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Life & Times Transcript

02/27/06

Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --

There's a shortage of young men who want to join the priesthood. Why is one group different?

Deacon Bich Vu>> If you ask any Vietnamese Catholic parents, "If you have a son, do you want him to become a doctor, lawyer, dentist or even the President of the United States?" They all want their son to become a priest.

Val Zavala>> And then, you know those old record albums you can't seem to part with? Well, Cris Franco has his guidelines for sorting through those stacks of wax.

Those stories and more next on tonight's Life and Times.

Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

With additional support for Life and Times from The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.

Val Zavala>> The Catholic Church is suffering from a severe shortage of priests with the exception of one community, the Vietnamese American community. Go into a seminary in southern California and you'll see an unusual number of Asian faces. Why is that? Sam Louie met one young man whose story is revealing.

Sam Louie>> It's Friday morning mass at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange County. Deacon Bich Vu is a pastoral intern on his way to becoming a Catholic priest. The seeds to Vu's calling were first planted during his early childhood.

Deacon Bich Vu>> In Vietnam, I used to go to church with my grandfathers at four-thirty in the morning. Our families, we all go to church together. So my first memory was I think I went to church about four or five years old every day at four-thirty in the morning.

Sam Louie>> The Catholic Church may be experiencing a serious shortage of priests, but not in the Vietnamese American communities. Here, the Catholic tradition runs deep. Asians only make up about one percent of American Catholics, but they account for twelve percent of all seminarians and the majority of them are Vietnamese. This high percentage reveals the strong impact that faith, family and tradition have on Vietnamese Americans. But where does this deep faith come from? For Vu's family, it began with the work of missionaries in Vietnam. Four generations ago, his family converted to Catholicism.

Deacon Bich Vu>> The two main things we do in our family is go to church in the morning and pray a rosary in the evening, so we spend like an hour in the morning to go to church and, in the evening before we go to bed, we all get together and pray a rosary.

Tin Vu>> I was learned of the Ten Commandments and all the teachings about being a good person when I was little and that was passed on from my great-great-grandparents. Being a Catholic helps teach a person knowing good from bad.

Sam Louie>> But the real test of their devotion came during the Vietnam War. The war disrupted their lives and their ability to practice their faith.

Deacon Bich Vu>> Suddenly the church closed, so we didn't know what to do. Going to church is a part of our lives, so we lost that.

Sam Louie>> His parents tell harrowing stories of local priests being taken away and killed. They knew they had to escape.

Tin Vu>> There's a lot of persecution for Catholics and followers and because of fears for our lives and also the freedom of practicing our faith and that's why we had to leave Vietnam.

Sam Louie>> They escaped in 1978, three years after the fall of Saigon. They were found floating in a small boat off the coast of Vietnam clinging to their lives.

Deacon Bich Vu>> We were on the ocean for two weeks without food and without water and we faced a lot of storms. I thought I was dying. I had no hope and I prayed to God and I prayed sincerely. I said, "God, if you save my family, I will give my whole life to you." I keep saying that, I keep saying that. Then like a miracle, a day later, we were saved. We were rescued by a Japanese ship.

Sam Louie>> Vu and his family managed to arrive safely in America. One of the first things he did was reach for a bible.

Deacon Bich Vu>> It was the first time I opened a bible since I came to the United States. I saw the verse, "Keep your covenant." You know, keep your covenant. It reminded me of the covenant I make to God when I was escaping in the ocean.

Sam Louie>> Not long afterwards, Vu got a degree in theology with his sights set on becoming an ordained Catholic priest. In the Vietnamese culture, priests are held in high esteem. The priesthood is considered the pinnacle of service and success.

Deacon Bich Vu>> In Vietnamese culture, people come to the priest for everything, for counseling, for advising. They see the priests as their teachers, advisers or counselors. The priest has a very high respect in Vietnam, in Vietnamese culture, so they look up at you so you can guide them. If you ask any Vietnamese Catholic parents, "If you have a son, do you want him to become a doctor, lawyer, dentist or even the President of the United States?" They all say they want their son to become a priest because it is such an honor for them.

Sam Louie>> Reverend Dominic Luong is the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Orange County. He is the highest ranking Vietnamese Catholic in the United States and the first and only Vietnamese American Bishop. He is a living symbol of his culture's deep Catholic tradition.

Reverend Dominic Luong>> If you ask the parents, "If you have children, would you send them to seminary?" They say a priest is number one above any other profession.

Sam Louie>> Orange County is home to one hundred forty thousand Vietnamese Americans, the most of any county. Here, the number of Vietnamese seminarians is even higher than the national percentage. Luong estimates that forty percent of those studying to become priests are Vietnamese, much higher than the twelve percent national average. As a seventh generation Catholic himself, he can attest to the grip that religion has on culture.

Reverend Dominic Luong>> People from Asia or in the Orient in particular, they view religion as something essentially belonging to a person. Means that you're an incomplete person without religion.

Sam Louie>> With such strong Catholic roots, you may wonder how the highly publicized sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church is viewed by Vietnamese Americans.

Reverend Dominic Luong>> Definitely it's affected somewhat. Wide publicity might have presented false image and portraying the priesthood wrongly.

Sam Louie>> Portrayed the priesthood wrongly?

Reverend Dominic Luong>> Sure.

Sam Louie>> Bishop Luong feels the problem is not just a Catholic issue, but a problem in society at large. He believes that, over time, the spotlight will help rather than hurt the church.

Reverend Dominic Luong>> And I'm glad that we were singled out so that we are in the forefront and we can really change and improve the situation.

[Film Clip]

Sam Louie>> In a few months, Bich Vu will take his vows and become a ordained Catholic priest.

Deacon Bich Vu>> I feel that my life has meaning, what I'm doing. So I know that this is my call, the life I want to do.

Sam Louie>> Over the coming years, Catholics in Orange County and across the country will be seeing more priests like Bich Vu, Vietnamese Americans whose faith was tested in war and whose culture reveres those who choose to make the church their life. I'm Sam Louie for Life and Times.

[Film Clip]

Hena Cuevas>> And now for a Life and Times update. Last November, we brought you the story of a group of parents in Orange County who were collecting signatures to recall all seven members of the school board. The parents from the San Juan Capistrano district were upset with the construction of this new administration building at a cost of over thirty-five million dollars. They argued that the money should have been used to improve deteriorating schools and they cited this as one example of a history of mismanagement by the Board.

Late last year, the parents submitted over a hundred seventy-five thousand signatures, more than were necessary. But on December 22, the Orange Country Registrar's Office said it could not certify a recall because there were questions about the validity of about a third of the signatures. But recall proponents say they haven't given up. They're now taking a second look at the signatures in question to find out why they were disqualified.

Board members, for their part, are pleased that the district won't have to spend six hundred fifty thousand dollars on a recall. The next school board election is in November and three of the positions are up for re-election.

Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times".

Val Zavala>> He was a comic genius and the first black actor to become a millionaire, but he was also very controversial and eventually reviled by his own community. His name was Lincoln Perry, but you know him best as Stepin Fetchit.

[Film Clip]

Val Zavala>> In the annals of Hollywood history, there are few more controversial actors than Stepin Fetchit. He played the slow-talking, bug-eyed, dimwitted sidekick based on a character he created for vaudeville called "The Laziest Man in the World".

[Film Clip]

Val Zavala>> He earned millions of dollars in the 1930s, but in the 1950s, his career eroded and, during the civil rights era, he was denounced for portraying negative stereotypes. Now a new book by Mel Watkins takes a second look at this fascinating life in "Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry". I talked with actor and producer, Wren T. Brown, who organized the conference re-examining black images in the media with the focus on Stepin Fetchit.

Wren T. Brown>> Lincoln Perry is his actual name. His character was called Stepin Fetchit. He was born in 1902 in Key West, Florida of Bahamian and Jamaican parents and his father was a performer. So he worked for many years on medicine shows and minstrel shows and was a part of the TOBA, Theater Owners Booking Association, which was a vaudeville tour. So then he found himself in Hollywood and he came and did "In Old Kentucky" in 1927 and then the major motion picture that he was a part of in 1929. We've gone from the silent films now to the talking pictures with a film called "Hearts in Dixie" where he played the role of Gummy.

Val Zavala>> And that was the big breakthrough for him?

Wren T. Brown>> That was the big breakthrough for Lincoln Perry's Stepin Fetchit. It is suggested that he got the name from a horse called Step and Fetchit, but then he had a partner who was called Step and he was Fetchit. They never designated who was who, but eventually one night, his partner didn't show up, so he went on as Stepin Fetchit and it stuck.

Val Zavala>> So Stepin Fetchit was originally created and performed for black audiences and then later crossed over to white audiences. How did the two audiences perceive this character differently?

Wren T. Brown>> Well, black audiences because he was on shows where a doctor would be presented, a lawyer would be presented and other kinds of comedy, you know, jugglers and acts of all kinds. So within that context, no one was looking into denigrating you. No one was looking to besmirch your image, so within the context and confines of black people, it was well received. But, again, now that it has come before a dominant culture in all of America, white America began to again treat black people who were walking through life on an everyday basis like the characters that they had seen on television the night before. Unfortunately, it was a low opinion of black people.

Val Zavala>> Now I'm going to use this word very carefully. The "coon" character that he played had some interesting levels to it. Describe that for us.

Wren T. Brown>> Well, you know, again, Jim Crow which is an American apartheid was a minstrel character. So a lot of these characters had come out of minstrelsy. The coon, the mammy, the Tom, all of these characters, unfortunately, have been associated disproportionately with black people. But it was written about most eloquently by Donald Bogle with regard to these historical tropes, if you will. It's a character, again, that was dictated by dominant culture. That's what they wanted to see and artists who desired to be employed did what they had to do in a time where they would not have worked otherwise.

[Film Clip]

Val Zavala>> He wasn't just this lazy character. It was more subtle.

Wren T. Brown>> Oh, no. There was sophistication there. You know, trying to send very, you know, very subtle messages through the work and that's where the artists were very clever. They were very clever in the presentation, trying to hold on to some degree of humanity, all the while kind of smiling and winking a bit and sending out a message, so to speak.

[Film Clip]

Val Zavala>> So Stepin Fetchit was enormously successful and very well off. He was, what, the first to make a million dollars, black actor to be a millionaire. But what eventually happened with his career?

Wren T. Brown>> Well, unfortunately, he became greatly destitute after many, many years because he was hated in this country. He was put upon terribly because people, again, were so seeking a balance. We hadn't arrived, so to speak, as a people and so we wanted the images to be better. So he was put upon terribly. As I said, he found himself destitute and very ill in his last years. But this was a man who, in 1967, said, "I came through the back door so Sidney Poitier could come through the front door." As a great irony, in 1967, Mr. Poitier was the number one box office star in the world.

Val Zavala>> And in his later years, he also forged a very interesting friendship with Muhammad Ali. Tell us about that.

Wren T. Brown>> Oh, yes, he did. Muhammad Ali had such great respect for the fact that he had a militancy about him. He would negotiate with heads of studios, so he was a maverick kind of guy in that way, a great trendsetter. He didn't have an agent per se. He represented himself and he was a wildly successful man.

So all of the wisdom of those years, born in 1902, coming to the 1960s and the turbulent times, certainly Vietnam and the black power movement and the civil rights movement all coming together, he was one who was able to get into Cassius Clay's, then Muhammad Ali's, camp and really encourage him from a perspective of wisdom and to really encourage him to be precisely who he was being. So he played a vital role during the years he was associated with the Champ.

You know, that's kind of the life. You know, you go from this fabulous wealth. He also was a man of great musical consciousness. He wrote a column in the Chicago Defender, the great black newspaper, for years on the black entertainment scene across this country.

Val Zavala>> What eventually happened? How did he pass and how do you think he'll be remembered?

Wren T. Brown>> He died, you know, in a very unfortunate way. He was alone. He had taken very ill. But, you know, Hattie McDaniel just yesterday was honored with her own stamp, so the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had a wonderful affair for her yesterday. So we need to recognize that we literally stand on the shoulders of Stepin Fetchit Lincoln Perry, Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, Ethel Waters and these great artists of the halcyon days of Hollywood and the theater.

Val Zavala>> Wren T. Brown, thank you so much for your thoughts on Stepin Fetchit and the book is called "Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry".

Wren T. Brown>> Thank you very much.

[Film Clip]

Val Zavala>> Again, the name of the book by Mel Watkins is "Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry".

Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address:

Life and Times
4401 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90027

You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org.

Val Zavala>> From 45s to LPs to eight-tracks to cassettes to CDs and now to iPods. The technology used to feed America's insatiable appetite for music is constantly changing and that's a painful reality for Life and Times commentator, Cris Franco, who realizes that it's time to face the music.

Cris Franco>> Is it just me that can't seem to get rid of any of their LPs? I mean, I've tried downsizing my collection, but I can't because these records represent my personal history. For example, this is "West Side Story", my very first original cast recording. Yeah, the cover is a little strange and it looks like Tony and Marie are saying, "Hey, why are we in black and white?" But this glorious twelve-inch piece of vinyl first introduced me to that brilliant Bernstein score and I played it and played it and played it and I never stop playing Maria and I never will. It's a keeper.

Then I went crazy over "Jesus Christ Superstar". How crazy? I have two original concept albums, the motion picture soundtrack, in Espanol, and in French. I'm telling you, no matter what language you sing it in, this rock opera stuff is hard. How do you say laryngitis in French?

And how would I describe Ethel Merman's singing on this album? Ethel fidelity! No one slept through any of her performances.

And here's Bill Cosby and Jonathon Winters and Allan Sherman. I was a big Carmen fan. So, of course, I've got Cheech and Chong's "Big Bambu" featuring such stoner classics as "Let's Make a Dope Deal" and, of course, "Sister Mary Elephants". I've been offered a lot of money for this album because it still has the original nineteen-inch rolling paper and what you're supposed to do is make a huge doobie and then listen to their records. Smoke a nineteen-inch joint and have a lot of munchies.

Oh, and back to Broadway with "the Merm" starring in "Annie Get Your Gun". This Irving Berlin score is so catchy that it's been translated into many languages. Here it is in Spanish starring Silvia Pinal, the Mexican Merman. Should have been called "Annie Get a Vocal Coach".

Oh, some albums I keep just for the cover. This dapper escort is oblivious to the fact that his date is being attacked by a blue chiffon squid. Or is that her dress?

Most interesting is how many times the word "stereophonic" is printed on the albums. Here it is at the top and then it's here, stereophonic, and it's stereophonic here and stereophonic here and then, at the top, it says "Play this record only on stereophonic equipment" -- or the Commies win.

Oh, I liked "Annie" so much that I got it in Spanish. Here's "Anita" and she sings, "Manana, manana, manana, manana". You got to love her.

Some shows don't translate so easily in English, Greek, in Spanish. "Vaselina". How'd you like to put that on your resume? Starred in "Vaseline".

And what do you say about an album that's titled "When You're In Love, The Whole World is Jewish" starring the You Don't Have To Be Jewish Players?

Redd Fox at his best. It may be in red, black and white, but the material is blue, blue, blue.

Redd Fox>> "What's the difference between a light sleeper and a hard sleeper? A light sleeper sleeps with the light on and the hard sleeper sleeps through anything."

Cris Franco>> I still can't tell my parents that I own this album. They think I'm listening to "The Sound of Music" starring Mary Martin as Maria Von Trapp. Mary Martin had something called talent. You might want to look that one up.

Oh, and good gracious, this is Lily Tomlin in the album called "This is a Recording". Get it? It is a recording of an album called "This is a Recording".

And, of course, in 1973 I, like every other teenager, went out and bought the double album, full color, glorious masterpiece by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". Every homo sapien teenager owned one of these albums. It was the law.

But definitely my favorite two albums were my first two albums. "Mickey Mouse Club" features Mouskedancers and twenty-one hit Mousketunes, and Mickey Mouse Club song hit, "Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?" And it's like being a member of the club. "M-o-u-s-e".

I learned English to these albums and I could no more part with them than I could part with a dear friend. You see, these discs hold within them memories that make me laugh, sing, think, remember a beautiful childhood memory, all at 33-1/3 rpm.

Okay, guys. That settles it. I'm not giving any of you away. I'm keeping you all. Why? Because I like you. "M-o-u-s-e".

Val Zavala>> Ah, yes, Annette. I always felt sorry for Darlene. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you manana.

Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Sponsored in part by:


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