Season 4, Ep. 10: Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Saturday School Podcast

It's the last episode of Saturday School Season 4, our exploration of Asian American troublemakers in film, and we don't want to say we saved the "best" for last, but we definitely saved the most badass for last. This week, we're talking about 1965's "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" by Russ Meyer, starring Tura Satana, Haji, and Lori Williams. It's a cult hit among certain circles: admirers include John Waters, Quentin Tarantino, and the late Roger Ebert, as well as fans of burlesque. Stories from the late Tura Satana link her to Elvis Presley's dance moves and the creation of Charlie's Angels. But the film is not as often talked about in Asian American circles, even though both Tura and Haji are biracial Asian women. Tura, who was in the incarceration camps as a kid, has a mix of Japanese, Filipina, Native American and Scots-Irish blood. Haji is British and Filipina American.

There's an upcoming documentary about Tura Satana (narrated by Margaret Cho, co-produced by YOMYOMF) that is in currently in post-production, and we can't wait to see it. In the meantime, here's a taste of Tura, as Varla, who Phil Chung called "The Most Kickass Asian American Woman to Ever Grace the Silver Screen."

And as a wrap-up to this semester, we ponder other Asian American troublemakers that didn't quite fit into our 10-episode season -- the renegades we are eternally grateful for, and even the ones who spout messages we think are harmful to society -- understanding that to truly appreciate Asian America is to grapple with all of Asian America, troublemakers included.