There's that saying that goes something along the lines of "learn something new every day." Today, I definitely hit that quota after reading Buzzfeed's in-depth article on [Chinese-]American Actress Anna May Wong.
Honestly, I had never heard of her before today, and I am not alone. (Probably why Buzzfeed chose to start their headline with 'Forgotten Story' derrrr)
In the article, I found out (unsurprisngly) that back in "the day" Anna would not have been allowed in society, even to parties attended by other stars who exoticized and imitated her. Apparently Ms. Wong jumped at the chance to move to Europe where she could take on roles that didn't have her quite as strongly branded as "Oriental," especially in comparison to her American roles. Unfortunately, I only see little glimpses into the change of exoticizing non-white actors in American TV/Movies. I do however, think that will be a big movement for the next generation of Hollywoodians (?? is that a thing???)
I also like how the article discusses identity, going back and forth between is she Chinese? (check out those features!) or American? (she's never even been to China!!). I definitely still hear small slips from both sides of that equation today.
In the article, I found out (unsurprisngly) that back in "the day" Anna would not have been allowed in society, even to parties attended by other stars who exoticized and imitated her. Apparently Ms. Wong jumped at the chance to move to Europe where she could take on roles that didn't have her quite as strongly branded as "Oriental," especially in comparison to her American roles. Unfortunately, I only see little glimpses into the change of exoticizing non-white actors in American TV/Movies. I do however, think that will be a big movement for the next generation of Hollywoodians (?? is that a thing???)
I also like how the article discusses identity, going back and forth between is she Chinese? (check out those features!) or American? (she's never even been to China!!). I definitely still hear small slips from both sides of that equation today.