Chop suey seattle murder12/9/2023 ![]() ![]() However, with immigration restricted and laws preventing citizenship and property ownership, even the few rich, famous Americanized Asians faced considerable challenges. Wong and Hayakawa used their earnings to attempt to improve opportunities for less famous Asians by creating more positive depictions, following black cinema’s lead. 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 or brownface - practices that continued long after blackface became completely taboo. Although most worked in near-complete obscurity, two - Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa - became veritable superstars. Nonetheless, a small number pursued careers in front of and behind the camera, intersecting and influencing Hollywood’s embryonic phase. In the early days of west coast film production, there were few roles for Asian actors except as unflattering stereotypes or anonymous background work. In the 2000s, following the increased accessibility of internet sites like YouTube and improved, affordable filmmaking technology, Asian-Americans’ involvement in the production of filmmaking has exploded, even if it remains under-discussed and under-recognized within the mainstream. In the 1990s, with the rise in profile of independent cinema, conservative Hollywood grew increasingly irrelevant, artistically if not commercially. In the 1970s, filmmakers including Robert Akira Nakamura, Loni Ding, and Curtis Choy began directing films and slowly but surely, a truly Asian-American cinema emerged in the 1980s. Asian-American playwrights and theater companies began to flourish in the 1960s. Some Chinese-Americans found success on the Vaudeville-like Chop Suey Circuit, but film and television roles for Asian-American actors were few and far between. Silent-era actors Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa became veritable stars although, with the rise of the Hollywood studio system, roles for Asian-Americans were often degrading and frequently filled by white actors in yellowface. In the early silent Sessue Hayakawa and Anna May WongĮra, before the rise of “Hollywood,” anyone who could afford to could make a film and Marion Wong and Joseph Sunn Jue made films starring Asian-Americans. Even though their contributions are usually overlooked, Asian-Americans have played significant roles in the formation of America’s film culture since the early 20th century. Very little has been written about the involvement of Asian-Americans (and Asian-Canadians, also discussed here) in the production of film. ![]()
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