Jeff Yang on Disney, race, and pop culture

The World

Comic books have always been a place to explore brave new worlds. Be that out outer space, inner space, or the frontiers of race and gender. Yeah, we’re talking about Wolverine, but we’re also talking about Dora the Explorer. That compact, bobble-headed, bilingual tot boldly went where no cartoon had gone before and actually changed the world of pop culture by introducing her life, her adventures, and her abuela to the under three feet set. So what’s next? To help us explore the expanding multicultural pop culture world is Jeff Yang. He writes the Asian Pop column at SFGate.com and is the editor of a new book, Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology.

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