Pioneer Living: Those Strange Americans/Dealing with Bigotry & Stereotypes

Directed toward immigrants and multicultural audiences (an ever-expanding library market) and hosted by the affable Pat Morita, the 18 module (available on either 4 or 9 videocassettes), PBS-aired Pioneer Living series (series price: $395) attempts to “promote integration, inclusiveness, and individual effort as a means to achieving the American Dream.” On the 2-module tape sent in for review, the first section, "Those Strange Americans," explained that Americans are patriotic, informal, action-oriented, celebrity-driven problem-solvers who believe that time is money and care deeply about creative results. We also prefer not to argue, and would rather keep conversations on the surface, yet like to get to the point. Hmm… Following these overgeneralizations, the program continues with somewhat scattershot and, in my opinion, questionable advice about starting conversations with us flag-waving, aggressive overachievers, and while it rightly suggests steering clear of conversational minefields such as politics, religion, and money, I'm not convinced that the alternatives offered--topics such as “how hot the room is,” family, jobs, or hobbies--are necessarily foolproof (“how hot the room is” can be seen as whining, and questions about family must be handled delicately, actually). The second episode, "Dealing with Bigotry & Stereotypes," rallies somewhat, exploring the fine line between the desire for community and shutting out those who are different, reminding us that overcoming ingrained stereotypes is a true life skill, and underscoring the fact that generalizations don't help (but if that's true, why the sweeping statements about Americans in the first part of the video?). Other topics covered in the series include moving beyond the "diversity lingo," adapting to a new culture, a short course in civic duty, understanding Islam, minority health issues, business etiquette, the Americanization of the world, etc., and companion books and a CD are also available. While there is a great need for quality materials that address the concerns of newly-arrived immigrants, sadly, this is not an optimum choice. Still, considering the dearth of similar titles, this is a strong optional purchase for larger collections. Aud: H, C, P. (K. Glaser)