Workshop/Screening in Phoenix and Amazing Sedona
I got some good news yesterday. Michael Isip, Vice Pres of TV Content, KQED, the public TV network in San Francisco, said he really liked our most recent 61 min rough cut. His high opinion of our cut makes it much more likely that our final cut will be broadcast on PBS.
Sept 10 - I gave the first workshop "Deconstructing the Asian American Model Minority Myth" with Hyung Chol Yoo, PhD, a professor of psychology of Arizona State University at the 2009 National Assoc. of Rights Protection and Advocacy annual conference at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak (an amazingly beautiful hotel). For more info, you can read my blog about this workshop. But I'm not done writing about it yet:(http://www.amongourkin.org/2009/09/deconstructing-model-minority-myth.html)
As always, I meet some of the most interesting people at these conferences like Ron Bassman (ronaldbassman.com). A psychologist, he was once told that he was a chronic schizophrenic with little hope of recovery and would have to be on medications for the rest of his life. At one point, he was in insulin-induced coma, administered electroconvulsive therapy (shock therapy) and a host of other "treatments" which ultimately harmed him in many ways. Institutionalization and forced treatment were common practices in the 1960's for people with mental illnesses. People with mental illnesses were viewed as having no rights. He defied all norms by becoming a PhD. recovering from an "incurable" mental illness and recently wrote a book "A Fight to Be." I highly recommend that you check his website: ronaldbassman.com out.
This Pointe Hilton Hotel was absolutely gorgeous with a water park, consisting of 8 pools. I tubed down this "river pool" and went slithering down this very long water slide 3x. I think I was the only person over the age of 12 having so much fun. (It's 105 degrees in Phoenix so you need to swim)
Sept 10 - The screening of my 61 min rough cut at the Arizona Public Health Assoc. Conference went ok. I thought it was charming that they served popcorn during the film. The turnouts were far lower than expected, but we got good film evaluations at the public health conference. Less than half of the number of people expected attended the conference. The recession apparently has affected travel budgets for public health administrations. Even less than that number attended my screening.
The audience was mostly MDs, PhDs, MPHs, nurses and other health service providers. I thought they as medical professionals would have negative comments about some of the anti-psychotropic medication opinions expressed by consumers in my film, but none of them mentioned that in their written evaluations. A few said that the film was powerful and amazing. Two women stayed after the screening and talked to me in depth about the social importance of the film. One Native American woman said that she, too, could relate to the experience of trying to bridge the intergenerational cultural gap between Can and his traditional parents.
She said that many young Native Americans have conflicts with their more traditional parents. She said the film was powerful in rendering that situation. Her comment made me think how such human experiences resonate universally, no matter how culturally-specific we may think they are. A medical doctor told me he learned a lot and the film gave him insight into his ex-girlfriend who was from Taiwan. He made no mention of the medical stuff.
We also got a few negative responses, which was expected. 2 people said the film wasn't enjoyable, but educational. Some said it was a little disjointed, but I already knew that. But overall, I received much better
responses than I had expected.
Ellen Owens-Summo, the Vice Pres of the Arizona Public Health Association, said she felt frustrated throughout the film b/c she felt like Can's identity was like fused with his mental illness. She didn't feel like he was moving forward. I told her she was witnessing the reality of the situation. Can sometimes does over-identify with his mental disorder and talks about it incessantly. Though he has gotten better lately. One of his friends sometimes jokingly refers to him as Mr. Bipolar. He is stuck in certain ways. In a way, her comment was a compliment b/c it meant that we were accurately portraying reality as uncomfortable as that was. But this was clearly a struggle that I as a director have had to deal with over and over again. Showing Can's repetitiveness makes him less likable, but it is in actuality how he behaves. Should I make a deliberate effort to make him more likable with less regard for accuracy? Yes, some producers/directors would say. No, is what I have been saying. But I am open to making him more likeable without detracting from the overall integrity of the reality.
I was so glad that the screening was over. Because of my home burglary on Aug 11, I lost 2 wks of editing time and felt so inadequate presenting the cut as it was. I was actually glad that the audience size was smaller than expected because the cut wasn't where it should have been. I was running on pure adrenaline for the last 2 days before leaving for Phoenix and I had gotten only an hour of sleep the night before I flew out of NJ. I was so relieved.
Sept 11 - The day after my screening, I attended the conference as a participant and learned so much about American public health issues, like how social determinants affect health and longevity. Cheryl Easley, President of the American Public Health Assoc. gave an inspiring speech about human rights and health disparities. Native Americans have an average lifespan far below the American average. People with serious and chronic mental illnesses live 25 years less than the average American for a multitude of reasons related to side effects of medications and other
social and economic factors.
I also attended this workshop about obstetric care for Somali refugees in Phoenix. And I was really impressed with the extent to which this obstetrican/gynecologist went to in order provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care to these refugees who fled their homelands because of the civil war there. The clinic was highly successful. The only question I had going through my mind was how is it that these Somalis are able to receive culturally competent medical care after only being here for a few years? Asian Americans have been in this country for 4 centuries and yet many Asian Americans do not receive culturally and linguistically competent medical care. Is it the model minority myth that makes people think that Asian Americans do not need culturally competent mental health care? Maybe probably?
Do you know that one's race to some extent is a reliable predictor of lifespan and health outcomes? Income and socioeconomic status often affect diet, levels of stress and exercise habits. All these factors affect our health choices. Did you know that most immigrants, even those from developing countries, are healthier than most average Americans upon arrival? But as soon as they start assimilating to the American lifestyle, their health goes downhill. It's a conundrum. Check out this
documentary clip: http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/video_clips.php
SEPT 12- AMAZING SEDONA
redrockcountry.org
I went to Sedona to do research on Navajo and Hopi languages and cultures for my next film about the linguistic history of the U.S. Unbeknownst to most Americans, this land was once the home of thousands of Native American languages, many of which are now extinct or are in danger of extinction today. Franz Boas, the father of anthropology, could not even begin to categorize all of them due to vast numbers and variations of languages and dialects. Modern day America is the most monolingual this land has ever been. I think this is such a fascinating statement, given the current legal, social and cultural debates surrounding the use of English and Spanish. Many Americans are debating whether they want to live in a bilingual society, much less a land where thousands of languages are spoken. As a Korean American, I've heard so many racist comments leveled at recent immigrants who do not speak English well as if all Americans "should" speak English. This "should" is culturally induced and certainly not a prerequisite for American Citizenship. In fact, Citizenship tests are frequently given in many languages because of Title VI of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin. (My grandmother when she was 82 took her test in Korean and proudly scored a 96% on her exam, much to our surprise.) There is a misconception that America is supposed to be a English monolingual society, when, in fact, our ancestors and forefathers were multi-lingual. Not to mention the fact that the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits government from interfering freedom of speech rights. It has been my personal mission as an American to correct these kinds of social wrongs from happening. The film will map out the historical and prehistorical linguistic landscape of the U.S. beginning with the tongues of the Native Americans, most of whose languages did not have a written form.
I did not make it up into Navajo and Hopi reservations in Northern Arizona. I just didn't have the time and money, though I certainly did have the will. I spoke with many of the Navajo vendors who sold their jewelry and arts by the roadside at the local Dairy Queen on one of the main arteries through town. Through some of these women, I learned a bit about the culture and where the main reservations were. It seemed to help that I was Korean and was able to relate to some of their cultural dilemmas about assimilation and language. Many Native Americans have diabetes and other serious and chronic health issues.
I camped out in a tent in Sedona for 4 days, much to my own amazement. I thought I would be scared to camp alone, but after doing a little research, I discovered that I was by far safer camping alone in Sedona than living in my apartment in Jersey City. Sleeping under the stars and waking up at dawn hasn't really been a part of my lifestyle. I was going to sleep a few hours after sunset and getting up an hour after dawn, which is so contrary to my usual night owl routine.
I climbed Cathedral Rock, which is a gorgeous and amazing place to be. The views are mesmerizing and there is a spiritual and mystical quality about Sedona. I learned that there are vortexes in Sedona, which are some kind of energy fields. I had to go on all fours for latter part of the rock climb. It was a precariously dangerous 60 degree incline at a few points, where one slip could lead to death or serious injury -- at least a 40-50 foot fall. I paused, looked down and got too scared to climb further. At one point, I had given up and was ready to climb back down until 2 passerbyers cheered me on and told me not to give up. It was all a mental game. Once you begin to entertain the notion of falling, you can't go on but the minute you think you can, you can. And I made it up 3/4 of the way to the top, way past the point at which I thought I couldn't go on because it was too dangerous. What an amazing zen experience!
For some pictures of Cathedral Rock, click below:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=cathedral+rock+sedona&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=Kku1SsPON9iD8Qb3t4S6Dg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5
Unfortunately, I have absolutely no photos to share with you! The photos I took are all gone. Something is wrong with my brand new Polaroid camera. I came home and tried to download my photos from my camera, only to discover that there was absolutely nothing on my SD card or camera memory. Bizarre.
On my last day in Sedona, AZ, I went back to the vortex at Cathedral Rock and meditated. I also thanked God for the wonderful time and all the terrific people I had met on this glorious journey. I was truly blessed to have this time in Sedona on this journey... What a gift these past few days have been... Thank you God.
Many thanks to all of you who have helped me to make this cut, workshop, and screening possible by helping me with a hundred different details. Many thanks to the Mental Health Assoc. of California, Dianne Yamashiro-Omi of The California Endowment, and Nicholas Martin, editor. Thank you Pat Shea of NASMHPD for believing me and my project. Thank you Narges Maududi of NASMHPD for paying for my travel. Thank you Dr. Hyung Chol Yoo of ASU and Minh Ta. Thank you to my family and friends: Karen Glasser, Ben Park, Jackie Hu, Linda Hattendorf, Bill Lichtenstein, all those who attended my NYWIFT screening (Nuria and Chris), Ellen Owens-Summo, Jennifer Bonnet of the AZ PHA, Bill Stewart and Ann Marshall of NARPA. My super fantastic neighbors/friends: Eleanor Kaufman, Rich Greenstein and Ben Bartholomew.
Sept 10 - I gave the first workshop "Deconstructing the Asian American Model Minority Myth" with Hyung Chol Yoo, PhD, a professor of psychology of Arizona State University at the 2009 National Assoc. of Rights Protection and Advocacy annual conference at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak (an amazingly beautiful hotel). For more info, you can read my blog about this workshop. But I'm not done writing about it yet:(http://www.amongourkin.org/2009/09/deconstructing-model-minority-myth.html)
As always, I meet some of the most interesting people at these conferences like Ron Bassman (ronaldbassman.com). A psychologist, he was once told that he was a chronic schizophrenic with little hope of recovery and would have to be on medications for the rest of his life. At one point, he was in insulin-induced coma, administered electroconvulsive therapy (shock therapy) and a host of other "treatments" which ultimately harmed him in many ways. Institutionalization and forced treatment were common practices in the 1960's for people with mental illnesses. People with mental illnesses were viewed as having no rights. He defied all norms by becoming a PhD. recovering from an "incurable" mental illness and recently wrote a book "A Fight to Be." I highly recommend that you check his website: ronaldbassman.com out.
This Pointe Hilton Hotel was absolutely gorgeous with a water park, consisting of 8 pools. I tubed down this "river pool" and went slithering down this very long water slide 3x. I think I was the only person over the age of 12 having so much fun. (It's 105 degrees in Phoenix so you need to swim)
Sept 10 - The screening of my 61 min rough cut at the Arizona Public Health Assoc. Conference went ok. I thought it was charming that they served popcorn during the film. The turnouts were far lower than expected, but we got good film evaluations at the public health conference. Less than half of the number of people expected attended the conference. The recession apparently has affected travel budgets for public health administrations. Even less than that number attended my screening.
The audience was mostly MDs, PhDs, MPHs, nurses and other health service providers. I thought they as medical professionals would have negative comments about some of the anti-psychotropic medication opinions expressed by consumers in my film, but none of them mentioned that in their written evaluations. A few said that the film was powerful and amazing. Two women stayed after the screening and talked to me in depth about the social importance of the film. One Native American woman said that she, too, could relate to the experience of trying to bridge the intergenerational cultural gap between Can and his traditional parents.
She said that many young Native Americans have conflicts with their more traditional parents. She said the film was powerful in rendering that situation. Her comment made me think how such human experiences resonate universally, no matter how culturally-specific we may think they are. A medical doctor told me he learned a lot and the film gave him insight into his ex-girlfriend who was from Taiwan. He made no mention of the medical stuff.
We also got a few negative responses, which was expected. 2 people said the film wasn't enjoyable, but educational. Some said it was a little disjointed, but I already knew that. But overall, I received much better
responses than I had expected.
Ellen Owens-Summo, the Vice Pres of the Arizona Public Health Association, said she felt frustrated throughout the film b/c she felt like Can's identity was like fused with his mental illness. She didn't feel like he was moving forward. I told her she was witnessing the reality of the situation. Can sometimes does over-identify with his mental disorder and talks about it incessantly. Though he has gotten better lately. One of his friends sometimes jokingly refers to him as Mr. Bipolar. He is stuck in certain ways. In a way, her comment was a compliment b/c it meant that we were accurately portraying reality as uncomfortable as that was. But this was clearly a struggle that I as a director have had to deal with over and over again. Showing Can's repetitiveness makes him less likable, but it is in actuality how he behaves. Should I make a deliberate effort to make him more likable with less regard for accuracy? Yes, some producers/directors would say. No, is what I have been saying. But I am open to making him more likeable without detracting from the overall integrity of the reality.
I was so glad that the screening was over. Because of my home burglary on Aug 11, I lost 2 wks of editing time and felt so inadequate presenting the cut as it was. I was actually glad that the audience size was smaller than expected because the cut wasn't where it should have been. I was running on pure adrenaline for the last 2 days before leaving for Phoenix and I had gotten only an hour of sleep the night before I flew out of NJ. I was so relieved.
Sept 11 - The day after my screening, I attended the conference as a participant and learned so much about American public health issues, like how social determinants affect health and longevity. Cheryl Easley, President of the American Public Health Assoc. gave an inspiring speech about human rights and health disparities. Native Americans have an average lifespan far below the American average. People with serious and chronic mental illnesses live 25 years less than the average American for a multitude of reasons related to side effects of medications and other
social and economic factors.
I also attended this workshop about obstetric care for Somali refugees in Phoenix. And I was really impressed with the extent to which this obstetrican/gynecologist went to in order provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care to these refugees who fled their homelands because of the civil war there. The clinic was highly successful. The only question I had going through my mind was how is it that these Somalis are able to receive culturally competent medical care after only being here for a few years? Asian Americans have been in this country for 4 centuries and yet many Asian Americans do not receive culturally and linguistically competent medical care. Is it the model minority myth that makes people think that Asian Americans do not need culturally competent mental health care? Maybe probably?
Do you know that one's race to some extent is a reliable predictor of lifespan and health outcomes? Income and socioeconomic status often affect diet, levels of stress and exercise habits. All these factors affect our health choices. Did you know that most immigrants, even those from developing countries, are healthier than most average Americans upon arrival? But as soon as they start assimilating to the American lifestyle, their health goes downhill. It's a conundrum. Check out this
documentary clip: http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/video_clips.php
SEPT 12- AMAZING SEDONA
redrockcountry.org
I went to Sedona to do research on Navajo and Hopi languages and cultures for my next film about the linguistic history of the U.S. Unbeknownst to most Americans, this land was once the home of thousands of Native American languages, many of which are now extinct or are in danger of extinction today. Franz Boas, the father of anthropology, could not even begin to categorize all of them due to vast numbers and variations of languages and dialects. Modern day America is the most monolingual this land has ever been. I think this is such a fascinating statement, given the current legal, social and cultural debates surrounding the use of English and Spanish. Many Americans are debating whether they want to live in a bilingual society, much less a land where thousands of languages are spoken. As a Korean American, I've heard so many racist comments leveled at recent immigrants who do not speak English well as if all Americans "should" speak English. This "should" is culturally induced and certainly not a prerequisite for American Citizenship. In fact, Citizenship tests are frequently given in many languages because of Title VI of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin. (My grandmother when she was 82 took her test in Korean and proudly scored a 96% on her exam, much to our surprise.) There is a misconception that America is supposed to be a English monolingual society, when, in fact, our ancestors and forefathers were multi-lingual. Not to mention the fact that the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits government from interfering freedom of speech rights. It has been my personal mission as an American to correct these kinds of social wrongs from happening. The film will map out the historical and prehistorical linguistic landscape of the U.S. beginning with the tongues of the Native Americans, most of whose languages did not have a written form.
I did not make it up into Navajo and Hopi reservations in Northern Arizona. I just didn't have the time and money, though I certainly did have the will. I spoke with many of the Navajo vendors who sold their jewelry and arts by the roadside at the local Dairy Queen on one of the main arteries through town. Through some of these women, I learned a bit about the culture and where the main reservations were. It seemed to help that I was Korean and was able to relate to some of their cultural dilemmas about assimilation and language. Many Native Americans have diabetes and other serious and chronic health issues.
I camped out in a tent in Sedona for 4 days, much to my own amazement. I thought I would be scared to camp alone, but after doing a little research, I discovered that I was by far safer camping alone in Sedona than living in my apartment in Jersey City. Sleeping under the stars and waking up at dawn hasn't really been a part of my lifestyle. I was going to sleep a few hours after sunset and getting up an hour after dawn, which is so contrary to my usual night owl routine.
I climbed Cathedral Rock, which is a gorgeous and amazing place to be. The views are mesmerizing and there is a spiritual and mystical quality about Sedona. I learned that there are vortexes in Sedona, which are some kind of energy fields. I had to go on all fours for latter part of the rock climb. It was a precariously dangerous 60 degree incline at a few points, where one slip could lead to death or serious injury -- at least a 40-50 foot fall. I paused, looked down and got too scared to climb further. At one point, I had given up and was ready to climb back down until 2 passerbyers cheered me on and told me not to give up. It was all a mental game. Once you begin to entertain the notion of falling, you can't go on but the minute you think you can, you can. And I made it up 3/4 of the way to the top, way past the point at which I thought I couldn't go on because it was too dangerous. What an amazing zen experience!
For some pictures of Cathedral Rock, click below:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=cathedral+rock+sedona&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=Kku1SsPON9iD8Qb3t4S6Dg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5
Unfortunately, I have absolutely no photos to share with you! The photos I took are all gone. Something is wrong with my brand new Polaroid camera. I came home and tried to download my photos from my camera, only to discover that there was absolutely nothing on my SD card or camera memory. Bizarre.
On my last day in Sedona, AZ, I went back to the vortex at Cathedral Rock and meditated. I also thanked God for the wonderful time and all the terrific people I had met on this glorious journey. I was truly blessed to have this time in Sedona on this journey... What a gift these past few days have been... Thank you God.
Many thanks to all of you who have helped me to make this cut, workshop, and screening possible by helping me with a hundred different details. Many thanks to the Mental Health Assoc. of California, Dianne Yamashiro-Omi of The California Endowment, and Nicholas Martin, editor. Thank you Pat Shea of NASMHPD for believing me and my project. Thank you Narges Maududi of NASMHPD for paying for my travel. Thank you Dr. Hyung Chol Yoo of ASU and Minh Ta. Thank you to my family and friends: Karen Glasser, Ben Park, Jackie Hu, Linda Hattendorf, Bill Lichtenstein, all those who attended my NYWIFT screening (Nuria and Chris), Ellen Owens-Summo, Jennifer Bonnet of the AZ PHA, Bill Stewart and Ann Marshall of NARPA. My super fantastic neighbors/friends: Eleanor Kaufman, Rich Greenstein and Ben Bartholomew.
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