Iwasaki Library Blog

Remember last summer? Remember how it was all about Beijing? Well, it was if you, like the Media Librarian, are both a lover of all things Chinese and an Olympics freak. My Beijing Birthday will give you your Beijing fix, and get you thinking about marketing, the future of China, child development, the impact of the Cultural Revolution. But mostly, you will wonder how the filmmaker, Howard Snyder, became so incredibly fluent in Mandarin. The Media Librarian is in awe of his language skills.
Mr. Snyder spent time in 1996 studying the art of xiansheng (Chinese stand-up comedy) with a group of young kids from the generation known as the "little emperors." He capped the experience off by throwing an American-style birthday party for himself--catered by MacDonalds. Twelve years later he returned to look up the kids, now in their early twenties. Their memories and insights are funny and touching.