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The Killing of a Chinese Cookie
Filmmaker Derek Shimoda invites us to take a closer look at a little something taken for granted at the end of nearly every Chinese restaurant meal, fortune cookies. Who started it all? And who writes those fortunes anyway?
When:
October 11, 2008 12:00am
Where
Time: 4:20PM, Run time: 75 min.
Language: English
"... a thoroughly amusing look at the fortune cookie -- its disputed origins, pop-culture profile and every other possible angle"
- Variety
What do Powerball, the planet Mars and sexual innuendos have in common? Fortune cookies of course! Filmmaker Derek Shimoda invites us to take a closer look at a little something taken for granted at the end of nearly every Chinese restaurant meal. Who started it all? Was it a Japanese landscape designer, a Japanese confectioner or a Chinese noodle maker? Was its birthplace in San Francisco or Los Angeles? And who writes those fortunes anyway?
Shimoda takes us on an irreverent and comical journey revealing the enigmatic and sometimes contentious back story of the famous fortune cookie. Depending on who you ask, those folded golden circles with slips of paper inside are a little bit of poetry, a little bit of advice, and a little bit of what the future holds--or maybe just a little dessert. A colorful cast of characters weighs in on the ubiquitous act of cracking open a cookie and trying to discern one’s destiny. Martin Yan from “Yan Can Cook,” Miss South Carolina, and Giant Robot founder Eric Nakamura offer their take. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure divulges which fortunes didn’t get past the all-powerful “fortune approving committee.”
Whether you think they’re harmless fun, worry they perpetuate stereotypes of Asian culture or secretly believe they’ll lead you to happiness and a pot of gold, fortune cookies have become an indelible part of not only Chinese American dining, but American pop culture and beyond, making cameos in everything from “Mr. Rogers” to the “The Simpsons” to outer space. What do they reflect about us? And most importantly, what does your fortune say?
-San Francisco International Asian Film Festival
Cost:
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