Anna May Wong
There are three parts to my Anna May Wong endeavor (“A Look Back at a Legend: Elaine Mae Woo’s ‘Anna May Wong: Frosted Yellow Willows,’” Reel Stories, March 14): the 50-minute documentary film; the book, Anna May Wong — A Pictorial Look, which will let you see Anna in a more personal light, as a Chinese American, a woman and a struggling actress; and The Anna May Wong Collection, which will later be housed in an academic/archival institution and will enable others to research, see and hear all that has been collected and will be preserved.
Anna May Wong’s accomplishments within her short lifetime cannot be told in a 50-minute documentary film that was made to mark her pioneering place in cinematic history. The film helps to bring to light a person who — while living under the Chinese Exclusion Act, being a child from lesser economic and social means, and, most of all, being a woman of color during the 1920s and 1930s — aspired to be an actress.
Elaine Mae Woo
Director/producer of Anna May Wong: Frosted Yellow Willows
Los Angeles,
March 13, 2008
The War On Homework
There are definitely good teachers out there, but then there are also lazy ones (“Fighting the War On Homework,” Voices From the Community, March 14). I still remember the old science teacher in middle school who made us copy the Webster Dictionary everyday instead of teaching class. And then there was the history teacher who told us she didn’t feel like teaching that day and to bring in a book or a magazine to read, while she just sat there and watched TV. Guess what I learned in those classes. …
I believe there should be standardized testing not only for students, but for teachers as well. Before they are hired, they should pass a certain requirement. That way, we will know the teacher isn’t part of the problem.
Marcus
[last name notproided]
Via Web site, March 15, 2008
Ballroom Dancing Duo
It’s truly wonderful to see a local Asian couple do well at the national and international levels (“Mature Ballroom Dancers Sweep Awards,” Feb. 29).
Asians have excelled in the fields of science, engineering, medicine and business. Why not in dance and in the arts? Asians love to ballroom dance — why not be the best? Congratulations, Lilly and Winston! You are a true inspiration to others!
Stan
[last name not provided] San Francisco,
March 14, 2008
Black-Asian Couples
I’m an Asian male dating an Ethiopian girl (“Talking Shop: ‘BlAsian Exchanges,’” Dec. 7, 2007). At first it was unusual to see “BlAsian” couples, but now, after two years of dating, we are starting to see a lot more, old and young.
I have always been open to dating other ethnicities. Everybody is different, and there’s so much in this world to experience. Some of my Asian male friends don’t really approve, and it can be difficult with the family since I’m the first generation in America. But I deal with it, because it is my life and my decision about who I go home to every night — not what will please my family.
It might seem unusual now and in the media (except that IKEA commercial — I love that one), but every time we join hands in public, it’s making more people aware.
Mark
[last name not provided]
Via Web site, Feb. 28, 2008