[NIFL-POVRACELIT:1099] BECOMING AMERICAN: The Chinese Experience

From: Mary Ann Corley (macorley1@earthlink.net)
Date: Sat Mar 22 2003 - 08:25:32 EST


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Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:1099] BECOMING AMERICAN: The Chinese Experience
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FYI:

BECOMING AMERICAN: The Chinese Experience, A Bill Moyers Special premieres
on PBS over three nights, March 25 - 27 from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. (ET) check
local listings.
  _____

In the 1840s they came by boat, a frightening journey across the wide
Pacific. Today, they come by jet, a few hours flight to a new life. For over
150 years, the Chinese - like other immigrants to this country - have
pursued the American dream. Theirs is a compelling tale of struggle and
triumph, progress and setback, separation and assimilation, discrimination
and achievement. It is a story of the collision of two cultures, and a saga
that has largely been left out of history books.  Bill Moyers and Series
Producer Thomas Lennon worked with a team of talented filmmakers including
Series Editor Ruby Yang and Producers Joseph Angier, Steve Cheng, and Mi
Ling Tsui to explore this dramatic portion of America's history and confront
myths about the Chinese in America.

BECOMING AMERICAN: The Chinese Experience unfolds between the pillars of two
landmark pieces of American legislation: the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 -
the first time the United States ever banned a group of people based on race
or nationality - and the Immigration Reform Act of 1965, which opened the
door to Asians and other non-Europeans to come to America in record numbers.
The history is revealed through interviews with historians, recent arrivals,
and the descendents of early immigrants. In the third program, the series
collides with the present, examining the lives of new immigrants from China
as well as Chinese Americans who have lived here for generations, all of
whom must consider their status and place in the American experience.  Says
Moyers, "I've heard Chinese Americans and recent arrivals grappling with the
issues that every immigrant group has had to face over time. What does it
mean to become American? At what moment do you think you are American? What
do you give up when you become American if you're an
immigrant? What traditions do you try to preserve? These are personal and
political issues. Issues of identity and assimilation. Issues of access and
empowerment. And they lie at the very heart of our democracy, past and
present.

TELL US YOUR STORY
The struggle to become American is part of every family's story. These
stories are being collected and featured on the series' extensive
website.<http://www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/portraits> Click here to tell
us your story.

VIEWER GUIDE
A downloadable Viewer Guide will be available on the BECOMING AMERICAN Web
site by March 21, 2003.
For more information on BECOMING AMERICAN: The Chinese Experience: Kelly &
Salerno Communications
203-863-1000
Outreach
Liliana Chen
liliana@kellysalerno.com


* * *  * * *
-Mary Ann Corley
NIFL-Povracelit List Moderator



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