Shirley Le is a Funny Ethnic | Docs - video Dailymotion

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Shirley Le is the Vietnamese-Australian author of the book 'Funny Ethnics.' As a child, Shirley grew up watching politicians on screen push harmful rhetoric and say things like Australia had been 'swamped by Asians.'   In cities Yagoona and Bankstown, she didn’t always feel like she belonged.  She was called 'ethnic' often, further  stigmatizing her as an outsider. That’s why she's reclaiming the word in the title of her book.  "I find great joy in being empowered to take the role of storyteller."  Today, she’s an important and authentic voice because of one central defiance: she is speaking from her community rather than for it.  Director Andrew Yee  Producers Andrew Yee Chris Yee  Editor Andrew Yee  Director of Photography Kaan Cansiz   Sound  Andrew Yee  Assistant Editor Rendy Abi  Editor-in-Chief Keshia Hannam  Head of Production Stephanie Tangkilisan  Producer Yudistira Dilianzia  Post Production Coordinator Skolastika Lupitawina  Color Nadya Shabrina  Sound Ernesto Suarez  Additional Music by Leon Laudenbach - Pirate Blues Free Walking Trio - At the Corner Shahead Mostafafar - Purple Drop Lalinea - Calm On Ziv Grinberg - Its Fun Being a Cat Raw - Nonsense Bunker Buster - Arak Elite Kicktracks - Fat Banana  Additional Archival Material The Guardian, Funny Ethnics by Shirley Le review – a second-generation migrant wrestles with longing and belonging, (2023) Good Reads, Funny Ethnics, (2023) The West Australian, Book review: Funny Ethnics by Shirley Le a sharply humorous take on identity, racism and growing up, (2023) rtrfm, Shirley Le’s Funny Ethnics is not your usual coming of age story, (2023) The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Biting, bold and visceral’. A debut novel about migrants and racism, (2023) Readings, Funny Ethnics by Shirley Le, (2023) Scrap multiculturalism, Pauline Hanson declares, (1996) Pauline Hanson's maiden speech: Has Australia been 'swamped by Asians'?, (2016) Macquarie University, Macquarie University Campus tour, (2021) Hungry Passport, VIETNAM Travel Guide 2023 - [Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City & more], 2022 Sweatshop, Sweatshop Women on The Drum, (2020)  Special Thanks Sweatshop Literacy Movement Michael Mohammed Ahmad Winnie Dunn Rosanna Hunt Benjamin Law Better Read Than Dead Books Kinokuniya

Transcript

00:00 Growing up as a Vietnamese Australian,

00:02 I have heard the term ethnic being thrown around.

00:06 And to me, being labelled that term

00:10 always came with this stigma

00:13 of feeling like you don't belong somewhere.

00:15 I find great joy in being empowered

00:23 to take up the role of a storyteller.

00:27 (drumming)

00:29 I would say that it's not a memoir in a way

00:36 where all of the things that happened in the book

00:40 happened in my personal life,

00:42 but I can say that all of the feelings in that book

00:47 I have experienced in my personal life.

00:49 Growing up, I thought the world was Bankstown and Yagoona.

00:54 Someone on Reddit said that Yagoona is a certified shithole

00:59 and I think people who say that are certified shitheads.

01:04 When I was around five or six years old

01:09 and my parents were watching the news

01:13 and I remember feeling that there was

01:16 such a tension in the room.

01:18 There was a lady with red hair on the screen

01:22 talking about how,

01:24 I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians.

01:27 And there was just a feeling of confusion

01:30 about whether that could influence government policy

01:34 and did that mean that my family could be sent back

01:39 to where they came from.

01:40 Growing up as a Vietnamese Australian from Yagoona,

01:46 it has showed me that to reclaim narratives

01:50 about your community and to hold that pen to write

01:53 is a privilege that I believe

01:55 I've had to fight for in a way.

01:58 I remember taking a class in my writing degree

02:09 called travel writing.

02:11 And I wrote this story about going to Vietnam

02:16 and there was a mature age student sitting opposite me

02:20 who was like an older white guy.

02:22 And he said, "Oh, you look happy with your mark.

02:26 "What did you write about?"

02:28 And I said, "I wrote about visiting my family in Vietnam

02:33 "and in particular, my experiences bonding with a relative

02:38 "who had a mental illness."

02:42 And he said, "Your story really did pull

02:46 "at the heartstrings of the marker."

02:48 And it was at that point where I realised,

02:52 oh, this guy is wearing Crocs and board shorts

02:56 but he's actually right.

02:57 So sure, I got a shiny mark,

03:01 but I definitely felt gross.

03:05 I felt gross after that.

03:06 So the book traces Sylvia Nguyen's life

03:11 from the point where she's about to sit this intense exam

03:16 called the Selective Schools Test

03:19 to the point where she's struggling in university

03:24 and not really sure where her education is taking her.

03:30 And she's not really sure who she is

03:35 as a second generation Vietnamese Australian.

03:39 (upbeat music)

03:42 - I am so nervous that Funny Ethnics is out in the world

03:49 but I'm also excited and I'm also curious

03:54 to see how readers respond to the work.

03:59 - I'm anxious about spelling people's names incorrectly.

04:05 However, a line that I have gone to,

04:08 if the other person is a person of colour,

04:10 is I've written from one Funny Ethnic to another

04:14 and then I've signed it.

04:15 - I think writing can be a really isolating process

04:21 but because I have such a strong community

04:25 and communities around me, I feel supported.

04:29 I'm nervous, I don't like to disappoint anyone

04:31 but at the same time, it feels really special

04:35 to have something that you've created

04:38 come out into the world.

04:39 - I don't know anyone who's writing like her at the moment

04:42 and there's something about Shirley's ability

04:45 to capture a very sharp, pointed,

04:50 very arch interior world compared to what's actually going

04:54 on in the outside which is so potent.

04:57 I don't know, a whole generation's gonna hold onto

05:00 really close to their hearts.

05:01 This book is one of a kind and there's gonna be a bit

05:03 of a before and after Funny Ethnics, I think.

05:06 - At the end of the day, I'm speaking from

05:11 a Vietnamese Australian community

05:13 but I don't speak for everyone.

05:16 And I think writers of colour can feel something called

05:19 the burden of representation when we approach our work.

05:23 We feel like we have to absolutely capture

05:27 everyone's experiences in our work

05:30 but I believe that once I broke through that barrier,

05:33 I've been able to feel more empowered

05:36 about speaking from that community rather than for it.

05:39 (upbeat music)

05:42 (upbeat music)

Shirley Le is a Funny Ethnic | Docs

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