A History Of Asian-American Cinema Part I: Silent Cinema

“Slaying the Dragon” by Deborah Gee is a comprehensive look at media stereotypes of Asian and Asian American women since the silent era. From the racist use of white actors to portray Asians in early Hollywood films, through the success of Anna May Wong’s sinister dragon lady, to Suzie Wong and the ‘50s geisha girls, to the Asian-American anchorwoman of today. The movie also shows how stereotypes of exoticism and docility have affected the perception of Asian-American women.

culturally inaccurate. At the time, Asians were still very much underrepresented in film and many

Asian people are under-represented in America. There isn’t very many of them in sports. Only 1.9% of people in the National Football League(NFL) are Asian. Only 2.1% of people in Major League Baseball( MLB) are Asian. Worst of all Asians only make up .2% of the National Basketball Association(NBA). Asians are even underrepresented in pop culture. White actors often play the roles of Asians in movies. In the movie Ghost in a Shell The main character Motoko Kusanagi was played by Scarlett Johansson. In the movie Star Trek Into Darkness, the main character Khan Noonien Singh was played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Asians aren’t just underrepresented in Hollywood, they are also underrepresented on television. The television series Fresh Off the Boat is the first prime-time sitcom, in 20 years since All-American girl by Margaret Cho, to feature an Asian American cast. In the United States, we have more than 50 million Asians but they are criminally underrepresented in sports and pop culture. Many Asian kids grow up and don’t have many famous people of their same race to look up to. These kids go through their whole life with nobody to look up to.

directors have stated that they cannot well-finance their film if the name of their leading actor is not mainstream name (Kim). White Americans during this time too, probably believed that if Asians were casted in the film, it would not be as good as they did view Asians as inferior in every way including in the performing arts. Even when Asians actors were casted to play Asian roles, Asian Americans would go out of their way not to watch. David Henry Hwang, who would later go on to write his own version of Flower Drum Song, said as a young man growing up in the sixties, watching how Asian characters were featured made him feel “icky”. All the Asian characters that he saw were either portrayed in an unrealistic or comical way or as a character that was dependent on the leading white character (Hwang). It made it hard for Asian Americans to look to media for role models when they were hardly ever represented and represented in inhumane ways.

culturally inaccurate. At the time, Asians were still very much underrepresented in film and many

In order to to discontinue the stereotypes taught through media, Asian American Actors must take parts beyond the extreme roles offered to Asian Americans, in order to accurately reflect their identity and disprove stereotypes

Instead of Hollywood casting actual Asian- Americans, Hollywood chooses to cast white actors and use a makeup effect called “yellow face”. The most popular depictions of Asians were fictional characters referred to as “Charlie Chan” and “Fu Manchu”. This method is still used today and has dated back from 1915. When an Asian American gained a role it was usually a martial artist or a racially demeaning role.

Despite the fact that Asian Americans have been in Hollywood for decades, there are very few positive representations of them in film. More often than not, they’ve been depicted as stereotypical caricatures, and more specifically, as foreigners who can’t speak grammatically correct English. Moreover, the negative representations of Asian Americans in film has perpetuated certain misconceptions about their culture. Chan is Missing (1982) calls for more genuine representations of Asian American identities through its cast of complex characters and defiance of Asian stereotypes. The film also urges its viewers to critically think about their own notions of identity through the use of several recurring themes and filmmaking techniques.

This abjection of the Asian American population is not only detrimental to better understanding the community and culture, but also the individual narratives of those in the community. Jones 2 Asian Americans have been involved in the entertainment industry since the first half of the 19th century. However, roles were few and far between due to the fact that hiring Asian Americans was seen as risky, and most roles were stereotypical of the culture. Frustrated with Hollywood's consistent misrepresentation of their community, Asian American actors Iwamatsu Mako, Rae Creevey, Beulah Quo, Soon- Tek Oh, James Hong, Pat Li, June Kim, Guy Lee and Yet Lock joined together in 1965 to form East West Players, one

Asian American are face some types of stereotypes in today’s society, and it may produce by media or historical propaganda. For example, from the economic views, the Asian American should be successful than other race. From the education view, the Asian American kids should be smart, good at the math or engineer etc. particularly, the stereotype of the Asian women we can easy discover in the media, such as the Hollywood movies. the Asian American actresses are viewed as sexual and erotic objects of the society. From the history, most the Asian American actresses limit in the roles, such as "Dragon Lady", and "China Doll", in addition, both two role's characteristics represent sexual and erotic nature of Asian women. Even in today, these stereotypical

People like Wong’s father thought that instead of enlightening her, the film industry corrupted her. Now that Wong was out of school, she dedicated her time to finding and fulfilling roles as the stereotypical Asian. Among her many impediments included the disapproval of her father in her career choice. He had urged her to study hard and even got her a job as a secretary, but it was found unfit for her, as she was fired quickly for being unqualified. Knowing that her career choice had laid out a long path of hardship and racism, Wong’s father went so far as to giving her an adult guardian when shooting, and she “would be locked in her dressing room between scenes if she was the only Asian in the cast” (Hopwood 1). Sadly, it took two years until Wong was actually credited in her films. Starting with The Red Lantern (1919), she played an extra at a young age before earning slightly more important roles. But surely enough, people began noticing the non caucasian in media, emerging as a light that has never been seen on screens. It was only just the beginning for Anna May Wong, “the first native-born ethnic Asian performer to star in a major Hollywood movie” (Hopwood

Americans have stereotypes and labels placed on Asians and Asian-Americans. This is also true vice versa. Most stereotypes originate from media. In Hollywood, Asians are usually portrayed as the nerdy or geeky friends. They are also mostly casted as minor roles like being extras. Asians are also underrepresented in media, like Hollywood. Even in movies that are of Asian origin, there are very little Asians who are part of the main cast. For example, in Kubo and the Two Strings, there is only one Asian cast member in the movie that places in ancient Japan. There is also the upcoming movie Ghost in the Shell. It is originally written as a manga, which is Japanese comics, and as an anime, a Japanese cartoon. There are Asian actors who could have

     Asian Americans only make up a small percent of the American population. Even more significant is that this percentage live mostly on the west and east coasts of mainland United States and Hawaii; leaving the rest of the American population to most likely get their exposures to Asians through television and movies. However the exposure they have receive throughout the history of cinematography has been hardly flattering. Throughout the course of history Asians in film have been portrayed as evil or the "yellow peril" as described by others. If Asians are not being classified as evil in this picture then they are most likely the comic relief, with their lack of coordination or grasp of the English

Asian American actors and actresses are portrayed in Hollywood movies as always being the silent and yielding foreign victims to social injustice and prejudice. Whether or not these depictions are true, they are nonetheless stereotypes that Hollywood producers have come up with. According to the US Census in the year 2000, Asian Americans make up 4.2% of the entire American population, and knowing that most Asian Americans live on the west and east coast of the United States, many Americans living in central parts of this country have not really been exposed to any Asian Americans. Because of this fact, it is highly probable that most Americans get their exposure to the Asian American lifestyle only through television and movies. Even if

Although this segment is considered one of the more blatant display of racism towards Asian Americans, there are still many areas in the entertainment industry where racism is present in a more subtle means. This is largely exemplified by the limited roles offered to Asian actors.