‘Asian Americans’ and a day of dance
PBS presents “Asian Americans” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings), a five-hour documentary series exploring the history of immigrant Americans. From the importation of railroad workers in the middle of the 19th century to recent arrivals, “Asian Americans” will look at Asian immigrants’ impact on U.S. history as well as efforts by nativists to keep them out of the country, and deport and incarcerate them based solely on their race and place of national origin. Against all of these adversities, Asian immigrants have continued to embrace their American identity and shape the direction of the nation.
The documentary begins with the St. Louis Exposition of 1904, where exhibits extolled the virtues of America’s imperial subjugation of the Philippines and efforts to civilize and “Christianize” the natives. Exhibits even included “villages” where Filipinos were put on display like zoo animals.
“Asian Americans” is filled with anecdotes about individual ancestors and family histories. This puts a personal touch on an overly broad subject, but does not provide much focus. This series cries out for a single authoritative voice and a particular point of view.
Five hours barely scratches the surface of a subject so vast. Imagine something similar about Europeans or “white” people condensed to such a short time frame. It would seem absurd.
› TCM spends 24 hours with musicals that put the emphasis on fancy footwork — ballroom dancing and tap. From the 1952 favorite “Singing’ in the Rain” (6 a.m., TCM, TV-G) to the 1981 adaptation of “Pennies From Heaven” (4 a.m. Tuesday, TV-MA), starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters, the emphasis is on the kind of elegant diversions that entertained moviegoers during the Great Depression and World War II.
Highlights include “Top Hat” (4 p.m., TV-G), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; “Stormy Weather”
(9:15 p.m., TV-G), starring Lena Horne, Cab Calloway and Bill Robinson; and “The Little Colonel” (midnight), starring Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson. TCM offers two viewings of the 1979 documentary “No Maps on My Taps” (8 p.m. and 10:45 p.m.), profiling Sandman Sims, Chuck Green and Bunny Briggs.
› “DNA Testing: The Promise and Peril” (10 p.m. and 1 a.m., CNBC) looks at the explosive growth of companies like 23andMe and the casual way that tens of millions of consumers have handed over their most intimate genetic data. “Testing” discusses growing concerns about loss of privacy as well as questions of reliability in this emerging technology.
› Produced by George Clooney, Court TV founder Steven Brill and New Yorker and CNN contributor Jeffrey Toobin, the six-part Netflix series “Trial by Media” examines six different cases where defendants were either unfairly played by an aggressive media, or where lawyers strategically used media coverage to advance their client’s cause. Subjects include the 1984 “Subway Vigilante” case, the 2008 exposure of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the case of the New York shooting of African immigrant Amadou Diallo, and the curious story of a lawyer who sued “The Jenny Jones Show” for a wrongful death.