[1] Beginning of My Nerdy Journey feat. Delia's Dad

In the inaugural episode of Culture by Culture, Delia interviews the first nerd and first Black nerd she ever knew; her dad. She explores what it was like growing up in the segregated south and how those experiences did or didn’t inform his interests in East Asian pop-culture to include: Shaw Brothers Studio, Godzilla, Dragon Ball, and Ocarina of Time! What anime or video game would you watch or play for the rest of time if you could only play one? Things discussed in this episode:

• Anime: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Z Super, Inuyasha

• Movies: Godzilla, kung fu movies, Shaw Brothers Studio, Bruce Lee, Green Hornet

• Video games: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Madden, Halo, Diddy Kong Racing

• Professional gaming

• Blockbuster

• The segregated south

• Asian representation in mid-century media

Guest

This episode’s guest, is my dad! You can’t find him online, but you can find my essay, “Beyond the Kokiri Forest: A Father and Daughter’s Zelda Adventure” about playing through Ocarina of Time with my dad, here.

Find us online:

• Website: culturexpodcast.com

• Patreon: patreon.com/culturebyculture

• Instagram: instagram.com/culturexpodcast/

• Twitter: twitter.com/culturexpodcast

Credits

• Host, Executive Producer, Editor, Engineer: DeliaTwitter: @deliaistyping, Instagram: @deliaistyping, Website: deliaistyping.com

About Culture by Culture

Culture by Culture is a multidimensional podcast exploration into Black and Asian pop-cultural ties. Part sociology, history, and pop-culture podcast, it covers everything from deep-dives into our favorite gateway media, interviews with experts to help guide us through our historical and current cultural connections, and conversations with fellow nerds digging into our cultural identities and our pop-cultural interests.Our mission is to understand and foster the unity that has historically existed between our cultures through our shared interests in each other’s pop-culture.

1
00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,880
Delia: Hey there, welcome to Culture by Culture, a multi-dimensional exploration of Black and

2
00:00:04,880 –> 00:00:06,520
Asian pop cultural ties.

3
00:00:06,520 –> 00:00:11,920
I’m your incredibly excited host, Delia, and for our first episode, I thought if we’re

4
00:00:11,920 –> 00:00:16,560
going to explore these pop cultural ties and the why behind them, it just made sense to

5
00:00:16,560 –> 00:00:20,140
start from the beginning, or at least my beginning.

6
00:00:20,140 –> 00:00:25,480
Today I have with me not just the first Black nerd that I ever knew, but the first nerd I

7
00:00:25,480 –> 00:00:27,480
ever knew in general, my dad.

8
00:00:27,480 –> 00:00:28,480
Hi, Dad.

9
00:00:28,480 –> 00:00:29,480
Greg: Hi, Baby.

10
00:00:29,480 –> 00:00:31,080
D: Would you like to introduce yourself?

11
00:00:31,080 –> 00:00:32,080
G: Yes.

12
00:00:32,080 –> 00:00:36,360
Thank you for having me on your very, very first podcast.

13
00:00:36,360 –> 00:00:42,000
I’m sure it will be a success, not because you have me, but because you’re a bright and

14
00:00:42,000 –> 00:00:45,520
intelligent young lady and you’re going to make this work.

15
00:00:45,520 –> 00:00:50,880
Yeah, I’m the first Black nerd that I ever knew.

16
00:00:50,880 –> 00:00:57,820
I grew up with friends that were, at the time, I don’t think the word nerd was a thing when

17
00:00:57,820 –> 00:00:59,000
I was growing up.

18
00:00:59,000 –> 00:01:03,600
So the closest thing I can attribute to that would be squares.

19
00:01:03,600 –> 00:01:04,880
So we were square.

20
00:01:04,880 –> 00:01:06,320
We weren’t jocks.

21
00:01:06,320 –> 00:01:08,480
We weren’t a part of their league.

22
00:01:08,480 –> 00:01:12,440
And I don’t even know if we knew we were known as Squares.

23
00:01:12,440 –> 00:01:17,120
People really didn’t pay that much attention to us other than if they saw us, you know,

24
00:01:17,120 –> 00:01:18,120
go away.

25
00:01:18,120 –> 00:01:21,720
D: So people weren’t on the street shouting “Squares!”

26
00:01:21,720 –> 00:01:23,560
G: No, no, no.

27
00:01:23,560 –> 00:01:26,800
We were pretty, what do you call us, conspicuous.

28
00:01:26,800 –> 00:01:33,320
I mean, the tougher kids around growing up, they just didn’t really pay that much attention

29
00:01:33,320 –> 00:01:35,920
to us because we weren’t a threat.

30
00:01:35,920 –> 00:01:41,680
So you know, they were more interested in bigger prey or whatever.

31
00:01:41,680 –> 00:01:44,000
So that was what we were.

32
00:01:44,000 –> 00:01:45,000
We were Squares.

33
00:01:45,000 –> 00:01:48,360
D: Do you still consider yourself a Square or what would you call yourself now?

34
00:01:48,360 –> 00:01:50,600
A nerd, a geek, something else?

35
00:01:50,600 –> 00:01:52,800
G: I’m an old head nerd.

36
00:01:52,800 –> 00:01:57,560
D: Okay, so what are you into as far as your nerdy interests?

37
00:01:57,560 –> 00:02:02,440
Of course, we’re here to talk about Asian pop-culture in particular, but in general,

38
00:02:02,440 –> 00:02:04,800
what strikes your fancy?

39
00:02:04,800 –> 00:02:13,120
G: All of the anything that has to do with pop culture, entertainment, anime, kind of both

40
00:02:13,120 –> 00:02:18,120
video games, music, all of it really just fascinates me.

41
00:02:18,120 –> 00:02:21,160
And I don’t I don’t know where it really stemmed from.

42
00:02:21,160 –> 00:02:28,600
I kind of understand the growth of how I got to where I’m at, but I really enjoy it all.

43
00:02:28,600 –> 00:02:34,680
And I think it stems from back in the day, growing up in the segregated South, it was

44
00:02:34,680 –> 00:02:40,840
escapism, although there wasn’t anime at the time, there were comic books and other things

45
00:02:40,840 –> 00:02:44,760
that you could use to entertain to escape that world.

46
00:02:44,760 –> 00:02:52,000
D: What would you say was your first foray into Asian pop culture, if you will?

47
00:02:52,000 –> 00:02:53,000
G: Dragon Ball Z.

48
00:02:53,000 –> 00:02:56,360
Well, actually, it was Dragon Ball.

49
00:02:56,360 –> 00:03:02,720
And it was just the idea that stemmed from my love of comic books, which Dragon Ball

50
00:03:02,720 –> 00:03:06,560
is more like it’s superhero-y if you will.

51
00:03:06,560 –> 00:03:14,000
And I just thought that was so fantastic that we had something not that we had because it

52
00:03:14,000 –> 00:03:19,040
had been going on in Japan for a year or two before we got it here in the States.

53
00:03:19,040 –> 00:03:25,640
And when we finally did, I was just like, wow, I mean, the videos that you would see

54
00:03:25,640 –> 00:03:28,000
that we would go get from Blockbuster.

55
00:03:28,000 –> 00:03:32,760
I know a lot of people just like “Blockbuster? What’s Blockbuster?”

56
00:03:32,760 –> 00:03:34,880
D: I do remember getting them from Blockbuster.

57
00:03:34,880 –> 00:03:39,160
I haven’t watched Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z in full, but mostly I’ve watched it with

58
00:03:39,160 –> 00:03:43,000
you because you would be sitting in the living room watching it.

59
00:03:43,000 –> 00:03:45,720
Because again, this is mostly before computers.

60
00:03:45,720 –> 00:03:48,080
We weren’t all on our own phones.

61
00:03:48,080 –> 00:03:50,560
We’d go to Blockbuster and you’d get it.

62
00:03:50,560 –> 00:03:54,200
And to me, a cartoon’s a cartoon when you’re that age.

63
00:03:54,200 –> 00:03:56,000
It doesn’t really matter.

64
00:03:56,000 –> 00:03:58,200
G: It wasn’t Looney Tunes.

65
00:03:58,200 –> 00:04:00,520
That’s for sure.

66
00:04:00,520 –> 00:04:06,360
D: So as for Dragon Ball, you said that it reminded you of the comic book superheroes of your

67
00:04:06,360 –> 00:04:07,960
youth.

68
00:04:07,960 –> 00:04:11,120
Did your friends read comic books with you?

69
00:04:11,120 –> 00:04:14,580
Was it kind of a solo sort of venture for you?

70
00:04:14,580 –> 00:04:18,840
Was it really common amongst Black young boys to be reading comic books?

71
00:04:18,840 –> 00:04:23,080
D: Well, my brother, he wasn’t into it.

72
00:04:23,080 –> 00:04:28,440
Oddly enough, a neighbor up the street, he was into comic books, not as heavily as I

73
00:04:28,440 –> 00:04:29,440
was.

74
00:04:29,440 –> 00:04:37,520
As a matter of fact, here we are, little Black kids running around with towels tied around

75
00:04:37,520 –> 00:04:38,520
their neck.

76
00:04:38,520 –> 00:04:39,520
We’re flying.

77
00:04:39,520 –> 00:04:40,520
D: Oh my gosh.

78
00:04:40,520 –> 00:04:45,520
G: There are other kids that have brooms riding them like cowboys and Indians.

79
00:04:45,520 –> 00:04:46,520
We’re superheroes.

80
00:04:46,520 –> 00:04:48,480
It was just so much.

81
00:04:48,480 –> 00:04:54,880
I mean, we’d be out there for hours flying or running, rather, with towels tied around

82
00:04:54,880 –> 00:04:56,720
our necks.

83
00:04:56,720 –> 00:05:02,040
I think about it now and I wonder how other kids growing up in the segregated South made

84
00:05:02,040 –> 00:05:04,560
it out sane.

85
00:05:04,560 –> 00:05:10,600
But it seemed like that really helped get us through it.

86
00:05:10,600 –> 00:05:15,640
D: Do you think there’s anything about the stories of kung fu movies that were popular at the

87
00:05:15,640 –> 00:05:21,000
time and Godzilla and things like that that really lent themselves to be that escapism?

88
00:05:21,000 –> 00:05:24,680
G: Oh, I don’t know that I would have made it.

89
00:05:24,680 –> 00:05:26,280
We had to have Godzilla.

90
00:05:26,280 –> 00:05:28,480
We had to have the kung fu movies.

91
00:05:28,480 –> 00:05:35,080
I mean, kung fu Saturdays on television and then there were the movies, the Godzilla movies

92
00:05:35,080 –> 00:05:41,200
on Saturdays that we’d go downtown because we only had one movie house in the town.

93
00:05:41,200 –> 00:05:46,400
And just to date myself, so everybody understands how long it was.

94
00:05:46,400 –> 00:05:53,440
It was ten cents to get into the movies to watch three features for that day.

95
00:05:53,440 –> 00:06:00,200
So we as kids, the movie opened at noon and we go in, wait in line, pay our ten cents

96
00:06:00,200 –> 00:06:02,960
and go into the movies and be there.

97
00:06:02,960 –> 00:06:06,120
And we watch movies all day.

98
00:06:06,120 –> 00:06:08,640
And it was just like the greatest thrill.

99
00:06:08,640 –> 00:06:11,840
And that was a form of escapism.

100
00:06:11,840 –> 00:06:17,760
Even though it was couched in segregation, we didn’t care because at that time it was

101
00:06:17,760 –> 00:06:19,020
normal.

102
00:06:19,020 –> 00:06:21,960
But it was just such a joy.

103
00:06:21,960 –> 00:06:26,520
And then we have the Hong Kong movies, which were the Chao Brothers.

104
00:06:26,520 –> 00:06:28,840
D: Hi, Editing Delia here.

105
00:06:28,840 –> 00:06:33,400
To clarify, by the Chao Brothers, my dad means the absolutely prolific powerhouse that was

106
00:06:33,400 –> 00:06:35,040
Shaw Brothers Studio.

107
00:06:35,040 –> 00:06:39,400
If you’ve seen any old kung fu movie that wasn’t Bruce Lee, there’s a good chance

108
00:06:39,400 –> 00:06:40,720
it was the Shaw Brothers.

109
00:06:40,720 –> 00:06:42,680
OK, back to my dad.

110
00:06:42,680 –> 00:06:46,720
G: They were making these things back to back to back.

111
00:06:46,720 –> 00:06:53,720
And I love them for it because we were believing in stuff that technically… this was the precursor

112
00:06:53,720 –> 00:07:00,000
probably to anime, the Hong Kong movies, because they were doing some of the most impossible

113
00:07:00,000 –> 00:07:01,000
stuff.

114
00:07:01,000 –> 00:07:02,000
And we loved it.

115
00:07:02,000 –> 00:07:08,080
I mean, we would go out in the yard. Ha! Ha! Ha!

116
00:07:08,080 –> 00:07:12,360
D: I imagine there’s not very many Asian people growing up around you.

117
00:07:12,360 –> 00:07:19,440
You don’t have any IRL influences to cross reference the media you’re watching.

118
00:07:19,440 –> 00:07:26,000
G: The only Asians I saw were on television and the movies.

119
00:07:26,000 –> 00:07:32,520
And unless it came from the Hong Kong karate movies, anything else was pretty much in a

120
00:07:32,520 –> 00:07:36,840
bad lot insofar as the Asian culture was concerned.

121
00:07:36,840 –> 00:07:40,160
I remember watching the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

122
00:07:40,160 –> 00:07:42,160
D: Oh my gosh, yes.

123
00:07:42,160 –> 00:07:43,160
G: and Mickey Rooney.

124
00:07:43,160 –> 00:07:50,800
At the time when I saw it, I could not understand why in the heck is Mickey Rooney playing an

125
00:07:50,800 –> 00:07:54,920
Asian character when they have tons of–

126
00:07:54,920 –> 00:08:00,840
But that was the time the Hong Kong movies were just excellent.

127
00:08:00,840 –> 00:08:05,760
And then whatever they represented on television was just like *raspberry*

128
00:08:05,760 –> 00:08:10,480
D: I really had sat with the fact that those were happening at the same time.

129
00:08:10,480 –> 00:08:16,360
You know, about the yellow face of Mickey Rooney and movies around that time.

130
00:08:16,360 –> 00:08:20,360
But this was happening the same time as these kung fu movies are coming out and Godzilla

131
00:08:20,360 –> 00:08:21,360
is coming out.

132
00:08:21,360 –> 00:08:25,000
That is wild to me.

133
00:08:25,000 –> 00:08:29,040
Because you can I mean, I don’t excuse it for ignorance for obvious reasons, but I could

134
00:08:29,040 –> 00:08:30,520
see people making that argument.

135
00:08:30,520 –> 00:08:34,400
But then when you look at the time frame, there really was no no sense, no reason.

136
00:08:34,400 –> 00:08:36,560
That is wild.

137
00:08:36,560 –> 00:08:38,960
G: That was just the times.

138
00:08:38,960 –> 00:08:42,920
And we actually we still live in those times.

139
00:08:42,920 –> 00:08:47,280
During that time, it was more it was, I think, more overt.

140
00:08:47,280 –> 00:08:53,040
Now it has become a combination of the two or more covert.

141
00:08:53,040 –> 00:08:58,200
Because I mean, people didn’t care about the racial stereotypes.

142
00:08:58,200 –> 00:09:02,600
I mean, not that they didn’t care, but it was just what was done.

143
00:09:02,600 –> 00:09:04,160
It was normal.

144
00:09:04,160 –> 00:09:09,720
It wasn’t seen as bad because we had been indoctrinated in our mind to think that maybe

145
00:09:09,720 –> 00:09:12,640
it was normal or think that it was normal.

146
00:09:12,640 –> 00:09:14,760
And that’s the way we treated it.

147
00:09:14,760 –> 00:09:19,360
D: It’s so interesting because over time, and you know, it’s something I want to talk about

148
00:09:19,360 –> 00:09:21,280
and look at throughout this podcast,

149
00:09:21,280 –> 00:09:26,720
But you see in both communities harboring prejudices against each other that stem from

150
00:09:26,720 –> 00:09:29,800
a lot of (they stem from a lot of things, ultimately white supremacy.)

151
00:09:29,800 –> 00:09:34,760
But these media portrayals that we had nothing to do with.

152
00:09:34,760 –> 00:09:37,080
And it’s just real…

153
00:09:37,080 –> 00:09:41,160
It’s disappointing to look at and to know that that’s why because it’s all based in

154
00:09:41,160 –> 00:09:46,240
nothing like it’s a house of cards that really all it would have taken was a strong enough

155
00:09:46,240 –> 00:09:47,240
wind to come blow it.

156
00:09:47,240 –> 00:09:52,360
But things were just so different and we were so, and still are to some extent so indoctrinated

157
00:09:52,360 –> 00:09:53,360
with white supremacy.

158
00:09:53,360 –> 00:09:56,360
And we’re always trying to break that down now.

159
00:09:56,360 –> 00:09:58,600
But back then, that wasn’t the case.

160
00:09:58,600 –> 00:10:02,920
A lot of good has come from good media and a lot of bad has come from bad media.

161
00:10:02,920 –> 00:10:13,560
G: And now, as a matter of fact, the very first positive Asian character I saw at the well,

162
00:10:13,560 –> 00:10:16,280
the Hong Kong movies, all those characters were positive.

163
00:10:16,280 –> 00:10:21,440
But the first positive character I saw on television was Bruce Lee.

164
00:10:21,440 –> 00:10:27,320
Oh. My. Goodness. I mean, I wanted to be Bruce Lee.

165
00:10:27,320 –> 00:10:29,960
I mean, the Green Hornet came out.

166
00:10:29,960 –> 00:10:30,960
He was Kato.

167
00:10:30,960 –> 00:10:36,400
Oh, it gives me chills just thinking about it.

168
00:10:36,400 –> 00:10:40,840
I mean, how heroic he was.

169
00:10:40,840 –> 00:10:47,720
And at the time when they were shooting Green Hornet, I had no idea how– what he had to go

170
00:10:47,720 –> 00:10:51,720
through just to get that little bit going.

171
00:10:51,720 –> 00:10:55,040
And Hollywood, I mean, he was facing racial prejudice.

172
00:10:55,040 –> 00:10:59,040
And as a matter of fact, Bruce Lee was scheduled.

173
00:10:59,040 –> 00:11:06,120
They wanted him to do Kung Fu that ended up using David Carradine, a white actor, to portray

174
00:11:06,120 –> 00:11:10,040
the part of Kang in the series.

175
00:11:10,040 –> 00:11:12,120
It should have been Bruce Lee.

176
00:11:12,120 –> 00:11:16,200
But because he was really Asian, they said no.

177
00:11:16,200 –> 00:11:22,520
There have been so many injustices because of racial stereotypes that it is just like,

178
00:11:22,520 –> 00:11:23,520
it’s nonsense.

179
00:11:23,520 –> 00:11:29,720
D: That’s a good way to put it because when you start unpacking this stuff, it really is just

180
00:11:29,720 –> 00:11:30,720
nonsense.

181
00:11:30,720 –> 00:11:35,560
I see more points of connection through our interest in pop-culture than I see points

182
00:11:35,560 –> 00:11:36,640
of division.

183
00:11:36,640 –> 00:11:41,680
But these bad portrayals and white supremacy, because that’s what it is, come in.

184
00:11:41,680 –> 00:11:49,120
And I really want to put at the forefront people’s experiences with cultures besides

185
00:11:49,120 –> 00:11:52,940
their own that are positive because I’d like for us to be able to take that power back

186
00:11:52,940 –> 00:11:57,360
and talk about the great experiences we had engaging with cultures that weren’t ours and

187
00:11:57,360 –> 00:12:01,680
seeing cool pop culture and media that we’d never seen before.

188
00:12:01,680 –> 00:12:03,680
That’s the goal.

189
00:12:03,680 –> 00:12:10,400
I guess where I want to go next is I’m wondering if there’s one memory of the anime, video

190
00:12:10,400 –> 00:12:16,560
game, movie, whatever that really sticks with you.

191
00:12:16,560 –> 00:12:19,560
G: Yes.

192
00:12:19,560 –> 00:12:24,080
There is by far.

193
00:12:24,080 –> 00:12:29,600
I would have to say this is number one and you will remember it as well.

194
00:12:29,600 –> 00:12:32,440
Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time.

195
00:12:32,440 –> 00:12:35,320
Oh my goodness.

196
00:12:35,320 –> 00:12:45,160
That is still, I played just a number of games, Mass Effect, Call of Duty, you name it.

197
00:12:45,160 –> 00:12:53,840
I’ve played just different games, but Ocarina of Time will always be my number one video

198
00:12:53,840 –> 00:12:54,840
game.

199
00:12:54,840 –> 00:13:03,360
And you, as a little girl, would sit, I mean, if I think about it too hard, I’ll tear up,

200
00:13:03,360 –> 00:13:06,720
would sit with me while I played and make suggestions.

201
00:13:06,720 –> 00:13:09,440
“Dad, go over here.”

202
00:13:09,440 –> 00:13:12,000
“Dad, go look at this.”

203
00:13:12,000 –> 00:13:15,080
Oh, God.

204
00:13:15,080 –> 00:13:21,600
To be on that journey with you, as a matter of fact, the one thing I can remember is when

205
00:13:21,600 –> 00:13:26,960
it was over, when I finally beat the game and everything was happily ever after, all

206
00:13:26,960 –> 00:13:32,520
the people were happy and you just, you cried.

207
00:13:32,520 –> 00:13:39,640
That was just, that will always be my number one memory in so far as video games are concerned.

208
00:13:39,640 –> 00:13:44,760
D: I feel like something shifted in our household when Ocarina of Time came to stay, I will

209
00:13:44,760 –> 00:13:45,760
say.

210
00:13:45,760 –> 00:13:47,480
Because I have many memories.

211
00:13:47,480 –> 00:13:48,480
Go ahead.

212
00:13:48,480 –> 00:13:51,280
G: No, I was just going to say we didn’t buy it.

213
00:13:51,280 –> 00:13:57,000
We had to pay late fees because we were ready for Blockbuster.

214
00:13:57,000 –> 00:14:02,080
I don’t know how long we kept the game, but we kept it till I finished.

215
00:14:02,080 –> 00:14:03,080
D: A long time.

216
00:14:03,080 –> 00:14:04,080
G: Yeah.

217
00:14:04,080 –> 00:14:05,560
D: We didn’t buy it.

218
00:14:05,560 –> 00:14:09,800
I do remember that, but we did have the, they used to, maybe they still make them.

219
00:14:09,800 –> 00:14:10,800
I don’t really know.

220
00:14:10,800 –> 00:14:14,280
I think they’d be redundant with the internet, but like the whole guide, they would make

221
00:14:14,280 –> 00:14:17,040
paper bag guides.

222
00:14:17,040 –> 00:14:24,000
G: It was, as a matter of fact, it was Nintendo made the guide and I wish I had that thing

223
00:14:24,000 –> 00:14:25,760
now because it’s worth a ton of money.

224
00:14:25,760 –> 00:14:26,760
D: I remember it.

225
00:14:26,760 –> 00:14:28,520
It was real pretty to look at.

226
00:14:28,520 –> 00:14:32,480
But yeah, I remember sitting, you would sit on the couch and I would be sitting behind

227
00:14:32,480 –> 00:14:36,320
you watching you play on our N64.

228
00:14:36,320 –> 00:14:38,920
Yeah, I have many, many memories that way.

229
00:14:38,920 –> 00:14:41,320
It was transformative for me as well.

230
00:14:41,320 –> 00:14:43,320
G: Do you remember Navi?

231
00:14:43,320 –> 00:14:45,240
D: Oh, for sure.

232
00:14:45,240 –> 00:14:51,240
I mean, I’ve definitely played it since, but I do remember even for me as a child, she

233
00:14:51,240 –> 00:14:55,920
was quite annoying because she just wouldn’t, she wouldn’t, I mean, it’s a meme now.

234
00:14:55,920 –> 00:14:56,920
Everybody knows the meme, but.

235
00:14:56,920 –> 00:14:58,960
G: And you couldn’t turn her off.

236
00:14:58,960 –> 00:14:59,960
D: No.

237
00:14:59,960 –> 00:15:04,600
These days they know, okay, we’ll give you an option to turn those types of prompts off.

238
00:15:04,600 –> 00:15:06,680
G: Oh, you could not turn Navi off.

239
00:15:06,680 –> 00:15:09,960
D: You could not.

240
00:15:09,960 –> 00:15:16,280
G: And I think about that game because I’m going to start Twitch stream because I’m going to

241
00:15:16,280 –> 00:15:19,400
go back and start playing again.

242
00:15:19,400 –> 00:15:24,720
And it’ll probably just be once a week, maybe twice a week, you know, and my handle is going

243
00:15:24,720 –> 00:15:27,320
to be 60 plus gamer.

244
00:15:27,320 –> 00:15:30,840
And that’ll be the first game that I play Ocarina of Time.

245
00:15:30,840 –> 00:15:35,120
I don’t care who watches, but it’s just going to be enjoyable for me.

246
00:15:35,120 –> 00:15:38,880
The reason I’m going back is because my favorite part of that entire game, you’re going to

247
00:15:38,880 –> 00:15:42,520
say, wow, you’re a masochist is the water temple.

248
00:15:42,520 –> 00:15:45,000
D: Yes, I knew you were going to say it.

249
00:15:45,000 –> 00:15:47,640
And yes, you are a masochist because what?

250
00:15:47,640 –> 00:15:48,640
Why?

251
00:15:48,640 –> 00:15:50,320
In what world?

252
00:15:50,320 –> 00:15:51,640
G: I don’t know.

253
00:15:51,640 –> 00:15:57,920
But well, I think because the rest of the game seemed not, not easy.

254
00:15:57,920 –> 00:16:03,320
I don’t want to say it was easy because it was, but it seemed at some point become fairly

255
00:16:03,320 –> 00:16:04,320
rudimentary.

256
00:16:04,320 –> 00:16:11,320
And but the water temple was a beast unto itself.

257
00:16:11,320 –> 00:16:15,040
And if you went in there just thinking you’re going to just straight up play it.

258
00:16:15,040 –> 00:16:17,720
No, no, no.

259
00:16:17,720 –> 00:16:23,320
It was just like, because it took it took days to get through that thing.

260
00:16:23,320 –> 00:16:25,040
D: That thing I have memories of it.

261
00:16:25,040 –> 00:16:31,480
And when I was finally playing through Ocarina of Time myself, I was in high school, probably,

262
00:16:31,480 –> 00:16:35,080
–I don’t remember–on our in sixty four because we still had it at the time.

263
00:16:35,080 –> 00:16:42,000
I got to that water temple and it it it stun locked me for a good while.

264
00:16:42,000 –> 00:16:44,920
I I do not like it.

265
00:16:44,920 –> 00:16:50,480
My favorite temple, I would say, is the shadow temple, which is weird because I have memories

266
00:16:50,480 –> 00:16:51,960
as a child of being terrified.

267
00:16:51,960 –> 00:16:57,080
G: I was going to say, why would that be your favorite?

268
00:16:57,080 –> 00:16:58,080
D: I have no idea.

269
00:16:58,080 –> 00:17:02,000
I think because I have such visceral memories of it, for some reason, when I play it, I

270
00:17:02,000 –> 00:17:03,360
enjoy it more somehow.

271
00:17:03,360 –> 00:17:08,880
I had the what were those things called the hands that would fall off the ceiling?

272
00:17:08,880 –> 00:17:17,000
G: The very, very first time one grabbed me, it scared the yeah, it scared me that much

273
00:17:17,000 –> 00:17:22,120
because you know, you hear it coming, you see the shadow boy, you think that I’m just

274
00:17:22,120 –> 00:17:24,320
like, what the heck is going on?

275
00:17:24,320 –> 00:17:28,440
And then it grabs you and it is horrific.

276
00:17:28,440 –> 00:17:33,840
So yeah, that I don’t know why you like that temple.

277
00:17:33,840 –> 00:17:34,840
D: I don’t either.

278
00:17:34,840 –> 00:17:35,840
I really don’t.

279
00:17:35,840 –> 00:17:37,840
It says a lot about me, I suppose.

280
00:17:37,840 –> 00:17:40,600
Well, I guess that brings me to my next question.

281
00:17:40,600 –> 00:17:45,400
Both me and Lil are quite nerdy, I would say, in our different ways.

282
00:17:45,400 –> 00:17:48,320
How do you feel that we turned out so nerdy?

283
00:17:48,320 –> 00:17:51,200
G: I think that I had some influence in that.

284
00:17:51,200 –> 00:17:58,920
The rest of it, I think it’s your your intelligence and your curiosity that spurred you on because

285
00:17:58,920 –> 00:18:02,600
I wasn’t there all the time to push forward your interest.

286
00:18:02,600 –> 00:18:07,080
For example, you like in Inuyasha at the time.

287
00:18:07,080 –> 00:18:09,480
I liked anime, but I didn’t care for Inuyasha.

288
00:18:09,480 –> 00:18:10,720
I don’t know why.

289
00:18:10,720 –> 00:18:15,160
And like I said, I saw a clip the other day and I’m like, “Why didn’t you like this?”

290
00:18:15,160 –> 00:18:17,200
And Lil likes Supernatural.

291
00:18:17,200 –> 00:18:22,160
I don’t know what I was doing that would get Lil interested.

292
00:18:22,160 –> 00:18:23,560
D: I can only speak for me.

293
00:18:23,560 –> 00:18:24,920
For me, absolutely.

294
00:18:24,920 –> 00:18:26,560
I would say your influence–

295
00:18:26,560 –> 00:18:31,040
Yes, I grew from there into my own specific interests.

296
00:18:31,040 –> 00:18:35,260
But yeah, growing up playing video games, that was huge in our household.

297
00:18:35,260 –> 00:18:37,160
It was encouraged to play video games.

298
00:18:37,160 –> 00:18:38,680
It wasn’t a thing, like

299
00:18:38,680 –> 00:18:43,280
growing up, my friends had restrictions on how long they could play video games or worse,

300
00:18:43,280 –> 00:18:46,440
their parents just didn’t understand and they would cross their fingers to get at least

301
00:18:46,440 –> 00:18:48,320
the one game they want for Christmas.

302
00:18:48,320 –> 00:18:51,060
And this was not an issue I ever had.

303
00:18:51,060 –> 00:18:54,880
It was encouraged in our household to play video games.

304
00:18:54,880 –> 00:18:57,560
And maybe some parents are listening and cringing.

305
00:18:57,560 –> 00:19:01,120
But for me, granted, I did have a diagnosed ADHD.

306
00:19:01,120 –> 00:19:03,120
So there is that.

307
00:19:03,120 –> 00:19:10,520
But for me, it was just such a creative and happy way to grow up.

308
00:19:10,520 –> 00:19:15,440
To be able to play Diddy Kong Racing as much as I want.

309
00:19:15,440 –> 00:19:22,760
As much as I could before my dad got home and started playing Madden or whatever.

310
00:19:22,760 –> 00:19:25,400
Being able to play Animal Crossing.

311
00:19:25,400 –> 00:19:27,280
Discovering that was pivotal for me.

312
00:19:27,280 –> 00:19:31,800
I also think because of the themes that a lot of these works cover, whether you’re talking

313
00:19:31,800 –> 00:19:37,420
about anime or fantasy, like I’m interested in also, video games.

314
00:19:37,420 –> 00:19:42,680
Being into media from so many different cultures made me just view the world differently with

315
00:19:42,680 –> 00:19:46,840
a much more open mind than probably I would have had I not had that.

316
00:19:46,840 –> 00:19:51,680
And I wonder, I guess I’ll ask you what you think about the prevalence of nerd culture,

317
00:19:51,680 –> 00:19:54,000
but specifically Asian pop culture these days.

318
00:19:54,000 –> 00:19:55,000
How does it make you feel?

319
00:19:55,000 –> 00:19:57,240
But also do you think it’s escapism?

320
00:19:57,240 –> 00:19:59,800
Is it us being able to relate to these stories now?

321
00:19:59,800 –> 00:20:03,600
Because the stories are also, they were always complex, but so much more varied because there’s

322
00:20:03,600 –> 00:20:05,880
just so much more these days.

323
00:20:05,880 –> 00:20:09,480
G: I think it’s a combination of all of the above.

324
00:20:09,480 –> 00:20:15,220
I mean, anywhere worldwide stories, if you think about it, if you peel back the veil

325
00:20:15,220 –> 00:20:20,160
of skin color, culture, what have you, stories are pretty much the same.

326
00:20:20,160 –> 00:20:28,160
I mean, what happens to me can happen to somebody, whether they’re Native American, Hispanic,

327
00:20:28,160 –> 00:20:30,760
Asian, around the world.

328
00:20:30,760 –> 00:20:32,840
It doesn’t just have to be here in the States.

329
00:20:32,840 –> 00:20:34,720
It can be anywhere.

330
00:20:34,720 –> 00:20:37,280
And it’s universal.

331
00:20:37,280 –> 00:20:44,080
I think that’s why the stories or what have you, whether it’s gaming, movies or television,

332
00:20:44,080 –> 00:20:49,640
that’s why they resonate so much with us, because we can relate to what’s happening

333
00:20:49,640 –> 00:20:52,920
to that individual or that situation.

334
00:20:52,920 –> 00:21:00,320
You could see a story and not have any idea about what race, culture, or who the person

335
00:21:00,320 –> 00:21:05,040
is and you would still be able to relate with the story because there’s something or some

336
00:21:05,040 –> 00:21:09,080
part of that story that you have experienced that you can relate to.

337
00:21:09,080 –> 00:21:11,240
D: I definitely agree.

338
00:21:11,240 –> 00:21:16,320
Are you ever surprised to meet black anime or like video game nerds that are your age?

339
00:21:16,320 –> 00:21:19,240
G: I haven’t met anybody by age.

340
00:21:19,240 –> 00:21:20,240
D: Really?

341
00:21:20,240 –> 00:21:21,240
G: No.

342
00:21:21,240 –> 00:21:27,720
Which is, I’m kind of hoping that that will change when I start my Twitch stream.

343
00:21:27,720 –> 00:21:33,560
I’m hoping that somebody will come out of the woodwork, but for the most part, I expect

344
00:21:33,560 –> 00:21:36,600
to get a lot of, you’re too old to be doing this.

345
00:21:36,600 –> 00:21:37,800
D: Absolutely not.

346
00:21:37,800 –> 00:21:38,800
Okay.

347
00:21:38,800 –> 00:21:44,360
I need anybody listening to this to send it to the old head in their life because I know

348
00:21:44,360 –> 00:21:45,360
that they’re out there.

349
00:21:45,360 –> 00:21:51,120
I know that just like you said, you’d go to the movies to watch Godzilla with those black

350
00:21:51,120 –> 00:21:56,920
kids and who’s to say they didn’t spin out and become anime nerds later in life or video

351
00:21:56,920 –> 00:21:58,240
game nerds or both?

352
00:21:58,240 –> 00:21:59,240
Who’s to say?

353
00:21:59,240 –> 00:22:02,800
So if you’re listening, please send it to the old head in your life so they can sound

354
00:22:02,800 –> 00:22:08,720
off so I can show my dad that there are others like him and you’re absolutely not too old.

355
00:22:08,720 –> 00:22:12,920
G: Well I know that and I wouldn’t let that stop me.

356
00:22:12,920 –> 00:22:21,480
The fact that these young whippersnappers, and the reason I say that is because I would

357
00:22:21,480 –> 00:22:28,280
play Halo and it was just a very short foray into Halo multiplayer.

358
00:22:28,280 –> 00:22:29,280
D: That’s right.

359
00:22:29,280 –> 00:22:31,040
You did play Halo for a second.

360
00:22:31,040 –> 00:22:36,880
G: Yeah, now I played the single player but I said, well, let me try my hand at Halo multiplayer

361
00:22:36,880 –> 00:22:42,840
and that lasted for about 30 minutes and I was getting dropped.

362
00:22:42,840 –> 00:22:52,040
These young heads with these fast, I would turn a corner and see somebody, I’d get,

363
00:22:52,040 –> 00:22:53,040
boom, dead.

364
00:22:53,040 –> 00:22:54,040
Okay.

365
00:22:54,040 –> 00:22:55,040
I’d respawn.

366
00:22:55,040 –> 00:22:58,880
I’d go back, oh, I got hit, boom, dead.

367
00:22:58,880 –> 00:23:03,240
I’m like, for 30 minutes, I did not get one kill.

368
00:23:03,240 –> 00:23:05,360
Do you hear me?

369
00:23:05,360 –> 00:23:06,720
Not one kill.

370
00:23:06,720 –> 00:23:12,160
I got killed probably, I don’t know, I got killed in double digits.

371
00:23:12,160 –> 00:23:17,760
And I just said, this is a young man’s game.

372
00:23:17,760 –> 00:23:25,320
And I say, at the time I said that, but now I realize it’s just a matter of practice.

373
00:23:25,320 –> 00:23:31,360
You can’t nowadays with the skillset there is, as a matter of fact, your cousin, I got

374
00:23:31,360 –> 00:23:34,040
to give it to the boy at the time was good.

375
00:23:34,040 –> 00:23:41,560
Do you remember in Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time, that you could lock on with the Z?

376
00:23:41,560 –> 00:23:44,960
You could lock on to the enemy and what have you.

377
00:23:44,960 –> 00:23:47,040
He didn’t use the Z lock.

378
00:23:47,040 –> 00:23:54,240
And I realized he had a skill and I talked to his mother and I told her, you probably

379
00:23:54,240 –> 00:24:00,320
need to look, because it was just beginning to start up kids playing professionally.

380
00:24:00,320 –> 00:24:06,960
And I said, you might want to look into going pro with this kid or giving a sponsor for

381
00:24:06,960 –> 00:24:07,960
him or something.

382
00:24:07,960 –> 00:24:12,200
And at the time, a lot of parents were saying it was a waste of time.

383
00:24:12,200 –> 00:24:15,200
And that’s how they felt about it.

384
00:24:15,200 –> 00:24:17,480
Now kids are making more than their parents.

385
00:24:17,480 –> 00:24:18,560
D: This is what I’m talking about.

386
00:24:18,560 –> 00:24:23,240
I feel very lucky to have grown up in a household that, I mean, I didn’t have that kind of skill

387
00:24:23,240 –> 00:24:27,560
set at games, but if I had, it would have been encouraged to like, all right, let’s

388
00:24:27,560 –> 00:24:28,560
explore this.

389
00:24:28,560 –> 00:24:29,560
Let’s see where this goes.

390
00:24:29,560 –> 00:24:30,560
G: Oh yeah, definitely.

391
00:24:30,560 –> 00:24:36,480
Had you had you exhibited anything like that, I mean, we would have pushed it to the nth

392
00:24:36,480 –> 00:24:42,520
degree or try to get you to a point to where we could see, would this be a waste of time?

393
00:24:42,520 –> 00:24:45,080
And that would be a part of my Twitch stream.

394
00:24:45,080 –> 00:24:50,840
Eventually, I’ll go back to Call of Duty or something like that and try to have somebody

395
00:24:50,840 –> 00:24:54,960
train me on the side before I actually get into the game and embarrass myself on the

396
00:24:54,960 –> 00:24:55,960
stream.

397
00:24:55,960 –> 00:25:00,280
D: Are you going to play Breath of the Wild 2 Tears of the Kingdom when it comes out?

398
00:25:00,280 –> 00:25:04,800
Well, the first game I’m going to play is Ocarina, Legends of Ocarina of Time.

399
00:25:04,800 –> 00:25:10,040
That’s going to be my introduction on my stream because it’s a game I’m familiar with.

400
00:25:10,040 –> 00:25:15,600
It’s a game I love and hopefully I can get through it to play it.

401
00:25:15,600 –> 00:25:20,440
Because I have every intention of playing the new Zelda.

402
00:25:20,440 –> 00:25:26,440
I play Ocarina of Time and I play Majora’s Mask, which was the next game.

403
00:25:26,440 –> 00:25:30,240
And I played it halfway through and I don’t know what happened.

404
00:25:30,240 –> 00:25:32,760
D: Well, firstly, we were still renting at that point.

405
00:25:32,760 –> 00:25:34,800
G: Yeah, that could have been it.

406
00:25:34,800 –> 00:25:37,800
That could have been it.

407
00:25:37,800 –> 00:25:44,120
Yeah, we weren’t the richest family on the block.

408
00:25:44,120 –> 00:25:45,120
D: We were not.

409
00:25:45,120 –> 00:25:50,800
Okay, well, my last question for you is if you could only watch one anime or movie or

410
00:25:50,800 –> 00:25:55,040
play one video game for the rest of time, what would they be and why?

411
00:25:55,040 –> 00:25:57,440
G: Oh, Legends of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

412
00:25:57,440 –> 00:25:58,440
D: I should have known.

413
00:25:58,440 –> 00:26:02,560
G: Yeah, I mean, it has such fond memories for me.

414
00:26:02,560 –> 00:26:06,560
I think I’d played Madden and all those other games before.

415
00:26:06,560 –> 00:26:08,360
D: Boy, did you.

416
00:26:08,360 –> 00:26:09,720
G: Oh, yeah.

417
00:26:09,720 –> 00:26:16,520
But Ocarina of Time, it has such fond memories that you and I, I mean, playing together,

418
00:26:16,520 –> 00:26:18,040
bonding together.

419
00:26:18,040 –> 00:26:26,040
And it was just, I mean, I think on IGN, it was given the, there have been other video

420
00:26:26,040 –> 00:26:29,280
games since, but at the time it got a 10.

421
00:26:29,280 –> 00:26:33,200
And it was deemed or labeled as a masterpiece.

422
00:26:33,200 –> 00:26:39,360
There’s always, I’ll read something or see a YouTube video, something new about Ocarina

423
00:26:39,360 –> 00:26:40,360
of Time.

424
00:26:40,360 –> 00:26:41,600
And I’m just like, I didn’t know that.

425
00:26:41,600 –> 00:26:45,200
And that’s one reason I’m going to go back and play it because there’s stuff in there

426
00:26:45,200 –> 00:26:49,080
that I didn’t know that we could do or find.

427
00:26:49,080 –> 00:26:50,920
And I want to go back and find it.

428
00:26:50,920 –> 00:26:53,200
Even in the Water Temple.

429
00:26:53,200 –> 00:26:58,000
D: I will watch your stream and I will root you on.

430
00:26:58,000 –> 00:27:01,840
I will not be, I will not be, do not ask for my help with Water Temple.

431
00:27:01,840 –> 00:27:03,560
I have none to give.

432
00:27:03,560 –> 00:27:05,840
G: Oh, it’s going to be fun.

433
00:27:05,840 –> 00:27:08,520
D: Do you have, okay, what about an anime?

434
00:27:08,520 –> 00:27:15,200
That would have to be Dragon Ball.

435
00:27:15,200 –> 00:27:16,200
Okay.

436
00:27:16,200 –> 00:27:23,120
Because there’s Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and then the creme de la creme, Dragon Ball

437
00:27:23,120 –> 00:27:24,120
Z Super.

438
00:27:24,120 –> 00:27:26,840
Yeah, that was the best.

439
00:27:26,840 –> 00:27:27,840
D: Okay.

440
00:27:27,840 –> 00:27:30,600
Well, that’s all I have for us today.

441
00:27:30,600 –> 00:27:34,360
Thank you so much for joining me for the first episode of Culture by Culture.

442
00:27:34,360 –> 00:27:36,200
G: Oh, it is my pleasure.

443
00:27:36,200 –> 00:27:38,000
Do you have anything you’d like to plug?

444
00:27:38,000 –> 00:27:39,480
Where can people find you?

445
00:27:39,480 –> 00:27:40,720
If they can find you at all.

446
00:27:40,720 –> 00:27:43,320
Oh, well, they can’t find me anywhere yet.

447
00:27:43,320 –> 00:27:44,840
I’ll get back with you.

448
00:27:44,840 –> 00:27:49,520
And once everything’s up and running, if you want to give me a plug, you can.

449
00:27:49,520 –> 00:27:54,000
But it’s been a pleasure helping you with your inaugural podcast.

450
00:27:54,000 –> 00:27:55,480
I hope it goes well.

451
00:27:55,480 –> 00:28:00,280
I know you’ll be successful in spite of this podcast because you’re going to have other

452
00:28:00,280 –> 00:28:05,440
guests that I’m sure are probably just a tad more excited than me.

453
00:28:05,440 –> 00:28:06,960
So I think-

454
00:28:06,960 –> 00:28:08,240
D: People are going to love you.

455
00:28:08,240 –> 00:28:09,760
I already- don’t you worry.

456
00:28:09,760 –> 00:28:10,760
Don’t you worry about it.

457
00:28:10,760 –> 00:28:11,760
Okay.

458
00:28:11,760 –> 00:28:12,760
All right.

459
00:28:12,760 –> 00:28:15,040
I’m going to leave it in your capable hands.

460
00:28:15,040 –> 00:28:17,520
D: And thank you, everyone, so much for listening.

461
00:28:17,520 –> 00:28:21,680
I want to know what anime or video game would you play for the rest of time?

462
00:28:21,680 –> 00:28:23,800
If you could only choose one and why, let me know.

463
00:28:23,800 –> 00:28:27,960
You can let me know @culturexpodcast on Twitter or Instagram.

464
00:28:27,960 –> 00:28:30,360
We have so much cool stuff coming up this season.

465
00:28:30,360 –> 00:28:31,680
I hope you stick around.

466
00:28:31,680 –> 00:28:36,040
You can subscribe on your favorite podcasting app or again, follow us on social so you don’t

467
00:28:36,040 –> 00:28:37,040
miss any new episodes.

468
00:28:37,040 –> 00:28:38,040
And we’ll see you next week.

469
00:28:38,040 –> 00:28:39,040
And until then, keep it chill and keep it nerdy.

470
00:28:39,040 –> 00:29:06,860
Just keep it chill and keep it nerdy.