VPM celebrates Asian Pacific Heritage Month each May by providing great television shows highlighting Asia and the Pacific Islands' rich culture and diverse stories. Take a look at what this month has to offer:
Asian Americans
America Reframed: 9-Man
Tuesday, May 26, 08:01 pm on VPM World
9-Man is a story about streetball battle in the heart of Chinatown featuring a chaotic, Chinese-only game played competitively in parking lots and alleys since 1938. Through revealing verite scenes, archival material and primary source interviews, the film broaches conversations about Chinatown's Bachelor Society, the Chinese Exclusion Act, cultural belonging and loss, masculinity, genetic disparity in sports, immigrant culture, the Chinatown diaspora, microaggressions, reverse racism, Asian-American identity politics, self-doubt and social isolation.
Antiques Roadshow: Celebrating Asian-Pacific Heritage
Wednesday, May 13, 05:00 am on VPM PBS
Travel with ROADSHOW as it turns the spotlight on incredible items with Asian and Pacific Islands origins, including a Hawaiian kou bowl, a Ghandi presentation spinning wheel and an 1888 Joesph Nawahi painting. Which is valued at $250,000-$300,000?
George Hirsch Lifestyle
Saturday, May 9, 06:30 pm on VPM Create
Description: George visits a multigenerational, certified organic farm and kitchen with roots in Asian vegetables, now producing hundreds of varieties of specialty produce. George prepares good-for-you, highly flavorful shaved beet salad with orange ginger dressing, plus farmer's vegetable lo mein and sweet potato bread pudding. Good to Know Tip: Preparing a great salad. George's recipes: - Shaved Beet Salad, Honey Orange Ginger Dressing - Farm Fresh Lo Mein - Sweet Potato Bread Pudding.
Lucky Chow
Samantha Brown's Places to Love
Saturday, May 30, 03:00 pm on VPM PBS
Description: Seoul is a huge metropolis and the capital of South Korea, where high-tech and pop culture meet palaces and street markets. Samantha starts her journey off by taking a tour in Yeonnam-Dong, with Charlie, an ex-pat living in Seoul for the past 10 years. This neighborhood has been re-purposed into a green space filled with a resurgence of diverse restaurants, and most importantly, coffee shops, where Samantha and Charlie try some of the area's best coffee. Going for the local cuisine, Samantha joins Charlie and his wife to sample some of the popular banchan (side dishes) at an authentic restaurant, where Samantha also learns about the proper etiquette of eating and drinking. History and tradition are very important to Seoul, as Samantha experiences this celebration firsthand with the changing of the guard at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, which dates back to 1395. Venturing further, Samantha tours Bukchon Hanok Village on her way to learn about the artistry of Jogakbo, a style of patchwork, from a master artist. At the Korean Stone Art Stone Museum, Samantha explores the tranquil indoor/outdoor facility filled with over 1,250 life-like beautifully sculpted stone statues and learns about the purpose of their design. Samantha has a big night ahead of her, but first she takes a stroll through the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival and takes in the gorgeous sights of the flowering cherry trees. Meeting up with some locals at a Chicken & Beer restaurant, Samantha learns about the five stages of drinking, which includes eating throughout the entire process. From there, Samantha and her newfound friends go to Hongdae, a busy nightlife area thronging with students and K-Pop performers, and continue on to sign karaoke, closing the night out with a live performance by an indie rock band. Finishing off her trip, Samantha visits a local food market with Janet Harn, a local Chef, and picks out fresh ingredients to cook some local favorites in Janet's cooking studio.
The Good Road
Yangon, Myanmar: Punk Rock Buddha #108
Saturday, May 30, 05:00 pm on VPM PBS
Description: This episode finds Earl and Craig back on the road in Southeast Asia in the former capital of one of the most politically controversial countries in the region, Myanmar. War, genocide, and conflict have raged in this country dominated by ethnic struggle for decades. But beyond the headlines there are powerful stories of unexpected heroes like Burmese punk rocker Kyaw Thu Win or Kyaw Kyaw (pronounced Joe Joe). Based out of Yangon, Kyaw Kyaw fronts a punk rock band called The Rebel Riot. But when he's not performing under a bridge with rented instruments he and his band are working hard to help street kids through food distributions and education/reading projects. He and his punk rock friends run the local chapter of Food not Bombs in their effort to do something about the people caught in the cracks of global conflict. What starts as an "off the beaten path" glimpse of the city of Yangon on the colonial era circular train turns into an exciting romp around one of the most interesting cities in the world. Craig and Earl tag along with Kyaw Kyaw and crew for a slice of life experience from tea-houses, and DIY screen printing co-ops, to Pirate Bars and Punk Shops. Only to see that the punks of Yangon find real meaning in helping communities in need. Do-gooders get a first-hand look at The Rebel Riot's philanthropic work from downtown Yangon to semi-legal villages on the outskirts of the city only reachable by ferry. Craig and Earl also reconnect with an old friend and Burmese refugee Hnin Hnin Pyne. Her unique perspective on the city and love of fish soup provides just the insight they need. Kyaw Kyaw and his bandmates cap off the episode by treating Craig, Earl and the crew to a world of beauty, wonder and Buddhist history at the Golden Rock Temple hours outside of Yangon. The highlight is a pagoda built on a rock that seemingly hovers at the edge of a cliff hanging atop the Kyaiktiyo Hill in Mon State.
Guru Nanak: The Founder of Sikhism
Monday, May 18, 09:00 pm on VPM PBS Plus
Description: GURU NANAK: THE FOUNDER OF SIKHISM recounts the life story of the 15th century teacher and revolutionary activist from Punjab, India who founded the Sikh faith - the world's fifth largest religion. The documentary also explores how Guru Nanak's legacy inspires Sikh Americans today - including Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Snatam Kaur and Hoboken, New Jersey mayor Ravi Bhalla - to exercise compassion, take risks, challenge established norms, and help others.
POV: Singing with Angry Bird
Tuesday, May 12, 12:00 am on VPM World
Description: Jae-chang Kim, nicknamed "Angry Bird," runs a children's choir in Pune, India. Their parents, however, are reluctant to let them sing instead of work. To convince them, Angry Bird decides to train everyone to sing for a joint concert.
The Apology #3115
Wednesday, May 6, 08:30 pm on VPM World
Description: Meet three of the 200,000 former "comfort women" kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Seventy years after their imprisonment, they give their first-hand accounts of the truth.
Richard Bangs' Adventures with Purpose Assam India: Quest for the One-Horned Rhinoceros
Sunday, May 31, 10:00 pm on VPM Create
Description: In his latest ADVENTURES WITH PURPOSE special, renowned adventurer Richard Bangs treks through the remote state of Assam in India - a region of rushing rivers, strapping monsoons, vast expanses of unspoiled land and a staggering array of wildlife, including the one-horned rhinoceros. What kept these rare rhinos from falling into extinction? What does their story reveal about the world and about saving precious wildlife? Richard sets off to discover what this elusive rhino represents to the people of Assam - and to the world.
And Then They Came for Us
Thursday, May 7, 09:00 pm on VPM PBS
Description: As the documentary, And Then They Came for Us, demonstrates, the registration and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII was one of the worst violations of constitutional rights in American history. The US government lied about the threat of espionage to justify the incarceration. Today's Muslim travel ban relies on similar uncorroborated claims of threats to national security. Featuring actor George Takei, and many others who were incarcerated, the film reveals the silence that surrounded the incarceration and the importance of speaking up against the travel ban. Knowing our history is the first step in making sure we do not repeat it. This film is a cautionary tale for these dark times.
Let's Go Luna! - Wacky Washi/When The Bowl Breaks #116
Tuesday, May 5, 10:00 am on VPM PBS
Description: In Tokyo, when Andy wants to make posters for Senor Fabuloso, he and the others embark on a journey through the colorful world of Japanese papermaking and kites / In Tokyo, when Leo accidentally breaks his dad's special bowl, he learns about "Kintsugi," a way of repairing broken pottery to make it even more special.
Relocation, Arkansas - Aftermath of Incarceration
Monday, May 18, 08:00 pm on VPM World
Description: In 1942, nearly 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were forced into prisons in the interior because they looked like the enemy. Two of those prison camps were in Arkansas, a land of deep racial divide. Paul Takemoto's mother and grandparents had been imprisoned in one of the Arkansas camps. Ashamed of his heritage and deeply rebellious, he didn't want to know the details. A man of powerful revelations: of his past, of his parents' past and what they mean to his self-identity, he grieves over lost time and years spent fighting a ghost he never understood. After the war, Richard Yada's family refused to return to California, where violence against Japanese Americans was worse then it had been before the war. They became sharecroppers in Arkansas. But a code of segregation in the South ruled every interaction. A person could be only be black or white. Where did these non-white, non-black newcomers fit in? Mayor Rosalie Gould's deep Southern accent belies a fierce determination. Her neighbors threatened her life because she had the audacity to see the prisoners not as the enemy, but as Americans who had been wronged.
Resistance at Tule Lake
Sunday, May 24, 11:00 pm on VPM World
Description: A minority group is unjustly persecuted amidst racially-charged scapegoating by politicians. That's the eerily relevant backdrop for RESISTANCE AT TULE LAKE, Konrad Aderer's examination of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, which couldn't come at a more important moment. Aderer, who documented the arrest and detainment of a Palestinian activist in ENEMY ALIEN (2011), focuses on Tule Lake, the notorious camp where Japanese Americans who were labeled "disloyal" were held. Aderer's emotional, wrenching interviews with the "internees" - some of whom were deported to Japan because of answers to "loyalty" questionnaires - make clear the consequences of race, wartime hysteria and political expediency. RESISTANCE AT TULE LAKE dispels the myth of a passive Japanese American population in the camps, while also showing the torture and other abuse those resisting their treatment faced. The wartime footage cuts to a contemporary Tule Lake pilgrimage by the descendants of internees, an effort, like the film, to not forget and urge others to defend those today who may suffer the same fate.
The Future of America's Past
A Grave Injustice #104
Sunday, May 17, 03:00 pm on VPM PBS
Description: Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the US military and the FBI arrested more than 110,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry. Taken to desert camps and confined for months or years, many of these Americans lost their homes and businesses. We visit the largest of these camps, now a National Park Service site - and meet those keeping memory alive.
Vanished Dream: Wartime Story of My Japanese Grandfather
Friday, May 15, 09:00 pm on VPM World
Description: To American photojournalist Regina Boone, her paternal grandfather was always an enigma. A hard-working Japanese immigrant, he was arrested on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack and never returned home. Regina's father rarely spoke about her grandfather throughout his life. Yet on his deathbed, he asked Regina to investigate the circumstances surrounding her grandfather's disappearance. Through her research in the public records of the U.S. Library of Congress, Regina discovered that her grandfather, Tsuruju Miyazaki, was born in 1897 and immigrated to Virginia at the age of 25. In the U.S., he started a family and ran a successful restaurant. But on December 7, 1941, his life took a tragic turn when Japan's Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbor. Tsuruju became one of the 120,000 Japanese Americans incarcerated in internment camps during WWII. The U.S. government forced Tsuruju to leave his home, family and business and sent him to a large internment camp in Arkansas. His eldest son, Raymond, was only 3 years old. Tsuruju died in 1946 at the age of 48, before he could be reunited with his family. A VANISHED DREAM: WARTIME STORY OF MY JAPANESE GRANDFATHER follows Regina's quest to find the cause of her grandfather's death and explore the legacy he left behind.
