the answers

Why am I doing this?

This is something that I had wanted to for a quite long time. I want to fish out the prejudice in people and reveal it in a uncondemning, reflective kind of way. It allows the audience to know about themselves on their own.

What is the film about?

It is about the Australian identity, how it had changed over the years, and how people have different opinions of what it means to be an Australian.


My Background

I think I can call myself a Chinese-American-Australian. I was born in Hong Kong and came to Sydney when I was 7. I lived in the southern part of Sydney in Kingsgrove and Beverly Hills. I went to a private school, St.George Christian School, for year 3 all to year 7. Then I and my family moved to Arcadia, California in the US. After 13 years away, I am back in Sydney, Australia. When I grew up in Sydney, I had a conflict in which although I knew I was different from most of my classmates in being a Chinese and born in a different place and not having English as my first language, yet, a part of me does love this place. However, being foreign born and Chinese, I was not accept as Australian by my peers. Even a Chinese who was born in Australia can only be half-Australian according to my peers. Chinese were recognized as people from another place, unlike the Europeans here, and I find that to be a conflict. Aren't we all from somewhere else originally? I believe there to be a racism but it was undefined or unrecognized. I think at the time, it was only the beginning that there was a mass population of young Asian Australians who were born here and growing up and the concept of people of other skin tones other than black and white can been seen as Australians or native to this place.

There was a concept of Australian way of life, which is a basically more of a Irish/British life mixed with their adapted customs to suit their lives in Australia. It was enriched by other European cultures as other came during the post-WWI and then the post-WWII period. Asians and others were considered as outsiders. Australia also has a history of discriminating against non-white. Chinese actually came during the gold rush but because of legislation and other ways of discrimination, there is very little of that history and the Chinese community disappointed and dispersed very quickly after the gold rush even though it was quite possible that Chinese would be able to benefit in some other trades outside of the gold mines.

I chose the story because I want to find the definition of what it means to be Australians in the 21st century in this multicultural Australia that we live in now. The Australia or the Sydney now is a lot different from the Sydney I grew up in 13 years ago. I used to feel people judging and staring at me because I was Chinese in restaurant, shopping center and etc. Being Chinese was a novelty. We were curious creatures to the general population but not anymore in this day and age. It was okay to discriminate back then but I think the general Australian population has matured about diversity, multiculturalism and about racial discrimination.

There is part of me that is Australian. I know that living in Australia changed me and I have inherited something from living in Australia. Part of me identify myself as Australian even though I also identify myself as a Chinese-American, a Hong Konger, Cantonese and Chinese.

So this is also a personal journey since while looking for the Australian identity, I am also looking for my own identity and how I fit into the puzzle or big picture if at all. Are there Australians that are kind of like me? Are there Australians who I can identify with?