{"id":"Why is Preparing Fish a Political Act? (film)","doctype":"articles","links":{"html":"https://resourceguide.densho.org/Why%20is%20Preparing%20Fish%20a%20Political%20Act%3F%20(film)/","json":"https://resourceguide.densho.org/api/3.0/articles/Why%20is%20Preparing%20Fish%20a%20Political%20Act%3F%20(film)/"},"title_sort":"whyispreparingfishapoliticalactfilm","description":"Short documentary film by Russell Leong that profiles\n  \n   Sansei\n  \n  poet\n  \n   Janice Mirikitani\n  \n  . Mirikitani reads several of her poems (from the collections\n  \n\n    Awake in the River\n   \n\n  and\n  \n\n    Shedding Silence\n   \n\n  ) and talks about her grandmother's resourcefulness; her rejection of her Asian heritage as a young college student and her first husband and daughter; the impact of the Asian American Movement; and her involvement with Gilde Memorial Church and her second husband Cecil Williams. In the final segment of the film, Mirikitani talks about the impact of the Japanese American incarceration on her family and on the community as a whole and reads the poem \"We, the Dangerous.\"","rg_rgmediatype":["films"],"mediatype_label":"Films and Video","mediatype_icon":"fa-film","rg_interestlevel":["Grades 9-12","Adult"],"rg_genre":["Documentary","Biography"],"rg_theme":["Convention and rebellion","Loss of innocence","Power of silence","Power of words","Role of women","Self-awareness"],"rg_availability":["Available"],"categories":[{"title":"Arts"}],"topics":[],"authors":[{"title":"Brian Niiya","json":"https://resourceguide.densho.org/api/3.0/authors/Brian%20Niiya/","html":"https://resourceguide.densho.org/authors/Brian%20Niiya/"}],"sources":[],"title":"Why is Preparing Fish a Political Act? (film)","published_rg":true,"modified":"2018-02-28T18:42:23","databoxes":{"rgdatabox-Core":{"rgmediatype":["films"],"title":["Why Is Preparing Fish a Political Act?"],"creators":[],"interestlevel":["Grades 9-12","Adult"],"readinglevel":[],"guidedreadinglevel":[],"lexile":[],"theme":["Convention and rebellion","Loss of innocence","Power of silence","Power of words","Role of women","Self-awareness"],"genre":["Documentary","Biography"],"pov":["Told from point of view of Sansei poet"],"relatedevents":[],"availability":["Available"],"freewebversion":["No"],"primarysecondary":[],"hasteachingaids":["No"],"warnings":[],"denshotopic":[],"geography":["San Francisco, California"],"chronology":["1990s"],"facility":[]},"databox-Films":{"title":["Why Is Preparing Fish a Political Act?"],"date":["1990"],"genre":["Documentary"],"released":[],"director":["Russell Leong"],"producer":[],"writer":[],"screenplay":[],"story":[],"basedon":[],"narrator":[],"starring":["Janice Mirikitani"],"music":["Glenn Horiuchi"],"cinematography":["Ying Ming Tu"],"editing":[],"studio":[],"distributor":["Center for Asian American Media"],"runtime":["17 minutes"],"country":[],"language":[],"budget":[],"gross":[],"imdblink":["<a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6402750/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6402750/</a>"],"trailerlink":[]}},"rg_title":["Why Is Preparing Fish a Political Act?"],"rg_pov":["Told from point of view of Sansei poet"],"rg_freewebversion":["No"],"rg_geography":["San Francisco, California"],"rg_chronology":["1990s"],"rg_hasteachingaids":["No"],"body":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n <div class=\"rgonly\">\n  <!--\"rgdatabox-CoreDisplay\" removed-->\n  <div id=\"rgdatabox-Core\" style=\"display:none;\">\n   <p>\n    RGMediaType:films;\nTitle:Why Is Preparing Fish a Political Act?;\nCreators:;\nInterestLevel:Grades 9-12; Adult;\nReadingLevel:;\nGuidedReadingLevel:;\nLexile:;\nTheme:Convention and rebellion; Loss of innocence; Power of silence; Power of words; Role of women; Self-awareness;\nGenre:Documentary; Biography;\nPoV:Told from point of view of Sansei poet;\nRelatedEvents:;\nAvailability:Available;\nFreeWebVersion:No;\nPrimarySecondary:;\nHasTeachingAids:No;\nWarnings:;\nDenshoTopic:;\nGeography:San Francisco, California;\nChronology:1990s;\nFacility:;\n   </p>\n  </div>\n </div>\n <div id=\"databox-Films\" style=\"display:none;\">\n  <p>\n   Title:Why Is Preparing Fish a Political Act?;\nDate:1990; \nGenre:Documentary;\nReleased:;\nDirector:Russell Leong;\nProducer:;\nWriter:;\nScreenplay:;\nStory:;\nBasedOn:;\nNarrator:;\nStarring:Janice Mirikitani;\nMusic:Glenn Horiuchi;\nCinematography:Ying Ming Tu;\nEditing:;\nStudio:;\nDistributor:Center for Asian American Media;\nRuntime:17 minutes;\nCountry:;\nLanguage:;\nBudget:;\nGross:;\nIMDBLink:\n   <a class=\"external free offsite\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6402750/\" rel=\"nofollow\">\n    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6402750/\n   </a>\n   ;\nTrailerLink:;\n  </p>\n </div>\n <p>\n  Short documentary film by Russell Leong that profiles\n  <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"https://encyclopedia.densho.org/wiki/Sansei\" title=\"Sansei\">\n   Sansei\n  </a>\n  poet\n  <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"https://encyclopedia.densho.org/wiki/Janice_Mirikitani\" title=\"Janice Mirikitani\">\n   Janice Mirikitani\n  </a>\n  . Mirikitani reads several of her poems (from the collections\n  <i>\n   <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"https://encyclopedia.densho.org/wiki/Awake_in_the_River_(book)\" title=\"Awake in the River (book)\">\n    Awake in the River\n   </a>\n  </i>\n  and\n  <i>\n   <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"https://encyclopedia.densho.org/wiki/Shedding_Silence_(book)\" title=\"Shedding Silence (book)\">\n    Shedding Silence\n   </a>\n  </i>\n  ) and talks about her grandmother's resourcefulness; her rejection of her Asian heritage as a young college student and her first husband and daughter; the impact of the Asian American Movement; and her involvement with Gilde Memorial Church and her second husband Cecil Williams. In the final segment of the film, Mirikitani talks about the impact of the Japanese American incarceration on her family and on the community as a whole and reads the poem \"We, the Dangerous.\"\n </p>\n <p>\n  The 1990 film was funded by the UCLA Institute of American Cultures and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.\n </p>\n <div id=\"authorByline\">\n  <b>\n   Authored by\n   <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"https://encyclopedia.densho.org/wiki/Brian_Niiya\" title=\"Brian Niiya\">\n    Brian Niiya\n   </a>\n   , Densho\n  </b>\n </div>\n <div id=\"citationAuthor\" style=\"display:none;\">\n  Niiya, Brian\n </div>\n <p>\n  Might also like\n  <i>\n   <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"https://encyclopedia.densho.org/wiki/Lawson_Fusao_Inada:_What_It_Means_to_Be_Free_(film)\" title=\"Lawson Fusao Inada: What It Means to Be Free (film)\">\n    Lawson Fusao Inada: What It Means to Be Free\n   </a>\n  </i>\n  (2001);\n  <i>\n   <a class=\"encyc rg\" href=\"/wiki/Mitsuye and Nellie: Asian American Poets (film)/\" title=\"Mitsuye and Nellie: Asian American Poets (film)\">\n    Mitsuye and Nellie: Asian American Poets\n   </a>\n  </i>\n  (1981);\n  <i>\n   <a class=\"encyc rg\" href=\"/wiki/Days of Waiting (film)/\" title=\"Days of Waiting (film)\">\n    Days of Waiting: The Life and Art of Estelle Ishigo\n   </a>\n  </i>\n  (1990)\n </p>\n <!-- \nNewPP limit report\nCached time: 20250625170726\nCache expiry: 86400\nDynamic content: false\nComplications: []\nCPU time usage: 0.024 seconds\nReal time usage: 0.030 seconds\nPreprocessor visited node count: 352/1000000\nPost‐expand include size: 7027/2097152 bytes\nTemplate argument size: 1417/2097152 bytes\nHighest expansion depth: 4/40\nExpensive parser function count: 0/100\nUnstrip recursion depth: 0/20\nUnstrip post‐expand size: 0/5000000 bytes\nExtLoops count: 0\n-->\n <!--\nTransclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template)\n100.00%   12.797      1 -total\n 26.98%    3.453      1 Template:Databox-Films\n 24.78%    3.171      1 Template:RGDatabox-Core\n 16.03%    2.052      1 Template:Published\n 15.89%    2.033      1 Template:AuthorByline\n 14.93%    1.910      1 Template:publish-rgonly\n-->\n <!-- Saved in parser cache with key encycmw:pcache:idhash:2391-0!canonical and timestamp 20250625170726 and revision id 28346\n -->\n</div>\n"}