Keywords
adoption; Asian American; Chinese American; film; documentary
Abstract
Threading the Needle is a short documentary that investigates the relationships between Chinese American adoptees, their families, and their heritage. The film features two primary participants, Mia Nails and Annalee “AJ” Johnson as they reflect on their Asian American identity, experiences with racism, and their struggles with cultural estrangement. The similarities and differences in their perspectives shed light on both the wonderful and the heartbreaking circumstances of adoption. The contemporary value of the film lies in how it challenges popular representations of the Asian American experience: Though in recent years, Asian American media has become more present in popular culture, most portrayals remain exclusive of the experiences of transracial adoptees who often lack Asian family members, diasporic communities, and sometimes any ties at all to their heritage. The idea of being “stuck in the middle” has been rejected by some Asian Americans who wish for their identities to be viewed holistically. However, the film will address AJ and Mia’s allegiance with this narrative, symbolized by the film’s title as an image of defining one’s identity. Lastly, the film’s title is a nod to the red thread, a popular East Asian folktale that describes a red string connecting individuals destined to be together—often co-opted by adoptee groups to describe adoptive families’ connections with their adoptive children.
Directed by AJ Johnson, Threading the Needle serves as a personal expression of her identity as an Asian American adoptee.
Thesis Completion Year
2025
Thesis Completion Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair
Kalin, Betsy
College
College of Sciences
Department
Department of Film and Mass Media
Thesis Discipline
Film
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Johnson, Annalee, "Threading the Needle: Chinese American Adoptees and the In-Between" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 341.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/341
Rights Statement
