EP 166: (Feeling) The Joy Luck Club
“This film makes me question so many of my own beliefs —
what it means to be a Chinese American woman.
What might seem stereotypical, but may be very culturally true.”
MMovies returns to talk about important films that explain the minority experience for the rest of our majority ears. THE JOY LUCK CLUB - however you may feel about it - is THE original Asian American movie. This 1993 film adapts the 1989 novel of the same name by Amy Tan. An Asian American drama about the relationships between Chinese American women and their Chinese immigrant mothers - the film features 50 women of the 60 credited roles. Directed by Wayne Wang and produced by Oliver Stone - the film stars Tsai Chin, Kieu Chinh, Lisa Lu, France Nuyen, Rosalind Chao, Lauren Tom, Tamlyn Tomita, and Ming-Na Wen - and centers on four older women, all Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco, who meet regularly to play mahjong, eat, and tell stories. Hidden pasts are revealed, and the clash of Chinese and American cultures is on full display as each strives to understand their own heritage and identity. The Joy Luck Club is an important cultural touchstone that people have VERY strong perspectives about - positive and negative - so along with longtime FrieMMd of the Pod (and one of our favorite Canadians) Melissa Haughton - we interrogate our feelings on the film, as well as reflect on our own observations and upbringings, and you may be surprised where we net out about this classic...
LEARN MORE & MENTIONS
FILM: The Joy Luck Club - imdb.com/title/tt0107282/
BOOK: The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)
ARTICLE (Slate): “It’s Time to Forgive The Joy Luck Club” — https://slate.com/culture/2018/08/the-joy-luck-club-needs-to-be-forgiven-by-asian-americans.html
GUEST: Melissa Haughton - Melissahaughton.com