Examples of yellowface mainly include the portrayal of East Asians in American film and theater, though this can also encompass other Western media. It used to be the norm in Hollywood that East Asian characters were played by white actors, often using makeup to approximate East Asian facial characteristics, a practice known as yellowface.
American media portrayals of East Asians have reflected a dominant Americentric perception rather than realistic and authentic depictions of true cultures, customs and behaviors.[1] Yellowface relies on stereotypes of East Asians in the United States.
Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan were the most common East Asian characters in film and television of the mid-20th century, and they were almost always played by white actors in yellowface, although Asian actors did portray the Chan character in three silent film productions.[2] (Swedish actor Warner Oland, the first Charlie Chan in sound films, did not use yellowface. He was considered to look Asian, and was typecast in such roles from early in his career.) An updated film version of Charlie Chan was planned in the 1990s by Miramax; this new Charlie Chan was to be "hip, slim, cerebral, sexy and ... a martial-arts master",[3] but the film did not come to fruition.[3]
Madame Butterfly, an opera about a Japanese woman who falls in love with an American sailor who leaves her, and when he returns with an American wife, the devastated Cio-Cio San commits suicide. This immensely popular opera is often performed with a non-East Asian singer playing the role of Cio-Cio San.
Makeup artists had noticed that audiences were more likely to reject Western actors in Asian disguise if the faces of actual Asians were in near proximity. Rather than cast the film with all Asian actors, which would have then meant no star names to attract American audiences, studios simply eliminated most of the Asian actors from the cast.[4]
Helen Jerome Eddy, portrays Frisco Jenny's loyal servant Amah.
Although not a success on the original release, in recent years, Frisco Jenny has been among the pre-Code films rediscovered and re-evaluated thanks to theatrical revivals and cable television screenings.[5]
Ursula Georgi (Myrna Loy), a half-Javanese Eurasian woman who was subjected to harsh bigotry from the other women during her school days due to her mixed-race heritage. Georgi exacts revenge by using a suborned swami to manipulate the women into killing themselves or each other.
Not a popular success either critically or financially, Thirteen Women has achieved a "cult classic" status in recent years. A pre-Code era film, modern critics have stated that its theme was ahead of its time and out of step with the tastes of 1930s cinema patrons.[6]
General Yen was a box office failure upon its release and has since been overshadowed by Capra's later efforts. In recent years, the film has grown in critical acclaim. In 2000, the film was chosen by British film critic Derek Malcolm as one of the hundred best films in The Century of Films.
According to a New York Times review, Nils Asther's make-up is impressive, with slanting eyes and dark skin. He talks with a foreign accent.[7]
Toshia Mori who in 1932 became the only Asian actress to be selected as a WAMPAS Baby Star, an annual list of young and promising film actresses, was billed third in the film's credits, behind Barbara Stanwyck and Asther. This was her most significant film role; she returned to minor characters in her subsequent films.
Bela Lugosi stars as Mr. Wong, a "harmless" Chinatown shopkeeper by day and relentless blood-thirsty pursuer of the Twelve Coins of Confucius by night.
They did not even bother to disguise Lugosi's thick Hungarian accent. It was directed by William Nigh, who three years later directed Boris Karloff in the Mr. Wong detective films.
Between 1937 and 1939 eight motion pictures were produced by 20th Century Fox starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Kentaro Moto.
Unlike in the novels, Moto is the central character, wears glasses, and no longer has gold teeth. He is still impeccably dressed in primarily Western suits, only wearing a yukata when he is relaxing at home.
The stories are action-oriented due to Moto's liberal use of judo (only hinted at in the novels) and due to his tendency to wear disguises.
While other works had used Asian make-up to ridicule or vilify Asian features, this B movie used yellowface directly to deny a group of Asian Americans their civil rights.[10] Twentieth Century-Fox seized on one of the most controversial aspects of the homefront, the roundup and internment of people of Japanese descent on the West Coast. Little Tokyo basically developed the theme that anyone of Japanese descent, including American citizens, was loyal to the emperor of Japan and a potential traitor to America.[11][12]
The movie employed a quasi-documentary style of filming. Twentieth Century sent its cameramen to the Japanese quarter of Los Angeles to shoot the actual evacuation. However, after the evacuation, night shots were difficult in the deserted "Little Tokyo". Night scenes were filmed in Chinatown instead. Chinese actor Richard Loo played one of the lead Japanese roles in the film.
J. Carrol Naish is in yellowface and portrays Dr. Tito Daka, a Japanese mad scientist. The speaking roles of Japanese Navy sailors were also played by actors of non-Japanese descent in yellowface.[citation needed]
Based on a best-selling book by Pearl S. Buck, the film portrays a peaceful village in China that has been invaded by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese war. The men in the village choose to adopt a peaceful attitude toward their conquerors, but Jade (played by Hepburn), a headstrong woman, stands up to the Japanese.
Limehouse Blues: Conceived as a "dramatic pantomime" with Astaire as a proud but poverty-stricken Chinese labourer whose infatuation with the unattainable Bremer leads to tragedy. The story serves as bookends for a dream ballet inspired by Chinese dance motifs.
Despite the star power of its lead actors and director, Blood Alley received a lukewarm reception from critics.[15]The New York Times proclaimed, "Blood Alley, despite its exotic, oriental setting, is a standard chase melodrama patterned on a familiar blueprint."[16]
Far better were Paul Fix, Berry Kroeger, and Anita Ekberg, who weren't the most convincing "Chinese" in the world but who seem to fit right in with the blood-and-thunder proceedings.[17]
Set in 1949–50 Hong Kong, it tells the story of a married, but separated, American reporter (played by William Holden), who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor originally from Mainland China (played by Jennifer Jones), only to encounter prejudice from her family and from Hong Kong society.
Apart from Jennifer Jones, the rest of the family were cast with East Asian actors.
The picture was a critical and commercial failure (often ranked as one of the worst films of the 1950s). Wayne, who was at the height of his career, had lobbied for the role after seeing the script and was widely believed to have been grossly miscast. (He was so "honored" by The Golden Turkey Awards.)
Brynner (who was born in Asia, in Vladivostok,[19] which is now in Russia, and has both European and Asian ancestry including Swiss and Mongolian Buryat) reprised his role as King Mongut of Siam from the original Broadway production.
Moreno, who is of Puerto-Rican heritage, played Tuptim.
The film was banned in Thailand (formerly Siam in King Mongkut's days).
Brando spent two hours a day for the standard prosthetic eyepieces and makeup. His role was made all the more noticeable because he is the only actor in yellowface in a sea of Asian extras and secondary characters.[20]
Brando actually attempted an "authentic" Japanese accent and he even has some Japanese dialogue.
The filmmakers have also been criticised for casting Ingrid Bergman, a tall woman with a Swedish accent, as Gladys Aylward who was in fact short and had a cockney accent.
Rooney's performance of Japanese character Mr. Yunioshi was later criticized in subsequent years as an offensive stereotype.[21][22]
The 2009 DVD re-release of the film included "a brief and necessary featurette on the character of Mr. Yunioshi, offering an Asian perspective on yellowface".[23]
This movie was unusual for its time in featuring nearly all Asian-American cast members, including dancers, though two of the singing voices were not Asian ones. Starring in this movie were Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Benson Fong, James Hong, Reiko Sato, and original Broadway cast members Jack Soo and Miyoshi Umeki.
The only non-Asian cast member playing an Asian role was African-American actress Juanita Hall, who had played the same role in the Broadway cast. Her role in the film had originally been cast with Anna May Wong, but Wong became ill in December 1960 and had to be replaced.
The film and stage play were based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese-American author C.Y. Lee.
In 2008, Flower Drum Song was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[24]
In the first James Bond film Canadian actor Joseph Wiseman played the titular villain, self-described as half-Chinese and half-German. Kenyan-born English actress Zena Marshall played the villainess Miss Taro. White Jamaican model Marguerite LeWars played the minor role of photographer Annabel Chung.
Bethel Leslie in two roles in the episode, "The Lady of the Fifth Moon", as well as William Schallert appeared in yellowface makeup in this episode which is full of stereotypical dialog with Schallert narrating the episode presenting his voice in an East Asian stereotypical pitch and accent.
In 1965, Mr. Moto's character was revived in a low-budget Robert Lippert production filmed in England starring Henry Silva.
In Mr. Moto Returns, a.k.a. The Return of Mr. Moto, Mr. I.A. Moto is now a member of Interpol.
The extremely tall Silva conveyed an almost James Bond-like playboy character; in the fight scenes he is clearly not proficient in martial arts. He speaks in a lazy 'Beatnik' manner.
Nowhere in the film is it even mentioned that Moto is Japanese. He is referred to as an "oriental" and, oddly, in the trailer, Moto is referred to as a "swinging Chinese cat". It is only when he is disguised as a Japanese oil representative, Mr. Takura, that a more stereotypical portrayal of a Japanese businessman is given.
Leonard Strong guest stars as "The Claw" in two episodes of season 1; "Diplomat's Daughter" and "The Amazing Harry Hoo", where he would pronounce his name as "The Craw" due to his stereotypical inability to pronounce the letter L, and would angrily respond "Not Craw, Craw!" whenever addressed by his mispronounced name.
He is joined by Joey Forman in "The Amazing Harry Hoo", who plays the role of "Detective Harry Hoo", a parody of Charlie Chan. Forman reprises his role as Harry Hoo in the season 2 episode: "Hoo Done It".
The episode "Attack of the Barbarians" takes place in 13th century East Asia and all Mongol characters, including Batu Khan are played by white actors in makeup.
Note: This is also after the anti-miscegenation laws were repealed in the United States of America that prevented East Asian actors from playing opposite white actors as love interests.
Film commentator Tony Rayns said this casting decision was likely done because the native Nepalese actors would probably have taken issue with being nude on film
Czechoslovakian-Hungarian TV series about the life of traveler and writer Maurice Benyovszky. The Asian characters are played by Hungarian, Czech and Slovak actors in makeup.
Peter Sellers plays Inspector Sidney Wang, based on Charlie Chan and appropriately accompanied by his adopted, Japanese son Willie (Richard Narita). Wang wears elaborate Chinese costumes, and his grammar is frequently criticized by the annoyed host much the same way that Inspector Clouseau. It could be argued that Sellers' role is in itself a parody of yellowface casting in earlier films.
In 1980, Jerry Shylock proposed a multimillion-dollar comedy film, to be called Charlie Chan and the Dragon Lady. A group calling itself C.A.N. (Coalition of Asians to Nix) was formed, protesting the fact that two white actors, Peter Ustinov and Angie Dickinson, had been cast in the primary roles. Others protested that the film itself contained a number of stereotypes; Shylock responded that the film was not a documentary.[27] The film was released the following year as Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen and was an "abysmal failure".[28] More successful was Wayne Wang's Chan Is Missing (1982), which was a spoof of the older Chan films.[3]
The character Subotai is a 'Hyrkanian' who in the mythos of Conan the Barbarian are the ancestors of Asians and further the character is named after Subotai, one of the generals of Genghis Khan, but the character however is played by the Hawaiian actor Gerry Lopez.
Episode 2: "Prelude to War"; Suchet dons eyelid makeup/prosthetics to play the Chinese character, who remarks on the disadvantages of "not being white".
Film based on the Destroyer book series. Joel Grey garnered a Saturn Award and a second Golden Globe nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" for his yellowface portrayal.
Episodes 11 through 14. Catherine Martell who is presumed dead in a fire inexplicably returns as Mr. Tojamura, a Japanese banker who offers to buy the Great Northern Hotel. Laurie wears both prosthetics and makeup to portray Mr Tojamura.
Magda Szubanski plays Chu Yang Phat, the host of a Chinese variety show called Rei-Jing. Szubanski wore a black wig, and donned a stereotypical Chinese accent.
Dutch TV show in which Dutch actress Wendy van Dijk plays Ushi Hirosaki, a Japanese journalist. The show had local versions in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Hungary.[33][34][35]
Hungarian version of Ushi & Van Dijk. Canceled after Hungarian TV channel TV2 received protest letters from the Embassy of Japan in Budapest, claiming the program was discriminatory towards the Japanese people.[36][37]
Matt Lucas plays Ting Tong, a kathoey mail-order bride. The character repeats such catchphrases as "Please Mr. Dudley!" (in a stereotypical accent) "My name Ting Tong, Ting Tong Macadangdang." "Did you have good time?"
The character also appeared in Little Britain Abroad (2006)
We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year is an Australian Television series, Ricky Wong is a 23-year-old Chinese physics student who lives in the suburb of Wheelers Hill, Melbourne, Victoria. He is often exuberant and tells his colleagues that "Physics is Phun" and that they are in the "Wong" laboratory. This character is largely a vehicle for parodying the stereotypical "Chinese overachiever", or model migrant.
Poon Dong, played by David Carradine, is the head of the Chinese Triad. The name of the character is a pun, being both a stereotypical Chinese-sounding name and slang for genitalia.
2009
Chanel – Paris – Shanghai A Fantasy – The Short Movie
Karl Lagerfeld Opened His Pre-Fall Show in Shanghai With a Film That Included Yellow Face.[40] Lagerfeld defended this as a reference to old films. "It is an homage to Europeans trying to look Chinese", he explained. "Like in The Good Earth, the people in the movie liked the idea that they had to look like Chinese. Or like actors in Madame Butterfly. People around the world like to dress up as different nationalities." "It is about the idea of China, not the reality."[41] Chinese persons played the maid, a courtesan and background characters.[citation needed]
Jen Okazaki is the mother of fictional teen skateboarding superstar, Tim Okazaki, who live in the city of Santa Barbara, California after migrating from Japan. Jen is portrayed as a stereotypical tiger mum, often pushing her son with extremely strict homeschooling and training regimes. She also has excessive control on Tim's skateboarding career, marketing him as not only a cute Japanese boy, but as a homosexual, of which she monetises by selling phallic merchandise under the name "GayStyle Enterprises."
A significant number of cast members applied makeup, focusing mostly on the eyes, to make their features appear more Korean/East Asian in one of the film's stories. The film is based on the idea of having the same actors reappear in different roles in six different story lines, one of which is set in 'Neo Seoul' in the year 2144. The film thus also has Asian actresses Bae Doona and Zhou Xun appear in non-Asian roles, and African-American actress Halle Berry portrayed a white character. Blackface is not used in the film, however.
A pornographic parody of The Walking Dead, controversy erupted over the character Glenn being portrayed by a White actor under heavy make-up and prosthetics.[42][43]
The film was criticized in the United States for casting Johansson (who is not of Japanese descent) as Motoko Kusanagi. However, some fans in Japan pointed out that Motoko Kusanagi has an artificial (cyborg) body, and thus, does not have to be ethnically Japanese.[45]Michael Pitt also plays the villain Hideo Kuze, a role that is ethnically Japanese in the source material.
Yellowface worn by a character in a film
In some films, white characters, played by white actors, have played East Asians, often as a disguise.
The Evil Queen disguises herself as an evil geisha merchant, even going as far as to do a mock Japanese accent, to kill Snow White with poisoned combs.
Tony Shalhoub's character, Fred Kwan played Tech Sergeant Chen wearing yellowface makeup in the fictional 1970s TV series Galaxy Quest. Shalhoub's role is a parody of yellowface casting in the past.
In general, kung fu refers to the Chinese martial arts also called quanfa. In China, it refers to any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to complete. In its original meaning, kung fu can refer to any discipline or skill achieved through hard work and practice, not necessarily martial arts. The literal equivalent of "Chinese martial art" in Mandarin would be 中國武術 zhōngguó wǔshù.
Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently featured in training scenes and other sequences in addition to fights. Martial arts films commonly include hand-to-hand combat along with other types of action, such as stuntwork, chases, and gunfights. Sub-genres of martial arts films include kung fu films, wuxia, karate films, and martial arts action comedy films, while related genres include gun fu, jidaigeki and samurai films.
Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes and villains like Fu Manchu. Many stories feature Chan traveling the world beyond Hawaii as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes.
Fang Shilong, known professionally as Jackie Chan, is a Hong Kong actor, director, writer, producer, martial artist, and stuntman. On screen, he is known for his slapstick - acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself. Before entering the film industry, he was one of the Seven Little Fortunes from the China Drama Academy at the Peking Opera School, where he studied acrobatics, martial arts, and acting. In a film career spanning more than sixty years, he has appeared in over 150 domestic and international movies. Chan is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential martial artists in the history of cinema.
Kung Fu is an American action-adventure martial arts Western drama television series starring David Carradine. The series follows the adventures of Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk who travels through the American Old West, armed only with his spiritual training and his skill in martial arts, as he seeks Danny Caine, his half-brother.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atlanta, Georgia.
Warner Oland was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American characters: Dr. Fu Manchu, Henry Chang in Shanghai Express, and, most notably, Honolulu Police detective Lieutenant Charlie Chan in 16 films.
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Gary Edward Daniels is an English actor, producer, martial artist, fight coordinator and former world light heavyweight kickboxing champion. Born and raised in London, England, Daniels started to take martial arts lessons at the age of eight. By his late teens, he became a competitive kickboxer. In 1980, Daniels moved to the United States to continue the sport. In 1990, he won the WKBA California State Light Heavyweight Championship and the PKA World Light Heavyweight Championship.
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Portrayals of East Asians in American film and theatre has been a subject of controversy. These portrayals have frequently reflected an ethnocentric perception of East Asians rather than realistic and authentic depictions of East Asian cultures, colors, customs, and behaviors.
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Anna May Wong was an American actress of Chinese heritage, who grew up in a culturally diverse neighborhood adjacent to Chinatown, Los Angeles. Her father believed in exposing his family to the creative arts, and often took them to see traditional Chinese stage productions. Young Anna, however, was fascinated by the emerging film industry in the area, and would fantasize herself as a movie actress like Pearl White or Mary Pickford. Her daydreams began to look like an achievable goal when local Baptist minister James Wang, who often worked with the film productions, recommended her as an extra in the Alla Nazimova silent production of The Red Lantern. Wong was only 14 years old, and eventually left school before graduating. While still a teenager, she was cast in the lead role of Lotus Flower in The Toll of the Sea.
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