The Slanted Screen

Today in class I watched this documentary The Slanted Screen, it was about Asian and Asian American actors sharing their thoughts on the image of Asians in film. Sessue Hayakawa was the first actor viewed. He started in silent films and at the time was one of the highest paid and respected actors. He starred and directed about ninety films and was one the first sex symbols in Hollywood. When I saw the clips from some of the movies he was in I thought of an Asian Pierce Brosnan. He was handsome, suave, and a lady’s man. Some of the characters he played had a romance with a white woman. However, in a more recent movie Romeo Must Die one of the themes for the movie was Romeo and Juliet. Jet Li was Romeo and Aaliyah was Juliet. For the movie they shot two scenes where Jet Li and Aaliyah are sharing a romantic moment on the dance floor. In the first shot Jet Li and Aaliyah kiss and the producers didn’t like the scene so they shot it again where the two just hug and that shot was the one that made it in the movie. The second actor viewed was Bruce Lee. Before the hero was always a white guy like Clint Eastwood. Bruce was the new phenomenon because he portrayed an Asian man as the action hero. He changed the portrayal of Asians and Asian Americans in film forever. Audiences expect to see white actors cast in higher roles such as the boss, doctor, or the rich guy. They expect to see black and Hispanic actors play lower roles such as the maid or the janitor and with Asians, they don’t expect to see them at all. Somehow audiences just expect Asian men to be a nerd or doing kung fu. And in movies the good guy is usually white and they rather see Asians as the bad guys because white America needs to feel good about themselves and seeing them as the good guy and the triumphant in movies do that. The producers of the show The O.C. took on a new writer who was Asian. He decided to introduce new characters on the show who where Hispanic and Asian. The producers read the script and changed the minority characters to white characters because they thought the main characters, who were white, wouldn’t hang out with people like that. Thankfully, Some Asian American actors and comedians are doing things to break this nerdy, kung fu stereotype by doing skits and roles that show the different side to Asians. Fortunately, today Bobby Lee and other Asian American actors and comedians have huge contracts and deals which is big because it means producers and t.v. shows, want to see them.

-ashley