American Masters
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Marlee Matlin, the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award, looks back on her remarkable life, career, and the complexities of being the “first.”
People's Republic of Desire
In popular virtual showrooms, China’s super rich and dirt poor band together to worship their favorite online stars. In this digital universe where everything seems possible, a karaoke singer, a poor migrant worker, and a comedian seek fame, fortune, and human connection, ultimately finding the same promises and perils online as… Show more
- Series
- Independent Lens
- Premiere Date
- February 25, 2019
- Length
- 90 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Series and Special Projects
- Diversity Development Fund
Producer/Director
Hao Wu
Originally trained as a molecular biologist, Hao Wu traveled to the Internet world before focusing on filmmaking and writing. His documentary films have received funding support from The Ford Foundation JustFilms, Tribeca Film Institute, Sundance Institute, and international broadcasters. Wu is a fellow at the New America Foundation. His writing on… Show more
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The Film
A generation of young Chinese have come of age on social media, where virtual relationships are replacing real-life human connections. Online showrooms are the most popular gathering place for hundreds of millions—attracting China’s super rich (who lavish virtual gifts on their favorite performers) and the poor, many of them migrant workers in urban areas searching for cheap entertainment and a way to feel connected. These two groups never cross paths in real life, yet in the digital universe they band together to worship online idols who earn as much as $130,000 a month singing karaoke or doing talk shows to interactive audiences.
