Season 9, Ep. 9: Lucky Grandma

Saturday School Podcast

This week's Saturday School episode is a celebration of Tsai Chin, as we revisit the 2019 film, "Lucky Grandma," directed by Saisie Sealey.

Some might know Chin as a classically-trained theater actress and original star of the London "The World of Suzie Wong" stage show. Some might remember her as a Bond girl. Many likely think of her as Auntie Lindo in "The Joy Luck Club."

But "Lucky Grandma" gave Chin the role of a lifetime. Now 91, she was in her mid-80s when she played the cranky, chain-smoking grandma who gets herself mixed up in a gang-related heist on the bus ride back from a trip to a NY Chinatown casino.

The film's national commercial release coincided with the pandemic, alongside the rise of hate crimes targeting Asian American seniors. "Lucky Grandma" provided a free-wheeling fantasy of an old Asian lady trying to get away with the perfect crime, despite having no skills, smarts nor plan. We root for our star, who is only armed with judgmental stares, lack of empathy and brazen stubbornness. As the tagline says: Respect your elders.

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"Inheriting" is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, which explores how one event in history can ripple through generations. In doing so, the show seeks to break apart the AAPI monolith and tell a fuller story of these communities. In each episode, NPR’s Emily Kwong sits down with one family and facilitates deeply emotional conversations between their loved ones, exploring how their most personal, private moments are an integral part of history. Through these stories, we show how the past is personal and how to live with the legacies we’re constantly inheriting. New episodes premiere every Thursday. Subscribe to “Inheriting” on your app of choice

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