Growing up in an Asian household, the annual Miss Chinatown Pageant was kind of a big deal. Each year, young Asian-American women competed for the opportunity to represent the Asian-American community on a local and national level.
I remember attending the pageants with my parents as a young boy, and later as a college student I got involved with the pageant as a talent recruiter. Try to picture me approaching shy and reserved Asian girls in my most un-creeper way, and asking them if they wanted to strut their stuff on a stage. The girls would usually shoot me a nasty look and run in the opposite direction, but occasionally I would get lucky and approach someone who had aspirations of being Miss Chinatown.
The journey of a Miss Chinatown Pageant contestant is a complex one; a coming of age for many young Asian-American women. Each contestant’s road to the crown is unique, and writer/director Daisy Lin has captured the trials and tribulations, both on the stage and off the stage, in an award winning documentary called Yours Truly, Miss Chinatown.
The film uncovers the intimate stories of three young women who vie for the Miss Chinatown crown and is just as much a commentary on social and cultural issues as it is a documentary of the pageant itself. Can a Miss Chinatown contestant be successful if she’s of mixed ethnicities? Can a family accept a boyfriend of a different ethnicity? These are only some of the issues that are brought to light in Yours Truly, Miss Chinatown.
There are very few films that explore the struggles of young Asian-American women and Daisy Lin doesn’t pull any punches with her directorial debut. It’s an uncensored look at what it’s like to navigate two cultures with conflicting values.
Expand your cultural horizons by watching Yours Truly, Miss Chinatown in its entirety below, courtesy of SnagFilms.
[snagfilm id=”0000013a-fbab-da6d-affb-fbef376a0000″]
UPDATE: If you’re having trouble viewing the embedded video above, please try clearing your browser’s cookies and refreshing the page. Or go HERE to watch the film on SnagFilms.com
~ Andrew Chen, AOF Staff Writer and Mr. Chinatown hopeful
Recent Comments