The depiction of Hmong people in the movie "Gran Torino" reminded me Anne Fadiman's great work "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" (a classic which should be studied by every would-be journalist).I first noticed Fadiman's writing in the now defunct "Civilization" magazine. Her monthly "common reader" column was my favorite. Every month, I would copy and mail her column to my best friend (she was then in Texas working on her Ph.D.). Over the phone, we would read it together and sometimes laughed into tears.
The writings were later collected in the book "Ex Libris", but the funny comics associated with the columns were gone. Somehow in book form, they looked more serious and lost some of the charms. (I still keep the magazines and secretly hope someday they will be re-united in a new edition.) Nevertheless, it's one of my favorite books. I'd rather buy you a copy than lend you mine.
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