My mother thought she was Audrey Hepburn
Description
In this funny and sometimes irreverent journey through San Francisco's Chinatown, Suzanne comes to terms with her own ethnic identity. This film is a personal statement about growing up Asian-American in a white society. Suzanne was brought up "not to be Chinese." All traces of her family's Chinese culture and traditions were to be left in China. Her mother was proud to dress like Audrey Hepburn or Jackie Kennedy, thinking she had attained the American dream if she modeled herself after them. Though she never became an active member of white society, she unwittingly fostered a "Chinese self-hatred" in her daughter.The film suggests that racial stereotypes are imprisoning whether the minority person rebels against them or conforms. Thus Suzanne, after mindlessly alternating between a series of different self images, goes full circle, accepting, at last, her ethnic heritage.
Runtime
18 min
Subjects
- Self-esteem (22)
- Assimilation (Sociology) (93)
- Stereotypes (Social psychology) (73)
- Chinese American women (2)
Genre
Date of Publication
1992
Database
Alexander Street
Direct Link
Similar Films
Stories of the Dreamtime
Baka. A cry from the rainforest
Trobriand Cricket. The Sport Catches on in New Guinea
The psychology of affirmative action
The Afar Tribe. A Bride's Story
Legend and Reality
Bridge the Gap to Pine Ridge. A Visit with the Oglala Lakota People
Self-esteem and identity in the digital age
Exploring society. Race and ethnicity. Lesson 13
Quest for the empowered self. Building high self-esteem, part 2. Episode 16
2 minutes to success. Overcoming low self-esteem
Stolen Generations. Genocide and the Aborigines
Feel Good about Failure. The Dark Side of Self-Esteem Classes
A Day in the Life of the American Gun
Cutting edge communication comedy series. Improving self esteem