Janet Yang Speaks on Asian Representation in the Media

Film producer and entertainment consultant Janet Yang ’74 returned to the Exeter campus on Tuesday to share her journey of self discovery since attending PEA and to ask students to think about their own identities. Her morning assembly was followed by a lunch in the Office of Multicultural Affairs and an evening forum held in the Elting Room.

Yang, who has been named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood” by The Hollywood Reporter, served as executive producer of the documentary “DOCUMENTED” and produced “Shanghai Calling.” In 2009, she was solicited by Disney Studios to produce a version of “High School Musical” in China, and she produced “The Joy Luck Club,” based on the novel by Amy Tan. She is the president not only of Janet Yang Productions, but of the Manifest Film Company, which has produced a multitude of films including “High Crimes” and “Zero Effect.” Yang is frequently named one of the most prominent Asian Americans in the film industry.

During her address, Yang emphasized an essential question which read on the screen behind her, “Who am I?” Yang described her exploration of identity and how she used her engagement with American and Chinese media to carve her own path. Senior and co-head of the Asian Advisory Board Stephanie Pan admired Yang’s bravery. “Seeing her success and hearing her stories really inspires me,” Pan said. “I love how courageous she is; she chose the path that spoke to her, not the one that other people expected of her. I hope to be able to follow her example.”

Yang kicked off her talk with a happy nostalgia about her time at Exeter. She explained that her first year at Exeter was the first year girls were admitted. She then prefaced her talk by describing her relationship with her 17-year-old son and how at this point in time, he teaches her more than she teaches him. She explained that students know the world better than she does, but after this humble disclaimer, she acknowledged her hope to leave the student body with some guiding principles and wisdom.

“She has an interesting background and has worked with some incredible people, and it was also nice to hear from someone who had also attended Exeter.”

She began her personal narrative by describing growing up as the only Asian girl in a predominantly Jewish community and the feelings of otherness and not belonging that followed her. When she came to Exeter, she interacted with a group of people who looked like her for the first time.

At the same time as this important milestone in her life, another pivotal moment in Yang’s life occurred: President Nixon went to China, and suddenly, Americans were allowed to go to China as well. Yang went on to describe her subsequent time in the country where her parents came from and how she wrestled with the way she looked—Chinese—and the way she felt culturally—American.

Upper and Asian Advisory Board co-head Brandon Liu described the positive reception to Yang’s speech. “From what I’ve heard from other students, people really enjoyed her morning talk. She has an interesting background and has worked with some incredible people, and it was also nice to hear from someone who had also attended Exeter,” Liu said.

Later that evening a question-and-answer session was held in the Elting Room. As the discussion approached her work as a producer, Yang said, “When I started producing something really stuck with me and that is this idea of making something out of nothing.” She went on to call it the “most holistic job” as they oversee branches such as money, screenplay, etc.

When asked what the future holds for her in the filmmaking world, Yang responded, “I’m going to be more like a studio executive which means I’ll be involved in films and help select them and make sure they are going, but I probably won’t be able to do what I used to, like be on set everyday.”

Liu then asked if Yang will miss producing. In her response Yang explained the difficulty of being an independent filmmaker. She said, “I am going to miss it a little bit, but then there’s part of me that isn’t going to miss it. What I think I like about this is I’m going to have a lot more support,” she said. “If you’re an independent filmmaker you have no idea when your next paycheck is coming. Everything is so unpredictable, and you’re just scrambling to get that next thing, and so it’s a beautiful but uncertain life.”