Shepard's Pie and Sushi

Dossier

All Mixed Up Subscribe

“Mixed up” refers to the notions of blending identities and transgressing cultural norms...

We are pleased to present this dossier on the subject of mixed-race identity, originally curated by filmmaker Anne Marie Nakagawa.

“Mixed up” refers to the notions of blending identities and transgressing cultural norms, shifting the trajectory of where individuals without the traditional Canadian (or American) plus-one-ethnic-identity choose to locate themselves in a sea of social and political contradictions.

For a country that prides itself in being “multicultural,” there still appears to be difficulty in understanding and accepting a person of mixed racial and cultural decent as “Canadian,” especially if one of their heritages falls into the category of “visible minority.”

What is your opinion on this issue? Contribute comments and/or media on this topic now!

Link

Shepard's Pie and Sushi

Hyperlink: http://www.nfb.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=33534

Contributed by Anne Marie Nakagawa

Mieko Ouchi is half Celtic, half Japanese... and all Canadian. In 1993, Mieko, an actor, began researching a documentary about her grandfather, Edward Ouchi, a Japanese immigrant to Canada. Then she was cast to star in The War Between Us, a film on the World War II internment of 22,000 Japanese-Canadians--re-enacting a key episode in her own community's history. Part Japanese-Canadian history, part autobiography and family chronicle, Shepherd's Pie and Sushi looks at complex questions of personal and cultural identity with a light touch. Using archival material, dramatic re-enactment, powerful scenes from The War Between Us and moving interviews with members of the Ouchi family, the film relates the early history of Japanese-Canadians and looks at Mieko's and her family's struggles with their own identities.