Before the Jeopardy! stardom of James Holzhauer, one of the quiz show’s name-recognition contestants was Ohio’s Arthur Chu, whose aggressive style of gameplay caused him to be labeled a Jeopardy! villain, subject to online criticism that included insults about his Chinese heritage. In this PBS-aired Independent Lens documentary, Chu uses his newfound high-profile status and financial windfall to be an activist standup comic/lecturer/writer. Chu particularly targets cyber-bullying in our digital era’s popular culture, calling it a malignant outgrowth of the "angry nerd" mindset, to which Chu, who grew up a lonely first-born Asian-American in a high-achieving family, can relate. Filmmakers Scott Drucker and Yu Gu follow Chu on bi-coastal trips and interview Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. And in a rather meta turn, Chu even finds employment with the production outfit making this very documentary. But Chu’s self-serving routine also stresses his marriage to a college sweetheart. In Jeopardy!-speak, the film might be accused of "jumping all over the board," dealing with ethnicity, relationships, sexism, and racism, but it does ultimately shine a light on celebrity in the Facebook/Twitter age through the prism of one complicated guy’s attempt to do something constructive with his flukey fame. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)
Who is Arthur Chu?
(2017) 90 min. DVD: $24.95 ($300 w/PPR). Dadada Films (avail. from www.arthurchufilm.com). Volume 34, Issue 5
Who is Arthur Chu?
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