Hapa: One Step at a Time [KQED Upcoming Broadcasts]

Posted in Asian Diaspora, Autobiography, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, United States, Videos on 2012-12-10 05:05Z by Steven

Hapa: One Step at a Time [KQED Upcoming Broadcasts]

KQED: Public Media for Northern California
KQED World (Comcast 190, Digital 9.3)
2013-01-21, 07:30 and 13:30 PST (Local Time)

Race remains a powerful symbol in the US; it still is a shorthand notation for most Americans. This program speaks to how individuals of Asian and Pacific Islander descent are embracing their ethnic experiences as a symbol of change in an ever-evolving multicultural society. It is a thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be a mixed-race American today. The program is a first-person treatment of the struggles people of diverse cultural backgrounds and perspectives face. “Hapa” comes from the Hawaiian phrase hapa haole, which means half white/foreigner. Once considered a derogatory term, Hapa has come to be accepted as a way to describe a person of partial Asian ancestry. By Japanese American Midori Sperandeo, who provides a personal narrative about her evolution from a novice runner into a national class marathoner andshares the parallel path of her personal growth in searching for her racial identity.

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Hapa: One Step at a Time

Posted in Asian Diaspora, Autobiography, Census/Demographics, Identity Development/Psychology, Law, Media Archive, United States, Videos on 2012-12-10 00:35Z by Steven

Hapa: One Step at a Time

Center for Asian American Media
2001
26 minutes
DVD

Midori Sperandeo, Producer
KVIE-TV

According to 2000 Census statistics, nearly 7 million Americans identify themselves as multi-racial, or ‘hapa.’ This engaging first-person documentary is about marathon runner and TV producer Midori Sperandeo’s struggles to come to terms with her hapa identity. Comparing her personal path toward self-awareness as a hapa to the challenges she faces training for long-distance running, Hapa touches upon a national history of anti-miscegenation laws, increasing rates of interracial marriages and additional census data to provide a context with which to better understand this rapidly growing demographic group. Interviews with individuals from diverse backgrounds call attention to the pressure many feel to “choose” between cultural heritages; their anxieties of feeling like outsiders in their parents’ communities; and the unique ways in which the hapa community is enriching the cultural fabric of our society.

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