| Who or What is Chonk Moonhunter? |
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| Chonk Moonhunter. The words in the name derive from "Chonk", a term created by poets Curtis Choy and George Leong in San Francisco in 1970 to self-define (in the manner of "Chicano" ) that which was "Chinese-American", and to escape an imposed hyphenation/definition imposed by the lackeys, compradors, and apologists of the power structure. |
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| "Moonhunter" is a component of Iron Moonhunter, the legendary Chinaman-built railroad created from stolen Central Pacific Railroad parts that would take them home to China. This is a story unearthed and promulgated by author Frank Chin, and relayed as oral history until Kathleen Chang's interpretation in book form in 1974. |
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| Chonk Moonhunter began with the intention of creating Asian American works that would record our history and define our identity. This came on the coattails of the civil rights movement spearheaded by blacks, agricultural reforms led by chicanos and Pilipinos, and the anti-Vietnam War movement. We produced segments for the Dupont Guy radio show on KPFA and KFRC, aided in the construction of a radio studio at Chinese For Affirmative Action, produced the first Asian American Film Festival, "Screaming Yellow Hordes", in 1977. Curtis Choy designed and built a sound recording/film editing facility in Oakland to service Chonk Moonhunter projects, but also took in commerical clients. Dupont Guy: The Schiz of Grant Avenue received the documentary award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (yeah, that Academy). |
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| illus by Curtis Choy |
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| The Fall of the I-Hotel has won numerous festival prizes when released, but its lasting legacy is its continuous use in Asian American Studies classes. Unfortunately, to this present day, banks and private investors do not see these themes as sufficiently universal to produce revenue, and thus, do not make the monetary commitments necessary to produce the work. As always, the real work is done ad hoc and guerilla-style. Chonk Moonhunter, after completing The Fall of the I-Hotel, was obliged to go on a 20 year hiatus from its own work, while eking a livelihood by serving commercial documentary and feature projects. In the craft of location sound recording, Curtis Choy has continued to aid other Asian American projects (Chan is Missing, The Joy Luck Club, Three Seasons, Better Luck Tomorrow, American Fusion, Finishing The Game...) |
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| Nancy Wong photo |
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| Cinema verite is the truth told at 24 frames per second --- some French guy |
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| No matter what anyone else says, the very first Asian American Film Festival in history was created by Chonk Moonhunter. |
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| illus. by Leland Wong |
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| Thank you for bothering to make it this far down the page... here's free admission to view art you'll never see in a museum or commercial gallery... GO |
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