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Official release on Feb. 2 on Berkeley Art Center’s website.

Virtually Asian, a new video essay by Oakland artist Astria Suparak calling out sci-fi’s anti-Asian racism. The video looks at how white sci-fi filmmakers fill the backgrounds of their futuristic worlds with hollow Asian figures — in the form of holographic and video advertisements — while the films are devoid of actual Asian people. With examples from major sci-fi productions spanning four decades, the video reveals this trope as a poor attempt to mask white supremacist imagination and casting. Soundtrack by longtime hip-hop producer Onra (Paris). English subtitles available.

Astria Suparak, still from Virtually Asian, 2021, HD video, running time 3:05. Commissioned by Berkeley Art Center. Image courtesy of the artist.