Diaspora and Historical Contexts Portrayed by Chinese Filmmakers
Immediately, after learning much about the history of China through representative popular culture forms, I noticed a distinct difference between the connotations of history in America and the way in which artists present the history of China. Much of the negative side of American history is often omitted. We are constantly learning about America's accomplishments, but disregard the impact of the past on the present. The somewhat whimsical portrayal of ancient China that appears in the films Kung Fu Hustle and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon also neglect negative aspects of the nation’s history. The presentation of history through these art forms exhibit an imaginative homeland, which in turn have given Chinese migrants a sense of unity and pride in relation to their homeland. There is a recapitulation of the same manipulation of history that we see in America, where younger generations learn a biased form of history that are imposed by institutional forces. With that being said, the time at which many Chinese filmmakers migrated from China may explain why they did not experience the same restrictive lifestyle as those remaining in China. Therefore, it raises the question of whether they consciously chose to depict China in such a positive light, or if they were truly unaware of some of the negative aspects of Chinese history.
There was a single statement from the podcast “Lies My Teacher Told Me” that continued to reverberate within my thoughts much after listening. They stated, “there are such things as fact and truth in history” and no individual has the right to their own fact. The more I contemplated this statement, the more I began to feel that it fails to acknowledge a very important aspect of personal truth. Yes, fact is fact, based in its definition alone. However, part of the human conscious is personal experience and one’s own truth. It is incredibly difficult to deny someone else’s truth because you have not experienced it or had those thoughts. Even though the truth present in their mind may not align with the absolute truth, their truth is rooted in some form of fact based on experience, rather than deliberate fabrication of a nonsensical truth.
My podcast is intended to compare and contrast some of the historical experiences in East Asia with America and at the same time evaluate the difficult question of whether there is truth and fact in history. I wanted to display how different connotations of history can take form through popular culture and how important popular culture is in displaying personal truth, whether or not it is widely accepted as fact.
Performing and creating a podcast gave me a sense of freedom to express myself and my ideas in a way that I have never experienced. Being able to relay a message to an audience and add my own personal effects such as music and cover art, provided a feeling of empowerment. Speaking in a podcast was different than a written publication because it added additional meaning through the form of tone and emotion. With a podcast not only can the audience be engaged through the general content, but can also be engaged by the emotion a speaker can express. Podcasts as a medium are effective at opening up intellectual dialogue because of the conversational aspect. A podcast gave me the ability to show how much I cared about the topics I discuss. I do not believe the same words written on paper would have had the same ability to admit a powerful engagement with the audience.