Film attacks Chinese stereotypes

Geng Kaitian (center, second row), a Chinese graduate from Purdue University, and his team kick off the US documentary project from April 12, 2012, just one day after the shooting death of two USC graduate students from China was reported. Courtesy of Walker Production Studio

As China becomes the largest overseas source for the higher education market in the United States, a grassroots campaign is underway overseas to fight the stereotype that all Chinese students that come to the US are spoiled children from rich families here to buy fancy degrees.

With English subtitles, an hour-long documentary called simply US aims to recast the image of Chinese students in the US and has already attracted more than 6 million views since it was published online Nov 23, 2013.

It's the work of a group of Chinese youths who studied in the US over the past two years.

"Through the documentary, we try to put the pieces of the puzzle together and give people an accurate picture of the life of Chinese students in the US," said Geng Kaitian, a Chinese graduate from Purdue University and onetime vice-president of Purdue's CSSA (Chinese Student and Scholar Association).

Geng organized a team to kick off the US documentary project on April 12, 2012, just one day after the shooting deaths of two USC graduate students from China were reported.

The victims were criticized by Chinese netizens for being from rich families and flaunting their wealth by buying a BMW, which they believed caused the tragedy.

A friend of Geng's knew the victims and told him both were from middle-class families and worked very hard on their studies.

"Misunderstanding and rumors have shaped the reputation of Chinese overseas students, particularly when we return to China to hunt for job," Geng said.

The team, called Walker Production Studio, reached out to many distinguished Chinese talents in the US and scheduled 53 interviews across the country. In the end, 14 interviews were chosen and edited into the final version. A total of 148 Chinese people contributed to the project.

With different stories, interviewees share similar memories. "I never expected that, during the next four years, I would stay up late to fight for better grades. It has never occurred to me that the locals would frown upon my English and pretend that they do not understand me at all. I have never thought that one day I would fall in love with this very unexpected life", says one.

"I told myself, I must achieve something here. I wish I could go back to China with my knowledge and make some contribution to my country. I still remember what my dream was, and it hasn't changed a lot," Geng said.

"I have been asked many times why I chose to come to the US. The college life in East China Normal University was really easy. The college is quite good and I didn't have much homework to do," said Li Luodan, one of the interviewees in the documentary.

"I realized that only few students were working hard, which was not exactly what I expected before I entered East China Normal University. They lost their passion for study. Therefore, I felt that a new place might be better for me," he said.

"I have been living in Shanghai for 20 years and wanted to visit different places. So I chose the United States, where it is full of innovation and intelligence. Man struggles upwards, I like challenges, and want to live everyday differently," he said.

For Li Siyu, the winner of the 2012 Miss Chinese New York Pageant, university life in the United States for Chinese students should be not only between the dormitory and the library.

"I think I showed my courage and confidence when I wore a bikini on stages in front of audiences of more than two thousand. There was also an opportunity to improve myself, no matter how embarrassed and uncomfortable I was," she said in the documentary.

"I think the Miss Chinese New York Pageant exactly represents the Chinese people in the US and also Chinese culture. At the same time, they represent the traditions and mainstreams of America," she said.

For the film team, it was not an easy thing to balance time for both studying and filmmaking, especially since they were facing graduation at the time.

"But because of our strong desire to complete the documentary and the support from each other, we made it," Jiao Wenqian, one of the Walker Production's five core members, told China Daily.

As their maiden work, the documentary created to present something true to contradict those stereotypes against them, and they also hope it can be a bridge of communication between students and their parents in China, Jiao said.

"We have received many critical comments from audiences, both good and bad, which are all helpful," Jiao said.

chenjia@chinadailyusa.com