say several sources. In 2000, the company withstood a 32-day hunger strike by employees at its Fresno TV station, who claimed they were paid less than their English-speaking counterparts. But starving workers were too much of a black eye even for Perenchio. Univision eventually increased the employees' pay. Today, the company, which says about 10% of its 4,300 employees are unionized, is negotiating with the unions at its New York and Los Angeles stations. "They're probably one of the worst employers we ever have to deal with," says Dan Mahoney, assistant to the president of the National Association of Broadcast Employees & Technicians.

As I've said before, Univision's autocratic corporate style and personality starts at the top. It's amazing how adept their rank-and-file managers are in adopting their leader's traits.

Click here for the whole unvarnished thing. Spotted at the invaluable L.A. Observed.

Boba-Mania

NPR is doing daily segments on immigrant entrepreneurs this week and decided to examine the phenomenon of "bubble tea", or boba, in yesterday's segment. If you don't live in proximity to an Asian community, you probably don't know about the fad: "boba" (which means "nipple" in Chinese) are these chewy, black, gelatinous tapioca balls that some enterprising person in Taiwan saw fit to put into flavored iced beverages (mostly sweetened tea). To consume them, you have to suck 'em up from your drink using a fat, wide straw. Crazy, I know -- it's the drink that eats like a meal (albeit, a meal of wet gummy bears).

The novelty for me lasted about a month. Afterwards, I started ordering the drinks sans balls. The little suckers are actually heavy and filling. Given the fact that boba is now on the downward trend over the past few years, you gotta wonder if NPR just simply dug up a story that never ran from their archives.

True Story: a good friend of mine who runs his own food packaging business was approached by the primary manufacturer of 'boba' in Taiwan to become the sole U.S. distributor of this stuff six, seven years back. At the time, he thought the notion was complete ludicrous: You put these bulbous, dark creatures into a cold drink? You suck 'em up through multi-pastel colored fat straws? You also gotta import these crazy fat straws from Taiwan (cuz they're not made in the U.S.)? No freaking way!

Now that boba tea stands have become ubiquitous across Asian American communities and have saturated the west coast landscape, he's been forever kicking himself.

(Brought to my attention by Juan Tornoe of Hispanic Trending)

Americanizing Telenovelas... With Mexican Spanish?

Since Telemundo -- the nation's second largest Spanish-language broadcaster -- was purchased by NBC back in 2002, it has consistently gotten pummeled in the ratings by Hispanic media's top dog: Univision. But as this fall approaches, they've managed to close Univision's gigantic lead. What's their key? For one, they're now standardizing all their broadcasts (including telenovelas) to ensure everyone speaks the same diction of Mexican Spanish, according to this Washington Post report:

For the past year, Telemundo has been employing on-set dialogue coaches to "neutralize" the many national and regional Spanish accents of the network's actors. The network is aiming for the Spanish equivalent of the English-speaking local news broadcaster sound -- a well-paced, accent-free patter that's pretty much the same, whether the anchors work in New York, Ohio or Los Angeles.

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Mexican Spanish, Telemundo says, hits a middle ground between Colombian Spanish, which the network considers too fast and terse, and some Caribbean accents that are too slow and imprecise. Telemundo executives say Mexican Spanish is the broadest-appeal, easiest-to-understand Spanish -- if Telemundo's coaches can iron out its typical sing-song cadence. In other words, it becomes the Nebraskan of Spanish.

This is a tricky strategy. For instance, my girlfriend -- who's half-Colombian -- speaks a Castilian strain of Spanish and finds it difficult to understand Mexican Spanish. But she doesn't watch a lick of Spanish-language TV, so she's not the audience. However, she would agree with the following sentiments:

The strategy has brought criticism from some quarters, such as Colombian television and cultural critics, who fault Telemundo for "Mexicanizing" the accents of its Colombian actors. Many Colombians believe their Spanish to be the purest spoken.

Damn purists. Nevertheless, this move by Telemundo actually reflects something American in its business approach -- not that this will placate any of the culture guardians. To boot:

McNamara disagrees, offering a different analogy. "It's more the Americanization" of telenovelas. Which may be even worse for guardians of Hispanic culture, who fear that the United States-fueled homogeneity in media will eradicate national and cultural identities. Telemundo itself is owned by an American business icon -- General Electric Co., owners of NBC Universal Inc., which has overseen Telemundo since the media giant purchased it in 2002.

Check out the entire read. (registration required, but it's free)

Preserving Nisei in a Hapa Future

While the rest of the Asian American population continues to soar, Japanese Americans are actually declining in numbers. But their dwindling numbers haven't prevented younger generations of Japanese Americans (now well into their 5th generation) from attempting to retain elements of their cultural heritage. From the NYTimes:

"If people in my generation don't get involved, who's going to take over?'' she asked.

Ms. Cherry's transformation from typical American teenager to ethnic ambassador is a statement about how young Japanese-Americans have struggled to hold onto an identity of their own. Shrinking population numbers, high intermarriage rates and the legacy of the rush to assimilate after the World War II internment experience created an uncertain cultural path for the sansei (third generation) yonsei (fourth) and gosei (fifth).

Ms. Cherry is among a minority awakening to an unsettling realization - it is up to them to fight the forces of cultural extinction, even if most of them may not speak Japanese, or have visited Japan or, increasingly, even look Japanese.

This is something we ethnic marketers like to call "retro-acculturation". But retro-acculturation only goes so far; it's never as powerful as the original forces of acculturation that accompany immigrant experiences (and those of their offspring).

One of the beautiful things about living in our so-called nation of immigrants, post-sixties, is that there is far greater acceptance for individuals to embrace a hyphenated identity today. However, while I think the notion of holding onto remnants in one's heritage is commendable -- it will always be a struggle based on cultural hindsight, and an imperfect recollection of an unlived past.

Even now, distinct expressions of Japanese American identity would be practically unrecognizable to most people in Japan today, and many Japanese natives would most likely dismiss Nisei festivals and such as the follys of 'gaijin'. Nevertheless, outward expressions of cultural pride and celebrations of cultural heritage prevail despite the odds:

The number of Americans who identify themselves as Japanese declined to 796,700 in the 2000 census, from 847,562 in 1990, partly because of low immigration and birth rates. The wave of new immigrants from other parts of Asia, including China, South Korea and the Philippines, now dwarfs Japanese-Americans, who once made up the largest Asian group in the United States.

The trends have left some Japanese-Americans feeling as if they are disappearing.

Although Buddhist temples, sports leagues and families sustain the ethnicity, many longtime Japanese-American organizations and institutions are losing members or eroding. Only three Japantowns are left in California, where there had once been dozens.

And "outmarriage,'' mostly to whites and other Asians, is diluting the ethnicity to the point that Larry Hajime Shinagawa, director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity at Ithaca College in New York, said most Japanese-Americans face only two directions - assimilating into "whiteness'' or adopting a "pan-Asian'' identity.

How do you ensure your ethnic roots survive, when a growing number of descendants now possess dual (or more) cultural heritages? Well, you retro-acculturate them of course!

In their movement to maintain their ethnicity, Japanese-Americans have become more accepting of those with partial Japanese ancestry, known as hapas, or part Asian.

Eric Tate, a 34-year-old lawyer in San Jose whose mother is Japanese and father African-American, said he co-founded one of the first hapa student groups in the early 1990's as a student at the University of California, Berkeley in response to feeling unwelcome by Japanese-American groups and sports leagues.

Mr. Tate said the tide had turned. Along with those who identified themselves as Japanese in the 2000 census were more than 350,000 who cited Japanese and other backgrounds, the highest rate of multi-ethnic identification of any Asian group.

"There's been a shift in paradigms from 'Oh, outmarriage is a problem' to 'Aw, shucks, we have to make these people embrace the culture because there won't be anybody left to embrace it,' '' Mr. Tate said.

People, this is really nothing new -- it's as American as ice cream moichi, er, apple pie. To paraphrase Obama, in no other country is this story possible. Read the whole thing as they say.