Becoming American with Bill Moyers (video series)

Produced

• 2003

Key Features

VHS or DVD-R closed-captioned video series

Prices include public performance rights.

Only available in the US and Canada.

ISBN Number: 0-7365-7079-9

What does it mean to become American? What is lost and what is gained in the process? In interviews with historians, descendants, and recent immigrants, this powerful Bill Moyers series explores these questions through the dramatic experience of the Chinese in America.

The larger themes of the 3-part documentary are made movingly personal in an additional series of candid conversations with five prominent Chinese-Americans: author Gish Jen, Nobel prize-winning physicist Samuel Ting, AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho, business executive Shirley Young, and artist and architect Maya Lin.  8-part series, 15-90 minutes each.

The Becoming American with Bill Moyers series includes:

• Gold Mountain Dreams
• Between Two Worlds
• No Turning Back
• A Personal Journey with Dr. David Ho, AIDS Researcher
• A Personal Journey with Shirley Young, Market Research Pioneer
• A Personal Journey with Gish Jen, Author
• A Personal Journey with Samuel Ting, Nobel Laureate Physicist
• A Personal Journey with Maya Lin, Artist and Architect 
  

Gold Mountain Dreams

In the 1840s, civil war and famine in southern China drove thousands of young men to seek their fortune in the California Gold Rush. This program traces the Chinese experience in America, from their welcome in San Francisco as "celestial men of commerce," through the Gold Rush and building of the Transcontinental Railroad, to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act banning their entry into this country. The program rediscovers the all-but-forgotten role of the Chinese and tells their stories through the lives of individuals using photos, artifacts, and interviews with descendants and historians.  (89 minutes; ISBN Number:  0-7365-6941-3)

Between Two Worlds

In the early 1880s, abetted by the Chinese Exclusion Act, a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment swept across America. This program examines the exclusion years through the stories of Chinese Americans and their families who were kept apart by both ancient custom and U.S. law. These immigrants were trapped between countries, at home neither in the U.S. nor in China. The law of the land, which separated these families, also provided relief as Chinese Americans turned to the courts for justice.  (89 minutes; ISBN Number:  0-7365-6942-1)

No Turning Back

The new immigration laws of 1965 were a turning point for the Chinese in America and allowed a new wave of immigrants to enter the country. Chinese American life has flourished in the years since. Narrated by Bill Moyers, this program presents intimate portraits of the new Chinese Americans who face a struggle common to so many immigrants: to reconcile some losses of their old culture in order to embrace their adopted American one.  (88 minutes; ISBN Number:  0-7365-6943-X )

A Personal Journey with Dr. David Ho, AIDS Researcher

Since arriving in America from Taiwan at the age of 12, Dr. David Ho has become a world-renowned scientist. His research in the fight against HIV/AIDS earned him honors as Time magazine’s Man of the Year. In this program, Bill Moyers talks with Dr. Ho about his experience as an immigrant and U.S. citizen, and his contributions to the battle against AIDS. (14 minutes; ISBN Number:  0-7365-7064-0)

A Personal Journey with Shirley Young, Market Research Pioneer

In this program, Bill Moyers talks with Shirley Young, an inspiring woman who survived the Japanese occupation of the Philippines to become a pioneer of market research with Grey Advertising. Later, as a vice president of General Motors, she helped launch GM’s operation in China, the country of her birth. (15 minutes; ISBN Number:  0-7365-7066-7)

A Personal Journey with Gish Jen, Author

Born and raised in the United States, Gish Jen has become a leading literary voice of the Chinese-American experience. In this program, Bill Moyers talks with the critically acclaimed writer, whose novels and short stories are known for their humorous and incisive edge. (14 minutes; ISBN Number:  0-7365-7068-3 )

A Personal Journey with Samuel Ting, Nobel Laureate Physicist

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and raised in China and Taiwan, Samuel Ting received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1976 and is now leading a multinational project with NASA to search for antimatter. In this program, Bill Moyers speaks with Dr. Ting about his childhood years in war-torn China, his current project, and his philosophy of science. (15 minutes; ISBN Number:  0-7365-7070-5)

A Personal Journey with Maya Lin, Artist and Architect

Sculptor, architect, and designer, Maya Lin catapulted to prominence when, as a senior at Yale University, she was chosen to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.. In this program, Bill Moyers talks with her about her upbringing and multifaceted career. (27 minutes; ISBN Number:  0-7365-7072-1)

America Is Still Becoming- Resources

The Becoming American series is accompanied by both a viewer's guide and a guide for high school educators. In addition, the following list of resources — organizations, books and videos — has been compiled for those interested in exploring the ideas found in the series more fully.