2009-05-26

Hollywood Through A Chinese Prism


There's an interesting documentary exploring American actors of Chinese heritage in Hollywood called "Hollywood Chinese".

Voici a piece in the Vancouver Sun interviewing James Hong about the subject this morning.

I picked this quote from the Maynard Institute for Journalism.

"Actress Joan Chen, for example, says filmmaker Bernard Bertolucci was "just in love with the China that's in his own fantasy."

He wasn't the only one. Many British, French, Italian and other Western artists and philosophers took a romantic interest with the Orient in the late 19th century. The discussion surrounding Orientalism marches on as this great piece in Saudi Aramco World shows.

Closer to home in Hollywood, not so long ago, Italian-Americans faced similar challenges as blacks and Chinese as they had to change their names just to "fit in" or market themselves. Italian stereotypes on television and movies have subsided but remain.

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