Best Of: Lucy Liu / Zadie Smith
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
From WHYY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Tanya Mosley. Today, Lucy Liu joins us to talk about her new film, Rosemead, where she stars as a terminally ill woman grappling with her teenage son's escalating mental health crisis and the impossible choices she faces to protect him. It's based on a true story. And Zadie Smith joins us to talk about her new collection of essays, Dead and Alive. The essays, like much of her fiction, reflect on issues that directly affect her life, like aging, she just turned 50, race, she's biracial, class, her mother grew up poor in Jamaica, and her father grew up poor in England, and generation gaps.
What is the story behind Lucy Liu's film 'Rosemead'?
Plus, film critic Justin Chang shares his list of the best films of the year. That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.
This is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Tanya Mosley. For nearly three decades, Lucy Liu has been one of the most recognizable faces in film and television. From her breakout on Ally McBeal to the stylized violence in Kill Bill and her reinvention of Dr. Watson on Elementary, Liu has expanded representation of Asian American women on screen. She also directs and creates visual art, exhibiting her mixed-media work internationally. Her latest project is a film she spent years shepherding, and as the lead, she takes on one of the most emotionally layered roles of her career. It tells the story of Irene, a terminally ill Chinese immigrant living in California's San Gabriel Valley, who discovers that her teenage son, who has schizophrenia, has become fixated on school shootings.
In a community where mental illness is rarely discussed openly, Irene confronts this fear largely on her own. And as her own time runs out, she becomes haunted by a question she can't escape. What if her son becomes violent? The film is called Rosemead, and it's inspired by true events. Lou signed on as both producer and star, and it's her first dramatic leading role in a feature film. And Lucy Liu, welcome to Fresh Air. What a thrill to be here. I'm so happy to have you.
What themes does Zadie Smith explore in her essay collection 'Dead and Alive'?
And I'll tell you, I was so moved by this movie. I read that you were kind of terrified when you first read this, the script for this. And I can understand why as we talk more about it. But what was it about that script that made you say, I can't really look away from this. I have to take this on.
I think that this story is so devastating, and I also realize that there's nothing like this in our lexicon.
How does Zadie Smith reflect on aging and generational discourse?
We don't have a story about a family, an immigrant family, struggling with cancer or even mental health. And I wanted to highlight the love in this family. I think sometimes the title of the article or things like that is very clickbait and not a way to humanize this woman and her son and to really talk about what happened behind closed doors. And I know that. For myself, there's a lot of cultural stigma and there's a lot of fear about being seen in a true light, thinking that it would be judged or I guess you'll be shunned from the community. And I think that there's something about exposing that in a positive way that might help spark conversation for not just the AANHPI community, but for so many other cultures.
Yeah.
You mentioned an article because I said in the introduction that this is based on a true story. And the articles you're referring to are the articles after a crime happens. And this mother makes this decision that... really is such a hard one without giving it away. How did you find a way to humanize her after reading about the choices that she made in the end as she faces terminal cancer and she also sees that her son is very disturbed?
I think understanding that she had a fragmentation in the language. I think when she was home and she was speaking Mandarin fluently with her Son, you can see that there was nuance and poetry and love and in humor. And when she was outside in the world, there's a vulnerability that she has. And I think that was a really important part of understanding how she was in many ways marginalized and also that she did not have an advocate.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:46
2
What is the story behind Lucy Liu's film 'Rosemead'?
0:46–2:28
3
What themes does Zadie Smith explore in her essay collection 'Dead and Alive'?
2:28–2:57
4
How does Zadie Smith reflect on aging and generational discourse?
2:57–9:12
5
How does Lucy Liu portray the struggles of immigrant families in her film?
9:12–10:00
6
What are the challenges faced by the character Irene in 'Rosemead'?
10:00–19:01
7
What insights does Zadie Smith provide about being raised by television?
19:01–20:32
8
What are the implications of generational gaps in Zadie Smith's perspective?
20:32–48:31
Speakers
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