| re: In honor of Anna May Wong | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 02:37 am EST 03/10/21 | |
| In reply to: In honor of Anna May Wong - WaymanWong 09:02 pm EST 03/09/21 | |
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| Well, at least we agree that Anna May Wong was a superb actress. She was also a very outspoken individual who rubbed a number of powerful institutions the wrong way, including the Chinese government, the Chinese press, and the Hollywood unions. She was a highly principled individual who is greatly respected and revered today. However, in that era, career-wise, actors pretty much had to play the game. Wong, like Frances Farmer, Buddy Ebsen, and (ironically) Luise Rainer all paid the price for challenging what was admittedly a corrupt system. I've read a lot of books about the film industry in the 30's. There are conflicting opinions about Wong being rejected for the role of O-Lan. Based on my research and what I've been told by various film historians, the deck was stacked against her, and she never had any real shot at getting the role. Of course, the official reason given was the Hays Code anti-miscegenation rule, which had a spotty record of enforcement when it was inconvenient for "the powers that were" to honor it. I don't recall MGM having a problem with Clark Gable (as Christian) marrying Mamo Clark (as Maimiti) in Mutiny on the Bounty, which won the Best Picture Oscar in '35. Paul Muni was born in what is now the Ukraine. His native language was Yiddish. His parents' nationality was Hebrew -- their ancestors were indigenous to that particular part of Asia, which by definition makes them Asian. I know that you are a champion of only Southeast Asian actors playing Chinese and Thai roles, and I respect your opinion. However, I am dead certain that Muni never considered himself to be white. He certainly was not European. If you are going to talk about his race, what else could it possibly be but Asian? Last year there was a very powerful discussion about race on CNN, moderated by Fareed Zakaria with Anand Gridharadas as a participant. They talked about how terms like "whiteness" and "Caucasian" have become almost meaningless and impossible to define. They even touched on the word "yellowface" and how it is used in the entertainment business. It was a tough program to watch. Zakaria vehemently called the word repugnant and its use an example of tribalism in which one group of Asians seeks to have superiority over another. I'm just curious if you are aware that these conversations are taking place on cable TV and most likely being viewed by millions of people. By all accounts that I know of, these men are respected journalists. Do you think they are misguided or wrong? Do you acknowledge that Asians are much too large and diverse a group to ever have the same viewpoint about these issues? |
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| Previous: | In honor of Anna May Wong - WaymanWong 09:02 pm EST 03/09/21 |
| Next: | re: In honor of Anna May Wong - larry13 10:02 am EST 03/10/21 |
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