If you remember my review about Jeff Chiba Stearns and his two movies about post-its . . . well, here’s another one of his life stories.
In this hilarious but true documentary about lifestyle, Stearns talks about his history growing up as a young kid in Kelowna. He explains his Japanese mother married a Caucasian man with roots in almost every country, so Stearns considers himself his own breed. However, he later refers to himself as a Hapa, which is Japanese for leaf, and Hawaiian for “half breed.”
Stearns explains he had a tough struggle growing up in Kelowna where he was born and raised. He explains how in grade school some of the racist kids would tease him for his age, or how the slightly dimwitted would ask him to teach them martial arts or the Japanese language. It doesn’t get any better through high school as some redneck classmates give him strange nicknames. Further on, he explains he has no interest in dating Japanese girls. After he dated one, she reminded him of his mother way too much. He goes on to tell other stories and recount where his life went and leads up to a happy ending to his life story so far.
This was very well animated to a very good story. It brings a positive message that people should not feel ashamed of themselves no matter who they are. I can’t really relate to this situation, but I can feel the struggle Stearns went through in his life. It’s not always easy to love yourself for who you are.