The Stereotypes we live by
The director, at the beginning of the film and throughout the story, explains the types of views and ideas that people always have about Grace Lee's. She chooses that name to symbolize all asian-american women, because it's her name and it is also very popular. Every description of a Grace Lee that he has heard or received have sounded alike: a quiet, shy, smart and nice girl. Is it possible that so many different women, just by merely sharing a name and possibly a heritage can be so alike. This is the impetus for Grace's (the director) project, to find all the Grace Lee's she can and learn about the stereotypes that are always connected to them, and whether their personalities actually fit in with the stereotypes.
Grace is bugged by the stereotypes that seem to follow her, because she is an asian woman. As she meets and talks to many Grace Lee's she has the chance to really get to meet many of these women. She finds some wome who are religious; some like to paint; some are proud, full-time mothers; some are activists. These women live in different parts of the country, even the world, and have different life stories. But everywhere the director goes, she finds the people around describing the Grace Lee's with the same characteristics: nice, smart, quiet, reserved.
Even the Grace Lees themselves used the same stereotypical terms to describe themselves. Many had trouble thinking of something that made them unique. The overarching message is that these women's lives are affected by stereotypes. Not only do the surrounding men and women have a stereotypical and generic view of Grace Lees. But this stereotype is so prevalent, and the cues from society so strong, that these women end up adopting many of those characteristics. It is a continuous cycle. Asian women are viewed within certain preconceived notions. But these same notions shape the experiences of these women.
Grace looks out into the world to test the strenght of this stereotype, and to also reach an acceptance of herself, since she felt she did not know where she fit into the world. She found women who were affected by their heritage and their gender, and the conceptions people have of those two groups. But she also found that these women were individuals, with different histories, different experiences. They were not the same as the director, so their name did not mean that they were closely bound together. The activist Grace did not think of herself as a woman or a an asian-american. She just was. There is a complexity in their lives. Though name, race and gender bring all these women together, it does not completely define them or confine them. The Grace Lees of the world can be anyone and anything, though the world does push them through certain expectations.