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
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
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Growing up as a Vietnamese Australian from Yagoona, it has showed me that to
00:07 reclaim narratives about your community and to hold that pen to write is a
00:12 privilege that I believe I've had to fight for in a way. I would say that it's
00:20 not a memoir in a way where all of the things that happened in the book
00:25 happened in my personal life but I can say that all of the feelings in that
00:32 book I have experienced in my personal life. At the end of the day I'm speaking
00:37 from a Vietnamese Australian community but I don't speak for everyone.
00:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]