I’m quite interested in thinking about that notion of the hyphen. That little thing that’s in-between. Let’s say, “Chinese-Canadian”…

Posted in Excerpts/Quotes on 2013-08-20 01:27Z by Steven

“I’m quite interested in thinking about that notion of the hyphen. That little thing that’s in-between. Let’s say, “Chinese-Canadian,” or “Japanese-Canadian.” I like to challenge those two poles, those two hegemonous poles who want to claim a part of me. Because I feel like I’ve lived in-between and I like the in-between.  It’s a place that I would like to spruce-up a bit. I like to, you know, put some nice furniture in the in-between place.” —Fred Wah

Anne Marie Nakagawa, “Between: Living in the Hyphen,” National Film Board of Canada, (2005): 00:0:28-00:01:02.

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Between: Living in the Hyphen

Posted in Arts, Asian Diaspora, Canada, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, Videos on 2013-04-05 00:35Z by Steven

Between: Living in the Hyphen

National Film Board of Canada
2005
00:43:43

Anne Marie Nakagawa

Anne Marie Nakagawa’s documentary examines what it means to have a background of mixed ancestries that cannot be easily categorized. By focusing on 7 Canadians who have one parent from a European background and one of a visible minority, she attempts to get at the root of what it means to be multi-ethnic in a world that wants each person to fit into a single category. Finding a satisfactory frame of reference in our ‘multicultural utopia’ turns out to be more complex than one might think. Between: Living in the Hyphen offers a provocative glimpse of what the future holds: a departure from hyphenated names towards a celebration of fluidity and being mixed.

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