As I sat in the Levin Ballroom on Sunday night awaiting the arrival of the Asian-American filmmaking group Wong Fu Productions, I couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. With a minority group that has so much going for it (they successfully run their own YouTube channel and production company while simultaneously creating films and music videos), Wong Fu has a tremendously proud Asian fan base; knowing this, it was no wonder that I was one of the few non-Asian faces in the crowd. Though Wong Fu is extremely successful, it consists of only three members: Philip Wang, Wesley Chan and Ted Fu. The trio met when they were in their third year of college at the University of California, San Diego, and though they enjoyed posting videos online for fun, they had no serious intention of pursuing a career in film. However, once their films began to circulate and gain popularity throughout college campuses, what started out as an entertaining hobby evolved into a potentially groundbreaking new business. In an interview with the Justice, Wang explained, "When we were in school it was very casual; the group started simply because it was fun. But when we graduated, we saw how much support we had, and we thought this is something really special, and we can't just leave it; we have to see how far we can take it." As evidenced by their successful production company and a room full of beaming Brandeis students, the members of Wong Fu were right to stick with their passion.

Wong Fu spent half of the night speaking about representations of Asian Americans in the media and half of the night showing the audience footage from their new videos. Though they didn't have the most electrifying stage presence, Wong Fu made up for their lack of buzz with their sweet, down-to-earth dispositions. "We feel weird up here on stage!" Fu announced soon after reaching it. "I feel like I should just be sitting with you guys," said Wang, "so if we're awkward and have bad speaking skills, just stick with us, because that's who we are!" This self-deprecating sense of humor is similar to the kind of humor Wong Fu employs in many of their YouTube shorts; however, it's clear from their new footage that its style is maturing. Wong Fu showed the audience two new music videos as well as clips from both comedic and serious films. Though some of the film plots were a bit too corny for my taste (particularly one overly sentimental storyline about a girl trying to help her brother find a job), the simple and striking beauty of their cinematography was impossible to ignore.

Besides the stunning camerawork, Wong Fu is respected for being one of the first entertainment groups to address the racial stumbling blocks that the media places in front of Asian-American artists. As Wang said to the crowd, "Typically, when you see an Asian-American in a movie, we're often playing villains or small back-up roles. Mainstream Hollywood doesn't think it's marketable to put an Asian face as a lead. They feel like a Caucasian lead will bring in more views." However, Wong Fu is confident that rising Asian American exposure on YouTube will create the change necessary to shift this unequal dynamic. As Wang explained, "What we're seeing from all the support we're getting on YouTube is that when people are presented with a choice, especially Asian-Americans, they choose to see Asian-American faces. They actually go to YouTube so they can see people that look like them that they can relate to a bit better. We're hoping that maybe the bigger companies will start to see this reaction and make that change."

Though Wong Fu is undoubtedly creating change in its community, they weren't always comfortable with their titles as role models. As Wang told the audience, "When we first started hearing people say that, we were like, 'Whoa! Where's this coming from?', because to be honest, before we graduated, we had never really thought about Asian-American issues. But then we realized there is this issue out there, and we have to face it because we're in the entertainment industry. So it's a huge honor to be considered role models, and now we're doing our best to deserve it." However, as much as the members of Wong Fu want Asian Americans to be inspired by their success, they continue to stress the importance of impacting all different types of communities. As Chan told the Justice, "We don't want to pigeonhole ourselves. I don't think anything Wong Fu does is saying, 'Hey, we're Asian!' We want our work to be something everyone can enjoy."

Wong Fu ended the evening on an optimistic note: Though Asian American entertainers do face certain difficulties, widespread support from the Asian community is triggering positive change. After they finished speaking, the three encouraged the crowd to come and chat with them. Enamored, members of the audience gathered in single file, waiting in line to connect with their media moguls.