I-Hotel: Analysis of Movie

Today our Asian American Culture class watched a documentary called The Fall of the I-Hotel. This documentary featured the history of the Filipinos and other Asian American minorities, especially the Chinese, in San Francisco and how the International Hotel and other places on Kearny Street played an important role in Asian American culture. The film shows aspects of the events that lead up to the fall of the International Hotel and also brings up issues concerning society and minorities at the time.

Many Filipinos, or manongs, lived in the area called Manilatown on Kearny Street. They immigrated to the United States to seek a better life. They worked as laborers and faced racial discrimination. During social time Filipinos would play pool and talk at the local community center. Many lived in the International Hotel because back then living there was cheap and affordable. However, the expansion of the Financial District caused many big businessmen to take away areas of Manilatown, soon leaving it down to one block. Attempts to evict people from the International Hotel were made and held back due to protests. However, on August 4, 1977, police came to the International Hotel and forced people to stop their protests and lose the fight, putting an end to the International Hotel.

From watching this documentary I felt sincere for what the protesters and Filipinos were fighting for. They believed in justice and wanted to preserve their culture and community. The International Hotel was a symbol that represented many people of Asian American culture living together and enjoying life. They already had other pieces of their culture and life taken away from them, and they were not going to let anyone else ruin more of their lives. The Filipinos went through many rough experiences to get the opportunity to live a better life and now their chances of maintaining that life are going to be diminished due to the greed of others to expand business in San Francisco. Many Filipinos do not have any other place to live in San Francisco besides the International Hotel. The International Hotel provides a safe haven for many Filipinos who do not work or do menial work, such as the elderly. The eviction of tenants would potentially place people in a very difficult situation of what they will do if they cannot find a place to live or make a living. I was amazed at how well the community got together to fight for a common cause. They put themselves forward to spend their time showing what they cared about and got the message about how important the situation was about the International Hotel. The group of protestors consisted of a diverse population. Not only were there Filipinos, there were other minority groups including the Chinese, and there were also numerous Caucasians, whom a majority is racist with Filipinos.

Kicking out an important portion of people in the community just so that the government can use the building for their own needs is a disgrace and another representation of how the government does not serve to the needs of the people. Seeing the looks on the faces of the Filipinos when they lost the fight for keeping the International Hotel made me think about the treatment of Asian Americans in America. Asian Americans are pushed around and ignored because we are a minority in the United States while the Caucasians reign supreme. I am not saying that I have any ill feelings for Caucasians but instead that Asian Americans do not get as much representation and voice in issues that affect everyone. Their fight to keep the hotel represents every fight that every immigrant has to live a better life. This relates to my parents and other folks who came to the United States not knowing what they will face or what will happen to them.


Now whenever I go to Chinatown, I always pass the old Manilatown on the bus. Looking at Kearny Street today, there is a lack of sense of community that was present in this documentary. However, now that the International Hotel is rebuilt in the same location as the old one, there is still hope. The fight is never over though. We have to make sure that history does not repeat itself and also make sure that we have a voice in Asian American culture.