Season 9, Ep. 1: The Joy Luck Club

Saturday School is officially back for Season 9! Brian and I are here to teach your unwilling children about Asian American pop culture history (which includes Russell Wong and watermelons). The theme for this semester is "Stars of Asian American Cinema." In recent years, it's been fun to see Asian Americans starring in Hollywood hits and winning prestigious awards, because for so many years, we were told that the reason Hollywood wouldn't make any Asian American films was because there were no bankable stars. But as longtime followers of the Asian American indie film scene, we had our own stars -- those who we could count on to shine on the big screens of Asian American film festivals, even if they never landed on the covers of Entertainment Weekly. 

We start this season with "The Joy Luck Club," not because it's a groundbreaking Hollywood studio film, but to remind ourselves that when the film came out, none of them were considered "stars." But looking back at it 31 years later, it's a parade of stars-in-the-making. Yes, it's a meaningful story about mothers and daughters, immigrant struggle and intergenerational trauma -- but also everyone is very vulnerably charismatic, joyfully campy or entertainingly villainous. And it's ridiculous that Tamlyn Tomita, Ming-Na Wen, Lauren Tom and Rosalind Chao still kinda look the same. 

Mentioned in this episode:

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"Inheriting" is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, which explores how one event in history can ripple through generations. In doing so, the show seeks to break apart the AAPI monolith and tell a fuller story of these communities. In each episode, NPR’s Emily Kwong sits down with one family and facilitates deeply emotional conversations between their loved ones, exploring how their most personal, private moments are an integral part of history. Through these stories, we show how the past is personal and how to live with the legacies we’re constantly inheriting. New episodes premiere every Thursday. Subscribe to “Inheriting” on your app of choice

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