Season 8, Ep. 5: Two Lies

We're back to continue Season 8 of Saturday School, where we're exploring the roots of Asian American science fiction films. This week, we're thinking about movies like "Frankenstein," "Face/Off" or "Eyes Without a Face' -- plastic-surgery-gone-wrong films. So we are revisiting Pamela Tom's 1990 short film "Two Lies." It's from the point of view of a Chinese American teenager and her younger sister. Their mom recently left their dad, and she decides to get eyelid surgery as part of her "new grip on life." She's wearing sunglasses and secluding herself in the bathroom to hide the bandages around her eyes. She's dating a white man who's passionate about "the Orient" and calls her "Lotus Bud." She even talks differently. Is it a scientific experiment with horrific consequences, or just a regular procedure? As common as getting braces, their mother insists!