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Becoming American: The Chinese Experience

Genre: Documentary

Ethnicity: Chinese American
Themes: History, Identity/Representation, Immigrant/Refugee Experience/Diaspora, Labor & Class Issues,
Political/Legal Issues
Date: 2003
Running Time: 122 min. each (3 parts)
Director: Bill Moyers
Producer: Thomas Lennon
Writers: Joseph Angier, Thomas Lennon, Bill Moyers, Mi Ling Tsui
Availability:
Films Media Group
Purchase: $299.95 (US and Canada only)

  • Synopsis
  • Review
  • Supplementary Materials
Synopsis
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Hosted by Bill Moyers, this three-part documentary spans the experience of Chinese-Americans from the mid-19th century California Gold Rush to the present. The first program “Gold Mountain Dreams” explores the role that Chinese immigrants played in settling the American West and building the western leg of the Transcontinental Railroad. “Between Two Worlds” examines the years following the 1882 Exclusion Act. The final episode, “No Turning Back,” looks at the place of Asian Americans in American society in the years following World War II.

Becoming American: Personal Journeys is a three-part (30 minutes each) companion series that profiles and features interviews with five prominent Chinese Americans: David Ho, Shirley Young, Gish Jen, Samuel Ting, and Maya Lin.

See also:
http://www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/aboutprograms.html

Review
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Zhao, Xiaojian. “Review: Becoming American: The Chinese Experience.” The Journal of American History 91:3 (December 2004): 1143-1144.

Supplementary Materials
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Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, Public Broadcasting System
http://www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/index.html

Includes brief historical introductions to and summaries of each episode, video clips, a transcript of the first program, a viewer’s guide, an educator’s guide, a timeline of Chinese American history, and more.

Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, KQED Education Network
http://www.kqed.org/w/becomingamerican/

Includes a sample lesson plan for elementary level teachers, links to local resources, and other supplementary material.

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