A Daisy in the Rough

By Chi Tung

Daisy Lin Shapiro is a firm believer in the "human side in all of us." Throughout her storied career, she has been fueled by the desire to provide a palpable framework for the voice of the everyday person. Whether it's through journalistic lenses or the panoramic grandeur of the cinema, Shapiro demonstrates a keen eye for the rind and grind of daily existence.

"Beating the Odds," an NBC program Shapiro began producing in '96, exemplifies her grit over gusto approach. The series offers a frank and sobering glimpse into the lives of students who find their hopes for normalcy continually thwarted by varying degrees of adversity. Another of Shapiro's most notable production credits includes "Unsung Heroes", a weekly case study which spotlights ordinary people making extraordinary sacrifices in order to better their communities. But Shapiro's revelatory instincts as a producer are hardly bound to the rise and fall of the human spirit; she has also delved into subject matter as explosive as the LA Riots, and as frivolous as Margaret Cho's mystique.

While the scope of her work spans almost the entire range of human experience, Shapiro's ultimate worldview appears to be more closely aligned with her attitudes towards racial homogeny. Shapiro grew up in a household where stability and security outweighed the need to forge one's own identity. It is precisely this notion of "don't rock the boat" which serves as a counterpoint to the themes addressed in her latest work, "Looking for YLLOGRL."

Although the documentary began as an extension of Asian American Heritage Month, it soon became apparent that underneath the usual advocation of increased cultural awareness existed the possibility of an even more earth-shattering revelation-that perhaps, instead of buying into a perception of the highly eroticized Asian American goddess, we should consider the innumerable images, attitudes, and experiences which are left wholly unaccounted for.

Case in point--Daisy uses comedian Suzanne Whang as someone who performs a stand-up routine that, in rummaging through racial stereotypes, delivers a unique twist on the notion of Asian American women being docile or allergic to self-expression. Then there's Natalie Nakasa, who isn't afraid of the bump-n-grind nature of collegiate basketball, or the fact that Asians and athletic prowess are hardly ever synonymous.

The point of the documentary isn't to place these women on a pedestal, where their accomplishments can breathe more splendors into the Asian American myth, one typically thought of as being both uber-intellectual and accommodating. Rather, it is to assert that in actuality, there are no Asian American myths, only "real people" leading nuanced, multi-faceted lives.

Shapiro thinks that the media suffers from a lack of cultural enrichment, a phenomenon exacerbated by what she calls a "shortage in dialogue." "Looking for YLLOGRL" is her mission statement-a wake-up call targeting both the industry and its jaded audience. The "yllogrl" in the documentary is not a single entity, but a scattered composite of cultural truths and self-realizations. Within its reels lies the majestic pulse of the American spirit; a dazzling array of textures, shapes, and sounds that threaten to burst open racial categories and shed labels of prepackaged identification.

Freeing peoples' minds from illusory conceptions is all part of Daisy Lin Shapiro's masterplan, though she herself might not freely admit it. She is, however, pleased with the general reception of "Looking for YLLOGRL," and hopes that it can become a viable force in upcoming film festivals.

As for the pearls of wisdom collected via the astonishing breadth of her life experience? "Follow your heart," and "stick with what moves you," she says, perhaps aware that in her life it has made all the difference.

yellowgrrrls.com

November 21, 2003