Last week, Racebending.com had the opportunity to watch A Village Called Versailles, a documentary about the struggle of the Vietnamese American community of New Orleans.

In a New Orleans neighborhood called Versailles, a tight-knit group of Vietnamese Americans overcame obstacles to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, only to have their homes threatened by a new government-imposed toxic landfill.

A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES is the empowering story of how the Versailles people, who have already suffered so much in their lifetime, turn a devastating disaster into a catalyst for change and a chance for a better future.

The documentary takes us into the heart of this six-thousand strong community of Vietnamese American families. We learn about the pain and hardship experienced by the older Vietnamese on their journey to come to America and build livelihoods for their children and grandchildren. At the same time, we see a growing movement of American-born youth come to support – and lead – their parents and grandparents in a struggle for recognition and acceptance.

This is a story that bridges oceans and generations alike. The film is not designed to preach, but to inspire: to share a unique slice of the American story with a wide audience. As we watched, we came to feel, appreciate, and empathize with Versailles’ heartbreak – and triumph.

Dr. Robert Stonehill doesn’t exist in real life. The Pompe cure was developed by Dr. Yuan-Tsong Chen and his colleagues while he was at Duke University. [...] Harrison Ford, as this film’s executive producer, perhaps saw Stonehill as a plum role for himself; a rewrite was necessary because [Ford] couldn’t very well play Dr. Chen. The real Chen, a Taiwan University graduate, worked his way up at Duke from a residency to professor and chief of medical genetics at the Duke University Medical Center. [Chen] has been mentioned as a Nobel candidate.

I suspect Dr. Chen might have inspired a more interesting character than “Dr. Stonehill.” The Nebraskan seems inspired more by Harrison Ford’s image and range. He plays the doctor using only a few spare parts off the shelf. (1) He likes to crank up rock music while he works. (2) He doesn’t return messages. (3) He’s so feckless he accidentally hangs up on Crowley by pulling the phone off his desk. (4) He likes to drink beer from longneck bottles in a honky-tonk bar and flirt with the waitress. (5) “I’m a scientist, not a doctor,” he says. [...]

This becomes tiresome.

[...] Ford is given no lines that suggest depth of character, only gruffness that gradually mellows.

by Desaree, Racebending.com staff

    Protests Come Early to Disney’s ‘Princess’

Almost two years before its hoped-for release of its first hand-drawn animated film produced under the supervision of Pixar’s John Lasseter, Disney has already drawn fire for alleged racial and ethnic insensitivities that were detected in its original announcement of the film, according to Disney watcher Jim Hill. Since the original title, The Frog Princess, might be regarded as a slur on the French, the title has been changed to The Princess and the Frog. The main character, named Maddy — who was to become Disney’s first black princess — has had her name changed to Tiana, since Maddy reportedly sounded too much like Mammy. She will no longer be seen as a chambermaid working for a rich, white spoiled Southern débutante. In a statement, Disney, which said that it ordinarily does not comment on its animated films in the early stages of production, observed: “The story takes place in the charming elegance and grandeur of New Orleans’ fabled French Quarter during the Jazz Age. … Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney’s rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity.”
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