The Road to Fame

In 1979, China began implementing its one-child policy to curb population growth in urban areas. In the decade that followed, a generation of “little emperors” was born. Though their parents endured famine and instability under Mao Zedong, these single children are individualistic and Internet-savvy; they have high expectations of material wealth and individual fulfillment for the future.
 
In his documentary The Road to Fame, New America Fellow Hao Wu explores this unique generation and tells their coming-of-age story by following a group of seniors at China’s top drama academy as they stage the musical Fame in collaboration with Broadway. The students compete for roles and prepare for the future, negotiating their own definitions of success in today’s China.

Participants
Featured Speakers:
Hao Wu
Director, The Road to Fame
2014 Fellow, New America Foundation
 
Rebecca MacKinnon
Director, Ranking Digital Rights Project, New America Foundation
Author, Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom
 
Mei Fong
Former China Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal