Asian Talent in Hollywood
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In 1928, Chinese film actress Anna May Wong, who abandoned Hollywood for her native country, lamented, ôWhy is it on the screen the Chinese are nearly always the villain of the piece, and so cruel a villainùmurderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass. We are not like thatö (Nga, 1995, p. 38). Three-quarters of a century later, successful mainstream cross-over Hollywood director John Woo offers on Hollywood, ôI feel honored, grateful and excited to work in HollywoodàIt fulfilled my dream of colbining East and West and making a good filmö (Nga, 1995, p. 38). The polar views on Hollywood are the result of what many label the ôAsian Invasionö of the worldÆs capitol of cinema. Asian talent like Woo, Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Jet Li and others have become major players in Hollywood and global cinema. This analysis will discuss the growing multiculturalism in Hollywood cinema and the increasing success of Asian talent in cross-over to mainstream, global audiences in some of the film industryÆs biggest hits. According to Hemant Shah (2003, p. N) in Simile, conventional Hollywood films offered four primary stereotypes of Asians that persisted well into the 1960s and even 1970s in American cinema: 1) ôYellow Peril;ö 2) ôDragon Lady;ö 3) ôCharlie Chan;ö and 4) ôLotus Blossom.ö Such images were controlling images because they provided justification for social inequities experienced by Asians. However, during the 1960s a st
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etplace where different cultures, customs, languages and other aspects of audience makeup limit the potential for global popularity of films, films that are heavy in action and effects and lite on dialogue and plot appeal to the greatest numbers of moviegoers. Action is one of AsiaÆs greatest strengths in filmmaking. John WooÆs Broken Arrow and Face-Off, Lucy LiuÆs Kill Bill and CharlieÆs Angels: Full Throttle, Jet LiÆs Romeo Must Die and Rise to Honor, and Jackie ChanÆs Rush Hour series of hit films are not only examples of Hollywood blockbusters with global appeal but they also show Asian influence on American filmmakers and Asian expertise in action filmmaking. As David Ansen (1996, p. 6) wrote of this prowess a decade ago, ôAction is where the action is today, and Hong Kong, the second-largest exporter of movies in the world, has been churning out some of the most exuberant mayhem since Bruce Lee clenched his fists of fury.ö
Despite their cross-over appeal and their significant box-office take, many critics continue to undermine such films for their gaping plot holes, tacky costumes and settings, impersonal perspective and operatic style, an increasing number of films produced by or directed by or starring Asian talent are
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Bruce Lee, Asian American, John Woo, Numerous Asian, Hemant Shah, Hidden Dragon, Anna Wong, Nashawaty Kim, Jet Li, West Lee, asian talent, hollywood films, nga 1995, tiger hidden dragon, tiger hidden, john woo, shah 2003, multiculturalism hollywood, crouching tiger, hollywood cinema, minh-ha 2004, crouching tiger hidden, worldÆs capitol cinema, nashawaty kim 1998, nga 1995 38,
Approximate Word count = 1219
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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