Taiwanese Animators Take On Day Above Ground’s Racist, Misogynist ‘Asian Girlz’ Video

LA rock band Day Above Ground earned the instant scorn of the entire internet with the release of their sexually violent and viciously stereotyping Asian Girlz video. Next Media Animation, the Taiwanese computer animators whose quirky work came to prominence at the height of the Tiger Woods scandal, have produced a brutal response to the video that lays into “American racism,” and takes particular aim at Day Above Ground bassist Marcello Lalopua and Levy Tran, the model/actress who appeared in the video.

The clip features NMA’s trademark over-the-top visuals and wordplay, mocking the group’s lyrics with literal interpretations of things like “Ninja pussy” and “Shark soup,” and noting that “American racism knows no boundaries, and makes little sense.”

An earlier version of the video also featured a representation of bassist Marcello Lalopua, whom NMA calls “that Indonesian chump,” emerging from a building marked “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” That version was pulled in favor of the current one, which replaces Lalopua with a tap-dancing black minstrel in a top hat. NMA International Marketing Manager Julie Huang explains, in an email:

Our writer was referencing Bojangles as a Uncle Tom because Levy and the drummer are sells out to the Asian community.  The first version was an error on the animators’ part so we had to run the animation through again to get the joke back in.

She’s referring to Levy Tran, the model who appeared in the video, and has been tweeting apologies in response to the uproar:

Borrowed this. I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. All I know is that I’m a good daughter. I’m a good person who is kind to people. I work hard. I keep reminding myself to not listen to the negative comments people say about me. No one will ever really know who I am unless I let them in. Just because I have a few provocative photos does not make me any less of a person. I’m a woman. I am ok with my sexuality. Most of my post have to do with food and fitness. Which is what I’m about. It’s taken a long time to build confidence and I’m not giving it up. To those of you who are still struggling to block out the negativity- stay strong. People say the meanest things sometime.

I sincerely apologize to all who feels that I set Asian women back 50 yrs. I know I lost respect from a lot of ppl. It wasn’t my intention

It was meant to be light hearted and fun. Satirical. They are sweet boys and not at all racist. That is all I will say. I’m sorry once again

I’m so sorry once again to anyone who was offended by the video. It wasn’t at all the intention. I truly apologize

The controversy has also cost the band a string of high-profile shows at LA’s House of Blues, which canceled the group’s performances following a social media campaign.

Here’s NMA’s take on the Asian Girlz video:

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.