Before the dominance of Hollywood, most Asian-American actors roles were limited to the background and in offensive roles. Two APA actors, Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa, nonetheless became superstars. They and a few other pioneers attempted to produce a genuinely Asian-American Cinema in the silent era. By the dawn of the studio era, Hollywood was the dominant voice in American film and Asian-American actors were once again limited to stereotypical roles, often in supporting roles for white actors in yellowface. Largely due to the influence of Asian-American theater and the efforts of those APA players involved, an authentic Asian-American Cinema was reborn in the '70s and '80s, ultimately expanding and diversifying in the 1990s and 2000s.
If opportunities for Asian-Americans in silent film were decidedly limited, they seem to have actually worsened with the coming of sound. Several actors with Asian origins returned home, no doubt frustrated by the increasing lack of work available to them in American films. The attempts by Marion Wong, Sessue Hawakaya and Anna May Wong to create an alternative to the degrading roles and yellowface of Hollywood had fizzled. For most of the Hollywood studio era, there were few works made by Asian filmmakers and Hollywood controlled depictions of Asians (with the exception of some American made Cantonese-language films exhibited overseas).
In the 1950s and '60s, little would change. It wasn't until the decline of the studio system and the birth of Asian-American theater that there would Asian-American Cinema be reborn, ultimately expanding and diversifying in the 1990s and 2000s.
In the 1930s, series' like Charlie Chan, Fu Manchu, Mr. Moto and Mr. Wong furthered perceptions of Asian mysteriousness, whilst films like The Bitter Tea of General Yen, The Good Earth and others suggested that America’s taste for minstrelsy had simply taken on a new shade. Some Asian American actors nonetheless attempted to start careers. Merle Oberon was able to get starring roles after concocting a phony story about her origins and using skin whitening make-up. Philip Ahn, after rejection for speaking English too well, braved death threats after playing Japanese villains. Meanwhile, Anna May Wong worked abroad in less degrading roles.
In the 1950s and '60s, little would change. It wasn't until the decline of the studio system and the birth of Asian-American theater that there would Asian-American Cinema be reborn, ultimately expanding and diversifying in the 1990s and 2000s.
In the 1930s, series' like Charlie Chan, Fu Manchu, Mr. Moto and Mr. Wong furthered perceptions of Asian mysteriousness, whilst films like The Bitter Tea of General Yen, The Good Earth and others suggested that America’s taste for minstrelsy had simply taken on a new shade. Some Asian American actors nonetheless attempted to start careers. Merle Oberon was able to get starring roles after concocting a phony story about her origins and using skin whitening make-up. Philip Ahn, after rejection for speaking English too well, braved death threats after playing Japanese villains. Meanwhile, Anna May Wong worked abroad in less degrading roles.
In the early days of west coast film production, there were few roles for Asian actors except as unflattering stereotypes or anonymous background work. Nonetheless, a small number pursued careers in front of and behind the camera, intersecting and influencing Hollywood's embryonic phase. Although most worked in near complete obscurity, two -- Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa -- became veritable superstars. They still were virtually unable to find roles to their liking, since most of the lead roles (still usually degrading) went to actors in yellowface, a practice that continued long after blackface became taboo. Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa used their earnings to attempt to improve opportunities for less famous Asians by creating more positive depictions, following black cinema's lead. However, with immigration restricted and laws preventing citizenship and property ownership, even the few rich, famous Americanized Asians faced perhaps greater challenges.
ASIAN-AMERICANS IN THE SILENT FILM ERA
In the end, early efforts to establish a viable Asian-American Cinema failed to take hold. Within a few years, the American film industry would be dominated by Hollywood, who during the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s were responsible for most depictions of Asian-Americans. An alternative Asian-American Cinema wouldn't appear until the '70s, taking off in the '80s before growing considerably in breadth and scope in the '90s and '00s.
ASIAN-AMERICANS IN THE SILENT FILM ERA
In the end, early efforts to establish a viable Asian-American Cinema failed to take hold. Within a few years, the American film industry would be dominated by Hollywood, who during the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s were responsible for most depictions of Asian-Americans. An alternative Asian-American Cinema wouldn't appear until the '70s, taking off in the '80s before growing considerably in breadth and scope in the '90s and '00s.
Directions: Imagine Mr. Brother living another day, as always, with music playing. Whether it’s one of his trusty iPods, or his home stereo, or working the soundtracks section of Amoeba Music Hollywood, Mr. Brother is eating, sonically, with the mouths of his ears.
To simulate this experience, as you read the below story of a day lived, you will be given certain music clips to play. These are inserted to provide you with the same tunes Job was hearing as he was doing what you’ll be reading.
For example, while he was writing the above directions, he was listening to this:
To simulate this experience, as you read the below story of a day lived, you will be given certain music clips to play. These are inserted to provide you with the same tunes Job was hearing as he was doing what you’ll be reading.
For example, while he was writing the above directions, he was listening to this:
I’m moving. My boyfriend and I are finally shacking up together. We had to pick between our two homes: my tiny bachelor, located in the heart of Hollywood, with decaying floors, rotted walls, and endless episodes of water and power failures – you know, what real estate agents refer to as a building “with real character and Old World charm,” or his two-floor townhouse on the Miracle Mile, a building so nice that even the landlord keeps a room in it, and the only creatures that crawl around are the snails in the pretty gardens out front.
I said, “How about I move in with you.”
So, I’ve been packing up my collections of antique religious paintings, record albums, spooky bad-luck charms, record albums, various flavors of vinegar, record albums, biographies on various dead people I have crushes on, record albums, and plants.
One of my all time favorite comedic actresses was Virginia O’Brien, and yesterday would have been her 90th birthday. She was also a popular singer in the 1940’s and often co-starred in MGM musicals with Red Skelton. O’Brien was best known for her deadpan expression as she sang, a gimmick she stumbled upon by accident at the Los Angeles Assistance League Playhouse's opening night performance of a musical comedy revue called Meet the People. The 20 year old O’Brien became literally paralyzed with stage fright as she performed her number. In her terror, standing completely still, wide eyed and expressionless, she
managed to finish her song, and the audience thought she was absolutely hilarious. Two weeks later she signed a film contract and in less than a month Virginia O’Brien found herself opening on Broadway.Some of her films include The Big Store (1941) with the Marx Brothers, Ship Ahoy (1942), Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), and Merton of the Movies (1947), all with Red Skelton. Then there are Thousands Cheer (1943), The Harvey Girls (1946) with Judy Garland, Ziegfeld Follies (1946), Francis in the Navy (1955) and Gus (1976). After a guest appearance in 1948’s short film Musical Merry-Go-Round, O'Brien was dropped from her MGM contract, a victim of the old Hollywood studio star system fading. But she found continued success on stage and with television appearances on a variety of shows such as Ed Sullivan, Jack Carter, Steve Allen and Merv Griffin. She also created a cabaret act, mostly a retrospective of her MGM career, and during the 1980’s released an album, recorded live at the legendary Masquers Club in Hollywood.
On January 16, 2001 at age 81, Virginia O’Brien died suddenly of a heart attack at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills. She’s buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.
