Films in the MRC for Anth 578

Related Films

You can find these in the Media Resource Center (MRC). The MRC is on the bottom floor of the Undergraduate Library.

The ones that indicate Available in the Check Availbility link can be checked out. The ones that indicate Available (library use only) must be viewed in the MRC.

1405 Zheng he xia xi yang: | Check Availability
The production team spent a year and a half tracing Zheng He's footprints, interviewing experts on this topic both in China and overseas, in order to uncover the truth veiled in th mists of history. This unparalleled feat in the history of civilization gives the film a broader interest. Historically, Zheng He's voyage not only heralded the beginning of the globalization, it also demonstrated the Chinese tradition of pursuing a peaceful world order. To recreate this great sea epic of six centuries ago, the documentary takes in the broad historical conditions as well as the detailed facts of the voyages, trying its best to recreate realities of that remote age.

Becoming American: The Chinese Experience: | Check Availability
Traces the history and experiences of Chinese Americans; also includes personal journeys of AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho, market research pioneer Shirley Young, author Gish Jen, physicist Samuel Ting, and architect Maya Lin.

Better Luck Tomorrow: | Check Availability
At its release in the spring of 2003, Justin Lin's teen comedy/drama Better Luck Tomorrow created a stir among young college aged Chinese-Americans. The film probably had some of the effect of Rebel Without A Cause for middle-classed white teens in the 50's and Boyz in the Hood for urban black teens in the early 90's. Lin's film is a case study on how to rip through some of the sterotypical notions about Chinese-American kids while, at the same time, reinforcing those stereotypes. The film's story revolves around a group of smart, over-achieving young friends whose boredom leads them toward a very dangerous edge.

Between Two Worlds: | Check Availability
Documentary. A film that looks at how young Asian-Americans especially those who are the children of first generation immigrants perceive themselves in America. It is also about how these young people deal with theirAmericaness at home among their parents as they themselves become more like other young Americans. The young Americans in this film are generally pro-active in confronting the issues and concerns they must deal because of the Asian heritage and background.

Chan Is Missing: | Check Availability
In San Francisco's Chinatown, an old cabby mysteriously disappears after arranging a business deal. Where has he gone? A Chinese cabby and his nephew try to track him down but the trail always lead them to dead ends. This independent film by Chinese-American Wang was made for peanuts ($20,000) but it looks marvelous and Wang's idiosyncratic script is full of wit and rich in verbal flavor and style. The film's real success is in the way the director explores the complex social environment of Chinatown and makes it appealing and accessible to those of us not used to its twists and turns.

China: the PBS Series: | Check availability
Tells the story of the eight decades of upheaval in China which followed the fall of its last emperor in 1911. Interviews with people who participated in the events described. This series has several volumes, some of which are relevant to Chinese overseas. Use the Filmfinder record to identify parts that may be of interest to you, and then check for availbility by following the format link in Filmfinder into the library catalog.

Cities in a hurry: | Check Availability
This program looks at the Asian cities of Kula Lumpur and Singapore.It examines how Kula Lumpur's global Islamic connections and thenetworks of Singapore's overseas Chinese overlap and problematize anyattempt to see the city as developing in a straightforward Westerncapitalist mould.

Combination Platter: | Check Availability
Kitchen mayhem, irate customers and potential romance unfolds as Robert, an illegal immigrant working at a Chinese restaurant in New York as a waiter, desperately searches for a way to stay in the United States. He reluctantly agrees to meet an American woman, Claire, with the hopes of marrying to obtain a green card. Will Robert obtain his green card before immigration catches up with him?

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart: | Check Availability
A charming, delightful comedy about a Chinese-American family in contemporary San Francisco trying to maintain a link to their cultural heritage while confronted with the changing world around them.

Dragon Chow: | Check Availability
In 1980's West Germany, a young Pakistani dishwasher and a Chinese waiter have dreams of starting their own restaurant. This film is about the cultural and emotional upheavels migrant workers, usually from the developing world, have as guest workers in Germany. The young men have dreams of making a go of things in the country, but their are just too many tricks and turns in their paths. A well made, bittersweet social comedy by director Schutte.

Eat a Bowl of Tea: | Check Availability
In New York's Chinatown of the late 1940's, young Ben Loy, fresh out of the service, has his whole life spread out before him - including a job, an apartment and a marriage arranged by his father.

Er di: | Check Availability
Would-be immigrant Er Di is back in China, expelled from the United States for working illegally. While in the U.S. he fathered a child, and when his American-born son comes to China for a visit, Er Di is barred from seeing him. At the same time, Er Di becomes involved with a beautiful member of a touring Shanghai opera company. Caught between his past and his future, his son's culture and his own, Er Di seeks bonds with both.

Forbidden City, U.S.A.: | Check Availability
A look at the notorious and popular San Francisco night club Forbidden City. The filmmakers interviewed many of the people who were a part of club's existence. As young people many of the interviewees reflect on having to battle the shock of "old style" Chinese, those with traditional Chinese ways and mores. Many of the dancers and singers were from smaller towns and cities and began their trek into show business against cultural and racial biases. The opening of Forbidden City helped create more certain jobs for these very Americanized entertainers of Chinese extraction, and, was like a Chinese-American Cotton Club.

A Great Wall: | Check Availability
The story of Leo Fang a Chinese born American who travels back to China to visit his sister. A comedy about the curiosity created by two different cultures in the same family. A nice film mostly. It has a lot of qualities that only be described as quaint or charming. It is very interesting to see so much detail about Chinese-American culture.

Golden Venture: | Check Availability
In June, 1993, the Golden Venture, a freighter carrying 300 undocumented Chinese passengers, ran aground off New York. The deaths and deportations that followed became a crucial turning point, ushering in a new, repressive era that has led America--once a beacon of liberty--to tighten its borders. The film raises important questions about America's policy toward those who came here in search of freedom and a better life. A case study in the politics of immigration, the multi-layered narrative also explores the culture of China's Fujian province, cross-ideological coalition building and the role art cand play in the struggle for human rights.

Hong Kong: Mini Dragon: | Check Availability
It is the third largest financial center in the world, with one of the highest population densities. In 1997, Hong Kong will be returned to the People's Republic of China. What will this mane for her economy and the freedoms she now enjoys? This program examines today's Hong Kong through the eyes of her citizens, who offer a clear picture of what makes the country a dynamic economic power and illustrates a common anxiety about an uncertain future.

The Joy Luck Club: | Check Availability
Follows the story of four lifelong friends, whose lives are filled with joy and heartbreak, and shows how their experiences have affected the hopes and dreams they hold for each of their children.

Mariman: Winds of Change: | Check Availability
Mariman's computer store was among the many Chinese businesses that were attacked and burned during the May 1998 riots in Indonesia; the same riots that toppled Suharto ... Mariman has sent his eldest son to Malaysia for safety ... His 9-year-old daughter doesn't want to leave Jakarta, but with violence continuing to erupt and elections drawing near, Mariman is growing increasing nervous.

The Mask of Fu Manchu: | Check Availability
Boris Karloff is Dr. Fu Manchu and Myrna Loy his daughter in this delightfully campy horror melodrama. Loy began her career playing the kind of exotic minxes she portrayed in this film. Only later would she become the elegant and witty comedienne movie lovers know from films like The Thin Man. Karloff was the reigning master of roles like Dr. Fu Manchu and the original Mummy.

Maxine Hong Kingston: Talking Story: | Check Availability
An excellent document on the life, works and cultural tradition of Chinese-American author Maxine Hong Kingston. Born to immigrant parents in Stockton, California Kingston used images, stories, and memories of her family's past to create her highly acclaimed works of literature. Issues of cultural influences, racism, multicultural development are discussed.

No Turning Back | Check Availability
The new immigration laws of 1965 were a turning point for the Chinese in America and allowed a new wave of immigrants to enter the country. Chinese American life has flourished in the years since. Narrated by Bill Moyers, this program presents intimate portraits of the new Chinese Americans who face a struggle common to so many immigrants: to reconcile some losses of their old culture in order to embrace their adopted American one.

Pacific Century: | Check Availability
The Pacific Century studies the interconnections between Pacific nations - and between those nations - and between those nations and the United States - within a geographical, cultural, and historical framework. We watch the decline of China's regional influence and Japan's rise to economic superiority, we see the dual nature of American involvement in Korea and the Philippines; and we come to understand Indonesian struggles for a unique identity among these disparate Pacific nations. Contemporary images from 10 countries, rare American and Asian film footage, and the insights of scholars, political figures, journalists, and witnesses to pivotal events highlight this compelling look at a century and a half in life of the Pacific. This series has several volumes, some of which are relevant to Chinese overseas. Use the Filmfinder record to identify parts that may be of interest to you.

Piao zai Meiguo: Adrift Without Roots: | Check Availability
In 12 documentary episodes, the writer and producer, Li Xian (Maria Gee) acts as a spokesperson for many new immigrants in the United States. After living on Pipit Place in San Diego, California for 8 years and making friends with many neighbors, the writer showed how four Chinese families, including her own, celebrate 12 American holidays to get a better understanding of the immigrant experience.

Pushing Hands: | Check Availability
A tai-chi master and widower moves from Beijing to a New York suburb to live with his only son. With a daughter-in-law who has no use for him and an ever-changing society, problems quickly arise. He is forced to call upon his tai-chi teachings and it's "pushing hands" to give him the balance needed to survive in this poignant and comic tale.

Stories of Maxine Hong Kingston: | Check Availability
When Maxine Hong Kingston was growing up in California, she listened to her parents' stories and memories of their native China. In her highly acclaimed memoirs, The Woman Warrior and China Men, she linked those tales of tradition to the story of her own American experience blending childhood memory, meditation, and magic.

Tang ren jie [videorecording] - China Town: Check Availability
In Mandarin and apparently without English subtitles. The television documentary series follows and interviews Chinese immigrants in more than 100 countries with focus on special experiences, fates, stories, achievements, and contributions of individuals and groups, tracing the history of Chinese immigrants. The history reveals the way of life of Chinese immigrants overseas from hard work, persistent efforts, to achievements in the countries they have lived.

Thousand Pieces of Gold: | Check Availability
Rosalind Chao plays a strong willed young Chinese woman send to America as an indentured servant to cover the cost of her transport. When she arrives as the property of a Chinese gambler, she rebels. Refusing to become a whore, she works at some of the hardest jobs in the mining town she's settled in to survive. When a wave of anti-Chinese hysteria sweeps the region she defies the efforts to drive her off. A good film about an almost forgotten segment of America's immigrant heritage.

When They All Still Lived: | Check Availability
A history of the Chinese who migrated to the California during the 1840's gold rush. Many would work in the gold fields at the foot of the "gold mountain." First a trickle, in three years over 25,000 are in San Francisco, creating a "Little Canton" the first Chinatown. In the initial phases of the rush, miners from all cultures worked side-by-side. But as the fields grow more crowded foreigners are excluded especially the Chinese. When the rail magnates find a severe labor shortage building the roads across the mountains, they resort to use of Chinese labor, Inspite of doubts and opposition. They prove, "the best road crews imaginable." When the gold rush is over many miners flock to San Francisco and other western states. A virulently anti-Chinese mood is rampant throughout the west. Violence against them is high. The story of exploitation, repression and expulsion after that exploitation is repeated over and over again.

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