For much of my adolescence, I pushed away my Vietnamese identity, resenting that it felt inescapable. Watching “New Wave” felt like peeling back the layers of that identity, seeing my community through a new lens — one that was glamorous, rebellious, and full of longing. I left The Loft and immediately called my parents to ask about their own relationship with New Wave music, and to learn more about the unshared histories of their refugee past. But they had caught glimpses of this vibrant Vietnamese American culture from afar: hearing the music back in Vietnam, where bootleg tapes and pop culture whispers filtered in. As someone who once struggled with my Vietnamese identity, watching “New Wave” felt like looking into a mirror that I didn’t know I needed.