Since the late nineteenth century, Chicago's patchwork of ethnic enclaves - Poles, Irish, Germans, African Americans - has created more or less self-contained villages. The years pass, but the turf-proud tribalism is timeless. My mother told me that growing up in her mostly poor Irish-Catholic neighborhood near the Biograph Theatre in the thirties, she didn't dare wander too far from her street, for fear of being beaten up by the Polish kids (if she walked west) or by the German kids (if she walked north).
But there is one place where identity politics can be shed in favor of some kind of multiculti peace -- on the shelves of Chicago's ethnic video stores. An increasing number of outlets rent foreign-language videos. The more foreign videos you watch, the more you might think the rest of the world is trying to create a postmodern hybrid of first-world civilization and third-world culture. At least on video.
Videos connect immigrants to a homeland left behind. But their crazy quilt of stories also gives us a glimpse into the highest hopes of the rest of the world's media dreams.
ARABIC
Zakarian International Video
6333 N. Clark, 773.761.3332
With videos from countries such as Egypt, Syria, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Zakarian has easily the largest collection of Arabic-language videos in the city. If you don't read Arabic, you'll have trouble choosing which videos to rent from the hundreds listed, in Arabic only, in the store's huge three-ring binders. There are photocopies of some video boxes in the notebooks, and the counter people are willing to discuss films once they are sure you are serious about renting an Arab-language video. Virtually none of the videos are subtitled in English. Still, Anna Zakarian, owner of the twenty-year-old family business, says that more than 50 percent of her customers speak only English, and she recalls English-only renters choosing titles that don't have subtitles.
Golden Video
2761 W. Devon, 773.465.3337
Though primarily catering to West Rogers Park's substantial Russian community, the store also has a small selection of movies in Arabic from Egypt. The collection is heavily weighted in favor of live concerts of contemporary Middle Eastern singers and orchestras. No subtitles.
CHINESE
Chinese Video Express
1139 W. Argyle, 773.878.2914
This store is virtually everything a non-Chinese customer interested in videos from the Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking Far East would want in a store. The huge selection includes martial-arts films, Chinese TV soap operas, comedies, concerts, movies from Taiwan, and, in a back room, adult videos from Hong Kong. The proprietor, Huong Mau Thai, is used to non-Chinese coming in to rent Hong Kong action films. Unlike most of the ethnic video-store owners I talked with, Huong is eager to expand her customer base beyond the language and ethnic boundaries of the target market. Huong has owned the business for twelve years. Huong's sister, Sue Thai, is an employee and is fond of the opportunity to do business with non-Chinese customers. "They are willing to accept who we are and learn who we are by watching the movies," Sue said. Even on home turf, most films from Hong Kong and Taiwan are subtitled in English. A $15 dollar deposit is requested and rental is $1 to $2, depending on the tape, for two days.
INDIAN
Atlantic Video
2541 W. Devon, 773.338.3600.
This clean, well-lit store with its many attractive posters and displays of new releases is my favorite place for Bollywood films, the populist, genre-busting movies of India. Amir Khan, who owns and runs the store, always has time to suggest a film or two, especially those with good action or featuring one of India's myriad glamorous young actresses. There's a nice collection of TV serials -- including epic versions of the Mahabharata and the Ramayanam, subtitled in English.
Other places good for Bollywood Films:
Bombay Video
2634 W. Devon, 773.743.5575
This tiny store, packed to the ceiling with videos, stocks tapes from all over India, in several dozen languages and dialects, not just those from the glam-soaked center of Bollywood Industry, Bombay. The owner of the four-year-old business, Sugay Shas, says his customers are mostly but not exclusively Indian.
Al-Mansoor
2600 W. Devon, 773.764.7576
The great collection at Al-Mansoor is complemented by helpful staffers who guide browsers to interesting Indian videos and Bollywood soundtracks. The store also has movies on DVD discs.
JAPANESE
Tokyo Video of Chicago
3353 N. Clark, 773.528.3592
This storefront video store in the shadow of the Friendly Confines has a large collection of Japanese videos and movies, though almost none of the better-known products of the Japanese entertainment industry -- anime, art films and Japanese monster movies. Instead the store has a wealth of videos from the less well-publicized sides of Japanese culture: TV series, historical miniseries and bizarre game shows that put contestants through humiliating ordeals for money and prizes. While not a good store for browsing, the clerks are friendly. None of the videos are subtitled. Tapes are $1 a day. $2.50 for a week. Membership is $5. Specials: If you rent three tapes for two days, you receive a fourth rental free. If you rent six tapes for a week, the seventh tape is free.
KOREAN
Hyundai Video
3615 W. Lawrence, 773.588.8737
This large, well-lit store boasts an impressive collection of Korean video (and Chinese and Japanese videos dubbed into Korean) divided, Ã la American video stores, by popularity and genre. A universe of Korean videos is available here -- martial-arts films, love stories, Japanese and Korean TV mini-series, and isolated in a section all by itself, Korean and Chinese adult videos. As you might expect from a store geared to Koreans, the signage is mostly in Korean. However, the proprietor willingly suggests videos to non-Korean customers. Few tapes are subtitled in English and an initial $20 deposit is required. Videos are $1 a day, but if you rent six or more, you may keep the videos a week.
Lincoln Korean Video
5731 N. Lincoln, 773.275.1212
This was the least-friendly video store I visited. The proprietor, a late-middle-aged Korean woman with a sour face and suspicious eyes, wanted to know why I was in her store. When I said I was interested in renting her videos, she shot back that I couldn't possibly be in the right store because her videos were all in Korean. Even while she explained the rental policy -- "Thirty dollar deposit. One dollar one video for one week." -- she continued to argue that I wouldn't like her videos: "not in English and no subtitle." Also the $30 deposit must be in cash "no checks no credit [card]." Subtitles? Forget it.
So why include this store in this listing? Because Lincoln Korean Video, though not large, has a nice collection, with special emphasis on Korean TV dramas, martial-arts films and romance/adventure movies.
POLISH
Bodak Video
3248 N. Pulaski,773.777.3129
Polish-American Video
5233 W. Belmont, 773.725.1025; 3404 N. Harlem, 773.889.8003; 5683 N. Milwaukee, 773.631.4700
At both Bodak Video and its rival, Polish-American Video, you can find a decent collection of Polish films in all categories -- Komedie, Dramaty, Kabarety, even Erotyczne with no subtitles. At Bodak Video, owner Ziggy Bodak has accumulated a good-sized collection of Polish movies made in Chicago. Neither store demands a deposit, just two pieces of ID to join, and their prices are fairly competitive at $2 to $2.50 a day.
RUSSIAN
Elita Video
2753 W. Devon, 773.262.9270
A whole wall of this video store -- which also stocks American films -- is devoted to classic and contemporary Russian films. Here you can rent Russian comedies, action-adventure films, concerts and children's movies the average Russian expatriate might want to see. Missing from the collection are those high-art films -- by the likes of Eisenstein, Pudovkin and Tarkovsky -- much ballyhooed in the American press. That's OK: Those great films are available at better American video stores. Rental $1 a day. No membership fee.
Golden Video
2761 W. Devon, 773.465.3337
This is another video store catering to the large Russian community in West Rogers Park, with a collection comparable to Elita's. Interestingly, the store also stocks a couple dozen Egyptian videos. Videos are 99 cents a day. To join, you need a driver's license and credit card.
SPANISH LANGUAGE
With its immense Spanish-speaking population, Chicago has far more Spanish-language video stores than we could list, but here are a couple of tips:
Azteca Video
3308 W. Montrose, 773.463.5152
About 90 percent of the customers at Azteca Video are Spanish speaking, although the store has a collection of both English and Spanish titles. Overnight rentals are $5 for three movies. Membership is $2.50 with valid driver's license or photo ID, a phone bill and a credit card.
The following two stores stock large collections of Hollywood films along with Spanish-language titles:
Latino Video 1950 W. Chicago, 773.486.5555
York Video 2746 W. Montrose, 773.478.4141
THAI
Thailand Food
4821 N. Broadway, 773.728.1199
In one corner of this Thai food mart is a small collection of Thai videos. Here you can find Thai TV shows and miniseries, live concerts and Karaoke tapes. For those fascinated with Bangkok's notorious sex industry, there's also a shelf of adult Thai movies with titles like "Love Fluid," "A Lonely Housewife," "An Affair with My Professor" and "Blue Amy." Prices: $1 a day for Thai videos, $1.50 a day for Chinese videos (movies and TV miniseries) dubbed into Thai, or subtitled in Thai. It's $2 a day for Thai adult videos. No deposit is required, but you must have a valid driver's license.
VIETNAMESE
Huan Thu
4820 N. Broadway, 773.784.4433
At the rear of this Vietnamese clothing and curiosity shop, next to the Vietnamese music section, is a counter devoted entirely to Vietnamese videos. On the counter are thirteen three-ring binders with the plasticized covers from Vietnamese videos, all available for rental at the astoundingly low rate of eighty cents a day. Most of the videos are from Hong Kong or Taiwan and have been dubbed into Vietnamese, but you can't beat the selection. The covers to these videos include plot summaries in English. Warning: In the notebooks, martial-arts films follow adult movies, and silly-looking musicals are filed right after action-packed adventure films with lots of huge explosions. This randomized filing system will only make the store attractive to those who love the hunt as much as the kill.
Hong Hung Video
1131 Argyle, 773.275.2098
A smaller selection than Huan Thu, but videos are a little cheaper -- sixty cents a day, with a $5 cash deposit per video -- and many of the same Chinese films, dubbed into Vietnamese, are available at Hong Hung.
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