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American Sons

american-sons
Photo courtesy of Farallon Films

Genre: Documentary/Drama
Ethnicity: General Asian American
Themes: Gender and Sexuality, Identity/Representation,
Political/Legal Issues
Date: 1995
Running Time: 28 min.
Director/Producer/Writer: Steven Okazaki
Availability: Center for Asian American Media (formerly NAATA)
College/Institution: $125 Purchase/$39 Rental
K-12/Public Library/Community Group: $85 Purchase/$29 Rental

  • Synopsis
  • Review
  • Supplementary Materials
Synopsis
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American Sons is a provocative examination of how racism shapes the lives of Asian American men. Actors Yuji Okumoto, Kelvin Han Yee, Lane Nishikawa and Ron Muriera tell real stories based on interviews with Asian Americans throughout the country. They express the issues of hate violence, the stereotypes placed on Asian men, the model minority myth and the deep psychological damage that racism causes over generations. (Courtesy of the Center for Asian American Media)

Review
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Maitland Zane, “Films Give Views of Racism,” San Francisco Chronicle. May 22 1998.

Supplementary Materials
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Chan, Jachinson. Chinese American Masculinities From Fu Manchu to Bruce Lee. NY: Routledge, 2001.

Cheng, Lucie and Philip Yang. “Asians: The “Model Minority” deconstructed,” in Waldinger, Roger and Mehdi Bozorgmehr eds., Ethnic Los Angeles. NY: Russell Sage, 1996.

Feng, Peter. “Redefining Asian American Masculinity: Steven Okazaki’s ‘American Sons.’” Cineaste 22:3 (Summer 1996): 27-29.

Discusses the film and Asian American identity and masculinity in popular culture.

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