May 3
The Joy Luck Club, 1993, dir. Wayne Wang
four Chinese women, friends, June’s mother dies and June takes her place
“More to do with hope than joy or luck”
daughters ignorant of mothers hopes and dreams
conflict between June and her mother, “you want me to be someone I’m not,” parent and child having different visions, different interests
Suyuan had to give up two children in China
June feels she didn’t know anything about her mother
Lindo had her life decided for her from age 4, feels she was given up by her mother much the same way Suyuan abandoned her children
Waverly believed she could be better than anyone else, but her mom always has “the perfect counter,” argument with her mother destroys her self-confidence, “I did it to myself”
Ying-Ying’s husband, “happiest when he was cruel,” she drowns their son, narration makes it sound deliberate, scene that plays out makes it seem negligent, “Lena had no spirit because I had none to give her”
Lena, all her mother’s fears turned into worries for her daughter, attempts at dividing responsibility with her husband evenly only calls attention to the imbalance of power in their relationship, wants respect and tenderness
June trying to carry on her mother’s stories
An-Mei, mother shamed into leaving her only to return for her ailing grandmother, “the pain you must forget, the most important sacrifice a daughter can make for her mother”
Rose, going out of her way to do things her for her husband without acknowledgment, feeling taken for granted, fractures growing in their relationship, “just like my mother, you never know what you’re worth”
June feels she’s not been appreciated by her mother, “every time you hoped for something I couldn’t deliver it hurt,” Suyuan assures her otherwise
Shaolin Ulysses: Kung Fu Monks in America, 2003, dir. Mei-Juin Chen, Martha Burr
Buddhist monks from China who moved to America
“Will they change America or will America change Shaolin?”
no Shaolin Temple in America, difference in age groups of disciples between China and America
Jamel Brown, grew up watching kung fu movies and developed a fascination
Shaolin – “little forest”
1992, Shaolin monks first tour to America
Guolin, diverse group of disciples, blend their own culture and Chinese culture
Hengxin, relationship between master and disciple is like father and child, “parents only give birth to you, they didn’t teach you”
Jamel connects dance and martial arts as art forms, self expression
May 2000, Guolin opens first Shaolin Temple in America
America is an immigrant country, spreading Buddhism in America can help people from all over the world
Brooklyn New York, ex-monk Li Peng
Dawn DuBois, married Li Peng
Li Peng seems to have separated Kung Fu from the Buddhist elements
Li Peng’s father attributes rise in popularity to Jet Li
12,000 martial arts students at Shaolin, 2 million tourists a year
“temple doesn’t belong to girls, girls can’t wear monk’s robes”
Li Peng takes up the English name Matthew, raises his son Catholic
wants army school for his son, also wants his son to do whatever he wants
Houston, Texas, Monk Xing Hao, came to America in 1988, assigned to stay in Houston
Officer Adam Cempa wants kung fu cops
adjustment to the non-vegetarian dietary options in America
Julie Zhang wants to beat up bullies
Xing Hao talks about the effort to make kung fu an Olypics event, but first it must become more international
Julie wants to be on TV, wants to win medals, wants to be in movies, wants to be special
Las Vegas, Richard Russel M.D. returns to Shaolin every six months to get a “spiritual boost,” values the Buddhist element, believes self defense techniques are not the primary focus, “a way of approaching life”
Monk Xing Hong was famous in the Shaolin area, “your mind is not quiet, its floating,” begged to learn zen, spent 5 years (which was short!)
1996, culture exchange between martial artists and musical artists on Lollapalooza tour
kung fu for health, zen’s wisdom to perfect the mind