Disney's Launchpad initiative seeks to introduce viewers to the next generation of filmmakers, combining the indie sensibilities of six young directors with the production value Disney has always been known for. The result is a snapshot of America viewed through the eyes of marginalized groups like immigrants and people whose sexual identity falls outside of the traditional heteronormative experience.
Director Hao Zheng's entry into the Launchpad program, Dinner Is Served, tears down the myth of the "model minority" and showcases how the quest to assimilate into a culture, the desire to be part of a "community," is really just a quest to strip a person of their own identity. It can be a triggering film to some, but it contains a righteous message of punk rock rebellion and self-acceptance that anyone can relate to, regardless of race or academia.
While promoting the release of Dinner Is Served, Hao Zheng spoke to Screen Rant about the themes of his short film. He discusses how marginalized people trying to fit in are constantly "on notice," so to speak, with people expecting so much more from them than from those who haven't been "othered." He also discusses his own heritage as an immigrant who has lived in many places across China and the United States, and his own quest to discover his identity through filmmaking.
Dinner Is Served is available to stream on Disney+.
I had a great evening last night because I watched all of these movies, all of these short films, back to back to back. And they were fantastic, and yours struck me because there is so much said about the... What is it, the "model immigrant," or the "model minority," and the way people who are "othered" have to stay in line in ways that other people just don't have to. And at some point... My video editor can bleep it out, but you can only eat so much s***, right? I dunno, was that something you were thinking about when you were writing?
Yes, exactly. Thank you. Definitely. For me, that ending song is about owning your voice and owning your true self through rebelling. For a lot of us... I'm Chinese. I came to the US for high school. For a lot of us, in the beginning, we try to fit in. We are trying to assimilate. Throughout that journey, you start to realize the differences. And you're afraid to admit the differences. You're trying to erase the differences. Then, at one point, you're going to recognize, that's who you are. You can't erase that. And nobody can erase that. For other people to recognize you, the only way is for you to accept yourself first. And then you can be able to share your story, with your own words.
Assimilation, in some ways, is just the American immigrant trajectory. But there has to be some line and personal integrity, with what parts of your culture do you keep, and which do you have to abandon or leave behind, and sometimes it's fine, and sometimes it's very difficult, especially under pressure. I dunno... If it's not too personal of me to ask, do you ever find yourself feeling like you're not as respectful to your roots as you would like to be, or as you had been?
Always. I grew up always moving from place to place. I was born in the Gobi Desert area of China, which is a very rural place. And then I moved to the southern coast of China, right next to Hong Kong, where they speak Cantonese. And I didn't know how to speak Cantonese. I only spoke Mandarin. And then I moved to New York, Boston, and then to L.A. And now back to China. I'm in Beijing right now. The more I moved, the more I felt lost. Especially, a lot of people, when you first meet someone, people will ask, "Yo, where are you from?" It's such a simple question, but I just don't know how to answer that. I have my roots in the Gobi Desert, but I really don't remember much about that place. You know, I speak Cantonese, I speak Mandarin, but what does that mean for my identity? I'm always lost. And I'm always, like you're saying, I'm always afraid that, by moving to a new place, I may lose what I originally had. But then, through... Right now, film, for me, is kind of like therapy. I started to embrace this feeling of feeling lost. It's become a theme in all of my movies, trying to figure out my own identity, trying to figure out where you belong.
I guess that search for identity is the identity. And this movie is a document of that, for you. And for a lot of people who watch it. It's gorgeous, you don't need me to tell you. Thank you so much, and whatever you do next, I hope I get to talk to you for that, too.
Dinner Is Served is available to stream on Disney+.
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Reviewed by Riyad
on
June 14, 2021
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