URL: https://library.spscc.edu/filmsymposium
The Asian American Inclusion and Visibility Community of Practice proudly presents the Asian & Pacific American Film Symposium. All of the events will be held at the Minnaert Center for the Arts. Each film event will be hosted by SPSCC faculty who will introduce and contextualize the film for the audience. Following the film is a lightly catered reception in the lobby of the theater where the film host will be available to facilitate a discussion and encourage attendees to network and socialize together while discussing the film.
Eric Chase & Michael Gray
The original 1954 film Godzilla is a classic monster movie. But much like Frankenstein or The Wizard of Oz, there's much more below the surface. Come watch our debut film presentation of Godzilla, eat some great food, and talk with professors Eric Chase and Michael Gray about how this film is not only a monster classic, but an allegory of post-WWII Japan. This is our first film in a series for the Asian & Pacific Film Symposium at SPSCC.
Light refreshments provided from Asahi Sushi restaurant.
Eric Chase (he/him) has taught history, sociology, and political science at SPSCC for over two decades. Being first generation Chinese American, Native American (Mi'kmaq and Passamaquoddy), and German has provided a unique insight into his interpretation of the American experience. A Navy vet, former carpenter and brewer, fire performer and events coordinator, Professor Chase's lens examines history, culture and politics through the intersection of a race, class, and gender perspective. In recent years, his focus has been on 20th century imperialism, globalization and the rise of illiberal democracies.
Michael Gray is an educator and filmmaker who currently teaches film at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington. He has created video for businesses, non-profits and artists, developed multiple web series, hosted and facilitated podcasts, directed numerous short films, and produced music videos. In addition to teaching at South Puget Sound Community College, he has also taught at North Hennepin Community College, Ohio University, Georgian Court University, and University of Essex.
Patti Poblete
Sometimes considered an independent precursor to the Fast and Furious series, Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) is director Justin Lin’s examination of overachieving Asian American high schoolers who, dissatisfied with their roles in life, turn to crime.
Patti Poblete [poh-BLEH-teh] is English faculty at South Puget Sound Community College and part of the editorial team for WPA: Writing Program Administration. Previously, she acted as WPA at Henderson State University. Her research includes public and digital rhetorics, writing pedagogy, and cultural criticism. Ask her about dragons.
Matt Ito
Traditionally, loko iʻa, or fishponds were a vital food structure in Hawaiʻi—sustaining thousands of people across hundreds of ahupuaʻa (land divisions from the mountains to the sea) throughout the islands. With the rise of settler colonialism and ongoing development, however, these structures—and the relationships that they maintained—began disappearing from the land and consciousness of people in Hawaiʻi.
What is the value of reconnecting to the structures that feed us? What can restoring loko iʻa teach us about where our food comes from? What it means to be an ally? And what can the land teach us about how we must care for it? Hiʻilei Kawelo notes that ʻāina (land, literally translated as “that which feeds”), “allows us to maintain a reciprocal connection” (168). How might understanding this reciprocity open us toward possibilities of self-determination, decolonization, and sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, and agriculture? Join us for a screening and discussion of Kai Piha: Nā Loko Iʻa with a following discussion moderated by Professor Matt Ito of the English Department at SPSCC. Light pūpūs (refreshments) will be provided.
Kawelo, Hiʻilei. “Fishponds, Food, and the Future in Our Past.” The Value of Hawaiʻi II: Ancestral Roots, Oceanic Visions, University of Hawaiʻi Press, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, 2014, pp. 163-170.
Matt Ito. Born and raised in Kaimukī on the island of Oʻahu, Matt grew up nourished by the waters of Maunalua Bay. Here, he continues to draw inspiration for his research and teaching via the intersection of lawaiʻa practices, kuleana, Indigenous Rhetorics and Ecocomposition. He is a PhD candidate in English at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and teaches Composition and Humanities courses at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, WA.
Dr. Nilanjana Bardhan
Slumdog Millionaire meets “India Shining”: The complexities and contradictions of identities in diaspora
People in diaspora around the world maintain strong emotional and nostalgic connections with their homelands through various forms of media, especially films. Slumdog Millionaire, a 2008 transnational production which mimics the style of Bollywood (nickname for the influential Hindi film industry based out of Mumbai, India), stands out as a unique film which stirred up complex emotions within the South Asian diaspora. It received high praise in the western world and created waves by winning eight Academy Awards. The reaction of the South Asian diaspora to this film, however, was mixed, making it a unique text for decoding how diasporic identity and relationship with the homeland can be a contradictory mélange of critique and defensiveness. While many applauded the film’s ability to foreground the subaltern dimensions of a nation-state showcasing its economic prowess in global venues, others blamed it for further promoting age-old imperialistic stereotypes of poverty and corruption.
The talk will specifically focus on South Asian diasporic identity through the lens of Slumdog Millionaire. At a larger level, it will engage the audience in a discussion on how those in diaspora in the west with roots in Asia navigate their cultural identities as they simultaneously live through more than one national narrative.
Nilanjana Bardhan is a Professor of Communication Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). Her teaching and research interests include intercultural/international communication, public relations, and critical cultural communication. She particularly focuses on identity/difference/culture, diversity, equity and inclusion, globalization and postcolonial theory.
Dr. Bardhan has been awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award in her department several times, most recently in 2024. In 2020, she received the College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Teacher Award. In 2019, she received the SIUC Women of Distinction Award. This award recognizes employees for their sustained commitment to women and/or issues of diversity through demonstrated leadership, vision and action.
Dr. Bardhan has published several books. She is the co-editor of Public Relations in Global Cultural Contexts and Identity Research and Communication, and the co-author of Cultivating Cosmopolitanism for Intercultural Communication. The latter two books have won best book awards from the National Communication Association’s International and Intercultural Communication Division. Most recently, she co-authored the book The Role of Leadership in Building Inclusive Diversity in Public Relations. Dr. Bardhan has also published several book chapters and articles in journals such as the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, Communication Quarterly, Journal of Public Relations Research, Journal of Public Relations Education, PR Journal, Journal of Communication Management, Mass Communication & Society, Communication Education, International Journal of Strategic Communication, and the Journal of Health Communication. She serves on the editorial boards of Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, PR Inquiry, Journal of Public Relations Education, and the International Journal of Strategic Communication.
We are members of The Asian American Inclusion and Visibility Community of Practice, a group of faculty and staff interested in increasing awareness of Asians and Asian Americans (i.e. AAPI – Asian American and Pacific Islanders) – both on the SPSCC campus and beyond – through community-facing events that highlight AAPI experiences as well as academic and creative projects.
We were granted the Exceptional Faculty Award in December 2024, which made the Asian & Pacific Film Symposium possible.
