By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
For eight weeks, hopeful television writers met via Zoom to better learn the tools of the trade. Some had had work seen by others before; some have yet to be in the spotlight. One thing they all had in common—their Pacific Islander heritage and background. It is called PEAK, or the Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti Writers Fellowship. Supported by Netflix as part of the company’s Fund for Creative Equity, the PEAK fellowship is the first run of its kind, and it is the only writing program of its kind founded by a Pasifika creative, Dana Ledoux Miller.
Dana Ledoux Miller
In speaking with Miller and the fellows of PEAK, a common viewpoint became clear: there is not enough representation of Pacific Islanders in Hollywood, and not enough of the right type of representation. Put it this way, it’s been better than nothing to show Pasifika people in a historical context, or in roles where they behave as people “expect”—but let’s move past that. Let’s see the wide and colorful variety of Pasifika people and lifestyles that exist now, today, in real time.
“There is a long history in Hollywood of telling stories in the Pacific,” Miller shared, and explained that these stories have fetishized exoticism and more than likely have not been created by anyone with legit knowledge of Pasifika culture. This fault lies not only with consumers, but also with those behind the scenes, in the industry, choosing what to produce and what not.
“It’s important to me…that we reframe our islands and our people with an indigenous lens—to help equip and create space for our creatives to tell their own stories.” That’s the goal of PEAK.
Tia Kaiulani Kanaeholo came to Los Angeles with a “very daunting pipe dream” to make it. Her preference was as a writer, yet she was willing to try her hand at acting (while working a full-time job), if that’s what it took. She quickly found that “Hollywood just did not have stories that catered to what Pacific Islanders look like today. I think there’s a very specific view of what we think Pasifika people are in Hollywood, which is usually very much like our ancestors.”
Tia and the other fellows want something else now. They want characters that have lives like theirs—complicated modern lives which are informed by their heritage but where it’s not everything. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Momoa are great, but let’s dig deeper, shall we?
“I identify as an alien,” semi-joked Sophia Perez, whose script-in-progress, Planet Oakland, tells the story of “a nerdy kid from another galaxy” adjusting to middle school in Oakland. Like the other fellows, Perez has a Pacific Islander background, being Chamorro, but she did not live outside of the U.S. until she was in her 20s and moved to Saipan. She called it a “huge paradigm shift” because her roots are in both places.
“There are a lot of immigrant stories and worlds colliding” in Perez’s family, and for all of the fellows. This is an important aspect of their lives that they want to see more of on screen. It includes those who might not be 100% Pasifika or don’t look it.
Taylor Foreman-Niko understands this challenge intimately. He is part Samoan and part white and he doesn’t necessarily look like a particular ethnicity. Kanaeholo, too, has struggled in the industry with people in charge trying to figure out “what she is” and how to cast her. “I grew up in two separate households,” said Foreman-Niko, who wants to see more of that in Hollywood. He appreciates stories about those who are “immersed” in their cultures. However, he and many in the fellowship are looking for more stories about people like them—who don’t fit in a box.
So, they are writing it themselves. Foreman-Niko’s script, Samoan/American, talks about a half-Samoan veteran who must access his Samoan side—something the character is not accustomed to doing. Kanaeholo’s script, unprofessional, closely aligns with her own story, and is about an “overworked and underpaid” individual trying to juggle the ups and downs of Hollywood. Perhaps purposefully, there is no mention of race in the summary of her script. Each of these writers hope to bring their diversity—a well-rounded, multi-faceted diversity—to the audience.
Their main advice to others? If you want to be a writer, write. All the time. Every day. Even more than that, Miller encouraged, “Write the stories you want to write. Don’t write what you think the market wants. Write the stories that keep you up at night and that you keep coming back to. Write them the way your gut is telling you they need to be told. Those are the stories that will break through the noise and get other people excited about working with you.”
During the fellowship, the participants met with “a carefully curated” selection of speakers who taught them about the TV writing experience. “Each week, fellows discussed a variety of topics aimed at demystifying the writers room,” Miller told the Asian Weekly, the writers room being a primary employment goal for many of those who attended PEAK. Each fellow was also assigned a mentor, who helped them with their pilots and gave them the chance to further explore topics.
“I’ve gained so much knowledge about the TV industry from the PEAK Writers Fellowship,” Olivé (Jacqueline Olive) told us. “In a time where underrepresented creators are hampered by an opacity of information within our industry, PEAK’s efforts in providing clear education and mentorship as an equalizer have helped me open doors to move my career forward…” The story Olivé brought to PEAK relates “not only to my lived experiences as a woman and an immigrant, but it’s also about a universal experience everyone goes through as people.” She continued, “Most of us have multiple identities that straddle traditional and modern worlds.” Like all of the fellows, Olivé hopes to “demystify” the stereotypes and help viewers gain a broader understanding of what it means to be Pasifika in this day and age—not 100 years ago.
“I was being put in these boxes,” said Kanaeholo. “I was never going to fit in these boxes that they put me in…They like you to tell me what I am. And I’m like, no, I’m not…I write characters that are put in a box and I want to watch them punch their way out of it.”
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweeky.com.