LeiLani Nishime

LeiLani Nishime is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Washington. She was born in Los Angeles where she first began her long-term, love/hate, relationship with popular culture. She writes about multiracial Asian Americans, science fiction, and comics and is the co-editor of East Main Street: Asian American Popular Culture. You can find more of her academic writing here
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Still from "Mele Murals."

Seattle Asian American Film Festival celebrates the spirit of resistance

by LeiLani Nishime
The Seattle Asian American Film Festival returns this week with a slate of films that defy stereotypes of a "model minority."
Feb 20, 2017

Your #OscarSoWhite relief: Seattle Asian American Film Festival 2016

by LeiLani Nishime
It's still #OscarSoWhite, with Hollywood changing at a glacial pace, but at the Northwest Film Forum next weekend, the future is already here.
Feb 12, 2016
Seattle Asian American Film Festival

What to watch at the Seattle Asian American Film Festival

by LeiLani Nishime
Hollywood may not have leading roles for Asian actors, but you can catch plenty at the Seattle Asian American Film Festival this year.
Feb 6, 2015
"1969, 2010, " Archival pigment print by Canh Nguyen. Part of the Under My Skin Exhibit at Wing Luke.

Is George Zimmerman white, Latino or mixed race? Depends on who you ask.

by LeiLani Nishime
It’s been nearly two weeks since the George Zimmerman verdict was handed down, and the conversations in my Facebook feed have shifted from outrage and sorrow to more nuanced discussions of the state of race in the U.S.
Aug 1, 2013

4 picks from The Seattle Asian American Film Festival

by LeiLani Nishime
I’m pretty used to complaining. And as a professor of Asian American media, believe me, I’ve got lots to complain about. From the underrepresentation of Asian Americans on film and television to the appalling stereotypes that often typify the rare times we do appear (see Two Broke Girls) to the persistence of yellowface as an […]
Jan 22, 2013