Diana Chan

3 weeks ago | pbs.org | Diana Chan

Singer-songwriter Janis Ian evolved from a precocious young talent to an influential figure in the music industry and an advocate for social justice. Born in 1951 to a politically active Jewish family in New Jersey, Ian grew up in an environment rich with social consciousness and music. Her parents, who were deeply involved in leftist politics and civil rights activism, significantly shaped her worldview.

4 weeks ago | pbs.org | Diana Chan

TRANSCRIPT - "Society's Child" is a great song. You have this young girl with a guitar taking on the beast, interracial relationships. (bus rumbling) - [Janis] I was sitting on a bus in East Orange, New Jersey. I was 14 and I was one of, I think four, maybe five Caucasian kids in an all-Black school and neighborhood. Very middle class, very upwardly mobile neighborhood. But still, I was definitely the outsider. I was on the bus watching a young couple.

4 weeks ago | pbs.org | Diana Chan

TRANSCRIPT - It's not just, she's talking about the pain of adolescence and the pain of feeling like an ugly duckling and the pain of not being in the in crowd or whatever, it's also about being the tall, blonde, blue-eyed cheerleader. ♪ Remember those who win the game ♪ ♪ Lose the love they sought to gain ♪ - I was the cheerleader. (laughs) I was the girl that Janis sang about in "At Seventeen."I was a good girl who was dating the bad boy.

4 weeks ago | pbs.org | Diana Chan

TRANSCRIPT - I was writing with Don Schlitz. MCA was his company. And he said, "They're sending Janis Ian here to write with a few people."And he said, "Would you like to meet her?"And I said, yeah, of course. - If you're a songwriter, you know Janis Ian. If you're a songwriter, you know the integrity of her writing. And so the opportunity to sit in a room with this woman and co-write with her was an honor. - Janis's friend, her name was Mary, she had a restaurant called Options.

1 month ago | pbs.org | Diana Chan

Christina Smith’s work as a makeup artist has spanned decades in the film industry, earning her widespread recognition for her skill and creativity. With a career beginning in the 1970s, she has worked on a wide range of films across genres, from science fiction and fantasy to drama and comedy.