Crisis, singular. Crises, plural.

• 危机
• wēijī
• dangerous/critical point

I chose to present the Chinese for “crisis” since one of the films dealt with a Chinese family, and the documentary dealt with a “Chinaman” image.

Saving Face involved many sort of crises. Honor, romantic, personal, occupational. Ma’s crises begin with her pregnancy, being kicked out of her home, dating, and fear of motherhood. Since she was unwed and pregnant, Ma’s father kicked her out of his home. For him, having an unwed pregnant daughter caused him to lose face (a sort of social honor). Wil tries to get her on dates so that she will get married and move out, but she feels insecure about her age. She also kept repeating her fears about not being able to take care of the child well. She’s afraid she can’t manage it.

Wil faces crises over her relationship with Vivian. She is afraid to tell others about their relationship, mainly her mother and the Chinese community because she would seem like a disrespectful daughter. She also struggles to balance her job, her mother, and Vivian. When she lets Vivian go, whether because of her fear or for Vivian’s future, she fully admits she loved Vivian.

The Slanted Screen highlighted the roles that Asian American men have had in film and television. The real crisis about this is the lack of proper roles being presented.