- Hyphenly by Immigrantly
- Posts
- Were You a Teen in the 2000s? This Film Gets It.
Were You a Teen in the 2000s? This Film Gets It.
If you were a teenager in the 2010s, you had a very… particular childhood. Social media was just taking off—your parents had no idea what MySpace or Facebook were, and they definitely weren’t monitoring your online activity. You’d go to a friend’s house, get dressed up (probably in neon colors, with bold patterns and chunky necklaces), and spend hours staging photos just to post an entire album. The highlight of your weekend? Hitting the mall and getting ice cream.
Despite being the first generation raised on screens, you were still, in many ways, offline. Sure, adolescence always comes with universal experiences—awkwardness, puberty, heartbreak—but being a kid in the 2000s felt uniquely in-between: analog and digital, naive and hyper-aware, online but not quite plugged in.
A film that captures that era with uncanny accuracy? Enter Dìdi (弟弟), the directorial debut of Sean Wang.
This coming-of-age story follows a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy navigating the chaos of adolescence. Set in Fremont, Dìdi captures the emo, skateboarding, Facebook-flirting world of the early 2000s—but it goes deeper. The film explores the unspoken shame many immigrant kids feel about their identity, the generational gap between parents and children, and the tender confusion of growing up.
In an interview with Sundance, Wang said he made Dìdi for “people like my friends and me: first-generation children of immigrants who never got to see a version of themselves in the adolescent coming-of-age stories they loved.”
Cringe, heartfelt, and unmistakably detailed, Dìdi is a love letter to an awkward era—and to the kids who never quite saw themselves on screen.
Source, Streaming on Amazon Prime
But don’t just take our word for it! Here’s film critic Mick Pilgrim, recommending the film on his Instagram page:
We’d love to hear from you. What’s your favorite coming-of-age film? And have you seen Dìdi yet?
Culture Check-In: We want to hear from you!
Which coming-of-age film do you like the most? |
Podcast Pick of the Week
Do you like hearing about films? Hear our Gen Z hosts peel apart Jordan Peele’s horror trilogy, which includes Get Out, Us, and Nope, at Banterly.
This newsletter was curated by Suhasini Patni.
Hyphenly curates the latest news, art, and businesses from immigrants around the world. Have a tip or story we should feature? We’d love to hear from you.
We’re currently accepting blog pitches and offer a small honorarium—send your pitch to [email protected]
Visit us at www.immigrantlypod.com.