May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which commemorates the contributions of a vibrant, diverse and culturally rich community. The AAPI community represents 20.6 million people in the U.S., encompassing a wide array of languages, religions and cultural traditions.
The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Affinity Group recommends the following movies and TV shows — documentaries, comedies and dramas depicting everything from feudal Japan to modern Mumbai, as well as a number of settings across the U.S. — that offer a glimpse at the history, diversity and cultural dynamics of the AAPI community.
Set in Mumbai, this movie — written and directed by Payal Kapadia — at times has a quasi-documentary feel. It depicts three women working as nurses as they navigate their friendship and personal lives.
Beef allows its East Asian American characters to be loud, violent, unhinged, furious, petty and more — a rarity in U.S. media. At times, the ugly emotional truth behind this Netflix show is painful to watch. But the series also offers catharsis and affirmation — it’s normal to be messed up sometimes, even if you’re supposed to be the “model minority.”
This South Korean cooking competition, streaming on Netflix, features established as well as up-and-coming chefs. It’s a fun and entertaining foray into various cuisines that offers delicious twists on classic dishes.
Binge Season 1 now! Deli Boys is a comedy on Hulu about a family business. The family, however, is the Pakistani version of the Sopranos.
Like many biopics, this movie starring Jason Scott Lee takes liberties: Names are changed, events are invented, chronology is shifted. Still, it’s an entertaining overview of the life and career of Bruce Lee, an actor and martial artist who smashed stereotypes and was on the cusp of bona fide Hollywood stardom before his death in 1973 at age 32.
This comedy-drama (directed by Lulu Wang) is about a Chinese American woman (played by Awkwafina) who navigates the conflict of Eastern and Western cultural beliefs with the diagnosis of her terminally ill grandmother. The family decides to keep this secret from the grandmother and instead plans a wedding as an excuse to gather before she dies.
Netflix’s Mo is loosely based on comedian Mo Amer’s life. Amid the laughs, the show also sincerely focuses on family, love and being a refugee in our broken immigration system.
Written and directed by Celine Song, Past Lives is a sweet, sad, intimate story about an immigrant woman who reconnects with a childhood friend from South Korea.
Co-produced by Jennifer 8. Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, this documentary examines the Chinese American experience through the lens of food — specifically, takeout staples like chop suey and General Tso’s chicken that have become, as one chef interviewed puts it, “comfort food” for Americans of all ethnicities.
Beautifully shot and featuring superb performances, this new FX adaptation of the 1975 James Clavell novel focuses on Japanese politics and culture (and characters) in the 16th century, an era largely unexplored in popular culture.
Image at top by the SPLC.