A candid look at three Asian American women who aren’t geishas, hookers, or bikini-clad masseuses. NOT BLACK OR WHITE examines the stereotypical ways in which Asian women have been depicted in the media and how three acclaimed Asian American actresses challenge and defy those concepts in their creative work and careers. Featuring interviews with cartoonist/actress Lela Lee (Angry Little Asian Girl); writer/actress Amy Hill (All American Girl, Next Friday); and actress Ming-Na (ER, The Joy Luck Club, Mulan), these provocative and spirited profiles demonstrate how these particular artists struggle to define themselves and their own creative agendas.
“When I was little we watched a lot of TV, and the shows I remember watching were… Brady Bunch, Leave It to Beaver …so this is the idea of a home that I had. I was like, ‘there’s something wrong with me! I don’t have a home like that, my family doesn’t look like that!’”
– Lela Lee, cartoonist
“On television, which I watched quite a bit of, I didn’t see many [Asians]…so even if they were African American, I got pretty excited. I related to anybody who wasn’t white. And if there was an ASIAN face…all hell broke loose. I felt like everybody called each other too, it’d be like, ‘Hey, turn to channel seven, there’s an Asian in the background walking by, I think he’s a waiter.’”
– Amy Hill
“I don’t think I would have gotten where I was if I focused on the fact that I am an Asian, a woman who is American, and these are my limitations.”
– Ming-Na
Recognition
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival
Asian American International Film Festival, NY
