By Maurice Dwayne Smith
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/8/24 – If it weren’t enough that during the United States’ last 400 years, not only has slavery, racism, Asian internment camps, mass deportations, barely being destroyed by a monster pandemic from hell, it’s racial and social-economic and political systems warring against each other, as if lusting to bite each other’s heads off, and an almost daily deadly shooting barrage at schools, synagogues, mosques, concerts, including one that almost killed former President Trump, one would believe that the world is in the grasp of a vicious, unholy pregnancy, and in travails; in fact, one would lend an ear to an eerie shrill scream coming, shrieking from the dark wilderness, a darkness much like John the Baptist’s type, one beckoning out of the void—— or in this case an Asian writer’s named Dave Gibbons’s type of shadowy murkiness— Dave Gibbons book “The Shape of my Eyes” is a manuscript which has illuminated a trajectory, harnessed pain, shame and used it for strength; as such it does this by showing his childhood, fights against racism, pain and shame, and via humor he projects a very poignant sense of realism– a trajectory enabling, beaming one up like on Star Trek, to “see” , most importantly, to feel what life looks like through the eyes of an Asian.
In addition, Gibbons goes on to give one insight into a peculiar and specific type of racism– Asian racism. He even tells us that, as a kid, he loved tv and goes on to tell us how he loved Bruce Lee. He had his own particular little rogue bully that he envisioned, like Bruce Lee, kicking through a window. I got goosebumps with his hilarious funny bone smoothness as the spoke of the rapture and his intense fear of being left behind and burning. His vision of a Star- Wars- like- dynamic beaming people up by the thousands to heaven via the rapture. So, his analytics and his way of getting into the peculiar nature of racial marginalization which Asians are subjected to is very unique and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any writer do that before. Most people think that Asians are totally rich. The stereotype that agents are socially and economically superior, as well as intellectual brainiacs abound when sitcoms show Asians. Never is Asian Homelessness addressed in the media. H rather poignantly goes on to talk about his parents, miscegenation, and also the things that he found out after a DNA test shattered his view of himself and of his family. His very vulnerable way of speaking of his tasks and duties to try to help his mom, and the pain of his dad’s infidelity. He was ashamed of his mom’s drinking and also ashamed of his eyes aft the bullying of kids who called him racially vicious slurs. There is a lot that you’ll see in this book that you have ever seen any writer before speaking of because no Asian writer has spoken about their unique trajectory of racism. It’s always been black writers speaking of words, like coon, nigger, and one has probably heard so much of Mexican, Indian and other types of racism but Asian racism is like that pink elephant in the rice paddy or in the cotton field. I’ve never seen an Asian writer depicting the throes and mechanics and plight of Asian racism before.
In conclusion, Dave Gibbons, a well-respected spiritual leader, and a man whose opinion and guidance are greatly appreciated has created a masterpiece called, “The Shape of my Eyes”. His work with many influential people, as celebrities and upstanding professionals abounded last week, August 3, 2024, at Rideback Ranch in Little Filipino, in Los Angeles, ignited a rush to see him and support the launch of this book last week. People such as Jeezy, the billionaire rapper, Dan Lin, Chairman at Netflix and the late great Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant, flocked to hear his guidance. In fact, Dave said, “Kobe and I were about to do some creative work together, but his untimely death destroyed that. Kobe was becoming a better father, and a better person and that is what really inspired me most of that young man.”
