Home American Experience Season 2 Episode 14

Forbidden City, USA

American Experience · Season 2 · Episode 14
Before WWII, San Francisco's Chinatown was a separate world, closed to outsiders, ruled by rigid homeland customs. But in the 1930s, second generation Chinese Americans defied cultural tradition to pursue their passion for American music and dance. They started careers as "Chinese Fred Astaires" and "Chinese Frank Sinatras" in one of the city's famous Chinatown night clubs, Forbidden City.

Episode Details

Air date, runtime, timezone, and episode position.

Season
2
Episode
14
Air Date
02/Jan/1990
Air Time
20:00
Runtime
55 min

Overview

Episode summary.

Before WWII, San Francisco's Chinatown was a separate world, closed to outsiders, ruled by rigid homeland customs. But in the 1930s, second generation Chinese Americans defied cultural tradition to pursue their passion for American music and dance. They started careers as "Chinese Fred Astaires" and "Chinese Frank Sinatras" in one of the city's famous Chinatown night clubs, Forbidden City.

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