May 9, 2019
By Beatrice Alvarez

May is a good month to learn something new as we celebrate the contributions and heritage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Did you know that the month of May was chosen to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States on May 7, 1843. It also marks the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, as the majority of the track workers were Chinese immigrants. This month, we have highlight films that explore and celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM).

Shedding new light on a geopolitical hot spot, the film confronts the myth of the “Forgotten War,” documenting the post-1953 conflict and global consequences.

You may recognize the voice narrating this film because it is none other than actor John Cho. On being emotionally moved by this documentary, he notes: “You’re surprised at how much it hurts. You’re surprised because that wound may be fresher than you thought. There’s something that made me tender, just knowing that PBS was making the documentary and that people would see it. It touched so many nerves for me.” You can read the full Q&A with John Cho on the film’s website.

The past lives on, and so do its lessons, if we continue to talk about and honor people's experiences. Hear more stories of service in a Kentucky Educational Television documentary called "In Their Own Words: Kentucky Veterans of the Korean War."

Pacific Heartbeat returns with a new season of films that will enlighten your mind and move your heart. In Corridor Four, Office Isaac Ho’opi’i lives on after saving numerous people from the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The story is not of a hero basking in the glory of his past deeds, but a human being filled with regret that he couldn’t change something completely out of his control.

Two native Hawaiians are sent thousands of miles away to a private prison in the desert find a community of other native Hawaiians and discover indigenous traditions from a fellow inmate serving a life sentence. After finishing their terms and returning to Hawai'i, the men both find life on the outside a struggle and wonder if it’s possible to ever go home again. With this documentary, Independent Lens invites us to wonder how do you find our roots when not in your element?

In cities, states and strip malls across the country, women get their nails done in salons owned by Vietnamese entrepreneurs. How did this community come to dominate an $8 billion dollar nail economy? Go from Los Angeles to the Bronx with America ReFramed to meet the people behind this booming, and sometimes controversial, industry.

Words matter, but language changes. The word "Oriental" is hundreds of years old, but why do Americans no longer use the word to describe people of Asian descent? And how did the word “Asian American” take its place? Origin of Everything explains the shifts in language over time.

Until his death at the age of 106, Tyrus Wong was America’s oldest living Chinese American artist and one of the last remaining artists from the golden age of Disney animation. The quiet beauty of his Eastern-influenced paintings had a pioneering impact on American art and popular culture. Learn about his incredible life story--including his time as a detainee at Angel Island under the Chinese Exclusion Act — and body of work, from Bambi to Rebel Without A Cause — in this film from American Masters.

Asian American and Pacific Islander artistry abounds in our PBS.org archive and our local stations. Here are some more individuals and types of art to look out for and maybe even bring up at your next dinner party.

• KQED in San Francisco, CA talked to actor BD Wong when he paid a visit to #TheCoolerPodcast and discussed the power of being yourself: “The thing that you think is going to kill you is actually the thing that enlivens you and drives you and pushes you forward.” Amen.
• Art Assignment makes "The Case for Ai WeiWei." Iconoclast? Preservationist? Watch and decide for yourself.
• KQED Arts explores how Daly City's Filipino mobile D.J. scene changed hip-hop forever. They had us at mobile D.J.
• Alice Imamoto Takemoto recalls her journey from relocation camp to Oberlin Conservatory student in this story from WVIZ/IdeaStream in Cleveland, Ohio.

How do you celebrate culture and heritage? Is it through art? Learning about your ancestral home's history? Maybe it's by connecting with others who share the same cultural heritage? We'd love to hear that and what you learned about AAPIHM this May.