Asia Jackson - Actress, Digital Creative

Asia Jackson is a Los Angeles based actress and digital creative. Seen in television shows Modern Family, The Young and The Restless, and Superstore, Asia has also built a Youtube presence through thoughtful and engaging videos about “science of skincare, practical fashion styling tips, leveling up your lifestyle, and my journey towards optimizing mental & physical health.” Her platform encourages viewers to be their best selves while steeping sociopolitics and history into the conversation. In 2016, Asia spearheaded the #MagandangMorenx movement to change the colonial mentality about beauty. Created to address and combat colorism, especially in the Filipino community, #MagandangMorenx has been far reaching and conversation starting. Asia continues to create and act, always holding true to herself.

asiajackson.com
youtube
@aasian

How did you create your career path, and choose acting and a creative industry over computer science?
I taught myself how to code when I was eleven years old and by the time I graduated high school, I figured I'd make a career out of it since I already knew how to do it. I originally went to college with the intention of majoring in computer information systems however while attending, I took a film production class and realized I really liked making stuff and being both in front and behind the camera. Starting an acting career as well as making a YouTube channel just made sense given how much I enjoy film making.

As a youtuber, what content works for you and what do you want viewers to gain from the videos?
I really like making the typical fashion & beauty content but with an educational, analytical spin on it. I always want my viewers to understand how to do something or how something works. For example, my skincare videos always have an explanation for why products work the way they do and why certain ingredients are best for certain skin concerns. My fashion videos on the other hand are still analytical—when I'm giving styling tips, I explain why certain shoes look with certain pants or why you should choose a crop top vs. an oversized tee when you wear a certain style of jacket. I love learning, and I love witnessing others learn. I truly believe that no one ever stops being a student, so I like when my Youtube videos teach someone something new.

I also like to infuse history and sociopolitics into my fashion and beauty discourse. When it comes to skincare, I always talk about colorism. I created a viral movement called #MagandangMorenx which literally translates to 'beautiful brown skin' in Tagalog, to combat colorism in Filipino communities and I often talk about skin whitening products and treatments and the colonial history behind the worship for whiter skin. Neither fashion nor beauty exists in a vacuum—it is almost always affected by the sociopolitical climate at the time and in the region, culture, or community, and I just find that really fascinating.

How important is sharing your perspective (woman, African American, Filipina, actress) in your videos?
It's important to share my perspective simply because it's who I am. It would not benefit me to pretend to be something or someone that I'm not, so my perspective as a Black Filipino actress will always be in my videos.

What are some of your favorite videos you created?
This is my favorite video. When I filmed it, I meant for it to simply be a part of one of my holiday vlogs but I thought there was a bigger, cooler story to tell. In fact, this short documentary inspired me to write a screenplay for a full-length feature film. While I was going through the footage the next morning, I thought about how cool it would be to use all this footage for a mini documentary. So that's what I did! On one hand, I wish I'd had the idea before I shot everything so that it would've been a more intentional documentary but on the other hand, I really liked how I had to get creative in order to tell a full story with the limited footage that I did have.

What are some goals you want to accomplish through your work?
I'm just a girl who is trying to be a better person than she was yesterday. And I hope my work encourages others to do the same.

What was the inspiration and drive behind Magandang Morenx? And what has the reception been like since you started it in 2016?
The creation of #MagandangMorenx was directly inspired by my experiences going to school in the Philippines. I was bullied for having darker skin while I was living there, and I never wanted any young person to feel the way that I did solely on the basis of their skin color. So I created #MagandangMorenx to combat colorism in Filipino communities. The reception has been incredible! The first day we did it in October 2016, there only like 30 tweets. The second time around in May 2017, there were TENS of THOUSANDS of tweets. I was shocked! But I'm glad that it resonated with so many people, because it started a whole bunch of conversations about colorism.

You have collaborated with Uprisers for Magandang Morenx, do you have plans for future collaborations?
Hopefully!

Who/what is your biggest driving force?
My family, always.

Do you have any upcoming projects that you are excited about?
I have a role in an upcoming Amazon film called Nocturne, and I'm working on some really cool projects that I can't talk about yet!

Photos by Jared Kocka