ethnic minorities in the american film industry - IS MUNI

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MASARYK UNIVERSITY BRNO

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Department of English Language and Literature

ETHNIC MINORITIES IN THE

AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY

Diploma Thesis

Brno 2006

Supervisor: Written by:

Michael George, M.A. Lucie Pezlarová

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Poděkování

Děkuji všem učitelům Katedry Anglického jazyka a Literatury na Pedagogické

fakultě, kteří ovlivnili mé názory na výuku cizích jazyků svými přednáškami a

semináři.

Zvláště bych chtěla poděkovat vedoucímu mé diplomové práce Michealu

Georgovi, M.A. za cenné rady a konstruktivní připomínky, které přispěly ke konečné

podobě této práce.

Acknowledgements

I would like hereby to take this opportunity to thank all the teachers of the

Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Education who have

influenced opinions by their lectures and seminars about foreign language.

My grateful thanks belong to the supervisor of my diploma thesis Michael

George, M.A. for his valuable advice and constructive comments which contributed to

the final form of this work.

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Prohlašuji, že jsem diplomovou práci zpracovala samostatně a použila jen

prameny uvedené v seznamu literatury.

Souhlasím, aby práce byla uložena na Masarykově univerzitě v Brně v knihovně

Pedagogické fakulty a zpřístupněna ke studijním účelům.

I proclaim that my diploma thesis is a piece of individual writing and that only

the sources cited in the Bibliography list were used to compile it.

I agree with this diploma thesis being deposited in the Library of the Faculty of

Education at the Masaryk University and with its being made available for academic

purposes.

Brno 18 April 2006 …………………………

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………6

Chapter 1: The Influence of History on the Development of the Stereotypes. 8

Native Americans………………………………………………………….8

Latinos……………………………………………………………………..9

African Americans………………………………………………………... 10

Asians…………………………………………………………………....... 11

Chapter 2: Before the Massmedia – The Live Stage………………………….. 13

Minstrels………………………………………………………………….. 13

Vaudeville……………………………………………………………........ 14

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West……………………………….………….……... 15

Chapter 3: The Silen Era (1889 – 1927)………………………………………... 16

The Birth of a Nation……………………………………………………... 17

The Lincoln Motion Picture Company…………………………………... 19

Sessue Hayakawa…………………………………………………………. 23

Anna May Wong………………………………………………….………. 24

Oscar Micheaux………………………………………………….…….…. 24

Chapter 4: From 1927 Until World War II …………………………………….26

Race Movies ………………………………………………….…………...28

Dr. Fu Manchu …………………………………………………..…..….... 29

Charlie Chan ………………………………………………….………….. 30

Chapter 5: Transition Period (1946 – 1965) …………………………………... 35

Sidney Poitier ………………………………………………….………..... 39

Chapter 6: Hollywood Renaissance (1964 – 1976) ………………………….… 45

Blaxploitation ………………………………………………….……….… 46

Bruce Lee ………………………………………………….………….….. 48

Chapter 7: The Return of the Myths (late 1970s and 1980s) ………………… 53

The Vietnam War and Hollywood ……………………………………..…58

Chapter 8: The New Wave (the 1990s) …………………………………..……. 61

Strange Orient ……………………………………………………………. 69

Legacy of Blaxploitation ………………………………………..……..… 72

Dorothy Dandridge ……………………………………….……....……… 73

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Chapter 9: The New Millennium ……………………………………………….74

Appearance of Ethnic Minorities in the Media …………………………... 74

The “Magic Negro” Stereotype ………………………………………….. 76

Lucy Liu ………………………………………………….………………. 80

Suggestions on Methodology ……………………………………………….…... 81

1 Minority Stereotypes and Where to Find Them…………………...…… 81

2 Getting to Understand the Terminology ……………………..………… 82

3 Video in the Classroom …………………………………………….…... 83

4 Consequences of Stereotyping …………………………………………. 84

5 Projects………………………………………………….……….……… 84

Conclusion ………………………………………………….……………...……. 86

Bibliography………………………………………………….…….……………. 87

Attachments ………………………………………………….…………….……. 103

Attachment I: Stereotypes……………………………………………..….. 103

Attachment II: Ethnic Film Festivals in the United States………...……... 107

Attachment III: Film Index...……………………………………………... 110

Resume (Czech) …………………………………………………………………..131

Resume (English) ………………………………………………………………... 132

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INTRODUCTION

Nowadays we live in a post-modern society1 and one of the characteristic

features of post-modern societies is the influence of media. They also add to the feeling

that the world is getting smaller. However, the perspective of the world is sometimes

distorted and biased, especially the perspectives proffered by the mass media. The

power of mass media and its influence are well known and the image they impose is

often considered true to reality. Often people are not aware of the stereotypes used and

members of certain minorities are perceived through a scrim of images created by the

media.

American culture is spread all over the world and is the most influential. Taking

into account that there are only a few ethnic minorities in the Czech Republic (the Roma

people, Vietnamese, Ukrainian and a growing Arab population), other groups are

perceived through media. Moreover, the majority of films in Czech cinemas are of

American production. Having an understanding of the stereotypes in English-speaking

countries can help students to better comprehend minorities and minority stereotypes in

the Czech Republic, which could have the eventual effect of the stereotypes changing or

disappearing altogether.

This issue is part of multicultural education, which should be an integral part of

all educational plans. When teaching a language, the teacher also teaches cultural

background. Culture is an inseparable part of the educational process. It has become

necessary to devote some time to discussing cultural awareness. One of the components

of cultural education should also be an awareness of racism and xenophobia, because a

foreign language is an attribute of something foreign and cannot be separated from the

culture that uses it.

I would like to attempt to organise and chronologise the relationship between

ethnic minorities and the American film industry, including a brief overview of changes

in the society and politics that influenced the development of stereotypical role in films.

Of many minorities, only four of the major ones are dealt with, i.e. Latinos, African

Americans, Native Americans and Asians. Other minorities (ethnic or not), e.g. Arabs

or homosexuals, are not be taken into account in this diploma thesis. Also I

1 Some sociologists call the society after the attacks on the World Trade Center in September 2001 post-post-modern. Nevertheless, the role of mass media is the same.

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concentrated more or less on mainstream films that have reached Europe (in cinemas,

on video or DVD) or are generally known here.

The first two chapters provide a short insight into the historical background by

drawing attention to certain historical facts under which minority stereotypes originated.

Following development is divided into seven chapters; periods described are separated

according to historical events or, especially after the Second World War, according to

changes in the American film industry (as suggested by Mast). For a better orientation

Attachment I contains a list of stereotypes and Attachment III a film index. In order to

help students and teachers include the issue in their lessons, there are Suggestions on

Methodology at the end of this thesis.

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Chapter 1

THE INFLUENCE OF HISTORY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF

STEREOTYPES

Native Americans

The European settlers had to learn to coexist with people they viewed as

primitive, but who had many admirable qualities as well. This dilemma was mirrored in

the concept of the “noble savage”.2 Native Americans were “noble” because of their

innocence, their willingness to share and their dark, handsome appearance. At the same

time they were “savage”: they were not Christian, they showed a blatant disregard for

proper dress and there were even possible cannibalistic incidents described by the early

settlers (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 62).3 In order to create a European society, there were

attempts to convert Native Americans to Christianity. After the Civil War, authors of

Western developed a concept of a single Indian culture, i.e. no distinction was made

among the hundreds of Native American cultures.4 Moreover, history has often been

presented from only one point of view: “From contact with the first European settlers,

the people writing the books were the Europeans”, says Duane Hall, the American

Indian Institute at the University of Oklahoma. “There were very few Indian writers

giving an Indian account of the story. Down through the pages of history, Indians

became people without names and faces, people who are very stoic, and have no

feelings” (Hill).5 Rennard Strickland, an expert on Indian Law at the University of

Oregon, says “It goes between what I call the ‘savage sinner’ and the ‘red- skinned

2 The phrase “noble savage” appeared for the first time in Dryden’s The Conquest of Granada in 1672 as nomenclature for the ideal “nature’s gentleman” (30). The concept is a hypothesis that man is essentially good when not bound by civilization. Shaftesbury, in his Advice to an Author, tells future writers “to search for that simplicity of manners, and innocence of behaviour, which has been often known among mere savages; ere they were corrupted by our commerce” (Dictionary of the History of Ideas, Vol. 3 599-600). The concept of a noble savage is usually associated with Romanticism, Rousseau and his romantic philosophy. In the first chapter of his Emile: or On Education (1762) he expounds that “Everything is good as it leaves the hands of the Author of things; everything degenerates in the hands of man” (Rousseau 37). 3 By the late eighteenth century the concept of the “noble savage” had become so widespread and accepted that Benjamin Franklin was impelled to mock the discrepancies in the diffuse notion in his “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” (Franklin). Even as late as the twentieth century the theme appeared from time to time, e.g. Aldous Huxley proffered examples in his novel Brave New World (1932). 4 Authors using this myth were Mark Twain, Bret Harte and others. 5 There has been a certain duality in the portrayal of Native Americans, who were seen as savages and saviours at the same time. Such duality is traceable also in early references: A noble saviour and friend joining the settlers for the first Thanksgiving, a simple man selling Manhattan for $24, but also the enemy kidnapping white women (Hill).

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redeemer’. We tend to use the Indian as a mirror on which we reflect a lot of our own

particular neuroses” (Hill). On one hand there is the desire to remove or kill them, on

the other to romanticize them.6

The legend of Pocahontas was a source of another stereotype, the “Indian

Princess”, a chief’s daughter sympathising with the white man, who is enticed away

from her people in order to marry him and become part of his culture, presumably better

and enlightened one. Therefore, she helps him to civilize other Natives. “The Indian

princess is strictly a European concept”, says Native American Joseph Riverwind. “The

nations of this country never had a concept of royalty. We do not have kings, queens or

princesses” (Riverwind).7

Hill assumes that the later removal of the Native Americans to reservations was

seen as a way how to obtain their land, but it was also perceived as a protection until

they were educated and reached the standard of Western civilization. In time the

reservations became places where their culture was preserved in spite of the poverty

there. The romantizing period came after the Battle of Wounded Knee and Geronimo’s

capture in Mexico. The romantic image of the “wild and free” Native American, a

member of a disappearing culture, had one discrepancy: that culture has never died

(Hill).

Latinos

In the United States there are two large Latino minorities: the Puerto Ricans and

the Mexicans.8 Mexico was ruled by Spain for about 300 years. Then in 1803 the

Louisiana Purchase broke the barriers between Mexico and the United States. The

movement of American settlers to the West and Southwest eventually led to a war with

Mexico in 1846 (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 65). Even before the war, Mexican men were

viewed as sub-human, portrayed as cruel, lazy and ridiculous, while women were

simplified into the category of charming and feminine forming a sharp contrast in

comparison to the puritanical habits of U.S. women (Bluemich and Cedeño). One

6 Akim Reinhardt, a historian at Towson University, describes the role of Native American in the life of the early colonists: “Indians, from the initial settlements in the colonial period up through the 1700s and the beginning of the nation, represented something scary to the colonists. It now seems preordained that those 13 Colonies would persist, but it was not clear at the time. The Iroquois confederacy in the North, the Cherokee and Creek confederacy in the North were, in fact, much stronger than the early European colonies. So they had a very different perception of Indians than we do now” (Hill). 7 In Central and South America the royalty existed in the great civilisations. 8 Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines Latino as a man of Latin-American or Spanish-speaking descent and Latina as its female counterpart (1087).

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possible reason for the hostility of white North Americans towards Mexicans might

have been steeped in ethnic differences. Inhabitants of Mexico were of Native American

(Indian) origin or mestizo9 (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 67).10

Sowell mentions that the Mexicans arrived to the U.S. during three great waves

of immigration separated by two deportation periods. The first immigrants lived in

closed communities, their children grew up in a Spanish-speaking environment

receiving hardly any education creating thus an “invisible” minority. After the Great

Depression mass unemployment, diseases and high crime rates eventually led to a

systematic campaign for deportation (249-253). However, after the Second World War

the U.S. government introduced the bracero programme in order to bring contract farm

labourers from Mexico (Hazarika and Otero).11 Nevertheless, later only citizens were

allowed to stay and the rest were expelled (Sowell 256). The third wave still continues

to the present day.

Sowell deals with Puerto Ricans separately. Puerto Rico became part of the

United States for the first time in 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American War. The

Puerto Ricans became American citizens at birth in 1917. Although the island had been

part of the USA, it continued to develop separately. The culture at the island was closer

to that of Latin America, as the result Spanish prevailed (227). He also indicates that the

immigration to the U.S. in substantial numbers started quite late compared to other

minorities, in the 1930s (Sowell 233).

African-Americans

The position of African-American actors has reflected their real position in the

American society. Wilson II and Gutiérrez note that the first slaves arrived in America

in 1619, when twenty Africans were brought to America on a Dutch pirate ship.12 They

had Spanish names since they had been originally on board a Spanish ship heading for

the West Indies. Those young people were exchanged for supplies in Jamestown (64).

They became indentured servants released only after many years of service, after the

indenture period. Their situation was the same as that of white indentured servants

(Sowell 192). However, the situation changed and, by the 1640s, slaves brought to

Virginia did not have indenture contracts (Sowell 192).

9 Mestizo means of Spanish and Native American origin. 10 In literature they were sometimes referred to as “these mixed races” (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 67). 11 The programme started in 1942 and finished in 1964. 12 Mayflower arrived one year later, in 1620.

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Wilson II and Gutiérrez remind that there was a belief that white was the colour

of purity, cleanness and goodness and black, on the other hand, a symbol of evil, dirt

and impurity. These were part of the Puritan and Calvinist religious creeds, including

the idea of the “Elect” and the “Damned”, the first ones being superior to those enslaved

(64-65).13

A central feature of the slave system which helped to prevent escapes was

keeping the slaves in ignorance, dependent and in perpetual fear. Negative attitudes

towards former slaves surfaced during the Reconstruction era. White southerners

became organised in different groups, the best known being the Ku Klux Klan. In 1877,

when Federal troops were withdrawn and power was returned to the local government,

the political participation and civil rights of African Americans decreased (Sowell 201-

202). At the end of the nineteenth century, this situation resulted in segregation laws,

known as the Jim Crow laws.14 In 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “separate but

equal” facilities were constitutional. However, the segregation was far from equal

(Sowell 202).

African Americans were the only national minority brought to America against

their will. Sowell implies that originally, they were speaking a variety of languages and

representing many different cultures, but during the following two centuries this

diversity faded away. However, they are also considered one of the newer heritages as

they were the last to become free (183).15

Asians

The origins of the Yellow Peril go back to the fifth century BC. 16 Attila the Hun

and the attacks of Genghis Khan reinforced the image of vicious demons able to endure

13 One rather ambiguous Puritan law published in 1641 stated: “There shall never be any bond-slavery, villenage or captivie amongst us; unlesse it be lawfully captives taken in just warrs, and such strangers as willingly sell themselves, or are sold to us: and such shall have the libertyes and Christian usuages which the law of god established in Israel concerning such persons doth morally require, provided this exempts none from servitude who shall be judged thereto by Authoritie”(Wilson II and Gutiérrez 64-65). 14 The so-called Jim Crow segregation laws gained importance from the U.S. Supreme Court rulings. In 1883, the Supreme Court ruled the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional. In 1890, Louisiana required by law that blacks ride in separate railroad cars. In protest, a light-skinned African American, Homer Plessy, boarded a train and was arrested for sitting in a carriage for whites. The Court’s verdict was that Plessy's rights had not been denied because the separate accommodations provided were equal to those provided for whites (Zimmerman, Plessy v. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537 (1896), O’Callaghan 57). 15 The abolition of slavery came in 1863. 16 Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines the Yellow Peril as (2202):

1 the alleged danger that Western civilisations and populations could be overwhelmed by numerically superior Oriental peoples;

2 the Oriental peoples regarded as presenting such dangers (1895 – 1990).

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anything, an image that lasted into the nineteenth century when the idea of the Yellow

Peril became topical again (Nepstad).

The first large Chinese immigration wave came already in 1849, the second one

with the railroads constructions. However, as a consequence, they were blamed for a

general loss of jobs. Furthermore, in 1854 the California Supreme Court decided that no

Chinese could testify in court when a white person was a litigant (Sowell 137). In 1870

the Neutralisation Act, stating that a citizen could be only a free white person, was

amended so to include people of African descent but, on the other hand, to exclude the

Chinese (Nepstad). In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act banning neutralisation and

immigration of the Chinese was passed (“Chinese Exclusion Act”).

The Chinese were easily distinguishable for their traditional dress and hairstyle.

They had gained the reputation of honest and peaceful workers but suddenly they

became the symbol of degradation and deception (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 68).17

Moreover, the first generation of immigrants were men who had left their families in

China. The immigration policy ensured that there were hardly any Chinese women

arriving in order to discourage the permanent residence of immigrants (Sowell 142).18

Also they were placed at the bottom of the social ladder and used as an alternative to

African-American slaves. However, the stereotype imposed by the Caucasian American

society started to include all Asians, not only the Chinese. Asian males were seen as

weak and effeminate, weak because they were smaller than Americans and effeminate

because of the traditional long plaits. The result for Asian and Asian American men was

a stigma. They were not considered masculine and, therefore, limited in employment

and economically.

The official reaction to the Yellow Peril consisted of laws restricting

immigration. The Immigration Acted passed in 1924 banned “entry to the United States

for all citizens not eligible for citizenship” (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 69).

It is clear that stereotypes had existed before the arrival of mass media. They

have existed as long as the human kind, only in different forms and not always

recognised.

17 Dennis Kearney, leader of the California Workingman’s Party, organised an anti-Chinese movement supported by the San Francisco Chronicle. His every speech ended with the following words: “The Chinese must go” (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 68). 18 In 1890 there were about twenty-seven Chinese men for every Chinese woman (Sowell 140). So “the very first Asian Americans were rendered sexless eunuchs by the law” (Han).

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Chapter 2

BEFORE THE MASSMEDIA – THE LIVE STAGE

The historic relationship between Whites and different national minorities was

formed and changed over time, a relationship clearly latent with certain prejudices. Such

attitudes were not only reflected in popular literature but also had their impact on the

political, economic and social life of the United States.

A major source of entertainment from the middle of the nineteenth century until

the 1920s was the live stage, either in theatres or shows in tents. The theatre visitors

demanded people of colour, the common people as heroes, music and dancing on stage.

African Americans became a necessary accessory. One of the early popular plays with

Native American theme was performed under the title of The Original, Aboriginal,

Erratic, Operatic, Semi-Civilized and Demi-Savage Extravaganza of Pocahontas by

John Brougham (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 71).1 Thus the stereotypes from literature were

transferred to the stage.

Minstrels

Minstrel shows2 emerged in the early 1830s consisting of comic sketches,

dancing and music and using White performers in blackface makeup. Thomas

Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice, a white actor, performed a song “Jump Jim Crow”

accompanied by a ridiculous jig dance3, creating the first slave archetype, Jim Crow.4

He is said to have seen a crippled old man or a young black boy (sources differ in this)

dancing and singing a song ending in these words:

“Weel about and turn about and do jis so,

Eb’ry time I weel about I jump Jim Crow” (Davis).

Some of the characters got their names after the instruments they played, e.g.

Tambo - the tambourine, or Bones - the bone castanets (Curry). There was also the old

1 The play was published as An original aboriginal erratic operatic semi-civilized and demi-savage extravaganza, being a per-version of Ye Trewe and Wonderrefulle Hystorie of Ye Rennownned ... In two acts (French's American drama) by the publisher S. French in 1856. 2 Minstrel shows were also known as minstrels or minstrelsy. The classical minstrel show had two acts. In the first act 15 men sat on chairs in a semi-circle. One comedian stood in the middle, an interlocutor (i.e. a host), exchanging jokes with the rest of them. The second part was called “olio” and consisted of recitations, monologues and comedy sketches. 3 Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines jig as “A rapid, lively, springy, irregular dance for one or more persons, usually in triple meter” (1029). 4 The character of Jim Crow gave the name to the segregation laws of the 1870s (see p. 11).

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darky or old uncle, the head of the idyllic African American family, or the sexually

provocative female wench (“Minstrel shows”). Most minstrel shows depicted

romanticised images of simple cheerful slaves, the cruelty of slave owners was rarely

depicted.

The most common stereotypes established in the minstrel shows were Sambo,

Coon and Zip Dandy. Sambo, a childish laughing man, was fond of food, songs and

dancing, therefore, lazy and unwilling to work. A “Coon” was a degrading term for

African Americans that parodied the language of the Blacks, their manners or attitudes.

Coon songs were also composed and performed by African Americans. They were used

to demonstrate the idea that African Americans were happy as servants and slaves not

intelligent enough to live as free people. On the other hand, Zip Dandies, sometimes

called Jim Dandies, wearing elegant clothes with a top hat represented a urban black

person. They were self-centred, wanted only to court ladies, wear nice clothes and

dance. The idea was to show how ridiculous African Americans would be if they tried

to behave like white gentlemen (“Zip Dandies”).

Nevertheless, there were also non-black stereotypes. Although they were all

performed in blackface, the dialect or the absence of it distinguished them. Before the

Civil War, Native Americans were shown as innocent inhabitants of the pre-industrial

world or as victims of white settlers, later changing into savages, obstacles to progress

and scalpers. Such characters were feared, not laughed at (Toll 166-168). Asians

emerged were ridiculed for their strange language, appearance and eating habits (Lee,

Jason H.).

For decades to come African Americans could not perform the minstrel show.

Even when they eventually were allowed to make them, they also had to use blackface.

When the popularity of minstrelsy declined after the Civil War, the olio was used as a

base for expanded acts known as vaudeville (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 72).

Vaudeville

According to The Encyclopaedia Wikipedia Vaudeville was a type of multi-act

theatre which reached its height between the 1880s and 1920s. It included a variety of

presentations which were unique (music, comedy, magic, animals, acrobatics and

lectures by famous people). Vaudeville was born on 24 October 1881 fathered by was

Tony Pastor, a performer and theatre owner. He attracted women to theatre houses

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dominated by men (“Vaudeville”). It began to decline with the arrival of cheap cinema

and television.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West

During the post-Civil War era live entertainment moved to the outdoor arena. In

the “Buffalo Bill Wild West Show”, founded in Nebraska in 1886, Buffalo Bill5

recreated the myth of the taming of the West and Native Americans. The act included a

mock battle with Indians and those roles were performed by Natives from the Lakota

Sioux tribe (Riverwind). Most Americans did not ever come any closer to the “real”

Indians than in Cody’s show. Therefore, for them, the Sioux and their traditions became

synonymous to all Natives (Riverwind).

Buffalo Bill toured America annually and also visited Europe in the 1880s.

Among his stars was also Sitting Bull. The performances often ended with “Custer’s

Last Stand” with Cody taking on the role of General Custer. Buffalo Bill was a scout

and also an Indian fighter (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 71). Nevertheless, he respected

Natives and once said: “Every Indian outbreak that I have ever known has resulted from

broken promises and broken treaties by the government” (“Buffalo Bill”).

Characters form minstrel shows helped to shape assumptions about African

Americans and other minorities. They were expected to respect the characteristics

presented on stage and act accordingly or otherwise risked punishment. Though the

performers coming from ethnic minorities were limited to the old stereotypes, the door

to the entertainment industry had been opened for them.

5 Buffalo Bill was born as William Frederick Cody. His nickname originally was used by Bill Comsock, but in 1868 Cody won it in a contest (“Buffalo Bill”).

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Chapter 3

THE SILENT ERA (1889 - 1927)

With the approach of the end of the nineteenth century, America was changing.

The beginning of the following century would be a turbulent period in the history of the

United States. More likely it would be the beginning of an era characterised by rapid

development and transition not only in politics but also in the entertainment industry.

Although the motion picture technology had been invented in 1889 by Thomas

Alva Edison, live-stage performances were still very popular, even during the 1920s. By

1894, i.e. only five years after Edison’s invention of the Kinetoscope, it was possible to

see the Sioux Ghost Dance on screen (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 72). From 1910 to 1913

about one hundred films about Native people were made every year (Riverwind). Most

of them romanticised the noble, but naive, red man. White Fawn's Devotion: A Play

Acted by a Tribe of Red Indians in America (1910) is the earliest surviving film directed

by a Native American (Native Americans).

African Americans appeared on the silver screen in 1898. They were soldiers

boarding ships and performing their daily tasks (“Blacks in American Film”). But it

would not be before another five years had passed that the first Black character would

be shown in an American film. The role was performed by a White actor in blackface

make-up in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1903). The use of White

actors in blackface had been taken from the theatre stage and the unacceptability of

African-American actors prevailed, primarily in the case of character roles, until deep

into the twentieth century. Another important fact was that straight from the beginning a

Black hero or a Black problem was seen from the “White” point of view, as in Uncle

Tom’s Cabin. Moreover, it portrayed for the first time a stereotype role called “tom”, a

kind old servant who was inoffensive and harmless. Edison gave name to another

stereotype in his film Ten Pickaninnies1 (1904) (Russell 246). Later other stereotypes

emerged, e.g. a “city” Negro (coon), a nanny (mammy) or a black brutal (brutal black

buck). Most of them had already existed in literature and on stage serving as a booster

of audiences’ self-esteem.

1 Pickaninny is an offensive term for a Black child. However, Random House Webster’s Dictionary notes that the word is commonly used in Jamaica and West Africa as a reference to a small child.

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Only one year after Uncle Tom’s Cabin, A Bucket of Cream Ale was released in

1904. It was a short sketch about a Black girl employed by a White man. As was usual

for that period, the girl was played by a White actress in blackface (Wilson II and

Gutiérrez 73). Probably the most humiliating portrayal of African Americans was

shown in the 1905 film The Wooing and Wedding of a Coon, with a Black couple being

introduced as a pair of clumsy and stuttering fools, creatures who are less than human,

who are only able to play cards and steal poultry (Jackson II 283).

Naturally, stereotypes were not only fostered for African and Native Americans.

Throughout the first decades after the invention of the moving pictures, the Chinese

were most often used as comic elements, e.g. Roberta and Doreto (1894) and The

Terrible Kids (1906) (Kashiwabara). Roberta and Doreto was also known under the title

Chinese Laundry Scene (the name itself being a stereotypical reference).

In 1914 Bert Williams became the first African-American actor who appeared

as a star in a motion picture. The film, Darktown Jubilee, was unfortunately not

received well and, though being African American, Williams had to perform in

blackface.2 Williams, a dignified and educated man had to learn how to speak to fit the

image of Blacks on screen (“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).

The year 1915 was marked by an important event. On 8 February of that year, D.

W. Griffith released his film entitled The Birth of a Nation. With this film racial

stereotypes began to be institutionalised and established in a pattern that would remain

nearly unchanged for decades (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 74).

The Birth of a Nation

The script was based on a best-selling novel written by Thomas E. Dixon.3 The

film opened in Los Angeles as The Clansman and then in New York as The Birth of a

Nation.

Cook points out that the change of the title was Dixon’s suggestion as he wanted

to have a title that would reflect Griffith’s achievement and also mirror the sovereignty

of the United States. Shortly after the New York opening (3 March 1915) The National

2 Unfortunately, the film does not survive. 3 Dixon adapted the novel into a play called The Clansman. Both the novel and the play were not of very high quality and were also openly racist in their description of the Reconstruction period. Nevertheless, D. W. Griffith was fascinated by Dixon’s play. While writing the script, he supplemented The Clansman with material from another of Dixon’s books, The Leopard’s Spots (Cook 76).

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Association for the Advancement of Colored People4 and city officials put Griffith

under pressure. He had to remove the more openly racist sequences (75-77). According

to Cook the cut-out material has never been recovered, but it is assumed that it included

scenes with white women being sexually attacked by blacks or even the depiction of a

possible solution to the racial problems in America, i.e. the deportation of all African

Americans back to Africa. It is estimated that approximately 150 million people had

seen this film all over the world by 1948 (75-77). Therefore, the influence The Birth of

a Nation had was by no means small or harmless and the impact was long lasting.

Historical records show that the positive portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan led to its

resurrection. There were 5 million members by the beginning of the Second World War

(“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).

Cook also states that the attitudes about “Negroes” presented in The Birth of a

Nation were part of Griffith’s total perspective of life. In fact some of the incidents

shown in the film supposedly took place and he felt that the majority of freed slaves

were ignorant and it would have been a lie to present them in any other way. Griffith

was quite shocked when he was accused of racism. He had set up a pattern of portraying

African Americans as inferior, morally and intellectually, to Whites.5 The success and

enormous popularity of the film supported the idea that Griffith’s assumptions were

shared by a majority of his contemporaries (78-79).

One year after the release of The Birth of a Nation, William S. Hart’s The Aryan

(1916) arrived at the cinemas (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 74). It was probably the first film

which openly declared the dogma of White supremacy above the Native Americans.

One of the titles on screen stated, “Our women shall be guarded” (Wilson II and

Gutiérrez 74), supporting the fears that a mixing of races would endanger the well-being

of the country as a whole.

Native Americans were no exception to the patterns of Whites portraying all

characters. Natives appeared in minor roles, though rarely. Wilson II and Gutiérrez

imply that the practice brought an unexpected problem: some directors encountered

certain difficulties when they had to teach Indians how to act “Indian”. After seeing

these attempts, one journalist was inspired to write an article entitled “The Dangers of

Employing Redskins as Movie Actors” (74).

4 The Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded already in 1908. 5 Between 1900 and 1920 they were primarily seen as criminals and undesirable creatures. The changes in this perception came about in the 1930s.

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Westerns from the 1920s were the source of another stereotype still traceable in

films. Riverwind remarks that all Native Americans were represented as people from

the Plains.6 They lived in tepees, decorated their hair with feathers and rode horses

while waving their lances. Therefore, audiences assumed that all Natives were similar

and there was just a single Indian culture (Riverwind).

Certain themes in the early films derived from the attitudes in society, e.g. the

idea of White supremacy. The following list, completed by Wilson II and Gutiérrez,

shows the moral and intellectual characteristics attributed to people of colour (74):

Intelectual Traits Moral Traits

Preoccupied with simple ideas Low regard for human life

Inferior strategy in warfare/conflict

situations

Criminal behaviour

Low or nonexistent occupational status Sexual promiscuity

Poor speech patterns/dialect Drug/alcohol abuse

Comedic foil Dishonesty

In addition to the released films, there were two production companies founded

by African Americans, the Independent African-American Filmmakers (1915) and the

Lincoln Motion Picture Company (1916). Founders of both of these were searching for

their own financial sources to enable them to produce films which would provide a

more positive image of African Americans.

The Lincoln Motion Picture Company

Birchard, a film historian, brings forward the importance of The Lincoln Motion

Picture Company, which was founded on 24 May 1916 by Black actor Noble Johnson

and his brother George Johnson to make films displaying a more complete range of

African American talents. The first film produced by Johnson’s company was a drama

called The Realization of a Negro’s Ambition (1916) and was followed by A Trooper of

6 According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Plains/Great Plains are: “Continental slope of central North America. It stretches from the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border in the south to the Mackenzie River delta along the Arctic Ocean in the north and from the Interior Lowlands and the Canadian Shield in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. The plains embrace parts of 10 U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces, covering an area of about 1,125,000 sq mi (2,900,000 sq km)” (“Great Plains”).

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Troop K (1917). The later depicted a massacre of troops of the 10th Cavalry during one

U.S. operation in 1916.7 The Johnson brothers wanted the films to be shown to a wider

audience, but the films were rarely screened in places other than churches, schools and

cinemas for Blacks. By 1920 the Lincoln Company had managed to produce five films,

none of which were profitable. Noble Johnson left the company and started to work as

an actor for Universal Studios. In October 1921 the Lincoln Company began to work on

their most ambitious project, called By Right of Birth. George Johnson rented the

auditorium in the Embassy Hotel in Los Angeles for two evenings and in two weeks

both of the performances were sold out. It was a success but it did not help to improve

the commercial prosperity of the film on the market. The firm needed White audiences,

but contemporary, White cinemagoers were not interested in Black films. Without a

wide audience, the film was bound to be a failure, and the Lincoln Motion Picture

Company, which had been set up with great expectations, closed in 1921 (Birchard).

During the first couple of decades of the existence of American cinema, many

films degrading Mexicans were released. Latinos were, in general, pictured as

loathsome creatures. They were presented as the worst characters in society, such as

murderers, bandits, rapists, etc. Examples of the resulting greaser stereotype included,

as suggested by their titles, Tony the Greaser (1911) and The Greaser’s Revenge (1914)

(Wilson II and Gutiérrez 74-75).

Nevertheless, film production in the period from 1911 to 1919 gave an

opportunity for work to quite a few Latinos. As silent film got their message across by

images many actors with sub-par English-speaking abilities could work. Though

language abilities were not always an obstacle to success, the chances to be on the silver

screen were limited; and discriminatory practices were in place from the start. Latinos in

the United States and Latin America were not willing to accept the villain stereotype. In

1919, the Mexican government sent a written protest to their North American

counterpart, which was ignored (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 75). The situation reached its

climax in 1922 when all such films were banned in Mexico (Bluemich and Cedeño).

Since Mexico and South America comprised a large percentage of the Hollywood

foreign market, the filmmakers then transferred these characteristics to other minorities

or locals with Latin names. To solve the situation, the mysterious character of the

7 These African-American troops were engaged in an unfortunate mission aimed against Mexican bandits and revolutionaries.

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“Latino lover” came into existence.8 The romantic and often erotic images implied that

Latin Americans were beautiful and attractive people. By stereotyping the female,

beauty and attractiveness were changed into the “Latino vamp” image. The public was,

whether consciously or not, biased and negative stereotyping strengthened the prejudice

towards ethnic minorities. Despite the enormous popularity of Latin Lovers and Vamps,

only few Latino actors became famous during the 1920s. Racial attitudes were reflected

in films from the beginning, but the development of systematic discrimination took a

longer time. 1920s brought barriers and “Latinos, especially Mexicans, were virtually

from financial aid and the technical side of the film production” (Bluemich and

Cedeño).

When the Spanish-American War ended, the U.S. became an even larger empire

with Spain conceding Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam to the United States

of America. The Philippines and Guam were used as a base for the American fleet in the

Pacific. Nepstad underlines the strategic importance, which served to supplement the

growing needs to be vigilant of the Yellow Peril, a strategy not free of potential

problems. If a country, e.g. the Philippines, had become one of the states of the Union,

it would have opened the gates of America to the Asian people, which was seen as a

threat to the American way of life. Therefore immigration was restricted and rigorously

controlled (Nepstad). A few years later in 1905, the Japanese destroyed the Russian fleet

and ended the Russo-Japanese war, the first time ever a Western power had been

defeated by an Asian one, raising the fear of the Yellow Peril. By 1917, immigration of

any Asian or Pacific Islander had been prevented. Moreover, the U.S. Government

passed the Cable Act in 1922, annulling the citizenship of any woman who married a

foreigner (Smith). Furthermore, the anti-miscegenation laws were in effect, including a

law prohibiting issuing marriage licences to white-Chinese and Black-white couples

(already passed in California in 1880). Within a decade, starting in 1915, the Ku Klux

Klan membership had reached a number of approximately 4.5 million members

(“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).

Negative Asian stereotypes were established around 1910 when the character of

Dr. Fu Manchu (see p. 29) appeared in several stories and novels by Sax Rohmer. Dr.

8 There was a difference between the Latin and Latino lover. Latinos were of Latin American origin while Rudolph Valentino was Italian, therefore a Latin lover. However, certain sources do not distinguish between these terms and use either Latin or Latino lover for all such roles.

- 22 -

Fu Manchu soon became an evil film villain and started the development of new

stereotypes based on the warlords of Old China.

Another phenomenon appeared together with these portrayals: no distinction was

made among the many Asian cultures. The American view represented a mixture of

many of them. Amy Kahiwabara illustrates the view by a Chinese character in Broken

Blossoms (1919) who committed hara-kiri, which is a Japanese tradition. Buddhism was

also associated with all Asian nations, though the Buddhism of Hollywood filmmakers

had little in common with the original religion, e.g. in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)

Boris Karloff offers another character as a blood sacrifice (Kashiwabara).

The 1920s instituted another Asian archetype. In addition to the blackface make-

up used for the portrayal of African Americans, “yellowface” was necessary when

depicting Asians. In 1922 Lon Cheney starred in a melodrama called Shadows playing

the character of Yen Sin, a laundry man of Asian origin who comes to a small fishing

village, Urkey. In the film he wore traditional clothes, was polite to everyone and

though being quite tall, he played a character broken by hard work, which,

consequently, made him look funny and subservient. Such characters were called

“coolies”.9 Kashiwabara characterises the “coolie” as economically inferior, who

worked as a cook, laundryman or cleaner, spoke with an accent, was polite but

untrustworthy, and was small. They were easily recognizable due to their plaits and

traditional clothes (braided jackets with buttons, hats, shoes). Although coolies could

really have been seen in streets, slowly they were disappearing (Kashiwabara). The

image of the Japanese and Chinese painted in the American media did not depend on

the actual behaviour and characteristics of Asian immigrants; it was based more on

political factors and the needs of the majority of the American population to preserve

their identities and the identity of their country.

There were only a few films in the first five decades of the twentieth century

with Asian actors in the lead roles. Exceptions included stars like Sessue Hayakawa and

Anna May Wong. The majority of leads were given to White actors, especially when the

character was likeable, like in the above-mentioned Broken Blossoms. This film,

directed by D. W. Griffith, was one of the first films to be successful that depicted an

Asian-White romance. Kashiwabara gives the following account of the film: The

9 Coolie referred not only to Chinese workers but also to Japanese, Indians and Koreans. Origin of the word is either Chinese kŭ lī (bitterly hard strength) or Hindu qūlī (hired labourer). The term was originally neutral but in time gained depredatory connotation. Similar terms exist also in Urdu and Tamil. Therefore, different dictionaries determine different origin.

- 23 -

Chinese character called Cheng Huan (played by Richard Barthelmess), “Yellow Man”

but also referred to as the Chink, falls in love with a White girl (played by Lillian Gish).

The Chink is a coolie with the typical slippers, cap and jacket with buttons. He becomes

more of a servant to Gish’s character than a lover. There is a prototype of the

effeminate, eunuch-like Asian male, his feminine qualities exemplified by his kindness

and gentleness. Although he has female-like qualities, he cannot suppress his masculine

lust, a dangerous attribute. Though the masculinity is there, Cheng does not act

according to it. The audience needs to feel comfortable and therefore he stays in the

position of a servant rather than that of a lover (Kashiwabara).

Three personalities who began their careers in the Silent era really stand out.

They were Sessue Hayakawa, Anna Mae Wong, and Oscar Devereaux Micheaux.

Against all odds they crossed the threshold into the realm of sound film and succeeded

in their own ways.

Sessue Hayakawa (1889 - 1973)

One major exception to the habit of using White actors to portray non-Whites

was in the case of Sessue Hayakawa (1889 - 1973). Eventually he became the first

Asian male, Hollywood film star (Miyao 70). Three films pushed him in the rise to

stardom: The Wrath of the Gods (1914), The Typhoon (1914)10 and The Cheat (1915).11

Both The Typhoon and The Cheat have one thing in common, i.e. relationships between

Whites and other races never have a happy-ending but always end in tragedy (Wilson II

and Gutiérrez 74). Worell alludes to the fact that The Cheat was a blockbuster and

Hayakawa became a romantic idol in the late 1910s and early 1920s. However, the film

presented an extremely negative image of the Japanese and so it was logical that the

Japanese community protested and even tried to ban its release. Also interracial

romantic leads were not accepted and Jack Holt was Hayakawa’s politically correct

rival in love in many films (Worrell “Sessue Hayakawa”).

In 1918 Hayakawa founded Haworth Pictures Corporation, which produced

popular films with Asian themes reflecting the American dream of interracial tolerance.

10 The Typhoon takes place in Paris. Hayakawa plays a young Japanese diplomat falling in love with a French actress. However, through the course of arguments, she uses insults of a racial nature, e.g. “you whining yellow rat” (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 74), finally provoking him to murder her. 11 In The Cheat a dishonest and corrupt Asian called Tori (played by Hayakawa) lends a certain amount of money to Mrs. Hardy, who unwisely invested some charity money on Wall Street. Tori is unwilling to accept the money back but instead asks for sexual favours and marks her on her shoulder .

- 24 -

Although his films “were successful in avoiding offensive racial stereotyping, they were

not commercially successful” (Miyao 86). In 1922 he returned to Japan and then moved

to France, where he starred in La Bataille [The Danger Line] (1923) dealing with

another interracial marriage. He returned to Hollywood to make his debut in talking

films, his first being The Daughter of the Dragon (1931) with Anna May Wong. But, in

the role of a Scotland Yard detective, his heavy accent was revealed (Worrell “Sessue

Hayakawa”).

In 1949 he co-starred with Humphrey Bogart in Tokyo Joe (1949). Before

retiring he played the character of Colonel Saito, the Japanese commander of a prison

camp in Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). He was nominated for an Oscar, his first and

last Academy Award nomination (Awards Database).

Anna May Wong (1905 – 1961)

Anna May Wong was the first Chinese-American actress to become a star.

Though she was the only Chinese-American featured actress, she only played dancers or

decorative vamps in many film adventures. Consequently, in 1928 she left America for

Europe because she was frustrated by the prevalent attitudes of the times and the high

competition for a small number of Oriental roles (Worrell “Anna May Wong”). Upon

leaving Hollywood, she commented that she had left cinema because her characters died

too often (Hsu). She worked in Britain, Germany and France both in films and on stage

(Worrell “Anna May Wong”).

Wong made more than 80 films and performed in many typical Asian roles. She

accepted the roles she was offered by studios and that choice was limited. She retired in

1943 but reappeared on screen in the film noir Impact (1949). Her last role was as a

housekeeper in Portrait in Black (1960). The public has begun to be interested in Anna

May’s life and work only in the last few years.12

Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (1884 – 1951)

Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was a self-educated, racially conscious African

American, who did not make mainstream films: his focus was on the “Black world”.

Formerly having been a writer, in 1918 he founded a production company, Micheaux

12 In 2003 Anthony Chan published Perpetually Cool: The Many Lives of Anna May Wong (Roman & Littlefield, 2003) and Graham Hodges wrote her second biography Anna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004) (Svetivilas).

- 25 -

Film and Book Company from the sales profits of his books. His aim was to free the

African-American man from the grip of prejudice and his first feature film, based on

one of his novels, was The Homesteader (1918).

Micheaux produced more than 40 independent motion pictures. Hába adds that

Micheax employed professional actors from theatres, usually after having seen their

performances, and tried to adjust them to the image of White stars. He would even be

criticised for preferring actors of a “lighter shade” and for trying to turn everything

Black into something that would be as “white as white America was”. Nevertheless, he

wanted to create an African-American variety of Hollywood films and repeatedly

stressed the necessity to remove African Americans from the “cultural and political

ghetto” (“Černý Hollywood 3” 98).

Thirty-five years after his death, he was granted a membership in the Director’s

Guild of America. Additionally, each year the National Black Programming Consortium

gives out the Oscar Micheaux Award to a professional or entertainer whose films and

work depict people of colour and their culture the world around in non-stereotypical

ways (“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).

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Chapter 4

FROM 1927 UNTIL WORLD WAR II

The year 1927 ushered in a new era in the film industry. Sound films, so-called

“talkies”, entered the entertainment industry giving life to the silent scenes in films with

the voices of actors. Between 1930 and 1945 the social situation was changing and the

way in which non-Whites were portrayed had to be adjusted to a new world vision

(Wilson II and Gutiérrez 75). Nevertheless, this did not mean that new stereotypes were

any more accurate or more precisely reflected social relationships, they had simply been

transformed into more credible forms. Also the use of blackface makeup by African-

American actors was still in practice. Exaggerated Black characters from old minstrel

shows also continued to be used in entertainment.

Jazz Singer and Topsy and Eva, both produced in 1927, utilised White actors

portraying Blacks. In films with sound, actors had to be even more convincing than

before while performing their roles. One means to achieve this was by acting with

stereotypically foolish manners. The Black dialect and musical talents were required of

both Black and White actors. In order to make the entertainment more believable, White

actors in blackface were slowly being substituted by more “suitable” African-Americans

(“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”). The desperate Blacks full of hatred and

wrath from the beginning of the twentieth century developed into less dangerous and

threatening characters, they had learned their place in society and were expected to

entertain “within the context of social limitations” (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 76). As an

example, they were allowed to play roles in musicals where they could show their

“rhythmic” talents for singing or dancing (“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).

In 1927 Uncle Tom’s Cabin was produced again, this time by Universal Pictures

and in accordance with demands for more realistic portrayals: the main part this time

was performed by a Black actor, James B. Lowe. Black characters were also put into a

different social position. The African-American was transformed into a respectable

servant, which was a chance to show variety among Blacks, to portray African

Americans as people of more than just one type. As characters on screen, African

Americans were inferior to Whites; they played the parts of maids, mammies,

domestics, and sidekicks. A Black mammy is a popular comic figure. Marlon Riggs

describes her as practical, with a maternal heart, reliable, independent in her thinking,

- 27 -

docile and, of course, very corpulent. Compared to other archetypes, she was generally

more acceptable by the White society. She understood her place in the system and

always faithfully served her masters. Her corpulent figure had a good reason: she had to

be large so as not to be attractive to the master and thereby threaten the integrity of the

system. She treated White children with love and affection, but amongst her own peers

she was a manipulator (“Ethnic Notions”).

On the other hand, stereotypical Native American portrayals were not changing

much. Wilson II and Gutiérrez remind that their position in American culture had

always been unique and they were generally perceived as a stark reminder of the past.

Hollywood viewed the Native Americans as a living memorial of an immutable destiny,

but was typically unable to accurately present twentieth century Native American

cultures (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 75).

Only two memorable films dealing with Native Americans were produced in the

pre-World War II era. They were Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) and Northwest

Passage (1940). Both retained the Indians as villains and both of the films belong to the

Western genre, whose development in literary form and later in motion pictures

reflected the attitudes toward the frontier. Cawelti re-counts the development of the

Western genre (in literature) with the redefinition in the middle of the nineteenth

century, where to frontier setting “provided a fictional justification for enjoying violent

conflicts and the expression of lawless force without feeling that they threatened the

values or the fabric of society” (22). This point of view was the one transferred to films.

The story takes place “at that point when savagery and lawlessness are in decline before

the advancing wave of law and order, but are still strong enough to pose a local and

momentarily significant challenge” (Cawelti 23). The centre of the Western formula

was:

The relatively brief stage in the social evolution of the West when outlaws or

Indians posed a threat to the community’s stability has been erected into a timeless epic

moment when heroic individual defenders of law and order stand poised against the

threat of lawlessness or savagery. But it is also the nature of this epic moment that the

larger forces of civilized society are just waiting in the wings for their clue. However

threatening he may appear at the moment, the Indian is vanishing and the outlaw about to

be superseded” (Cawelti 23).

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There was absolutely no difference made in the films to show the distinctive

features of Native cultures. Wilson II and Gutiérrez state that for film audiences, there

was only one concept of a real “Indian”: they wore feathers in their hair, beads on their

clothes, used ponies and spoke with a strange English accent. Native Americans had

only one role in films: to be defeated by the U.S. Army or some other appropriate “good

guys”. There was no change in the portrayals of Native Americans until World War II.

The concept merely had become an American cliché (75-76).

In the 1930s and 40s more and more African-Americans were searching for

work in the film industry. Black actors received only minor roles in comedies and music

films. Those who were successful were usually connected purely to one of the

stereotypes.1 Hollywood considered the idea of creating a positive African-American

image dangerous and returned to clichés from literature. Gone With the Wind (1939) is

one of the films recalling the old days with happy, faithful and lazy slaves. It is

significant because Hattie McDaniel was awarded an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress,

the first Oscar ever to be given to an African-American (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 76).

Though many considered it simply a symbolic gesture and in spite of the fact that her

speech had been written for her, a step in the right direction had been made.

However, blackface was still fashionable and white actors in such makeup could

earn money, e. g. Fred Astaire in Swing Time (1936), Judy Garland in Everybody Sing

(1938) and Mickey Rooney in Babes in Arms (1939).

Race movies

At this time race movies were being made alongside Hollywood Films.

“African-Americans in Motion Pictures” characterises race movies as low-budget films

with all Black cast aimed at Black audiences. These were shown in segregated movie-

houses in the South and in cities in the North where there were large African-American

communities. Race movies showed more aspects of lives of the African-Americans.

1 Some examples of these successful actors follow (“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”): • Stepin Fetchit became a lazy and slow-talking plantation Negro in a series of films. He represented

the submissive and servile comic figure in e.g. Carolina (1934) and Judge Priest (1934). • Bill (Bojangles) Robinson was a tap dancer. He appeared in The Littlest Rebel (1935), Rebecca of

Sunnybrook Farm (1938) and One Mile from Heaven (1937). • Nina Mae McKinney reached stardom thanks to the film Hallelujah (1929). Many Black stereotypes

were shown in song, dance, frivolity, blues and spirituals. She was African-American of light skin and set the standard for major roles featuring Black actresses.

• Paul Robeson was a strong, characteristic Black male. Between 1936 and 1939 he made most of his films in England.

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There were more themes than just music and dance. Titles such as Two Gun Men from

Harlem (1938), Harlem on the Prairie (1938) and Harlem Rides the Range (1939)

reflect the white Hollywood films, only the stars were different. Fashionable were also

sports biographies with real sportsmen in the title roles, who were praised and loved by

the public for their achievements in the sports but the strict conventions of segregation

were still in place, even for them (“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).2

In 1924 the Anti-Japanese Immigration Act was passed and the presence of

Asians in Hollywood films was rare. This situation changed with the outset of World

War II. Nevertheless, Hollywood filmmakers hardly ever made any distinction between

Asian-Americans and Asians. It is obvious that the portrayal of Asians influenced the

attitudes of American society towards Asian-Americans. The truth is that not only

American filmmakers but also a majority of critics failed to differentiate between

Asians and their kin on the American continent. The question whether the

indifferentiation was not just a result of the fact that films did not differ has been often

asked but not satisfactorily answered. Soon there appeared two characters that

represented Asians in Hollywood films, Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan.

Dr. Fu Manchu

The character of Dr. Fu Manchu was created to satiate the curiosities about the

strange people from the “Far East.” Asians were considered to be complicated by white

Americans and the role was played by White actors stressing the unattractiveness of

Asian men. Fu has long nails and uses eyeliner, even his costumes reinforce and

exaggerate the stereotype of Asian male femininity (Nepstad). As such, Fu Manchu

might have been viewed as displaying rather homosexual tendencies (Nepstad). The

creator was Sax Rohmer3, who also produced Sir Denis Nayland-Smith, an Orientalist

scholar employed by Scotland Yard, as Fu Manchu’s opponent. Nayland-Smith

describes Fu Manchu to Dr. Petrie in the first novel:

“Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like

Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long, magnetic eyes of the true

2 According to “African-Americans in Motion Pictures” some of the sportsmen were: Henry Armstong (Champion Fighter), Kenny Washington (all-American Football Star, UCLA) and Joe Lewis (Future World Heavyweight Champion). 3 Sax Rohmer was a pen name of Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward.

- 30 -

cat-green. Invest him with all the cruel cunning of an entire Eastern race, accumulated in

one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present, with all the resources,

if you will, of a wealthy government which, however, already has denied all knowledge of

his existence. Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu-Manchu,

the yellow peril incarnate in one man” (Nepstad).

Although there were Asian actors in silent films, talkies revealed their strong

accents, accents sometimes so heavy that it made the speech barely understandable.

The use of yellowface was possibly rooted in the old minstrel shows and the fear

of the Yellow Peril. The audiences needed to be assured that what was happening on the

silver screen was not real and this need was met by using a White cast. So, by having a

White actor in yellowface, filmgoers would feel safer knowing that the film was not

real, only White fantasies. The point is that Fu Manchu is not a Chinese character, he

represents the Yellow Peril itself, the personified fear of the Western countries, the

diabolical and threatening foreigner (Nepstad).4

Charlie Chan

The 1930s introduced the image of Charlie Chan, probably the most popular

Asian character Hollywood has ever produced. He was depicted as a model Asian and

therefore the representative of Chinese Americans. During nearly sixty years no Asian

actor ever played in the role.

This Chinese detective, coincidentally speaking perfect English, wears a suit and

lives in Hawaii with his Americanised offspring (Kashiwabara). There was no effort to

make him at least a Chinese-American because he could be acceptable thanks to his

English and refined behaviour (Kashiwabara). Films with Charlie Chan were full of

stereotypical pretensions and artificiality. Chan seemed to be the most intellectual

character in the series. Still many “Oriental” features were easily identifiable for the

American audience, e.g. the use of mysterious techniques to solve crimes that remain

ever the more mysterious until the critical moment at the end when his logical thought

processes are revealed (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 82). He was portrayed as asexual and in

none of his films does he show an interest in women nor is there ever the mention of

4 All together, nine films featuring Dr. Fu Manchu were made. In the 1950s a series called The Drums of Fu Manchu were produced and in the 1980s Peter Sellers starred in the comedy The Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu (1980).

- 31 -

being a romantic lead. The devilish Asian is recalled in his slow pace, lethargic manner

and speech, which suggested he might be an opium-user (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 83).

With the coming of sound came the necessity for Latino actors and actresses to

speak English clearly. The result was that many of them could not play serious and lead

roles due to their heavy accents. In the following decades, Latino actors were advised to

change their last names to make them sound more English and to hide their true identity

(Bluemich and Cedeño). At the same time the United States needed Latin America for

political reasons. Latin American countries were potential allies in World War II and the

United States could not risk offending them.

During the Second World War the Latin countries represented a large part of

Hollywood’s foreign market. Under such circumstances Latino actresses had free access

to Hollywood, including Carmen Miranda, and a majority of supporting roles were

played by Latino actresses. This and the alliance between United States and Latin

America led to establishing an exceedingly positive image of Latinos. This is evident in

films like The Fugitive (1947) and Way of the Gaucho (1952).

Due to the political and economic situation there was pressure to change the

previously typical portrayals of Latinos. Hollywood responded by producing more

likeable heroes. Between 1930 and 1945, in comparison with other minorities, the

Latino stereotypes changed the most. Nevertheless, certain prejudices prevailed.

The most common stereotype for Hispanic women was either a “virginal

señorita” or a “Latin virago”, both exotic and serving for entertainment and sexual

pleasure (Bluemich and Cedeño). For American audiences these images were easily

recognisable, but for Latino actresses there was no possibility to avoid these

stereotypical roles. They were showing off their bodies and ethnicity to fulfil the

audiences’ expectations. An image of the Latin cultural was imposed by these

stereotypes.

These typical roles were played by many Latino stars. Lupe Velez represented

the hot female or Mexican wild cat. Typically, there had to be a reason for the hero of a

film to reject the Latino girl and leave her for a white woman. Therefore, the Latina

actresses were presented as promiscuous and criminal or silly and comical (Bluemich

and Cedeño). Carmen Miranda became one of the most famous clowns. During the

1940s she was known as “the lady in the tutti-frutti hat”, her costumes and hats mocking

the traditional costumes of Latin America (Bluemich and Cedeño).

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The dark lady was a stereotype revealing the exotic, oversexed and comical

characterisations. Female Latino lovers were supposed to be virginal, aristocratic and, at

the same time, inscrutable. For these reasons they were appealing. Rita Moreno, actress,

singer and dancer, is one of the most famous Latinos. When Luis Reyes and Peter

Rubies published their book Hispanics in Hollywood, Rita Moreno was quoted there as

saying, “We played the roles we were given, no matter how demanding they might have

been” (Isais).

The exploitation of the so-called “mysterious orient” was highly profitable. Most

successful films were The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933), Oil for the Lamps of China

(1935) and The General Died at Dawn (1936). Chinese people were presented to the

American audience as prone to violence, anarchy, corruption, vice and prostitution.

Compared to others, the central Chinese characters were portrayed in a more complex

and detailed way. According to Kashiwabara these films did not try to explain why

there were wars in China or what the role of imperialism was. The situation of the male

lead presented in The Bitter Tea of General Yen resembles the one of Chink in Broken

Blossoms (1919). Both General Yen and Chink love white women and in the end

commit suicide. They pay the highest price for their interracial love. Of course, Yen is a

strong, powerful leader and therefore appears to be quite the opposite of Chink, but that

is just on the surface. The result of such films was the idea that Asians do not value

human life (Kashiwabara).

Probably the only countervailing or compensating view was presented in the

Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Good Earth written by Pearl Buck and published in

1937. The film version came out seven years later in 1938. Though it still sensitively

described Chinese people as poor, hardworking and loving family people, it carried a

strong anti-communist message (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 82). Films made during the

late 1930s usually had an anti-communist flavour.

The approach of the Second World War escalated the negative attitude towards

the Japanese. The Chinese peasant was preferred by the American audience who had

been influenced by Pearl’s novel The Good Earth and the film. The Japanese fate was

sealed when Japan followed through on its imperialistic threats against China and years

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later attacked Pearl Harbor (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 83-84). Japanese Americans were

subsequently transported to internment camps.5

Amy Kashiwabara also reminds that the coolie stereotype did not disappear

since the invention of sound film. During the 1920s a different version of a coolie was

being presented. Asian men became servants for White men. The early form of this

stereotype can be seen in Son of Kong (1933), The Painted Veil (1934) and San

Francisco (1939). Son of Kong in which Victor Wong took the role of a servant in

coolie clothes who steals weapons from the enemy and rows the boat. When his White

master wants to praise him, he says, “Good boy, Charlie”. The Painted Veil contrasted

China, shown as a place full of disease, wars, unscrupulousness and ignorance, and the

civilised world of the West. In the film Greta Garbo moves to China to follow her

husband, who is a doctor, and is given two servants, a boy and a girl, who call her

“Missee”. San Francisco is full of stereotypes of all kinds. It shows White ethnics that

had assimilated, e.g. the Irish and the Italian, and the typical African-Americans provide

entertainment. Asians are represented by the manservant of Gable. He dresses in the

coolie fashion, functions as a maid and a cook being also the only stereotypical

character that does not wear Western clothes. The character has only very short lines,

the longest one being “How about going upstairs for some chop suey?” As seen in the

example from San Francisco, dialogues were not important; what mattered more was

physical representation (Kashiwabara).

The advent of the 1930s proffered in a change in the stereotype of the Asian

manservant by starting to dress him in a more Western style. This domestic servant was

known as Charlie. The second wave of Japanese immigrants, mainly young men

dedicated to self-education, provided housekeeping services. In Across the Pacific

(1942) Humphrey Bogart admits that “the Japanese make great servants”

(Kashiwabara).

In a majority of films the Charlie character does not attract much attention. He

usually brings coat or a hat and occasionally answers the phone. By wearing Western

5 In the early 1940s there were more than 100,000 people of Japanese descent living in the United States of America. They were either “Issei”, who were born in Japan, or “Nisei”, those born in America. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, “White America” viewed every single Japanese person as a potential spy. All of them were treated badly, there were no distinctions made. In March 1942 soldiers were sent by the government to intern them in prison camps, which were known as “relocation camps”. These were in remote areas, usually in deserts. More then 100,000 Japanese-American men, women and children were held there for the rest of the war despite the fact that at the same time many Nisei fought in the American army. None of the Japanese Americans were convicted of the act of disloyalty against the United States (O’Callaghan 104).

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clothes the Asians had become nearly invisible. The coolie, compared to the Charlie,

was noticeable at least for his exotic clothes or comic features. The Charlie had been

assimilated, had lost his sexuality and no longer was a threat.

Joan Crawford took part in Torch Song (1953), a film rather infamous for her

performance in blackface. Her love interest has a houseboy, who is small, bald, wears a

white coat, quotes Confucius and says “I’m sorry” all the time. His master even tells

him not say that and his reaction is again “I’m sorry” (Kashiwabara). Another example

is Auntie Mame (1958) with Rosalind Russell and her servant Ito (played by Yuki

Shimoda). Auntie Mame is eccentric and likes exotic things. Ito speaks not only with an

accent, but in short sentences and with a high-pitched voice.

During this period there were certain changes concerning the old stereotypes, but

still the prejudices did not disappear. New characters, e.g. Charlie Chan, emerged.

Moreover the trend of transferring certain stereotypes from literature to the screen

introduced Fu-Manchu to Western audiences. It is possible to trace this tendency back

to minstrel shows, as was the case of Uncle Tom after the publication of Harriet

Beacher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Nevertheless, the development did not stop there.

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Chapter 5

TRANSITION PERIOD (1946 – 1965)

America was most probably the only nation in the world that was in a better

position after World War II. The country had not been bombarded and wartime factories

had paid good wages.1 However, between 1946 and 1962 the domestic box-office

receipts in the USA had fallen by $800 million (Mast 275). According to Mast the box-

office income was falling but the costs of film production were rising due to new

equipment, unionised labour and the high price of materials. To emerge from this period

it was necessary to commercially redefine not only the product but also the audience

(275).2

Films about and including people of colour continued to be released but

stereotypes were changing to reflect current political viewpoints, racial attitudes and the

moods of the White audiences. However, the entertainment focused on TV shows and

thus it was necessary to come up with fresh new ideas, otherwise the film industry

would not survive.

During the Second World War educational films were needed to teach soldiers

how to fight, to explain why it was necessary to fight and to inform and encourage

them. It was necessary to have there “an American fighting platoon composed of one

Italian from Hackensack, one WASP3 mainliner from Philadelphia, one Jew from

Brooklyn, one farm boy from Kansas, one Irish-Catholic from Boston and one Pole

from Chicago – a mythical cross-section of America” (Mast 276). Only in 1949 in

Battleground did an African-American soldier join in (Mast 276).

1 According to O’Callaghan in 1960 fifty-five percent of all American households had washing machines, seventy-five percent owned cars and ninety percent had refrigerators (108). 2 Mast says that there were forces that could have destroyed the old Hollywood. First, motion pictures had previously been distributed in blocks, meaning that individual exhibitors had to book a block of films from the big studios. Even before the Second World War, some courts had ruled that this practice presented a restraint on open trade. During the 1920s and 1930s there had been legal pressure to reduce the number of films in individual blocks. The biggest Hollywood production companies could thus control their profits and it was clear that eventually the link binding cinemas and studios would be cut. Second, just after the War a demographic shift started in America and thus there were more pastimes than just cinema. By the end of the 1940s cinema attendance was declining. Moreover, the motion picture was being replaced by another form of mass media, television (by 1952 there were 10 million television sets). The studio structure with “the dictatorial head of production, and the quantitative demands of yearly output” collapsed and more independent productions came to the scene (275). 3 Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionaryof the English Language defines WASP as “a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (as considered by minority groups to be a dominant type in American society that maintains an inflexibly clannish solidarity)” (1611).

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The era after the War introduced social problems to films. Border Incident

(1949) and The Lawless (1950) addressed the issue of illegal Mexican workers, while A

Medal for Benny (1945) and Trial (1955) studied the social prejudice against Mexicans.

The same problem was depicted in 12 Angry Men (1957). The film focuses on a jury

deciding on a case of a 12-year-old Latino accused of stabbing his father to death. A

verdict of guilty would automatically mean the death penalty. Nevertheless, eleven of

the jurors immediately vote guilty. There is one exception, juror no. 8, Mr. Davies

(played by Henry Fonda), who has his doubts. The following quote illustrates the irony

of the prejudice (“Memorable Quotes from 12 Angry Men”):

Juror #10: Bright? He’s common ignorant slob. He don’t even speak good English.

Juror #11: Doesn’t even speak good English.

During the 1960s and 1970s a majority of the old stereotypes were dying out.

Regardless, an element of the masculine propensity for violence was still being

emphasized, especially in the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone and classical

Westerns of Sam Peckenpah, films also responsible for reviving the stereotype of the

Mexican bandit. The Magnificent Seven (1960), an American version of Akira

Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai (1954), has Mexican desperados and also one of the

heroes is of Mexican origin, Chico. He and one of the local boys learn to appreciate the

life of farmers and are told that the real heroes are their fathers, not the hired gunmen.

An interesting fact is that the Mexican villagers wear purely white clothes that never

seem to get dirty while their saviours are covered in dust and sweat nearly all the time.

In “African-Americans in Motion Pictures” it is stated that in 1949 White and

Black actors were brought together as films began to deal with racial conflicts and their

resolution. African Americans benefited from the shift of attitudes after the War. Under

the prodding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, other

civil right groups and the Truman administration, Hollywood began to produce motion

pictures depicting the foolishness and unfairness of racial discrimination (“African-

Americans in Motion Pictures”). The catalyst came from the War where the Black

military men fought for American freedom and experienced an absence of prejudice for

the first time while fighting in Europe. The prejudice was denounced in Pinky, Lost

Boundaries and Home of the Brave (1949), No Way Out (1950), Blackboard Jungle

(1955) and The Defiant Ones (1958) (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 87). The latter is Stanley

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Kramer’s study of race relations depicting an African American (played by Sidney

Poitier) and a white man (played by Tony Curtis) escaping from a prison in the South

while being chained together, therefore being forced to cooperate (Mast 290). The idea

of racial tolerance would dominate many films that Kramer directed or produced, e.g.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) and Home of the Brave (1949), where he cast a

Black soldier in lieu of a Jewish one in Arthur Laurent’s play (Mast 290). It is the story

of a man who has a nervous breakdown after a life filled with racial hatred. However, in

the end the Black hero accepts help from a White soldier saying that thought people

look different, inside they are all same.

Two other films made in 1949 that dealt with the controversial issue of colour

and race were Pinky and Lost Boundaries. They were groundbreaking films dealing

with the issue of light skinned African Americans “passing for white” (“African-

Americans in Motion Pictures”). The focus was on the implications of a Black person

crossing the line, working and socializing with a White majority.

Gerald Mast underlines the importance of Sirk’s Imitation of Life (1959). This

film, based on a novel by Fanny Hurst, was a remake of John Stahl’s 1934 motion

picture depicting a relationship between two women. Lora (played by Lana Turner), a

White unemployed actress, becomes a famous star after meeting Annie (played by

Juanita Moore). However, there was one major change made by Sirk and Hunter: In the

novel, the success of the White woman was based on the Black woman’s special recipe

for pancake flour, while in the 1959 film there was no such connection. Moreover, there

seems to be no reason for Annie assuming the place of a servant: the women are socially

and financially equal, but Annie takes care of the household and receives only

accommodation and boarding in return. Nevertheless, both women consider the

situation natural and also their daughters find themselves in a position similar to their

mothers’. Annie’s Sarah-Jane appears as white as anyone else but still suffers social

exclusion. She attempts to escape her African American heritage by trying to pass as a

White person by having affairs with White men and working as a showgirl in a White

club. Such a serious social subject was successfully dealt with in films between 1949

and 1959 without risking right-wing protests (310-311).

Even during this period there were still White actors used to playing Native

Americans. The 1950s star Chandler, born in New York in a Jewish family, received the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Cochise in Broken

Arrow (1950). Nevertheless, after this success Chandler was afraid of being typecast

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only as a Native American. However, due to his prematurely grey hair he was offered

roles emphasising his sex-appeal. This illustrated how looks mattered in Hollywood,

even nowadays a Native American on screen should have long black hair and dark skin.

At that time Native Americans were used as a metaphor by those who wanted to

make political or philosophical statements or address other issues (Wilson II and

Gutiérrez 86). For example, the film The Arrowhead (1953) was considered by critics to

be an ultra-right-wing allegory of the McCarthy era (Bains). John Ford, on the other

hand, investigated the clash between inflexible institutions guarding the peace and

individuals willing to fight for it, between the values of civilization and the

establishment and protection needed to sustain it. His The Searchers (1956) is a story of

Ethan Edwards (played by John Wayne) and his sidekick (played by Martin Pawley),

one-eight Cherokee. Ethan searches for his niece Debbie, kidnapped by Comanches

after having slaughtered her family, because he wants to save her before she is “sexually

contaminated”, killing her if necessary (Mast 309). For him being a White squaw is

worse than being dead. Mast considers it ironic that Ethan resembles more the

Comanche than the White people he defends since his life is nomadic and he knows

their habits and customs. Moreover, he is able to think the same way they do. Ford was

also aware of the fact that if one wanted to win a foreign war, it had to be done

according to the rules of your enemies, not of your own people. Although from today’s

point of view Ford’s films look racist, unlike many of his contemporaries, he admitted

and depicted many racial problems of America with Asians, Native Americans or

African Americans (309).

In 1955 The Far Horizons arrived in cinemas and with it re-appeared the concept

of the Indian princess. It described Lewis and Clark’s expedition guided by the Indian

princess Sacagawea (played by Donna Reed). One year after The Far Horizons the

Kiowa tribe and racial intolerance were in the spotlight of John Huston’s The

Unforgiven (1960). The Kiowas claim that a local farm girl (played by Audrey

Hepburn) is from their tribe and had been stolen in a raid. When her mother reveals the

truth, the White people start to reject not only the girl but also her family. However,

Hepburn’s character makes her choice when she kills her biological Kiowa brother.

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During the 1960s fasting and abstinence for equality was a growing practice

among African Americans.4 O’Callaghan mentions that were starting to show their

pride in their ancestry. African names, long robes and bushy hairstyles became

fashionable. Some of these fashions were adopted by the White majority. The slogan

“Black is beautiful” appeared. Moreover, there were schools set up to educate African

American children about the history and customs of their ancestors (115).

Interracial romance and marriage made up the central plot of One Potato, Two

Potato (1964), starring Bernie Hamilton and Barbara Barrie. At the Cannes Film

Festival, Barbara Barrie won the Golden Palm for Best Actress for the film. In the same

year Hollywood produced Black Like Me, which was based on a book written by John

Howard Griffin in 1961 chronicling his personal experience of passing as a Black

person. Howard had his skin darkened and travelled to the South where he met an

African American shoeshine man that taught him how to behave in order to fit into the

African American culture. Griffin was shocked by the prejudice he encountered in

different forms, for example when a White man sitting next to him on a bench asked

him to sit somewhere else (Griffin 46). The world of Jazz musicians entered the film

world when Louis Armstrong, Ossie Davis and Cicely Tyson appeared together on

screen in A Man Called Adam (1966).

Sidney Poitier

In the 1960s a sophisticated Black hero appeared on screen, an intelligent, cool

Black American portrayed by Sidney Poitier in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and In

the Heat of the Night (1967). He embodied a man who kept his anger in check in spite

of the prejudice and intolerance exhibited by Whites of “lesser greatness” (Wilson II

and Gutiérrez 87). He made a positive portrayal of a Black protagonist as his educated,

intelligent, conservatively dressed African-Americans with good English did not act

impulsively, and thus did not present any threat to the system. About his humble

beginnings he has commented that when he came to Hollywood in 1949 “no root has

been established to go” (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 87). He later recalled the stereotypes 4 There were civil rights leaders who fought for integration, such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On the other hand there were those who stressed separation and a return to African roots. Some, e.g. Paul Cuffe and Martin Delaney, even suggested returning to Africa. The Black Muslims emphasized racial separatism, especially Malcolm X, born as Malcolm Little. He attacked Rev. King calling him an “Uncle Tom” and a “chump”. Under X’s influence some African Americans challenged the non-violent movements. He was known for statements such as “If ballots won’t work, bullets will” (“Black Nationalism and Black Power”).

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he encountered: “Almost all the job opportunities were reflective of the stereotypical

perception of blacks that had infected the whole consciousness of the country”, he said.

“I came with an inability to do those things. It just wasn’t in me. I had chosen to use my

work as a reflection of my values” (Thomas).

By the 1960s the number of films with Latino themes had fallen strikingly.

Before the Second World War, Latin American countries represented a large part of the

Hollywood’s total foreign market; therefore, the relationship between the American

filmmakers and Latinos was based on economic criteria. During the War, American

films could not be distributed to Europe and Latin America formed 20 % of the foreign

market (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 90). That brought joint projects, films that were made

in Latin American countries but written and financed by Hollywood. Latino actors

played in most of the supporting roles and the cooperation resulted in an exceedingly

positive image of Latino characters visible in films like The Fugitive (1947) and Way of

the Gaucho (1952). In 1954 Salt of the Earth established a new precedent - all major

parts were played by Latino or Latin American actors (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 90).

Nevertheless, during the 1950s Latin American countries were developing their own

film industries and by the 1960s they no longer represented a prosperous market for

Hollywood (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 90). The North American film industry returned to

the older stereotypes and the role of a “greaser” was reintroduced. In 1961 two films

were made that excluded Puerto Ricans from the greaser treatment, West Side Story and

The Young Savages. On the other hand, both stressed gang violence in urban American.

West Side Story employed the basic storyline of Romeo and Juliet, however, the conflict

of two families was substituted with racial and social problems. Moreover, the “María”

stereotype was established. Latinas were often identified as “a girl called María”5, not

only in the United States, e.g. Cofer recalls: “But María had followed me to London,

reminding me of a prime fact of my life: you can leave the Island, master the English

language, and travel as far as you can, but if you are a Latina, especially one like me

who so obviously belongs to Rita Moreno’s gene pool, the Island travels with you”

(203). Ironically María was played by Natalie Wood, who was of Russian origin. The

cast included only one Latina, Rita Moreno. Her lover, Bernardo, was also played by an

actor with European ancestry, George Charikis.

5 “María” was one of the songs used in the musical.

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With World War II Japan had become an enemy. The Japanese were demonised

and persecuted; later on they were placed in relocation camps (see p.33). Life magazine

even published articles describing the differences between Chinese and Japanese

populations to help people decide whom to hate, e.g. “The Chinese have parchment-

yellow complexion….while Japanese have an earthly yellow complexion” (Nepstad).

The Yellow Peril myth had many components, one of which was dehumanisation. The

Asians seemed resistant to pain and cruel torture, “the same was said of the Mongol

hoards, the same too of San Francisco Chinamen, one of whom a doctor studied and

concluded that ‘their nerve endings are farther inside their skin than ours...and so more

resistant to pain’ ” (Nepstad). War films produced immediately after the Second World

War continued with the negative portrayal of the Japanese, e.g. Tokyo Joe (1949) and

Three Came Home (1950) which exhibited their cruelty and torture techniques. The

only exception was Go for Broke (1951) following the story of Japanese American

military units fighting in Europe. “Go For Broke!” was a combat slogan of the 442nd

Regiment in World War II (Inouye). The military unit was unusual because its members

were Nissei (see p.33), who had to fight not only Nazis but also the prejudice of White

Americans who were not willing to accept “Japs”, even when on the same side

(Asians/Asian Americans). Nevertheless, the discipline of the regiment was one of the

major factors in the liberation of France and Italy. The drama was based on Senator

Daniel K. Inouye’s experiences during World War II as described is his book Journey to

Washington. The situation was probably a reaction to the placement of Japanese

Americans into relocation camps. Soon there came a complete change of attitude

towards the Japanese and the Chinese brought about by McCarthyism.6

Nepstad recalls that the end of World War II and the defeat of Japan seemed to

bring an end to the idea of the Yellow Peril. Soon it was replaced by the threat of the

Red Menace. Though having been an ally in the War, Russia would become America’s

next enemy. Nevertheless, with China becoming communist in 1949 and soldiers of

Communist North Korea invading South Korea, the Yellow Peril was back and the

Korean War helped to keep the image alive (Nepstad).

6Joseph McCarthy was an ambitious republican senator from Wisconsin who used the fear of communism and started so called ‘witch hunts’, and accused many government officials, scientists or entertainers of working for the Soviet Union. He never gave any proof and ruined many lives. By the mid 1950s McCarthy had lost his power. He died in 1957 (O’Callaghan 109).

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China was the home of Yellow Peril but Japan, on the other hand, became by the

end of the 1950s an ally of the United States. During the 1950s, the Japanese were

depicted much more sensitively and Hollywood gave them better treatment for the first

time since the Immigration Act was passed in 1924. The portrayal was not as hard as

seen in The Bridge on the River Kwai and Battle of the Coral Sea (1959). Japanese-

White relationships and romances were the main topics in some films. They were

explored for example in Sayonara (1957) and My Geisha (1962). These romances did

not have a happy ending, but there was a difference between the films with Sessue

Hayakawa and those made in the 1950s because the new relationships were not seen as

a violation of the laws of nature (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 92). In The Bounty (1984) and

Come See the Paradise (1990) there was a signal that Asian women like White men

because of their whiteness (MANAA). Therefore to be white meant to be more

attractive.

When China became “Red China” or “Communist China”, the stereotypes

returned to those from the 1930s, e.g. to the old Chinese warlords (Nepstad). In Satan

Never Sleeps (1962) the communist regime in China was shown as exploiting and

oppressive, and The Manchurian Candidate (1962) presented this country as a danger to

the American system (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 93). The negative image was imposed in

other two films released in that year, 55 Days to Peking (1963) and The Sand Pebbles

(1966). Both were set at the beginning of the twentieth century and stressed that drug

addiction, prostitution, treachery and brutality were a standard part of Chinese everyday

life (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 93). Even a fantasy character such as Dr. No (1962)

reinforces the image (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 93). Asian antagonists in comedies

received slightly different treatment. “Asian villains like South Pacific’s Bloody Mary

and Ichiro in The Geisha Boy (1958), for example, were more ludicrous than

threatening” (Jacobs 102).

Samuel Fuller was one of the few directors who dealt with the Korean War in

films like The Steel Helmet (1950), House of Bamboo (1955) or China Gate (1957). The

war was often called a “conflict” because the United States never declared formal war.

It was formally termed a “United Nations police action,” because “The UN role in the

Korean War merits … as an agency of collective security against aggression” (Stueck

368). The films were shocking and at the same time true, soldiers could not fight

without creating a racist line between Whites and Asians (Mast 301).

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Already in the silent films Hollywood started the trend of mixing Asian cultures

and their habits and traditions. This was visible from the 1950s till the 1970s when

Korean and Vietnamese women were called Mama-San despite the fact that this was

originally a Japanese term. An Asian woman was a combination of quietness, mystery

and sexuality; they were portrayed as exotic, sensual, mysterious and altogether too

sexual. The sexual attractiveness of the Asian female was presented in films such as

Sayonara (1957), The World of Suzy Wong (1960) and Flower Drum Song (1961).

These motion pictures created the “comfort women” stereotype.7 Each of the films

treats the stereotype differently: while in Sayonara men serving in Japan want to marry

Japanese women despite the obstacles, in The World of Suzy Wong the object of love is

a prostitute. This stereotype changed into “China dolls”, also called “geisha girls” or

“lotus blossoms”, eager to please, sexually obsessed and submissive. The most famous

of these characters is probably the lead in the opera Madame Butterfly, though it is not

the only one. John Huston’s The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958) is a story of

Townsend Harris (played by John Wayne), who was the first U.S. Consul-General in

Japan, where he encountered strong hostility towards foreigners and later fell in love

with a young geisha. Projects like Teahouse of the August Moon (1956) or Tai-pan

(1986) belong to the same category. Asian women were also depicted as “dragon ladies”

who are not trustworthy, conspiratory and would stab anyone in the back.8

A different view of the role of women in Asia was offered in The King and I

(1956), a film that takes place in Siam (modern Thailand) based on the story of Anna

Leonowens, a widow who came to work as the governess in the Court of Siam. It was a

successful Broadway musical starring Yul Brynner, who was also the lead in the film.

The fact is that both the film and the musical are fictionalised stories. Concerns about

this film were expressed by students and teachers of the Sriwittayapaknam School in

Thailand:

“Many people believed that they were watching a true story, not only regarding

the antics of the king but also the importance of Anna in the court. The film, starring Yul

7 The term was originally used for “young females of various ethnic and national backgrounds and social circumstances who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army before and during the Second World War” (Soh). 8 The term - dragon lady - has its origin in a female Asian villain from the classical comic strip “Terry and the Pirates.” The name of the stereotype was also used it the title of the book April Kane and the Dragon Lady, A “Terry and the Pirates” Adventure by Milton Caniff (Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Company, 1942).

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Brynner, so insulted the Thai people, that it was banned from being shown in Thailand

on grounds of historical and cultural distortions” (Sriwittayapaknam School).

Though it is surprising, even as late as 1961 there were two films made in

Hollywood using actors in yellowface. They were Breakfast at Tiffany’s and A Majority

of One, with Mickey Rooney and Alec Guinness respectively. The use of yellowface is

again about protecting the audiences’ sensibilities whereby they are offered an exotic

and thrilling character, but without it being so realistic that it would threaten their

ingrained prejudices. Asian-Americans have often been limited to small roles, with the

exception of martial arts films, and to function as comic relief. In Breakfast at Tiffany’s

(1961) there is a scene where a white male actor pretends to be Chinese by employing

stereotypes and exaggerating the strangeness and foreignness of the Asian culture. In

popular films Asians are commonly depicted as employees in Chinese restaurants

speaking with heavy accents or martial arts masters, which appears to stress their exotic

nature, utter strangeness and foreignness. The stereotypes left a deep imprint impossible

to erase easily.

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Chapter 6

HOLLYWOOD RENAISSANCE (1964-1976)

The movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. was at its strongest in the late

1960s with White Americans taking part in the protests as well. There were the so

called “Freedom Rides” employing a simple strategy: a group would board buses going

to the South, the Whites would sit in the back and the Blacks in the front. At stops the

Whites would go into the Blacks-only areas and vice versa. “This was not civil

disobedience, really,” said director James Farmer, “because we [were] merely doing

what the Supreme Court said we had a right to do.” But resistance was expected. “We

felt we could count on the racists of the South to create a crisis so that the federal

government would be compelled to enforce the law”, explained Farmer. “When we

began the ride I think all of us were prepared for as much violence as could be thrown at

us. We were prepared for the possibility of death” (Williams 147 – 148).

Changes and alternations were achievable and the situation was reflected in

films. Jim Brown, a professional footballer1, appeared on the silver was in 1964 in a

western called Rio Conchos and later in The Dirty Dozen (1967) playing together with

Telly Savalas and Lee Marvin. Brown did things previously not possible for African

American actors to do. In “African-Americans in Motion Pictures” attention is drawn to

the fact that although he portrayed Black, aggressive, and clever males as well as “big

black bucks”, he was one of the first African Americans who played in romantic love

scenes with White actresses2 (“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).

Films of this era were often described in terms of sex and violence (Mast 422).

The truth is that films have always portrayed sex and been violent, however, “new and

conflicting attitudes toward violence, sexism and racism as aspects of American

1 Jim Brown played for the Cleveland Browns. 2 The changes in the film industry in general were described by Gerald Mast in his A Short History of the Movies: “The exact film that marked the metaphoric reawakening is neither important nor discoverable. Since the American cinema never completely dozed off, it could never really wake up either. Hollywood arose for its fifth era, its renaissance, gradually, just as it slipped into its transitional fourth phase – quite unlike its sudden leaps into the second era of the feature film and its third era of synchronized sound. All of the above films [Psycho (1960), The Hustler (1961), Lonely are the Brave (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1963), The Pawnbroker (1965), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Bonnie and Clyde (1967)] contain some seeds of the period’s values: the off-beat antihero protagonist; the sterile society that surrounds him; the explicit treatment of sexual conflicts and psychological perversities; the glorification of the past and the open spaces; the slick but tawdry surfaces of contemporary reality; the mixing of the comic and the serious; the self-conscious use of special cinematic effects” (422).

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culture” were emerging (Cawelti 120). The main difference was in the way the new

attitudes were being used. It became clear that the optimistic and confident conclusions

in earlier films were used as a simplification of “the unresolved and perhaps

unresolvable divisions of American live” (Mast 422). The producers also realized that it

was not possible to make every film appealing for all audiences. Different people have

different tastes. One example of this remains “blaxploitation”.3

Blaxploitation

By 1970 African Americans were firmly in Hollywood. There were purely Black

themes and also many crossover roles and it was not unusual to see African American

actors take parts as lawyers and doctors. Films started to include them as a part of

everyday life in America (“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).

Ossie Davis (1917-2005), African American director, created a model for the

films of the blaxploitation era in Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970). Despite using “White

schemes”, the success of his films demonstrated that “Black films” could earn money

(“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”). He co-founded the Third World Cinema

production company, which gave jobs not only to African-Americans but also to people

from other minority groups (“Ossie Davis”). He was the second African American

director in film production (Oscar Micheaux was the first). In addition to Davis’s

creative work, he was also a civil rights activist and worked closely with Martin Luther

King Jr. Moreover, when the Freedom Riders were arrested for violating segregation

laws in the South, he raised money for them and even engaged in legal litigations to

ensure the right to vote for African Americans (“Ossie Davis”).

However, the blaxploitation films brought about a threatening Black image in

the mid-1960s and late 1970s. These films usually featured a nearly all-Black cast

(Wilson II and Gutiérrez 88), which forms a sharp contrast to the non-threatening

presence of yellowface in films as late as 1960s but also resembles Race movies.

Hollywood was clearing its conscience by allowing suburban African Americans to take

their revenge on Whites in films such as Shaft (1971) or Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Assss

Song (1971). Shaft, produced by Gordon Parks and director Joel Freeman, was the first

film with a Black superhero, model Richard Roundtree starring as a detective, a role

3 The word “blaxploitation” was formed as a combination of “black” and “exploitation”. It refers back to “exploitation” films, which were to attract the audiences by shocking topics (e.g. sex and violence). The filmmakers employed themes and style of other genres (such as documentaries or horror films), therefore, exploiting them.

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often considered the Black version of James Bond. Although the cast was Black and

was intended for African American audiences, it was accepted by all audiences.

The blaxplotation films were usually dominated by a charismatic character, a

lonely black hero or heroine. Often the protagonists must choose between their people

(and be a Black nationalist defending the future of the Black people) and the White man

(Morfia). There are also straightforward revenge dramas, “in which a character - often

female, more violent and less conflicted than her male counterpart - single-handedly

destroys a white-based power structure that’s harmed her, her family, and by extension

the black community” (Morfia).4

Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Assss Song was written and directed by Melvin van

Peebles, who is also featured in the leading role. Van Peebles wanted to reach wider

audiences of all ethnicities and tastes. Together with Bill Cosby, he made Sweet

Sweetback’s Baad Assss Song showing the ghetto that many knew only from a distance.

It is a violent and cruel film, but it shows the hidden desperation of African-American

existence.

Nevertheless, blaxploitation film also worked with stereotypes. They were

primarily made for African American audiences and imposed a negative image of White

Americans, who were often represented by racist policemen or government officials.

Unusually, the heroes, who should have appealed to the audiences, were drug dealers or

pimps themselves.5 The result was that the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership

Conference and the Urban League formed the Coalition Against Blaxploitation (Ross

269). The Coalition was supported by some Black professionals. Moreover, in the late

1970s blaxploitation films were losing their creative energy and audiences with the

commencement of Chinese martial arts films from Hong Kong. Some sources claim that

they had lost their financial lustre and cite this as the reason for the end of blaxploitation

era adding that White audiences had little box office interest in them (Wilson II and

Gutiérrez 88-89). An argument against these factors is that recently there has been a

resurgence of interest for sequels of blaxploitation films. During the rest of the 1970s

there was a trend to produce films designed and attractive for mixed audiences, such as

Cooley High (1975) and Car Wash (1976). This was allowed by cultural neutralisation.

These were less narrowly focused and more culturally complex.

4 Most famous films with female leads were Coffy (1973), Cleopatra Jones (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974). 5 A pimp is a man who solicits clients for a prostitute (Merriam-Webster OnLine).

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The diplomatic and trade routes with China were reopened in the early 1970s,

reversing the stereotypes more in favour of the Chinese. Still, the great interest in Asian

martial arts led to a series of films containing basically non-stop violence with heroes

and villains exhibiting their fighting styles. Bruce Lee came from Hong Kong and

became an icon for martial arts lovers.

Bruce Lee (1940 – 1973)

Bruce Lee (born as Lee Juan Fan) started the phenomenon in the early 1970s. He

began his career in Hong Kong. After his return to the United States he played mainly in

television series. Lee worked as a consultant on the prepared Kung-Fu series believing

that he would play the lead but it was given to David Carradine. Lee considered himself

a victim of racism. Wilson II and Gutiérrez affirm this: “The producers told Lee that

they didn’t believe a Chinese actor could be seen as a hero in the eyes of the American

television audience” (103). Lee returned to Hong Kong and with Tang sha da xiong

[The Big Boss] (1971) started a successful career. In 1972 he also founded his own

production company, Concord Productions (Chen). By then, Hollywood producers had

become well aware of his potential (Chen). Enter the Dragon (1973), Hollywood

production, was released after his death later that year. Lee was one of the initiators of

martial art films, generally including Chinese as both heroes and villains. Although he

managed to make relatively few films, he certainly left his imprint on modern cinema.

Not all African American actors focused on blaxploitation. James Earl Jones,

probably best known as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films and as Mustafa

in The Lion King (1993), made his film debut in Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to

Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963). In 1976 he played in The Bingo Long

Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976), also featuring Billy Dee Williams and

Richard Pryor. This motion picture returned to a sports theme, but from a different point

of view, depicting the adventures of an outlaw baseball team in 1939 whose members

create their own unfair rules as a reaction to the National League ones, including minor

crimes. They had only one purpose in life and that was to play to be the best (African

Americans).

Social problems of contemporary African Americans were topical. Haile Gerima

focused on them in Bush Mama (1976), a ghetto drama about a woman living off

welfare and trying to bring up her daughter after her husband had been imprisoned for a

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crime he had not committed (African Americans). In 1982 he wrote, directed and

produced Ashes and Embers portraying the life an African-American Vietnam veteran

who returns to Los Angeles incapable of adjusting to a normal civilian life and soon

gets involved in crimes. Gerima explored especially the troublesome relationship

between the veteran and his close family and friends (African Americans).

In these times, the Orient was still being presented as an exotic and spiritual

place. The story of Bombay Talkie (1970) starts in Bollywood6 and details the situation

of a sophisticated American woman falling in love with two men, Hari (a screenwriter)

and Vikam (a male lead). Fleeing from her dilemma, she enters an ashram in order to

devote herself to the spiritual life. However, she succeeds only in destroying Vikam’s

marriage and careers of both of them (South & Southeast Asian Cinema: India,

Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam). Although the film is

set in India, the place is not so utterly foreign, thus demonstrating how this film industry

offers parallels to Hollywood.

Kamil Fila presented an interesting observation in one of his articles. He wrote

that the development of American society after the war was reflected in The Planet of

Apes (1967).

“The structure of the ape society reflects social stratification in America of those

days. Conservative orangutans (whites) have the political and spiritual power. Gorillas

(African Americans) are strong but do not hold the highest post, instead they focus on

manual work. Clever minds but inferior members of the society are chimpanzees (Asians).

Though they are trying to rise to better positions, they are suppressed. However, one day

the society will change thanks to these scientific, unconventional and rational individuals”

(Fila 61 - 62).

There were two films released in the early 1970s reflecting the Second World

War and the Korean War. The first one was Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), a dramatization

of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.7 Two separate productions worked on the film,

one in the United States, directed by Richard Fleischer, and one in Japan, directed by

Akira Kurosawa and later by Japanese actor and director Kinji Fukasaku. Moreover, the

screenplay, based on Gordon W. Prange’s book, was written by both American and

6 Bollywood is India’s huge film making factory, 7 Tora is the Japanese word for “tiger” and the repetition of it meant that the attack had been a success.

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Japanese craftsmen giving thus chance to look at the events from more points of view

and making it accurate.

Robert Altman directed M*A*S*H*, his first major success, in 1971. The film,

released at the height of the Vietnam crisis, is the story of American medics in Korea

which Altman used “to examine American attitudes toward war, particularly those

against other races in distant parts of the world” (Mast 434). However, not all of his

projects were so well accepted. His Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976) was not very

popular with the critics, e.g. in The New York Times is was criticised by Vincent

Canby: “Debunking western myths even more than he did in McCabe and Mrs. Miller

(1971), Robert Altman’s Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson

(1976) sardonically explores the gap between western history and legend in show biz-

obsessed America” (Canby).

At the beginning of the 1970s Native Americans were the poorest minority

group. Already during the 1960s there had been a series of dramatic demonstrations “to

dramatize the plight of the nation’s Indians”(“Kill the Indian and Save the Man”).8

During the 1960s and 1970s following the social changes, Hollywood filmmakers

started to treat Native Americans more sympathetically. One of the major themes of the

new Westerns was “a more favourable and complex view of the Indian culture and a

more critical view of the white treatment of Native Americans” (Cawelti 103). The

independent filmmaker Bruce Baillie, in films such as Mass for the Dakota Sioux

(1964) and Quixote (1965), combined romance and an analysis of corruption from a

social point of view in order to examine the pioneering spirit of America, symbolized by

Native Americans, and its corruption caused by the modern world (Mast 454). The

1970s was a decade viewed as pro-Indian. However, films like Soldier Blue (1970) and

Little Big Man (1970) also made statements about American involvement in Vietnam.

Little Big Man was one of the first blockbusters that questioned the position of

the enlightened White civilization. In this film the White way of life is considered

absurd and that of Native Americans “normal”. General George A. Custer comes to his

well-deserved end at the Little Big Horn massacre, an end that he earned for the

atrocities he had committed against Native Americans. Hollywood thus changed the

8 One of them was the “Trail of Broken Treaties” in 1972. The protests were successful: in 1972 the Indian Education Act helped the parents to have more of a say in their children’s’ education. Moreover, there were lawsuits initiated to retrieve the land lost to Whites (“The Native American Power Movement”).

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direction in portrayal of those “Indian tamers” who were immortalized in earlier films.

In a similar fashion, in Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson

(1976), William Cody is portrayed as a mercenary exploiting Indians for his show

(Wilson II and Gutiérrez 87). This was a sharp turn from earlier motion pictures that had

been intended to wipe away the guilt for the mistreatment of Native Americans (Wilson

II and Gutiérrez 86). In other films the focus was shifted from the Native Americans to

the dilemmas their situation presented to the White hero. For example John Ford’s

western Cheyene Autumn (1964), depicting the resettlement of three hundred Cheyenne

people to Oklahoma and their 1500-mile journey back home to Yellowstone, was

sympathetic to the Indian (Native Americans). A similar situation is in A Man Called

Horse (1970) starring Richard Harris as an English aristocrat captured by a Lakota tribe

who learns to respect the culture of his captors. After undergoing painful initiation rites,

he joins the tribe and receives a new name, Horse. The general attitude is one of the

topics of John G. Cawelti’s The Six-Gun Mystique Sequel:

“In short, the Western formula seems to prescribe that the Native American be

more an aspect of the setting than a character in his/or/her own right. The reason for this is

twofold. Giving the Indian a more complex role would increase the moral ambiguity of the

story and thereby blur the sharp dramatic conflicts. Second, if the Indian represented a

significant way of life rather than a declining savagery, it would be far more difficult to

resolve the story with a reaffirmation of the values of American society” (Cawelti 22).

However, certain films did have Native Americans as the main characters and

were concerned with the problems they encountered. In Billy Jack (1971), a former

Green Beret and half-Indian intends to find his peace in Arizona. Chato’s Land (1971)

shows that a Native American does not always have to be the victim. Such films were

influenced by the changing atmosphere in society:

“By the mid 1970s, the Civil Rights movement and the Native American

movement it inspired had a considerable impact on the consciousness of the White public.

African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans developed their own spokespersons and

perspectives about the history of American culture. While emergent Black and Latino

perspectives have influenced all of American culture, the self-awareness of Native

Americans has been particularly significant in our perception of Western history and myth”

(Cawelti 160).

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Still, there were not many changes concerning Latinos. The violent “greaser”

trend was still used in Hollywood throughout the 1970s, e.g. Duck You Sucker (1972),

The Warriors (1979) and Boulevard Nights (1979). Sergio Leone also used the greaser

in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Sam Peckinpah was a director of the new

“experimental” westerns.9 His Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), a story of a

brothel pianist who intends to have bounty set on the head of Alfredo Garcia is

considered his darkest film and in time it gained the position of a cult film. Peckinpah

made use of Mexican stereotypes in The Wild Bunch (1969) as the “heroes” are all

outlaws. However, the violent scenes resulted in contradictory criticism, as described in

The New York Times: “The Wild Bunch polarized critics and audiences over its

ferocious bloodshed. One side hailed it as a classic appropriately pitched to the violence

and nihilism of the times, while the other reviled it as depraved” (Hanby).

Also situation of the Indigenous people was not portrayed realistically. The

Warriors, although set in New York City, did not present accurate picture of

contemporary street life. The focus is on one gang and its members wearing a leather

vest with the Warrior’s logo (an Indian head surrounded by flames) on the back. The

theme is one of American Indians and to stress it bead jewellery is worn by some

members. Furthermore, some of the nicknames (Cochise or Cowboy) serve as a

reminder of the Wild West times. Nevertheless, the influence of Greek mythology and

African American culture is visible as well.10

It is clear that the Hollywood Renaissance was a turbulent period not only in the

development of the film industry but also in societal changes. It started new trends

which were further developed in the 1980s and to which films returned even in the new

millennium.

9 The experiment was not in the way national minorities were depicted but in the internationalisation of what had been previously external. Previously, conflicts took place on plains or amongst people; now conflicts might only be inside one’s head, or the whole story takes place inside a stage-coach. The West was the last outpost for free spirited men (Mast 427). 10 Members of the gang have names influenced by other cultures: Cleon was Athenian politician, Rembrandt a Dutch painter, Ajax a Greek hero etc.

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Chapter 7

THE RETURN OF THE MYTHS (late 1970s and 1980s)

As described in Chapter 6, American films of the previous era had attacked

some myths of American life, e.g. the corruption of justice or morals. However, in the

late 1970s the American cinema embraced those same myths again. Moreover, the

producers returned to the “blockbuster mentality” (Mast 492).1 According to Mast, the

filmmakers left the social rebellion in order to create new myths to believe in. The

answers were “out there”, in the universe and new technologies. The masters of

mythmaking, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, started their careers during this

period (496). George Lucas embarked on his Star Wars series, Episode IV: A New

Hope, in 1977, and in Episode V entitled The Empire Strikes Back (1980) the heroes are

joined by Lando Calrissian, a Black administrator of the Bespin Cloud City and the only

African American in the original series.2 Although Calrissian betrays the heroes in the

beginning, he later joins the rebels and becomes one of the “good guys”, playing a

pivotal role in the final battle to decide the fate of the galaxy. In general these episodes

were free of racial stereotypes.

Contrary, Steven Spielberg employed many traditional stereotypes in Indiana

Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): the Orient (in this case India) is a place full of

dangers and old magic and sorcery. However, the film starts in China3 and the Chinese

are on both sides. The following year Spielberg directed the critically praised The Color

Purple (1985), Whoopi Goldberg’s screen debut (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 89). She

starred as Celie, a woman whose husband (Danny Glover) is beating her and brings his

mistress, a bar singer, to their house.

In the early 1980s roles of African Americans were rare. The Civil Rights

Movement was becoming a fading memory and the situation was similar for other racial

minorities in the film industry. Herman Gray described the situation thus:

“In black films and popular music throughout the 1980s, utopian visions of

blackness as the glue of political solidarity and cultural authenticity were constantly

1The major film companies preferred to finance fewer large projects with immense box-office success rather than many smaller ones. One of the possible reasons for this was that there were a number of increasingly serious projects with more sociological aspects made for the television (e.g. the television series Roots) rather than for cinemas (Mast 492). 2 However, the voice of Darth Vader was that of James Earl Jones (see p. 48) 3 Also “Anything Goes”, Cole Porter’s 1934 hit song, is sang in Chinese at the beginning of the film.

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interrupted by persistent questions of economic mobility and middle-class responsibility;

questions of gender, masculinity, and sexuality; questions of family and neighbourhood

disintegration; questions of racial and cultural authenticity. Where these and related

questions were not explicitly explored musically and cinematically, representations of

blacks in film and music certainly provoked commentary and debate” (51).

The Color Purple, as well as Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It (1986), evoked

debates. Both were criticised for their treatment of gender and sexuality. Although

Walker’s novel The Color Purple depicted the lesbian relationship more explicitly, only

a timid portrayal was used in the film. Spike Lee’s film was the focus of criticism

because of its depiction of Black women and “its homophobic hostility toward

lesbianism” (Gray 52). On the other hand, Gray reminds that “these films demonstrated

to advertisers and television networks that issues, images, and debates among African

Americans could find successful crossover appeal in the media and cultural

environment of the 1980s” (52).

Wilson II and Gutiérrez attribute the larger presence of African Americans on

screen especially to the influence of two Black comics, Whoopi Goldberg and Eddie

Murphy (89). The success of The Color Purple was the start of Goldberg’s acting

career, which she would later augment with other successful films, her roles ranging

from comedic to serious and sensitive portrayals of African-Americans. Also Eddie

Murphy has had a major cross-race appeal. He has been described as “Hollywood’s

most interesting and powerful archetype since Sidney Poitier, and [he] is a model of the

individualistic integrity: both his characters and his performance style thrive on

imaginative improvisations, his ability to conquer others – whether cops, criminals or

audiences- by doing things his own way, which is unlike anyone else’s” (Mast 500).

Also Hispanics tried to resist the old stereotypes, e.g. in The Beautiful Señoritas

(1977), based on a play by Cuban-American playwright Dolores del Prida (Bluemich

and Cedeño). The audience follows the story of a girl who is learning what it is like to

be trapped in the stereotype of a Latina beauty queen. Bluemich and Cedeño harbour the

belief that Dolores del Prida helped demystify the images of Latinas in the Anglo

culture (Bluemich and Cedeño).

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However, new stereotypes were being produced in a series of films that star

harmless, comic characters named “Cheech” and “Chong”,4 who take part in adventures

in the Mexican American urban barrio5. They were criticised for glorifying drugs, sex

and even the non-traditional lifestyle of “heroes” (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 91).

Luis Valdez’s classic Zoot Suit (1980)6 is a realistic film with a Mexican-

American hero based on events that took place during the race riots in Los Angeles at

the time of World War II. Zoot Suit opened the gates of Hollywood to other Latinos

even though, generally speaking, in the first half of the 1980s Latinos were rarely

portrayed as part of mainstream culture (Everitt and Mack). In 1987 Valdez wrote and

directed La Bamba, a biography of the 1950s singer Richie Valens (played by Lou

Diamond Philips) which earned over $100 million (Isais).

Latinos were also successful as producers in Hollywood. Moctezuma Esparza

made a name for himself with The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) and the critically

praised The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) (Isais). He also produced Selena (1997), the

story of a young Hispanic Tejano7 singer (played by Jennifer Lopez) murdered by her

assistant, Yolanda Saldivar (played by Lupe Ontiveros). The box office pulled in over

$21 million in the first ten days (Isais). The release of Stand and Deliver (1988), based

on the true story of a Mexican-American mathematics teacher at an American high

school, produced positive representations of Latinos.8 Nevertheless, many films made in

the late 1980s and early 1990s used Latinos mainly as background material where there

are only two types of roles, either street toughs or drug traffickers/dealers, as in Colors

(1988), Tequila Sunrise (1989) and Carlito’s Way (1993) (Wilson II and Gutiérrez 91).

Native Americans appeared only in a few films compared to other ethnic

minorities. Chief Bromden is probably the best known Native character from the late

1970s. He appeared in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), directed by Miloš

Forman and based on Ken Kesey’s novel. The novel is told from Chief Bromden’s point

4 The characters took their names from the two comics, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, who were “stars of six wacky comedies about dope-loving hippies in the 1970s and 80s” (“Cheech and Chong ‘plot comeback’”). 5 Barrio is a Spanish quarter. 6 The film was based on the successful play of the same name that had been performed since 1978. 7 Tejano is a style of Mexican-American popular music that features the accordion and blends the polka with various forms of traditional Mexican music, now often including synthesizers and rock music (Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary). 8 The film’s situation is similar to many other storylines: where the teacher who believes in the potential of his students has to adopt unusual methods to boost the students’ morale and belief in themselves to know a life beyond the confines of the gangs they belong to. Seven years later, Michelle Pfeiffer faced the same situation in Dangerous Minds (1995).

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of view, who as the narrator has a key position. The character, played by Native

American actor and painter Will Sampson), “feigns muteness and deafness to protect

himself from pain” (Whitley and Goodwin). Pauline Kael, The New Yorker, described

the climax of the film thus: “The film has its climatic Indian-White love-death, and at

the end Keasy’s reversal of the American legend (now the White man is sacrificed for

the Indian) is satisfying on the deepest post-myth level” (Native Americans).

Nearly ten years later Return of the Country (1984) examined “Native American

and white relationships through a series of stereotypical role-playing” (Native

Americans). Racism and its consequences were also depicted in War Party (1988)

which portrays a conflict revolving around an anniversary of a battle between the U.S.

Cavalry and Blackfeet tribe. The hard life of Natives in America was a major theme in

other films, e.g. problems of Native Americans in reservations in PowWow Highway

(1989). Because it is a road movie, the plot is not as important as the journey itself and

the characters of the protagonists. The situation was commented on by Roger Ebert:

“It places them within a large network of their Indian friends so we get a sense of

the way their community still shares and thrives. As Philbert points Protector east instead

of south, as he visits friends and sacred Indian places along the road, he doesn’t try to

justify what he’s doing. It comes from inside. And it comes, we sense, from a very old

Indian way of looking at things. Buddy is much more modern and impatient – he’s Type A

- but as their journey unfolds, he can begin to see the sense of it” (Ebert).

The Japanese labour threat took the spotlight in the 1980s. The American

“economic decline was accompanied by a deep sense of social decay” (“Entering New

Century”). The Japanese economy was prospering: their products were succeeding on

the American market and Japanese companies were acquisitioning many American

firms. This was viewed by some as an attack. Citizens were asked to buy products

“Made in the USA” (“Entering New Century”). Once again the Yellow Peril presented a

danger to the stability of working classes (Nepstad).

Many projects with Asian or Asian-American content had White actors in the

lead roles while Asians were cast only in supporting ones. The Killing Fields (1984),

Gandhi (1982) and Seven Years in Tibet (1997) followed the rule. Another example is

Come See the Paradise (1990): although set in an internment camp, the focus is on the

White lead and the Japanese Americans remain in the background. Fortunately other

films proved that this need not always be the case, Asian leads became more and more

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successful and acceptable for the mainstream audiences. Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last

Emperor was based on the biography of the last Chinese emperor.9 Despite the

possibility that the book was largely influenced by propaganda, it provided a solid base

for the film. Although the Emperor tries to get as close as possible to Western culture,

he is just a puppet in other people’s hands while behind him is the foreign Orient

combined with the threat of Communism and danger from Japan.

Steven Spielberg returned, as he would do many times later, to the theatre of the

Second World War for inspiration. His film Empire of the Sun (1987), based on

autobiographical novel J. G. Ballard, is told from a White person’s point of view, the

main character is a 13-year-old British schoolboy (played by Christian Bale), the focus

is also on the Japanese Soo Chow confinement camp in China. Although it might seem

surprising, the World War II interment camps in America provided a background topic

in The Karate Kid (1984). Noriyuki ‘Pat’ Morita (playing Mr. Miyagi) was sent to such

camp. “One day I was an invalid,” he recalled, “the next day I was public enemy No. 1

being escorted to an internment camp by an FBI agent wearing a piece” (“Pat Morita,

‘Karate Kid’s’ Mr. Miyagi, dies”). He used his own life experience when making the

film because the script did not supply the background for Miyagi’s character (“Pat

Morita, ‘Karate Kid’s’ Mr. Miyagi, dies”). As it turns out, “only in 1988 did Congress

approve legislation that officially apologized for the forced detention and that offered a

tax-free payment of $20,000 to surviving victims” (Hess, Markson and Stein 183).

Another extreme picture of Asia was presented in Blade Runner (1982), the

story of humankind in a future full of advanced technology and dirty business practices.

The film depicts a new Babylon dominated by Asian elements, e.g. the language spoken

in the streets is a mixture of English and Japanese. Compared to Bombay Talkie (see p.

49) there is no spiritual oasis; instead there is only a crowded city full of neon lights.

The social, economical and political situation in the United States was not very

positive during the 1970s.10 When the American military forces were withdrawn from

Vietnam in 1973, the whole of the country was having problems coping with the legacy

of the war.

9 It was Aisin Gioro Pu-Yi. His younger brother, Pu Chieh, worked as an advisor on the film. This was the first Western production allowed to be filmed in the Forbidden City. 10 “The country faced a severe crisis of confidence deepened by a sense of economic and military decline and political scandal.”(“The Vietnam War and American Culture”). There was the Watergate affair, inflation was rising and the economy was stagnating; moreover, the country had been defeated in Vietnam. This added to “a sense of national decline” (“The Vietnam War and American Culture”).

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The Vietnam War and Hollywood

The Vietnam War is one of the most controversial issues to be dealt with in

films. It began to be seriously examined in the late 1970s (“The New Hollywood”).

During the conflict itself, there was only one film with this topic produced, The Green

Berets (1968). Nevertheless, it was propagandistic with the purpose to attract more

volunteers into the army.

The conflict itself was absent from films made in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The first major theme came to be the state of the returning veterans shocked by the

hostile reception received after their return to the United States. There were different

groups of veteran Vietnam films (“The New Hollywood”). 11 In the 1970s and 1980s the

veteran represented a danger, a killer and a bomb that can explode, e.g. in Apocalypse

Now (1979) Colonel Kurtz goes “mad” in order to adjust to a “mad” conflict (“The

Vietnam War and American Culture”). Kurtz is a character in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of

Darkness published in 1899. The film is loosely based on this novella and the plot

development is similar implying that the film is not only about the war but about the

whole relationship between the colonisers and those colonised. The character, Kurtz,

was played by Marlon Brando, who had refused to attend a 1972 Oscar ceremony for

his earlier performance in The Godfather (1972) and in his place had sent Native-

American actress Scheen Littlefeather to refuse the Award in his name. He formed a

sharp contrast to John Wayne, the star of The Green Berets, who was also a protagonist

of many Westerns, including The Searchers (see p. 38), and, moreover, a model for

right-wing America. Furthermore, films like Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket (1987),

or Platoon (1986) created the idea of “a swampy, fiery hell peopled by psychopaths”

(“The Vietnam War and American Culture”). The producers of these films, and also the

earlier The Deer Hunter (1978), focused on the Vietnamese and made them the target of

stereotyping during the post-Vietnam War era. By using stereotypes based on the same

patterns as before, they created the image of Vietnamese people as artful, dishonest

members of guerrilla outfits committing violent crimes (“The Vietnam War and

American Culture”). As mentioned in “The Vietnam War and American Culture”, such

motion pictures often included a scene based on the My Lai massacre of 1969, when

over one hundred unarmed civilians were killed by American troops in a South

11 In the late 1970s veterans became victims who were either rehabilitated, Coming Home (1978), or became a misunderstood hero, Missing in Action (1984). The war itself with its consequences was a part of films like Casualties of War (1989) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989); they are about the idealism and its loss, the breakdown and struggle to sustain humanity (“The New Hollywood”).

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Vietnamese village. This trend continued in the 1980s (“The Vietnam War and

American Culture”).

However, the only film that looked at the war from the perspective of a

Vietnamese person was Heaven & Earth (1993) and this fact makes it unique.12 It was

the last film in Oliver Stone’s Vietnam trilogy (the previous two being Platoon and

Born on the 4th of July). Hiep Thi Ly (playing Le Ly Hayslip) is a young Vietnamese-

American woman, which makes the film even more authentic. In the process she

becomes a freedom fighter, mother, prostitute and finally a wife of a Marine. Stone

makes her relationship with men an analogy, with woman representing Vietnam and

man the United States.

Francis Ford Coppola experimented once more in 1984 (his first experiment had

been Apocalypse Now) with The Cotton Club, where he combined a gangster film and

black musical with Lawrence Fishburne starring as Ellsworth ‘Bumpy’ Johnson13. He

returned to this role in Hoodlum (1997). Another Black musical released in 1984 was

Beat Street (1984), exploring the New York hip hop culture. The most famous scene in

this film contains a gang battle where the protagonists use break dancing being instead

of weapons. It depicted the dreams, despairs and success of the 1980s generation. In

general:

“Black popular forms such as rap and cinema mobilized and then helped to

consolidate visions and representations of blackness that articulated the pains, fears, joys,

and aspirations of black youth. Because they catalysed and drew together many issues,

these forms of black expressive commercial culture hovered at the center of contemporary

cultural politics. Beginning (in 1989) with Do the Right Thing and continuing through Boyz

N the Hood (1991), Juice (1992), and Menace II Society (1993), black commercial film and

popular music constructed powerful images of African American youth from within the

cultural space of blackness” (Gray 53).

In 1987 the adventures of a Black-and-White pair (Danny Glover and Mel

Gibson) started in Lethal Weapon (1987). Although each of the protagonists has

problems, psychological background is provided only for Gibson’s character. His

African-American counterpart is ridiculed in many situations; also his wife is dominant

12 The film was inspired by and based on two autobiographical books, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places and Child of War, Woman of Peace, by Le Ly Hayslip. 13 Ellsworth Raymond ‘Bumpy’ Johnson (1906-1968) was an African-American gangster from Harlem.

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in the household (reminiscent of the “mammy” stereotype). On the other hand, there

were three sequels released between 1989 and 1998 with both leads taking their turns to

kill the villains of different origin: the Asian martial arts expert in Lethal Weapon 4

(1998); while in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), it is a white South African Diplomat.

Biographies of different musicians have been popular with many filmmakers.

Clint Eastwood paid respect to the legendary African American jazz saxophonist

Charlie “Yardbird” Parker in his Bird (1988). Eastwood explored Bird’s relationship

with his wife, his career, drug and alcohol excesses using flashbacks (“African

Americas”). Recordings done by Parker were combined with modern musicians in the

soundtrack. Desson Howe, Washington Post correspondent, described it as “a scale

above Hollywood’s average road-to-ruin drama” (Howe). In a similar way Taylor

Hackford paid his tribute to Ray Charles in Ray (2004).

Cawelti, in his study of the west in films, mentions historians, like Patricia

Limerick and Richard White, who explored the West as the place of multicultural

encounters and the impact of settlement on ecology. Limerick described the American

West “as an important meeting ground, the point where Indian America, Latin America,

Anglo-America, Afro-America, and Asian intersected. In race relations, the West could

make the turn-of-the-century Northeast urban confrontation between European

immigrants and American Natives look like a family reunion. Similarly in the diversity

of languages, religions, and cultures, it surpassed the South” (147). The intersection of

different cultures often resulted in conflict, as in the Ballad of Georgio Cortez or Break

of Dawn (1988). The later being a biography of Pedro J. Gonzales based on a true-life

story of one of the reformers of the penal system in California during the Depression

years.

This period offered further equalisation of the races. However, the old

stereotypes were present, although in different forms. As could have been expected, the

shadow of the Vietnam War influenced the film industry. Nevertheless, Vietnamese

protagonists arrived as late as in the 1990s. During the 1980s there was a rise in the

number of films based on true-life stories of members of different ethnic minorities.

Ethnicity had become fashionable and even somewhat attractive.

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Chapter 8

The New Wave (the 1990s)

The 1990s brought new era. The Berlin Wall was pulled down and with it

disappeared a symbol of Communist oppression. Economies of Cuba and Haiti were in

recession and that brought refugees to the United States, many of them drowning when

crossing the sea. In 1991 four white policemen were filmed while arresting an African

America for speed and drunken driving. “The tape showed a man, Rodney King, lying

prone and being struck more than 50 times by officers wielding nightsticks” (Davidson

et al. 938). In 1992 when the policemen were acquitted, riots erupted in the South-

Central part of Los Angeles.1 However, the riots were not only about racism, the anger

“was also fuelled by the stress of high unemployment, urban poverty and economic

decline” the court decision being the last drop in an already full cup (Davidson et al.

938). Similar emotions arose when O. J. Simpson was freed of the charges in 1995.2

By the early 1990s the market for African-Americans in the film industry was

well established. Many African-American actors and directors have become idols and

films they appeared in were attractive for audience worldwide, e.g. Spike Lee has been

considered the leader of the New African American Wave. He is a scriptwriter, director,

actor and producer, producing his films by his own production companies Forty Acres

and A Mule Filmworks3 (ironically referring to a never fulfilled government promise).4

His early films describe different aspects of (not only) African American existence and

deal with social and political issues. In the film history so far he has been one of the

most versatile filmmakers. The end of the 1990s suggested a change, a new direction of

his interest in his work, e.g. Summer of Sam (1999) or 25th Hour (2002) both have non-

1 The Center of Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San Francisco University produced a study entitled “Newswatch, A Critical Look at Coverage of People of Color”. Although the focus was on newspaper reports, other mass media were not an exception. The study entitled revealed “the obvious: reportage is not up to snuff. Old stereotypes, offensive terminology, biased reporting and myopic interpretations mark far too much of the coverage. This in the supposedly sophisticated 1990s” (Stein 362). 2 In 1995 O. J. Simpson, a football star, was accused of murder of his former wife and the trial brought out racial divisions in America. African Americans were pleased, when Simpson was freed of the charges, but white majority thought that a guilty man escaped the deserved punishment (Davidson et al. 938). 3 The names being an ironic reference to the government provisions after the end of the Civil War, which promised forty acres of land to farm and a mule to every former slave. However, the promise was never fulfilled (Brooks 6). 4 “Section 4 was designed to codify Major general William T. Sherman’s Special Field Order No. 15, issued on January 16, 1865, three months before the section was enacted. The promise of “forty acres and a mule” was never fulfilled (Brooks 6).

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African American protagonists, the first one being inspired by 1977 “Son of Sam”

murders in New York with Italian Americans from Brooklyn in focus.5 However,

African Americans are still part of his motion pictures. He often works with Denzel

Washington, e.g. Malcolm X (1992)6 and the Inside Man (2006), one of the leading

American film stars, often being praised for the diversity of his roles in motion pictures

(“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”). He is only the second African American

actor to receive it (the first one was Sidney Poitier).Washington has often showed that

he is not afraid of controversial topics, his most famous role was probably the lawyer

defending a homosexual with AIDS in Philadelphia (1993).

However, not all African Americans are so versatile. Wesley Snipes’ roles are

more or less the same creating thus another stereotype. In Hollywood he “occupies a

strange position. An undoubted star - after movies like Demolition Man (1993) and

famously, Passenger 57 (1992) - he remains something of an enigma, churning out

movies on a regular basis, but rarely producing something which stops audiences in

their tracks” (Falk). In spite of this there are films that stand out, e.g. The Rising Sun

(1993). To understand the controversy this film raised, some background facts are

required: Asian immigrants were subject to more complicated stereotyping in the United

States. They were wanted for technical jobs but not as managers or executives (Takaki).

Despite this Asians in general earn more than other ethnic minorities and such

achievement led to creation of another stereotype, as described in Nation of Nations:

“Such success has led the media to stereotype Asians as “model minority” in

America; yet the experience of Asian immigrants remains widely diverse, encompassing

high-income Filipino American doctors and low-income agricultural laborers, Japanese

Americans who are poor and elderly as well as those who are younger, upwardly mobile

technicians. Ethnic tensions, made worse by job losses and an American trade deficit with

Asian countries, gave rise to scattered acts of violence. During the 1992 Los Angeles riots,

Korean shops were often the targets of looters and arsonists” (Davidson et al. 945).

The Rising Sun (1993) explicitly shows certain Asian stereotypes, e.g. “Asian

cultures are considered to be essentially predatory” (MANAA). In the story Japanese

5 “Son of Sam”, a nickname of David Berkowitz, is a serial killer jailed for 365 years for series of murders commuted in summer 1977. 6 After the release of Malcolm X Lee received death threats allegedly from Nation of Islam (NOI), a religious and socio-political organization in the U.S.A. I the film this organisation was depicted as the organizer of Malcolm’s murder.

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businessmen try to take over an American company supporting the idea that Asian

immigrants are those who take and do not give in return and raising voices from the

Asian American community about such stereotyping. However, this is not the only

stereotype. Asian arts, magic or knowledge “are considered to be negative when

practiced by Asians but in the white hands it becomes positive” (MANAA). In the film

the Japanese businessmen use their philosophy to manipulate people and to take over

the American company, but then Sean Connery implements the same philosophy in

order to defeat them.7 Another popular and deep-rooted stereotype states that “Asians

prove how good they are by sacrificing themselves” so that the lead white characters

survive (MANAA).

Not all motion pictures produced in Hollywood have been criticised by minority

communities. Some of them, like Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993) and The Joy

Luck Club (1993), have been accepted. Asian directors in Hollywood are often of

Chinese origin, e.g. John Woo and Wayne Wang. Wayne Wang was born in Hong Kong

but has made his name in America thanks to films like Chan Is Missing (1982), The Joy

Luck Club and Maid in Manhattan (2002), films dealing with ethnic minorities and

stereotypes. The Joy Luck Club, based on Amy Tan’s novel, offered probably the

deepest insight into lives of three generations of Chinese women (Wilson II and

Gutiérrez 94). The film reveals “that otherness” of Asian cultures, so complicated for

Westerners to understand it (Shannon 19). The audiences could see the Chinese and

Chinese American cultural habits and the resulting conflict, all this through women eyes

(Wilson II and Gutiérrez 94). Although the film was successful, none of the Asian

actresses continued their work in mainstream films, only Ming-Na lent her voice to the

animated Disney version of Mulan (1998) (Svetvilas).

Walt Disney’s Studios used the attractiveness of the Oriental myths in Mulan to

retell an old Chinese folktale.8 However, Disney mixed different Oriental cultures:

when the girl encounters her opponent, she turns white reminding a Japanese geisha.

However, according to a Disney release, her face “based on the Chinese ideal of beauty

with its round egg-shape and cherry blossom lip” (Kim). Pocahontas (1997) is another

7 Nevertheless, the first film to deal with Asian magic was The Thief of Baghdad (1924) where an Asian man conquers one Arabian city with the help of magic. When Douglas Fairbanks, the hero, learns the secret enabling him to destroy the villain. Despite the stereotypes, the film was considered “culturally significant” by the Library of Congress and chosen for preservation in the National registry (Films Selected to The National Film Registry, Library of Congress ,1989-2005). 8 According to the legend Mulan impersonated a man in order to serve in the army instead of the ill father.

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legend exploited by the studio. It should have been a family film, the primary target

were children and therefore, as often before, romantisation came to use.

Interracial romance has been mentioned in the previous chapters and still

remains an issue. Asian women and white men have often been portrayed as positive

romantic partners, as in Sayonara (1957) and The World of Suzie Wong (1960). On the

other hand, Asian men seemed to be unsuitable partners for women of any race. Asian

sexuality seems to be a problem for Western society (MANAA). Therefore, Asian men

have been presented as a threat to white women or having no sexuality at all as

illustrated in Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991). All the Japanese in this film are

members of Yakuza, tattooed all over the body and able to amputate their fingers after

failure. On the other hand, the white protagonist (played by Dolph Lundgren) was

brought up in Japan and therefore knows the habits and language, while his counterpart,

though of Japanese origin (but played by Chinese American Brandon Lee)9, does not

have any knowledge of the culture except for martial arts. When the Asian villain

(played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) threatens an Asian female (played by Tia Carrere),

love interest of the white hero, he is killed, as expected, by the white man, who finds his

love while his Asian American partner has nothing (MANAA). Moreover, Lee’s

character acts more like a sidekick than partner.

African-Americans appear in more and more untraditional. Robin Hood: Prince

of Thieves (1991) had only one Black character, Azeem (played by Morgan Freeman).

Taking into consideration that the film takes place in Medieval England, it would be a

complicated task to find a Black person in such prominent position (MANAA). Whitney

Houston took part of the Fairy Godmother in the television film Cinderella (1997).

Cooba Gooding, Jr. became a guardian angel Albert in What Dreams May Come (1998),

a film concerned with afterlife. This was one of the first appearances of the Magic

Negro stereotype (see p. 76).

The 1990s brought, once again, more affectionate but this time also idealised

portrayals of Native Americans. There has been a large change in the perception and

making of the Native Americans stereotypes. People are much better educated about the

history and culture of Native American tribes then they have been ever before. With the

9 Brandon Lee was son of Bruce Lee. He died in a shooting accident in 1993 when making The Crow.

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knowledge come a feeling of guilt and remorse concerning the treatment of the

ancestors of Native Americans (Barr).

Dances with Wolves (1990) is a very good example of how the stereotypes of

Native Americans have changed over time. Kevin Costner as a soldier, John Dunbar,

goes to the frontier expecting Indian attacks. When making contact with members of the

Sioux tribe, he learns that they are not savages and tries to befriend them. Later he

becomes a member of the tribe earning the name of “Dances with Wolves”. The Native

American stereotypes have changes from negative to positive in the course of the film:

Dunbar first sees the Native Americans as savage enemies. However, when he is

captured by soldiers, it is the white men who act as the antagonists. Armando J. Prats,

Associate Chair at the Department of English at University of Florida, described:

“How even more sympathetic recent Western treatments of Native Americans, in films like

Dances with Wolves (1994) and The Last of the Mohicans (1992), justify the destruction of

the Indian by having him hand on the torch to a sympathetic and understanding white

character. In case of The Last of the Mohicans there was also return to the noble savage.

Prats calls this rightly the “firsting” of the White American” (Cawelti 22).

Dances with Wolves and Little Big Man have many similarities, but the role of the

White hero differs. While in Little Big Man Jack Crabb is brought up by Natives and

“has already been acculturated, Dunbar “enables us to participate vicariously in his

initiation into a different culture” (Cawelti 106). Graham Greene, a native Canadian

actor, received Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his

performance in Dances with Wolves. He “is best known for playing Native American

roles; his characters are almost always positive and very dignified. Though he has

provided a strong role model and has proved that there is a place for Native American

actors outside the Western genre, he considers himself neither a spokesperson for

Native rights, nor a great trail blazer paving the way for other Native American actors in

film and television” (Brennan “Biography: Graham Greene”). He is one of the few

Native film actors well known outside the United States and Canada.

Ethnicity is important in Hollywood and this fact is illustrated by categorisation

of actors like Lou Diamond Phillips, who is often categorised into “ethnic” roles for his

exotic looks. “He is a tall, slender man with raven-black hair, deep-brown almond-

shaped eyes, and cheekbones reminiscent of ancient Mayan statues” (Brennan

“Biography: Lou Diamond Phillips”). He was born as Lou Upchurch in the Philippines

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but is usually cast as Native American supporting the fact that stereotypes still prevail in

the film industry: A Native American has to have black hair and eyes and Latinos have

to be dark and sexy. Many actors and actresses have experienced discrimination for

their visage. The actress Estrella Nieto commented:

“It is very tough (for Hispanics to land a good role in a movie). I’ve only been cast

as an extra in some television commercials, but the colour of my skin and my last name

seem to jump out at the producers before my acting abilities.” Nieto continues, this time

about one audition. “I was picked without auditioning. The producer said my skin colour

was a Mexican girl is supposed to look like. To his surprise, I am not Mexican and I can’t

even speak Spanish…..Most studio heads just want the stereotype” (Isais).

When Marissa Tomei was offered the role of a Cuban prostitute in The Perez

Family (1995), she had to gain nine kilos and wear bronzing make-up because the

producers felt she was not dark and round enough to fit the image of a Latino prostitute

(Kao). Gregory Nava’s Mi Familia (1995), starring Edward James Olmos, Jimmy Smits

and Jennifer Lopez, forms a positive counterpart to The Perez Family. His portrayal of a

Mexican-American family in Mi Familia, depicting family members as ordinary people,

did not use stereotypes. This film was the reason why the family of Selena Quintanilla

asked him to write and direct her story (Isais). Jennifer Lopez, the star of Selena, has

been seen as a controversial person. She is presented as a Hispanic actress but she has

been brought up in the United States by parents, Puerto Ricans, who stressed the

importance of assimilation to the American culture. Nevertheless, she is a highly

popular singer and actress and one of the only five Hispanic women in the list of the

twenty-five most powerful Hispanics in Hollywood along with actresses Salma Hayek

and Cameron Diaz, producer Nely Galan and writer and producer Josefina Lopez.10 She

also played in Maid in Manhattan (2002)11, film showing that certain Latino stereotypes

still persist in mainstream films, especially those viewing Hispanics as lazy, criminals,

suitable to be only maids or gardeners. Karen Everitt and Professor Mack explain:

“The prejudices of dominant society find a home in the image of Hispanics

fostered by the media and creators of elements of pop-culture. Historically, there has been a

marked difference between films made by Mexicans and films made by Americans; the

negative stereotypes and images of Hispanics/Chicanos so abundantly present in American

10 The list was published in the Hispanic magazine in vol. 9, No. 4. (April 1996). 11 The film was directed by the same director as The Joy Luck Club.

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films is largely absent from films made by and for Mexicans. The prejudices reflected in

film portrayals depend on the picture’s intended audience and the presence of Hispanics in

front of the camera or behind the scenes” (Everitt and Mack).

Despite such stereotyping more and more Latino actors and actresses are

successful, many became directors, writers or producers and try to change the decades’

old stereotypes (Isais).

Mexican director, Alfonso Arau, became well-known when he made his first

film A Walk in the Clouds (1995), where he made picture of rich Mexican American

grape growers in Napa Valley after the World War II. The patriarch of the family

(played by a half Mexican, Anthony Quinn), whose daughter become pregnant,

represents old traditions and habits not to be broken. Arau, like many other Hispanic

directors, needs to have a “Hispanic” message in his works. He wants to show that

Hispanics are more than just “illiterate peasants” (Everitt and Mack). The cast is

Hispanic, with the exception of Keanu Reeves and Giancarlo Gianni. It was both

criticised and appreciated for the treatment of Latinos. It was described “as ‘ refreshingly

positive’ by many Latino and Chicano critics who for years have protested the negative

images on the big screen (Everitt and Mack). The majority appeared to find characters

stereotypical, but more importantly, charming and warm. However, reaction was not

universally positive; others still found the stereotypical portrayals objectionable”

(Everitt and Mack).

Also negative aspects of life of Latinos in America were not discarded.

American Me (1992) was inspired by the life of a Chicano prison gang leader,

Santana.12 Although dealing with gangsterism, this drama with James Edward Olmos

was not meant to glorify it (Kempley).

Severo Perez’s After the Earth Did Not Swallow Him (1994) was adaptation of

Tomas Rivera’s autobiographical novel. Gary Kamiya gave this account of the film:

“The year is 1952. A Mexican American family is struggling to survive, working

as migrant labourers in fields from Texas to Minnesota. The younger son, Marcos, is a

sensitive 12-year-old who is forced to confront the ineluctable facts of his life - grinding

12 Kempley described the film as “Stomach-turning”. Santana was sentenced to a juvenile prison as a teenager, after being raped and humiliated, he regains his self-esteem by becoming the leader of the Mexican Mafia while in Folsom State Prison. After his return from prison he finds his brother and friends destroyed by the gang culture he created. He does not have the strength to fight and commits suicide (Kempley).

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poverty, back-breaking work, racism, hopelessness. He manages to pull himself out of his

miserable life, eventually becoming a professor and author of a landmark work of Chicano

literature, ‘And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him’” (Kamiya).

A subtle idea of the weak, effeminate Asian male still persists in today’s society,

as visible in portrayals of Asians and Asian Americans in mass media and mainstream

entertainment. There are few romantic leading roles available for Asian and actresses,

not even martial arts superstars have many romantic interests. Chow Yun Fat in his first

widely distributed American film, Replacement Killers (1998), had Mira Sorvino as the

white partner. Still his character did not have any physical relations recalling the image

of asexual Asian male. In Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) the image is taken even further.

When Mel Gibson confronts Jet Li, he suggests Li’s character is homosexual.

In the 1990s eastern philosophies became fashionable in the western world.

Bertilicci’s Little Buddha (1993) could be seen as an iconographical manual “teach

yourself Buddhism” (Fila 63). Nevertheless, it expresses his respect for the eastern way

of thinking. On the other hand, Annaud in his Seven Years in Tibet (1997) presents his

fascination by Buddhism, which was spreading at the end of the twentieth century and

where the West was searching for new spiritual sources. His NSDAP13 member

Heinrich Harrer is thinking as an enlightened liberal of the end of the twentieth century

(Fila 63).

Martin Scorsese’s Kundun (1997) is a story of a deeply religious person, the

Dalai Lama.14 The story is told from his point of view inviting the audiences into an

isolated society. Interesting is the fact that Scorsese used non-professional actors, all

Tibetans living in exile (“Kundun: Synopsis”).

“What interested me about the story,” said the director, “was how a young man

who lived in a society based on the spirit, found himself in conflict with a strongly anti-

religious society, the Maoist government of the Chinese communists. How does a man of

non-violence deal with these people?” (“Kundun: Synopsis”).

Melissa Mathieson, wife of Harrison Ford, worked on the screenplay together

with the Dalai Lama himself (“Kundun: Synopsis”). Scorsese was one of the few 13 Die Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), National Socialist German Workers Party, known also as Nazi Party was led to power by Adolf Hitler. This party was the main political force in Germany and it established the Third Reich” (Twogood). 14 Tenzin Gyatso was two years old when he learned that he was predestined to lead the people of Tibet. He is known as the 14th reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

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directors, who did not use the tolerant point of view of the West, he let Tibet and the

protagonists take effect themselves (“Kundun: Synopsis”).

Strange Orient

Return to the beautiful Asia was seen in Anna and the King (1999), a remake of

the classical King and I (1956). Finally, the King of Siam was played by an Asian actor,

Chow Yun Fat (previously it had been Yul Brynner). However, the release of the film

was banned in Thailand in 1999. Similar fate met its predecessor King and I (1956)

(“Sriwittayapaknam School”) (see p. 43).

Interesting variation of Puccini’s opera was M. Butterfly (1993), directed by

David Cronenberg. In the title the confusing M was used on purpose making it clear that

the Madame might not be definite. Moreover, Butterfly suggests metamorphosis, a

forthcoming change (Caitlin). The story of a French diplomat, Gallimard (played by

Jeremy Irons), who falls in love with a singer of Peking opera (played by John Lone) in

the time of Chinese Cultural Revolution (mid-1960s), depicts Asia as a place where

nothing has as strong identity as in the West. Though screenplay was based on a play by

David Henry Hwang, the core was a true incident of a French diplomat who had a

Chinese male spy as a lover for about twenty years. Hwang questioned stereotypes

(both race and gender) that the West used when dealing with Eastern cultures. The focus

is on Western male and his fantasies about Asian women, i.e. the stereotype of Famine

East vs. Masculine West (Caitlin).

A film impossible to understand is Peter Greenwaye’s The Pillow Book (1995),

celebrating Japanese calligraphy and using sophisticated division and stratification of

the picture (Fila 62). Japanese here means something impossible to apprehend,

something utterly foreign, different culture that is not getting closer to the West.

Since the early immigration there has been a focus on the “strange” aspect of

behaviour and appearance of Asian immigrants. They were then treated differently in

the society. A feeling that they do not really belong to the society was emphasised by

popularisation traditional dress. This still prevails in the society, e.g. there are the

popular fortune cookies or Japanese tourists always with cameras. Especially comedies

make use of the Oriental differences. Shanghai Noon (2000) proved this. Jackie Chan is

a guard to the Forbidden City and is sent to America. He is a typical coolie wearing

Chinese clothes, cap and long plait. He is removed from the stereotype only after his

plait is cut off by his enemy. Romance also plays an important role in the story, in the

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end Chan is paired with a Chinese princess (played by Lucy Liu) and his white

counterpart (played by Owen Wilson) with a Native American, although she married

Chan’s earlier in the film. Similarly in Rush Hour (1998) his detective is “strange”

before he starts to change under the influence of his African American counterpart

(played by Chris Tucker), who, on the other hand, talks more than acts.

Western as a genre did not disappear, it just changed to adjust to the period and

audiences. Dead Man (1995) is an unusual monochrome western directed by Jim

Jarmusch. The Dead Man in the title is William Blake, young traveller, discovering the

frontier. When he is badly wounded, he is found by a Native American, who calls

himself “Nobody”, i.e. one that does not exist,15 and believes that Blake is the dead

English poet.16 Circumstances turn Blake into a killer and an outlaw, although it is

contrary to his nature (“Dead Man. J. Jarmusch. 1995.”). “Nobody” is Blake’s guide on

this spiritual journey through the cruel and violent world where “his eyes are opened to

the fragility that defines the realm of the living” (Native Americans).

The forced removal of Native Americans to reservations served as a remainder

of a painful chapter of American history. In Clearcut (1991) a Canadian Indian (played

by Graham Greene) cannot stand the situation when the land of his people is being

destroyed. As a reaction he kidnaps an owner of a lumber mill and a lawyer, who lost an

appeal against the usurpation of Native land. Also Big Bear (1998) dealt with the issue.

It is a story of the Cree Indians and Chief Big Bear and their struggle for justice and

dignity returning to times when the government and new settlers claimed the hunting

grounds of Native Americans forcing them from their home and leaving them starving.

Similar theme was also used in Irvin’s Crazy Horse (1996), which gave account of a

true story of an Oglala warrior, Crazy Horse, who resisted the take over of the Indian

lands and also fought General Custer at Little Big Horn.

However, reservations did not vanish, there were films about life of “modern

Indians”. Dance Me Outside (1994) takes place in the Kidiabinessee Reserve in

Ontario. Nevertheless, it is thriller predominantly concerned with a murder and its

15 “Nobody” is a reference to Odysseus adventure in the Cyclops cave. When Polyphemus asks Odysseus about his name, he answers “Nobody”. When Polyphemus falls asleep, Odysseus and his fellows spear Cyclop’s only eye. 16 William Blake (1757- 1827) was a pre-Raphaelite (romantic-mystic) English Poet. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most original English poets. “Blake’s philosophy is simple enough basis: He rejects reason and law and conventional religion, and says that mankind can be fulfilled only through the sense and the imagination.” (Burgess 151 – 153)

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effects in a closed community. On the other hand, in the atmosphere of shock and

suspicion, there are youngsters becoming adults while fighting for justice (Native

Americans). Problems of Natives at the end of the twentieth century have been part of

Sherman Alexie’s works.17 His short story “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in

Heaven” inspired Smoke Signals (1998), directed by the Native American Chris Eyre.

Alexie wrote the script himself calling it “groundbreaking,” when asked why, he

replied:

“Well, it’s a very basic story, a road trip/buddy movie about a lost father, so I’m

working with two very classical, mythic structures. You can find them in everything from

The Bible to The Iliad and The Odyssey. What is revolutionary or groundbreaking about

the film is that the characters in it are Indians, and they’re fully realized human beings.

They’re not just the sidekick, or the buddy, they’re the protagonists. Simply having Indians

as the protagonists in a contemporary film, and placing them within this familiar literary

and cinematic structure, is groundbreaking” (West and West).

Not only Native Americans, but also African Americans face problems in the

American society. Barriers (1998) looked at social barriers between African Americans

coming from different social groups. It is a drama about a friendship of two black boys

from New York, a rich one (Tori) and a poor one (Snake). Black &White (1991) is a

story of young Russian immigrant and medicine student Lisa and an African American

building superintendent in New York dealing with a feeling of being a stranger

belonging nowhere.

The struggle to move higher on the social ladder was depicted in B.A.P.S (Black

American Princesses) (1997) and in the realistic urban drama Belly (1998), a story of

two friends who begin to rob clubs. However, one of them becomes a drug dealer, thus

destroying the relationship. Moreover, the film had a rap soundtrack and cast was

formed entirely by hip-hop singers.

17 Concerning the challenges Native American cultures face in the United States he said: “The challenges to our sovereignty - artistically, politically, socially, economically. We are and always have been nations within this nation and any threats to that are dangerous. Not only in terms of the government trying to take away our sovereign rights to have casinos, to take the most crass example, but also in cultural appropriation, you know, with white people crawling into sweat lodges, and buying our religions” (West and West).

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Legacy of Blaxploitation

Films like Jackie Brown (1997), Austin Powers: Goldmember (2002) or Kill Bill

Vol. I (2003) refer back to the blaxploitation genre. Other references are in Reservoir

Dogs (1992), where Get Christie Love! is discussed, and in True Romance (1993),

where the protagonists watch The Mack (1973)18 (Rowe “Shaft”). John Singleton went

even further and in 2000 he made a remake of Shaft with Samuel L. Jackson. However,

it is not a classical remake, more likely Singleton’s interpretation of the classic

(“Blaxploitaiton”). Mario Van Peeble, son of Melvin Van Peeble, released Baadasssss!

(2004), a film inspired by the process of making of his father’s film with Mario playing

his own father.19

African American director and producer John Singleton often places his films

into a Los Angeles ghetto. In Boyz N the Hood (1991) he explored the “hood”, a place

full of pain, shootings, unemployment and drugs (“Boyz ‘n the hood Columbia Pictures

Industries, Inc.”). Moreover, for its portrayal of racism between police and African

Americans, it was considered a precursor of the feeling aroused during 1992 Los

Angeles Riots (“South Los Angeles”). John Singleton became the youngest person to be

nominated for Best Director and first African American to be nominated for it.

Furthermore, the United States Library of Congress selected this film to be preserved in

the National Film Registry for its cultural significance.

In 1923 the black town of Rosewood, Florida, was burned down by a white mob

as a revenge for the rape of a white woman. More than sixty years later in 1997

Singleton dramatised the story. However, Rosewood (1997) did not have a successful

opening weekend and it was a box office failure.

History and slavery came to the silver screen once more in Beloved (1998),

based on Toni Morrison’s novel and featuring Oprah Winifrey, Danny Glover and

Thandie Newton, describes relationship between Paul D. and his old Slave friend Sethe.

They move to Denver where they take in a girl calling herself “Beloved.” It is later

revealed that Beloved is a ghost of Sethe’s third child murdered by her master.

18 Get Christie Love! - 1974 blaxploitation television series. 19 Blaxploitation films inspired also the hip hop culture. Superfly (1972) and other films introduced a pimp, later used by artists such as Snoop Doggy Dog, who paid tribute to the pimp in lyrics or in music videos with “pimpmobiles” (“Blaixploitation”). Pimpmobile is a large, expensive, and ostentatious or vulgarly ornate automobile, typically one painted in bright colours and fitted out with a lavish or over elaborate interior (Random House Unabridged Dictionary on line).

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Steven Speilberg has not been afraid of topics raising controversial reactions, as

illustrated by his latest film Munich (2005). Earlier one, Amistad (1997), is a court-room

drama. In 1839 the story starts on a Spanish slave ship, where one of the Africans frees

himself and starts a mutiny. Unfortunately, the freed slaves are not able to navigate back

to Africa and land on the northeast coast of America. They are not thought of as human

beings but as property that needs to be returned to the owner, either the Spanish Queen

or a slave trader. Nevertheless, there is a small group of people intending to win

freedom and chance to return to Africa.

Dorothy Dandridge

In August 1997 Donald Bogle published an article called “The Last Days of

Dorothy Dandridge” in the Ebony Magazine (“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).

That and his book, Dorothy Dandridge, a Biography20 brought interest in this nearly

forgotten African American actress. In 1954 she was nominated for an Academy Award

for the Best Actress being the first African American ever nominated (“African-

Americans in Motion Pictures”). Introducing Dorothy Dandridge with Halle Berry as

the lead depicted her struggle to succeed in the film industry. Berry also remembered

Dandridge in her speech at the Oscar ceremony in 2002.21 Although beautiful and of

natural talent, in the 1940s and 50s film directors did not know where to place her. She

could have been a sex goddess, African queen or a romantic beauty, but at that time

talented Black women were not top billed (“African-Americans in Motion Pictures”).

20 Bogle, Donald. Dorothy Dandridge, A Biography. New York: Amistad Press, Inc., 1997. 21 Berry’s 2002 Oscar acceptance speech is available at On-line Speech Bank at : <http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/halleberryoscarspeech.htm>.

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Chapter 9

The New Millennium

At the beginning of the twenty-first century the United States was the strongest

economy in the world and the most powerful country on the planet. Although just half

of the first decade of the new century has passed it has been rich in changes and events.

The terrorist attracts on 11 September 2001 influenced future development in the whole

world, not only in America. Afterwards the United States became the initiator of the

global fight against terrorism. Although it faced heavy criticism for inability to capture

Osama bin Laden and keep order in Iraq. Attention was transferred from communist to

terrorists coming from Islamic countries. Popular culture of the United Stated has been

dominant in the world, where the society became post-post-modern.

Nevertheless, that did not mean that ethnic stereotypes would have disappeared.

There are still African American sportsmen and women, Hispanic gangs or drunken

Native Americans. However, already in 2000 22.9% roles on screen were given to

actors of colour (Crowell at al.). The Screen Actors Guild began to collect such data in

1992 and this had been the highest percentage since then (Crowell at al.).

Appearance of Ethnic minorities in the Media

The following table created by students at the Economic Department of Pomona

College illustrates that there was progress, but the representation did not reflect the

reality (Crowell et al.):

Race Population Representation

(1999)

Representation

(2000)

African Americans 12.9 % 14.1% 14.8%

Latinos/Hispanics 11.4% 4.4% (previous high) 4.9%

Asians/Pacific Islanders 4.0% 2.2% 2.6%

Native Americans 1.5% 0.2% 0.3%

As visible from the table, Native Americans are still the most neglected minority

on screen. In the motion pictures the trend of Native detectives has continued. In Coyote

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Waits (2003) a Navajo police detective and an officer are investigating a murder of a

policeman, making the reservation place full of old myths and magic. Even Native

American directors like Chris Eyre, Smoke Signals (1998), work more on television

productions where Natives appear more often than on the silver screen as illustrated by

television series as Renegade, featuring Branscombe Richmond, and Dr. Queen, the

Medicine Woman.

The 1980s were seen as a Hispanic decade in the United States. Instability in

Latin American countries initiated the largest wave of immigrants and, as a result of

growing Hispanic population in the U.S.A., Latinos were included into films in larger

numbers. The following decade brought more positive and accurate images of

Hispanics. Moreover, Like Water for Chocolate (1992) became the most successful

foreign film in America ever.

Robert Rodriguez is one of the most powerful Hispanics in Hollywood.

Rodriguez made his name with the low budget film El Mariachi (1992) that cost only

7,000 dollars, but earned millions. Rodriguez’s sequel Desperado (1995) made stars

from Mexican actress Salma Hayek and Spanish actor Antonio Banderas. In 2005

Rodriguez again showed his multiple talents, he directed Sin City, composed some of

the music and took the position of a cameraman. Rodriguez has always Latinos in his

motion pictures, a possible reason was presented by Karen Everitt and Professor Mack:

“Movies with Hispanic characters or themes that are created and marketed for US

audiences are unique in that directors often feel pressure to make some kind of statement

about ‘Hispanicism’, or they are still seen to be doing so regardless of their intentions.

Hispanic directors and actors frequently sense and act on a responsibility to combat

common negative perceptions of Hispanics through more ‘positive’ portrayals. Among

others, negative images of Hispanics portray and oftentimes insult them as greasy, lazy,

poor, ignorant, immigrant bandits, ‘Latina spitfires,’ sneaky thieves, hired help, prostitutes,

urban gangsters, waiters, drug dealers or “sombreroed Mexicans taking siestas on

sidewalks”, lovers of only chili, tacos and liquor, and more importantly, people who must

“inevitably seek political and social guidance, acceptance, and ‘enlightenment’ of the

Anglo”. Although often seen as ‘positive’, or at least not as directly derogatory and

insulting, other stereotypes of Hispanics still persist as conservative, traditional, devout

Catholics, ‘sweet senoras’, and Latin lovers. Until this screen world of cultural inaccuracies

and stereotypes is abolished, minorities will remain trapped economically and socially by

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their world’s perception of them, which is shaped at least in part by these stereotypical and

harmful images” (Everitt and Mack).

The growing popularity of Mexican directors and actors started more than a

decade ago when Robert Rodriguez and Salma Hayek entered American cinemas. Later

they were joined by Alejandro González Iñárritu, e.g. Amores perros (2000) and 21

Grams (2003). Both of these films are result of his cooperation with Mexican

scriptwriter Guillermo Arriaga. Currently they are working on Babel (to be released in

2006) with an international cast, including Mexican Gael García Bernal, Japanese Koji

Yakusho, Canadian Mahima Chaudhry, Australian Cate Blanchett and American Brad

Pitt. Similarly to Amores perros, Babel should be a puzzle of life stories of different

people influenced by a single event (a car accident and a gunshot respectively).

The influence of race on media was parodied in Spike Lee’s Bamboozled (2000),

a story of a career of a television executive related to the influence of race and ratings.

Young African American directors expressed their opinions on this topic in

Afrocentricity (2000), compilation of short films, interviews and commentaries by

commencing African American directors. It presented the new generation, which is

“unadulterated by the Hollywood filmmaking process” (African Americans).

The problem of positive discrimination appeared in films as well. Better Luck

Tomorrow (2002), directed by Justin Lin, takes place at an American high school where

a school newspaper publishes an article suggesting that an Asian American boy is in the

basketball team only in order “to add a touch of ethnic diversity” (Asians/Asian

Americans). After that he leaves the team and becomes involved in crime.

Quite an unusual perspective of racism was offered by Monster’s Ball (2001), a

film presenting a strange love story of Hank (played by Billy Bob Thornton) and Leticia

(Halle Berry receiving an Oscar for this role). He comes from family of racists and

executioners but when his son Sonny (played by Heath Ledger) commits suicide, he

starts to change his views, and she is a widow, whose husband was electrocuted by

Hank and whose son died as well.

The “Magic Negro” Stereotype

This stereotypical character is a support for white protagonists. It first appeared

in What Dreams May Come (see p. 64). Other examples can be found in The Matrix

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series,1 where is Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne) and the Oracle (played by

Gloria Foster). While Morpheus is a leader of those dedicated to free people from the

artificial reality created by machines, the Oracle functions as an advisor foreseeing

future events. However, the future of mankind is in the hands of Neo (played by Keanu

Reeves). By some this is considered a White character, nevertheless, Keanu Reeves is

Eurasian, i.e. he has some Asian ancestry.

In Bruce Almighty (2003) the God is an African American (played by Morgan

Freeman), still the main character is Jim Carrey. Morgan Freeman has often played the

wise old advisor, the “wise Blackman”, e.g. Se7en [Seven] (1995), Shawshank

Redemption (1994) or Million Dollar Baby (2004).

A dramatic biography of the boxing legend entitled Ali was released in 2001. It

focuses on the period between 1964 and 1974 when Ali (played by Will Smith)

dominated the sport, met his future first wife and converted to Islam (changing his name

from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali). Ali refused to do his military service in Vietnam

and therefore lost his world heavyweight championship for political reasons (Howard).

Another successful biography was Ray (2004), starring Jamie Foxx (Oscar for the Best

Actor) as Ray Charles, who had to overcome not only blindness but also battle

stereotypes and racism. Both films underline the possibility to succeed despite ethnicity.

Vietnam was not a forgotten era. The Quiet American (2002) takes place in

Saigon in 1952, in time of the Vietnam War for liberation from the French colonists.

Saigon represents the beautiful, exotic but dangerous Orient where nothing is as it

seems, reminding thus of M. Butterfly (see p. 69). Partial truth is revealed when a young

idealistic American aid worker Pyle (played by Brendan Fraser) falls in love with

mistress (played by Hai Yen) of the London Times correspondent (played by Michael

Caine). However, not all secrets are Asian, Pyle is the one that hides most. Although

this adaptation of Graham Greene’s classic spy novel is primarily a love story, it also

more than just touches the origin of the American involvement in Vietnam.

The non-Caucasian antagonists did not disappear in topical films. In The Fast

and the Furious (2001) the Asian actor Rick Yune plays the villain leader of an Asian

street gang, and also in the strange sci-fi Equilibrium (2002) the only African American

character in the film (played by Taye Diggs) is the antagonist. Although, the white lead

1 The Matrix (1999), Matrix Reloaded (2003) and Matrix Revolutions (2003).

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(played by Christian Bale) is able to overcome the evils of his surroundings, his former

counterpart is killed.

The cool African American is represented by Samuel L. Jackson, who started his

career as one of the “bad guys”, e.g. Jungle Fever (1991). The next step were action

heroes, e.g. Shaft (2000) before moving to character roles, Freedomland (2006). The

last one being quite controversial, Jackson’s detective has to find a Caucasian child

allegedly kidnapped by an African American. Currently he is one of the most

distinguished African American actors. He was offered the role of mace Windu in Star

Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) being the only African American lead

in the new series (in the original ones it was Billy Dee Williams). After releasing The

Phantom Menace George Lucas faced criticism over racism. In the original series2 the

aliens did not physically remind of humans and spoke their languages. However, The

Phantom Menace is full of stereotypes, though the films take place in a “galaxy far far

away”. Jar Jar Binks, a clumsy Gungan, has Jamaican accent and his ears remind of

dreadlocks (Hubbard). Also the Trade Federation representatives look like parody of

Oriental bureaucracy, moreover, speaking like Charlie Chan characters (Hubbard). As a

reaction in Attack of the Clones (2002) such characters were moved to minor positions

and the universe was filled with other aliens (Hubbard). Nevertheless, the character of

Jango Fett was seen as another “bad” Latino, despite the fact that the actor, Temuera

Morrison, is a Maori.

Concerning the film fashion Gerald Mast made an interesting statement, that has

proved itself right. “A third historical fact is that film fashions roll in waves and spin in

cycles. A cycle of “little films” will certainly follow this cycle of blockbusters and

blockbuster sequels when the blockbusters cease to make money” (Mast 494). There are

still blockbusters made, but the “little films” are on their rise. One of the small but

successful ones was Lost in Translation (2003). The protagonists of Sophie Coppola’s

critically praised film are two white Americans in Tokyo. However, it was also

criticised for exploiting Asian stereotypes. The inhabitants of Tokyo are seen as simple

two-dimensional characters and serve as a comic relief. The white couple makes fun of

mixing the consonants [r] and [l] by those Japanese that try to communicate with them

in English not even trying to learn few simple Japanese words. If such situation was

2 Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)

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reverse, it would be considered offensive. On the other hand, the feelings the director

intended to communicate were loneliness, loss, isolation and alienation and Tokyo

serves just as an illustration of such emotions.

Tom Cruise’s Nathaniel Algren was the white protagonist of The Last Samurai

(2003), a film receiving contradictory reactions throughout the world. Although it

showed Japanese characters as three-dimensional, it did not avoid the persistent

stereotypes. Again there is the Asian woman falling in love with the white American

despite him having killed her husband. The Japanese emperor is fascinated by the

modern West sacrificing old traditions in the process while Algren embraces the

samurai culture simplified to certain themes, e.g. mysterious orient providing

enlightenment to Algren. Tom Cruise was too unusual for Western audiences in this

role. The film was much better received in Japan, where the focus was on Ken

Watanebe (playing Katsumoto), who is a star there. Nevertheless, the West became

more aware of him for his part in Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). Based on Arthur

Golden’s novel it is set in Kyoto in the 1930s and tells a story of Chijo, a girl sold by

her father to a geisha house, who eventually becomes a geisha with a new name, Sajuri.

The film was criticised for casting Chinese actresses in the main roles. Rob Marshall,

the director, said:

“I have a very simple philosophy, which is that you cast the best person for the

role. When I cast Queen Latifah in Chicago, people pointed out that in 1920s Chicago there

would be no such thing as an African-American matron working in a jail, but for me she

embodied the role. It is kind of a tradition in film-making, the tradition that sees an

Egyptian Omar Sharif cast as a Russian Doctor Zhivago, and a Texan Renee Zellweger cast

as the British Bridget Jones. They are actors, acting” (“Geisha film reveals ‘hidden

culture’”).

Michelle Jeoh’s (playing Mameha) reaction to the criticism was: “In Asia,

we constantly play Koreans, Malay, Chinese. We do not question that, as you do

not question an Englishman playing an American or a German” (“Geisha film

reveals ‘hidden culture’”). Moreover, Ziyi Zhang (playing Sajuri) also had to

swap the traditional order of the names in China to make it closer to Western

cultures. In Wo hu cang long [The Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger] (2000) she

performed as Zhang Ziyi, but in Memoirs of a Geisha she became Ziyi Zhang.

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Michelle Yeoh was also the first female partner of James Bond in Tomorrow

Never Dies (1997), “the Bond babes” had never before been his equals. Moreover, it

was an Asian woman. In Die Another Day (2002) the position was taken on by Halle

Berry, an African American.

It is unusual that there are hardly any Asian American star actors in the United

States. Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan and Jet Li are Chinese and work in America only

occasionally. Especially Jet Li often appears in American “B” (video) films. Keanu

Reeves is known as Hawaiian and does not stress his Asian ancestry. Mark Dacascos

(Japanese, Chinese and Philippine ancestry) is known principally for his martial arts

films, which are in Europe distributed mainly on video. However, he played in a French

production, Le pacte des loups [Brotherhood of the Wolf] (2001). Nevertheless, even

here he is just a Native American sidekick of the white protagonist (played by Samuel

LeBihan), who sacrifices himself in order to safe his White friend.

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu seems to be the only Asian American actress regularly appearing in

Hollywood mainstream films (Svetvilas). Though her film career began in the late

1990s, she managed to establish herself as a star. The latest box office hit she took part

in was Quentin Tarrantino’s Kill Bill Vol. I where she played a yakuza leader.

Compared to Anna May Wong (see p. 24), the range of the roles is not very wide, but

majority of her characters survive by the end of the film. However, what both of them

have in common is the fact that there is hardly any romance existing. In Charlie’s

Angels (2000) she has a romantic relationship but with a white man, which remains of

the old stereotype of white people being attractive to other minorities purely for the

whiteness sake (Svetvilas).

Concerning the stereotypes, Liu has been accused of supporting the dragon lady

stereotype when playing Ling Woo in Ally McBeal series, but praised at the same time

for breaking the submissive Asian woman stereotype. She is still at the beginning and

therefore does not get enough offers to choose only those that are not stereotypical.

Moreover, the success of films she played in has been attributed to her co-stars, in

Charlie’s Angels to Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore, in the case of Shanghai Noon

(2001) Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. The fact is that no Asian actress had, in the

United States, a career as long as Anna May Wong’s one though she died about 40

years ago (Svetvilas).

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SUGGESTIONS ON METHODOLOGY

For the last seventeen years the Czech Republic has been experiencing immense

changes not only in political system and economy, but also in immigration and

education. Refugees and job seekers need to integrate into the society, their children

attend Czech schools and students and teachers need to learn to accept them. Language

teachers do not teach only the given language but also help the students to understand

the culture.

As said in the introduction stereotypes are an inseparable part of our lives and

should be dealt with in the educational process. If students are not aware of their

existence, they cannot recognize them and change their apprehension. Following pages

provide some suggestions on how to make the problem part of English teaching.

Nevertheless, these are just ideas and need to be adjusted and included into lessons

depending on the individual teachers and students. Also these methods can be useful in

other subjects, not only English.

However, before approaching films, students need to understand the term

(stereotypes, discrimination etc) in order to be able to deal with them in films.

1 Minority Stereotypes and Where to Find Them

Write on the blackboard these four categories: Black, Native American (or Indian,

if students do not know the term), Latino/Hispanic/Mexican (choose one depending on

the knowledge of students) and Asian. If there are problem with political correctness,

explain the problematic words/expressions. Divide the class into small groups and ask

the students to brainstorm all words of phrases that come to their minds when saying

these words. Tell them to write anything and not to worry about it. The students should

write them down and then transfer to the blackboard.

When all had a chance to read the results on the board, ask them whether the real

people are like that or have such characteristics, e.g. Do all Native Americans have long

hair with feathers entwined? This should raise a discussion and you can bring up a topic

of Roma people in the Czech Republic.

This activity is suitable not only as an introduction in to the problem of

stereotyping, but it can also serve as a warm-up, just to get the students thinking and

talking in English.

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2 Getting to Understand the Terminology

Students need to understand that certain presumptions might result in stereotypes

and unfair judgments about individuals and groups and that stereotypes influence our

lives. Nevertheless, first they need to differentiate between these terms: a stereotype,

prejudice and discrimination. “Scapegoating: An Activity for Middle School Children”

provides useful ideas.

Write three simple sentences on the blackboard and ask the student to identify

which sentence exemplifies prejudice, stereotype and discrimination. For example:

• We don’t like students from 2.A. (Prejudice)

• Gypsies are all stupid and thieves. (Stereotype)

• Let’s not play with them. (Discrimination)

These examples will help the class to write a definition of prejudice, stereotype and

discrimination. If necessary a learner’s dictionary can be used. The following

definitions come from Collins Cobuild English Dictionary:

• Discrimination is the practice of threatening one person or group of people less

fairly or less well than other people or groups (469).

• Prejudice is an unreasonable dislike of or preference for one group of people or

thing over another (1294).

• A stereotype is a fixed general image or a set of characteristics that a lot of

people believe represent a particular type of person or thing (1634).

In small groups, pairs or with the whole class (depending on you and the students)

discuss the following questions:

1 Where can you find stereotypes?

2 How do you know that something is a stereotype?

3 Have you experienced stereotyping yourselves or encountered it any

form?

4 How can they influence life of minorities?

5 Do you know any events that were influenced by stereotypes (e.g. TV

news, newspapers, historical events)?

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3 Video in the Classroom

One of the popular methods is teaching with the help of video. The image is not

imposed only aurally but also visually. However, this does not mean that student’s

imagination would have to be limited. Kitty Johnson, USIA English Teaching Fellow,

says: “Films are an excellent source of authentic spoken language in context - a resource

for both language and culture. This is especially true when it’s American language and

culture. Hollywood not only reflects American society; in some cases, it also creates it”

(“Film in the Classroom”). Here are some ideas presented her article:

Pre-Viewing

It is a good idea to active students’ background knowledge before watching the film:

• Students discuss the theme either in pairs or small groups. Do they know the

film? Have they heard about it?

• From the title they should try to predict what the film might be about. Is it a

comedy, a drama or a documentary? The can also try to predict the story line.

• Introduce the general vocabulary.

• Show a scene without the sound. Have students write or discuss possible

dialogue, feeling aroused and predict the consequences of the given scene.

Viewing

• Assign individuals or groups to follow the actions of a particular character.

• Before viewing give students questions about the content to answer (e.g.

characters, plot, specific part of a dialog).

Post-Viewing

Writing activities:

• Write a review of film.

• Choose a character and compare his/her life, actions, ideals with your own.

• What happens after the film is over?

Ideas for discussion:

• Would the film be different if certain characters had taken different actions? If

yes, how?

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• How do cultural norms influence the action? What would happen if the story

took place in a different country/time?

• What happens after the film is over?

Kitty Johnson is not the only person working with films in classroom. All who

have undergone the CELTA training have the experience. Moreover, there are seminars

focusing just on the methodology of using video in classroom organised in the Czech

Republic.

4 Consequences of Stereotyping

American history is full of events caused by stereotypes, e.g. interment camps

for Japanese American citizens or the removal of Native Americans to reservations.

There are many films that can help students to understand the results of stereotyping

and prejudice. Images from films like 12 Angry Men, Dances with Wolves or Karate

Kid would be useful depending on the issue discussed:

• Scenes in Karate Kid where Mr. Miagi recounts the events in one of American

internment camps illustrate the impact of that removal. Also students can

understand it as Daniel does. It is narrated in a simple way, easy to apprehend.

• 12 Angry Men show that a single life can be destroyed by stereotypes. It does

not have to be necessarily a large scale removal of inhabitant, stereotypes work

in every society and their consequences can be fatal, even if just to one

individual.

• The changes of perception of Native Americans were one of the main themes in

Dances with Wolves. Although the film still uses some, it shows that the division

of characters into the good and bad guys in older films was not a mirror of the

reality.

The choice of films again is question of the level of English of the students, their

age and the topic of the lesson.

5 Projects

Projects are very popular nowadays. They require the students to do their own

research, to sort out the results and to present them. Moreover, they cross the borders of

- 85 -

individual subjects and make students combine acquired knowledge. To combine civics,

English, literature and history this project can be set up:

Students in pairs or groups (again this depends on students, teachers etc.) are

given a minority to work on. This can be done by choice or by draw. The idea is to find

out the history of the given minority, to find examples of stereotypes in literature and

films and to describe the current situation. Depending on the students’ computer literacy

and skills, the outcome can be a power point presentation that would include

exemplification from literature or films. Moreover, to give the students feeling of

relevancy of their work, the result should be presented on a “school conference”. This

would influence not only participants on the project, but also other students, teachers

and possibly parents, if willing to come.

The use of different methods depends on the creativity of the teacher. It can be

either part of everyday schooling in the form of prevention of socio-pathological

phenomena or the knowledge can help when working on projects with students. In

lesson this topic can be included in English conversation, video teaching and in role-

playing.

There are many websites, professional or governmental, which offer either

inspiration or prepared lesson plans for dealing with stereotypes. The following were

used when compiling this chapter:

“Understanding Stereotypes.” Discovery: Education. 12 March 2006.

<http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/stereotypes/>.

“Scapegoating: An Activity for Middle School Children“ in Empowering Children in

the Aftermath of Hate. Court TV Online. 12 March 2006.

<http://www.courttv.com/choices/empowering/lesson6.html?sect=3>.

Johnson, Kitty. “Film in the Classroom.” American Studies Centre,

Salzburg Seminar. 10 Jan. 2006.

<http://www.salzburgseminar.org/ASC/csacl/progs/EFL/FILM.htm>.

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CONCLUSION

Stereotypes had long been used in literature and on live stage before they entered

motion pictures. Certain stereotypes survived the changes and exist even nowadays, e.g.

the Indian Princess and the Noble Savage. With changes in society, economics and

politics, some stereotypes have disappeared; others were substituted and often the old

ones, once forgotten, came into use again, as exemplified by changes in perception of

Latinos after the Second World War. Moreover, new stereotypical roles have also

appeared in the new millennium, e.g. the Magical Negro.

An increasing number of foreign films are made on locations in the Czech

Republic because of low costs, and have thus become more attractive to Czech

audiences.3 Having hardly any first-hand experience with encountering the ethnic

minorities presented in films, it is easy to internalise the image presented in motion

pictures. However, awareness needs to be raised not only in the educational system, but

also in the general public.

Stereotyping is not only a problem of the film industry; media in general tend to

exploit it. It is easier to pass a simplified message to audiences, and stereotypes are an

available means to do so. To answer the question why this is done is simple. Stereotypes

are used because people are prone to use elementary methods of classifying information

received by exaggerating differences in appearance. Therefore, it seems highly

improbable that stereotypes will ever vanish. Nevertheless, with a greater awareness of

the issue, it is possible they might begin to diminish. However, simplification should

not be in the sense of good vs. bad or better vs. worse, only that various sides of the

same shape are different.

3 E.g. Mission: Impossible (2000), Blade II (2002) and Van Helsing (2004).

- 87 -

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“South Los Angeles.” Answers.com. 10 Nov. 2005.

<www.answers.com/topic/south-los-angeles?hl=boyz&hl=n&hl=hood&hl=riots>.

South & Southeast Asian Cinema: India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore,

Thailand, Vietnam. The Movies, Race and Ethnicism. University of California,

Berkeley: Media Resources Center. 5 Jan. 2006.

<www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/indianfilm.html>.

“Speaking for the Buddha? Buddhism and the Media”. University of California,

Berkeley. 8-9 Feb. 2005. 10 Nov. 2005.

<ieas.berkeley.edu/events/speakingforthebuddha>.

Sriwittayapaknam School. “The King And I: Fact or Fiction?” Thai Students on-line.

6 Feb. 2006. <www.thaistudents.com/kingandi/>.

Svetvilas, Chuleenan. “Where are Asians on Screen?” The Tyee.

23 March 2004. 10 Aug. 2005.

<www.thetyee.ca/Entertainment/2004/03/23/Where_are_Asians_on_Screen/>.

Takaki, Ronald. “Organizing Principles: The Myth of the Model Minority.” Model

Minority. <www.modelminority.com/article1043.html>.

Thomas, Bob. “Sidney Poitier.” The Mail Tribune, 14 Sept. 1999.

<www.mailtribune.com/primet/archive/1999/91499p1.htm>.

“‘The Tonto Syndrome’, Scholastic Update, 5/26/89” in “The Basic Indian Stereotypes.”

Blue Corn Comics. Originally published in The Scholastic Magazine, 26 May 1989.

6 Aug. 2005. <www.bluecorncomics.com/stbasics.htm>.

Twogood, Sara. “The Munich Post: its undiscovered effects on Hitler.” Hitler Project.

University of California, Santa Barbara. August 2005. 17 Nov. 2005.

<www.history.ucsb.edu/projects/holocaust/Research/Proseminar/saratwogood.htm>.

- 101 -

“Understanding Stereotypes.” Discovery: Education. 12 March 2006.

<school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/stereotypes/>.

“Vaudeville.” Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia. 20 Nov. 2005.

<en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaudeville>.

“The Vietnam War and American Culture.” Digital History.

University of Houston. 12 Jan. 2006.

<www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=512>.

Wallace, Mike. “Morgan Freeman Defies Labels.” CBS News.

18 Dec. 2005. 28 Feb. 2006.

<www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/14/60minutes/main1127684_page2.shtml>.

Watanabe, Richard. “What exactly is a Buddhahead?” University of Michigan, Public

School Health. 7 June 2004. <www.sph.umich.edu/~rwatt/buddha.htm>.

West, Dennis, and Joan M. West. “Sending Cinematic Smoke Signals: An Interview with

Sherman Alexie.” Cineaste 23.4 (1998). 28-33. 10 Jan. 2006.

<sweb.uky.edu/~kchawl0/281/281smoke.htm>.

Whitley, Peggy, and Susan Goodwin. “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Kingwood

College Library. 1999. 18 Jan. 2006. <kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/kesey.html>.

Worrell, Joseph. “Anna May Wong.” The Silent Era People. 20 Nov. 2004.

<www.silentera.com/people/actresses/Wong-AnnaMay.html>.

Worrell, Joseph. “Sessue Hayakawa.” The Silent Era People. 20 Nov. 2004.

<www.silentera.com/people/actors/Hayakawa-Sessue.html>.

Zimmerman, Thomas. “Plessy v. Ferguson.” Bowling Green State University. Spring

1997. 20 Nov. 2005. <www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/plessy/plessy.html>.

“Zip Dandies.” Slavery in America, Teacher Resources. 20 Nov. 2004.

<www.slaveryinamerica.org/scripts/sia/glossary.cgi?term=z&letter=yes>.

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GOVENTMENT DOCUMENTS ON-LINE

United States. Chinese Exclusion Act. Chapter 126. 28 May 1882. Mount Hollyoke

College. 10 June 2005. <www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/chinex.htm>.

United States. The Freedmen’s Bureau Act of 1865. Section 4. March 23, 1865.

University of Maryland. 23 Nov. 2005.

<asp1.umbc.edu/newmedia/sites/chetah/pdf/bureau4_thefbactof1865.pdf>.

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ATTACHMENT I

LIST OF STEREOTYPES

African American Stereotypes

• Happy Slave - romanticized image of the plantation slaves, one of the very

early images.

• Magical Negro - appeared as the last one, usually a wise Black man or a

supernatural creature.

• Pickaninni (also picaninny or piccaniny) - offensive term for African American

child, as a stereotype established in Edison’s Ten Pickaninnies.

• Servant - eager to serve, loyal, unintelligent.

African American Female Stereotypes

• Aunt Dinah Roh - a mammy-like character named after a minstrel song.

• Nanny/Mammy - a self-less caretaker, dominating her family, with corpulent

figure.

• Matriarch - a strong and domineering head of the family (sometimes included

in the mammy stereotype).

• Superwoman - a strong female protagonist of revenge blaxploitation films.

• Tragic Mulatto - a daughter of a plantation owner and a slave. Thinks she is

white thanks to her light complexion, after discovering her origin she is despised

and dies.

• Wench/yeller gal/prima donna - sexually provocative character from minstrel

shows, where played by men. Always a mulatto combining white facial features

with promiscuity and exotic blackness.

African American Male Stereotypes

• Buck/Brutal Black Buck - a feared brutal creature, appeared already in minstrel

shows.

• Coon - parodied the language of the Blacks, their manners or attitudes.

• Drug dealer - emotion-less, dangerous, powerful.

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• Gumbo Chaff/Gombo Chaff - a title character form a song from 1830s, a black

riverboatsman. Result of a combination of a riverboatsman from tall-tales and

African American stereotypes.

• Sambo - a lazy childish laughing man, fond of food, songs and dancing.

• Strong leader - a militant, “Black Panther”.

• Uncle Tom - a kind old servant who was inoffensive and harmless.

• Uncle Remus - a version of “Uncle Tom”, an old happy slave.

• Zip Dandy/Jim Dandy - an urban black person in elegant clothes and top hat,

self-centred. It served as an illustration of the belief how ridiculous would

African Americans looked if they tried to act as the White majority.

• Jim Crow - one of the oldest stereotypes, originated in minstrel shows.

Stereotypes of Hispanics

Latinas Stereotypes

• In general Latinas were considered charming, famine and oversexed.

• Chiquita Banana - a hip swinging sexy Latina.

• Female buffoon - used in the early films. A Latina whose stupidity served as a

reason for White man to leave her in favour of a White girl.

• Jovial mamacita - a merry motherly type.

• Lady in the tutti frutti hat - connected with tropical fruit costumes of Carmen

Miranda, the costumes being a parody on traditional dresses of Latin America.

• Maid - ignorant, hired help.

• Maria/Rosita - a prototype of Latina, finger snapping, hip swinging. Similar to

“Chiquita Banana”.

• Mexican/Latin spitfire - named after a television series; “a wild cat”, sexy,

available, version of the Vamp.

• Suffering mother - an opposite to jovial mamacita.

• Vamp - sexy, available.

• Virginal señorita - often used in the early Westerns, an innocent girl in distress

needed to be saved by a White man.

Latinos Stereotypes

• Hispanics used to be depicted as cruel, lazy, dirty and ridiculous.

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• Greaser - a murderer, a bandit, a rapist.

• Macho - an assertively virile or dominating male.

• Latino lover - created in order to present a more positive image of Hispanics

after banning of American films in Latin America.

Asian Stereotypes

• In general Asians were considered hardworking and quiet.

• Foreignness - being impossible to comprehend.

• Yellow peril - the oldest stereotypes going back to the Genghis Chan presenting

a threat coming from Asian.

• Single Asian culture - no difference made among Chinese, Japanese, Koreans

or Vietnamese.

• Famine East as the opposite of Masculine West.

Asian male stereotypes:

• Charlie Chan - a mysterious clever detective, asexual, with lethargic manner

and speech.

• Coolie - economically inferior (a cook/laundryman/cleaner), with an strong

accent, polite but untrustworthy, easily recognizable due to plait, hat, shoes and

traditional clothes.

• Dr. Fu-Manchu - a personification of the Yellow Peril.

• Kung fu masters - martial arts is an innate skill of all Asians.

• Undesirable male partners - male sexuality is a problem, Asians have been

view as homosexual or asexual lacking romantic feelings.

• Warlord - a strong and cruel military governor in China who “has a soft spot”

for White women.

Asian female stereotypes:

• White male - Asian female relationship - Asian women fall for White men

easier, supporting the idea that White is more attractive.

• China doll/lotus flower/geisha girl - exotic, subservient, compliant, eager to

please.

• Dragon lady - an untrustworthy and dangerous intriguer.

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Native American Stereotypes

• References to Native Americans often invoke images of bows, feathers,

buffalo, beads, warfare and war paint.

• Disappearing culture - a romantic image of a free culture which was expected

to disappear but never fulfilled the expectation.

• Get drunk quickly - refers to the greed of “Indians” for “firewater” depicted in

many westerns.

• Naive/simple - appeared in the form of a fool selling Manhattan for $24.

• Saviour - a friend saving the early settlers from starvations.

• Single Native culture - no differences made among the different native cultures.

Native American Female Stereotypes

• Indian Princess - an Indigenous beauty sympathising with the white man and

understanding his intentions.

Native American Male Stereotypes

• Noble savage - innocent, willing to share, handsome, not Christian and

improperly dressed.

• Savage/wild - a kidnapper of White women, scalping his enemies.

• Always smoking peace-pipe to seal a deal or a friendship.

• Stoic in every situation, expressing no feelings.

• Tonto – a sidekick from television series The Lone Ranger.

• “Whoo whoo” - Native American men and boys did not put their hands to their

mouths to make “whoo whoo” noise. This was done by women, but they did not

use hands. The sound was produced by tongue and slightly opened mouths

(Nepstad).

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ATTACHMENT II

ETHNIC FESTIVAL IN THE UNITED STATES

African and African American Film Festivals

• New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) is held in April and May in

cooperation with the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Museum.

• Urbanworld Film Festival (UWFF) is held in New York cinemas during

summer. Members of the advisory board are distinguished filmmakers like

Danny Glover and Debbie Allen.

• Newark Black Film Festival was held for the first time in 1974. Films are shown

in the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Newark Symphony Hall.

• Black Film Works: A Festival of Film and Video is organised in California by

the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame and the Kodak Company.

• Sarasota Africana Film Festival offers a mixture of films from Africa, the

Caribbean, the USA and the United Kingdom.

• African Film Festival takes place at Columbia College, Chicago and deals with

the diaspora , its film history, ritual and culture.

Native American Film Festivals

• American Indian Film Festival is held in San Francisco in November.

Information available at: <www.aifisf.com>.

• First Americans in the Arts Film/TV/Theatrical Awards is held in Beverly Hills

in March. Information available at: <www.firstamericans.org/call4entries.htm>.

• First Nations Film and Video Festival of Chicago is organized by American

Indian Center, is held in Chicago in November. Information available at:

<www.fnfvf.com>.

• Indian Summer Image Awards is held in West Allis in Spetember. Information

available at: <www.indiansummer.org>.

• Indigenous Film and Video Festival is organized by International Institute for

Indigenous Resource Management, is held in Denver in October. Information

available at: <www.iiirm.org>.

• International Cherokee Film Festival is held in Tahlequah, Oklahoma in

October. Information available at: <www.cherokeefilmfestival.com>.

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• Native American Film and Video Festival is organized by Smithsonian National

Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), is held in New York in autumn.

Information available at: <www.nativenetworks.si.edu>.

• Native American Film Festival is organized by Columbia Film Society, is held

in Columbia in November. Information available at: <www.nickelodeon.org>.

• Native Cinema Showcase is organised by NMAI and Center for Contemporary

Arts (CCA) in Santa Fe in August. Information available at:

<www.nativenetworks.si.edu >.

• Native Eyes Film Showcase organised by Hanson Film Institute at University of

Arizona, is held in Tucson in September. Information available at:

<www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/public/nativeeyes>.

• Native Film Festival is organised by Alaska Native Heritage Center, is held in

Anchorage in January. Information available at: <www.alaskanative.net>.

• Native Voice Film Festival takes place in Rapid City in May. Information

available at: <www.nativevoicefilmfestival.com>.

• Red Fork Film Festival is organised by Creek Nation Communications, is held

in Okmulgee in November.

• Stories-N-Motion Film Festival is organised by Haskell Indian Nations

University Lawrence in March. Information available at: <www.stories-n-

motion.com>.

• Sundance Film Festival is organised by Sundance Institute in Beverly Hills, is

held in January. Bird Runningwater is director of Native American Program.

Information available at: <www.sundance.org>.

• Palm Springs Native American Film Festival is organised by Agua Caliente

Cultural Museum in Palm Springs, is held in March. Information available t:

<www.accmuseum.org>.

Hispanic Film Festivals

• Cine Las Americas is held in Austin in April. Information available at:

<www.cinelasamericas.org>.

• CineFestival en San Antonio is organized by Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center

and is held in San Antonio in November. Information available at:

<www.guadalupeculturalarts.org/mediaarts/cine2k4.htm>.

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• International Hispanic Film Festival is held in Palm Springs Valley in October.

• International Latino Film Festival is held in San Francisco Bay Area in autumn,

the first one was at Lark Theater in 1997.

Asian American Film Festivals

• Chicago Asian American Showcase is organised by FAAIM in March - April.

• Asian American International Film Festival is held in New York.

• Asian Pacific Film Festival of Florida.

• Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival is held in May. Information

available at: <www.vconline.org/ff06/index.html>.

• San Diego Asian Film festival is held in San Diego in October. Information

available at: <www.sdaff.org>.

Sources:

Films and Festivals. Native Network. Smithsonian Institution. 10 Jan. 2006.

<http://www.nativenetworks.si.edu/eng/yellow/festivals.htm>.

“African-Americans in Motion Pictures: The Past and the Present.” Black History

Month (Feb. 1999). Long Island University. 5 Nov. 2002.

<www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/african/movies.htm>.

Asian American Film Festivals. Majestic Pictures. 12. Feb. 2006.

<http://www.mptv.com/htm/asianamericanfilmfestivals.htm>.

- 110 -

ATTACHMENT III

FILM INDEX

Films are listed in the alphabetical order; articles are not taken into

consideration. The companies in the index are distributors (not producers). The

following abbreviations are used in the index:

(V) - a video film,

(TV) - a television film,

(Anim) - an animation,

(S) - a short film.

If the word “unknown” is used, it indicates either that the information is lost or it

could not have been found in the following film databases:

The Internet Movie Database <www.imdb.com>.

All Movie Guide <www.allmovie.com>.

Across the Pacific. Dir. John Huston. Perf. Humphrey Bogart, Lee Tung Foo. Warner

Bros., 1942.

Afrocentricity. Dir. Charles Stone III, Chuck Wilson, Jeff Byrd, Lee Davis, Muhammida

El Muhajir, Niva Dorell, Tanya Boyd. Perf. Chuck D, Vanessa Williams, Jeff

Byrd. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 2000. (V)

Ali. Dir. Michael Mann. Perf. Will Smith, Jamie Foxx. Columbia Pictures, 2001.

American Me. Dir. Edward James Olomos. Perf. Sla Lopez, Vira Montez. Universal

Pictures, 1992.

Amistad. Dir. Steven Speilberg. Perf. Morgan Freeman, Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou.

DreamWorks Distribution LLC, 1997.

Amores perros. Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu. Perf. Gael García Bernal, Emilio

Echevarría. Triangelfilm, 2000.

…And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him. Dir. Severo Peréz. Perf. Art Bonnila, Jose

Alcala, James Jude Courtney. Kino International Corp., 1994.

Anna and the King. Dir. Andy Tennant. Perf. Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat.

Fox 2000 Pictures, 1999.

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Apocalypse Now. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen,

Robert Duvall. United Artists, 1979.

The Arrowhead. Dir. Charles Marquis Warren. Perf. Charleton Heston, Jack Palance.

Paramount Pictures, 1953.

The Aryan. Dir. Reginald Barker, William S. Hart. Perf. William S. Hart, Gertrude

Claire, Charles K. French. Triangle Distributing Corporation, 1916.

Ashes and Ambers. Dir. Haile Gerima. Perf. John Anderson, Evelyn A. Blackwell,

Norman Blalock. Mypheduh Films, 1982.

Auntie Mame. Dir. Morton DaCosta. Perf. Rosalind Russell, Yuki Shimoda. Warner

Bros., 1958.

Austin Powers: Goldmember. Dir. Jay Roach. Perf. Mike Myers, Beyoncé Knowles.

New Line Cinema, 2002.

Baadasssss! (also How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass). Dir. Mario Van Peeble.

Perf. Mario Van Peeble, Joy Bryant, T. K. Carter. Sony Pictures Classics, 2004.

Babel. Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu. Perf. Brad Pitt, Gael García Bernal, Koji

Yakusho, Mahima Chaudhry, Cate Blanchett. Paramount Pictures, 2006.

Babes in Arms. Dir. Busby Berkeley. Perf. Mickey Rooney, Judy Gralnd.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1939.

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. Dir. Wych Kaosayananda. Perf. Lucy Liu, Antonio Banderas.

Warner Bros., 2002.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. Dir. Robert M. Young. Perf. Edward James Olomos.

Embassy Pictures Corporation, American Playhouse, 1982. (TV)

La Bamba. Dir. Luis Valdez. Perf. Lou Diamond Philips, Esai Morales, Rosanna

DeSoto. Columbia Pictures, 1987.

Bamboozled. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith.

New Line Cinema, 2000.

B.A.P.S (Black American Princesses). Dir. Robert Townsend. Perf. Halle Berry, Martin

Landau. New Line Cinema, 1997.

The Barbarian and the Geisha. Dir. John Huston. Perf. John Wayne, Eiko Ando.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1958.

Barriers. Dir. Alan Baxter. Perf. Jamaul Roots, Geoff Garcy. Water Bearer Films Inc.,

1998.

- 112 -

La Bataille [The Danger Line]. Dir. Édouard-Émile Violet. Perf. Tsuru Aoki, Lucien

Bataille, Sessue Hayakawa. Universum Film A.G. (UFA), Le Film d’Art, 1923.

Battleground. Dir. William A. Wellman. Perf. Van Johnson, John Hodiak.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1949.

Battle of the Coral Sea. Dir. Paul Wendkos. Perf. Cliff Robertson, Teru Shimada.

Columbia Pictures, 1959.

Beat Street. Dir. Stan Lathan. Perf. Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis. Orion Pictures

Corporation, 1984.

Beloved. Dir. Jonathan Demme. Perf. Oprah Winifrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton.

Buena Vista Pictures, 1998.

Better Luck Tomorrow. Dir. Justin Lin. Perf. Parry Shen, Jason J. Tobin. Paramount

Pictures, MTV Films, 2002.

The Beautiful Señoritas (1977) – the film is mentioned by Bluemich and Cedeño,

otherwise it has not been traceable.

Belly. Dir. Hype Williams. Perf. DMX, Nass. Xscapade Pictures Ltd., 1998.

Big Bear. Dir. Gil Cardinal. Perf. Gordon Tootoosis, Tantoo Cardinal, Lorne Cardinal.

Alliance Atlantis Communications, 1998. (S)

The Big Boss [Tang sha da xiong]. Dir. Wei Lo. Perf. Bruce Lee, Maria Yi. Columbia

Pictures, 1971.

Billy Jack. Dir. Tom Laughlin. Perf. Tom Laughlin, Dolores Taylor. Warner Bros.,

1971.

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings. Dir. John Badham. Perf. James

Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor. Universal Pictures, 1976.

Bird. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Perf. Forest Whitaker. Warner Bros., 1988.

The Birth of a Nation. Dir. D. W. Griffith. Perf. Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh. Joseph

Brenner Associates Inc., David W. Griffith Corp., 1915.

The Bitter Tea of General Yen. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. Barbara Stanwyck, Toshia Mori.

Columbia Pictures, 1933.

Black & White. Dir. Boris Frumin. Perf. Elena Shevchenko, Gilbert Giles, Patrick

Godfrey, Gina Delio. Unknown, 1991.

Black Like Me. Dir. Carl Lerner. Perf. James Whitmore, Sorrell Brooke, Al Freeman Jr.

Continental Distributing Inc., 1964.

Blackboard Jungle. Dir. Richard Brooks. Perf. Glen Ford, Anne Francis.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1955.

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Blade. Dir. Stephen Norrington. Perf. Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe

Wright. New Line Cinema, 1998.

BladeII. Dir. Guillermo del Toro. Perf. Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Karel Roden.

New Line Cinema, 1998.

Blade Runner. Dir. Ridley Scott . Perf. Harrison Ford, Rudger Hauer, Sean Young.

Warner Bros., 1982.

Bombay Talkie. Dir. James Ivory. Perf. Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendal,

Zia Mohyeddin. Dia Films, 1970.

Bonnie and Clyde. Dir. Arthur Penn. Perf. Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway. Warner

Brothers/Seven Arts, 1967.

Border Incident. Dir. Anthony Mann. Perf. Ricardo Montalban, Geroge Murphy,

Howard DaSilva. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1949.

Born on the Fourth of July. Dir. Oliver Stone. Perf. Tom Cruise, Bryan Larkin.

Universal Pictures, 1989.

Boulevard Nights. Dir. Michael Pressman. Perf. Richard Yniguez, Danny De La Paz.

Warner Bros., 1979.

The Bounty. Dir. Roger Donaldson. Perf. Mel Gibson, Antony Hopkins, Lawrence

Olivier. Orion Pictures Corporation, 1984.

Boyz N the Hood (also Boyz ‘n the Hood). Dir. John Singleton. Perf. Laurence

Fishburne, Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr. Columbia Pictures, 1991.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Dir. Blake Edwards. Perf. Audrey Hepburn. Paramount Pictures,

1961.

Break of Dawn. Dir. Isaac Artenstein. Perf. Óscar Chávez, Kamala Lopez-Dawson.

Cinevest Entertainment Group, 1988. (TV)

Bridge on the River Kwai. Dir. David Lean. Perf. William Holden, Alec Guinness,

Sessue Hayakawa. Columbia Pictures, 1957.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Dir. Sam Peckinpah. Perf. Warren Oates, Isela

Vega. United Artists, 1974.

Broken Arrow. Dir. Delmer Daves. Perf. Jeff Chandler, James Stewart. Twentieth

Century Fox Film Corporation, 1950.

Broken Blossoms (also Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl). Dir. D. W.

Griffith. Perf. Richard Barthelmess, Lillian Gish. United Artists, (1919).

Brotherhood of the Wolf (see Le pacte des loups).

- 114 -

Bruce Almighty. Dir. Tom Shadyac. Perf. Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer

Aniston. Universal Pictures, 2003.

A Bucket of Cream Ale. Dir. Unknown. Perf. Unknown. American Mutoscope &

Biograph Company, 1904.

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson. Dir. Robert Altman.

Perf. Paul Newman, Joel Grey. United Artists, 1976.

Bush Mama. Dir. Haile Gerima. Perf. Charles Brooks, Chris Clay, Cora Lee Day.

Tricontinental Film Center, 1976

By Right of Birth. Dir. Harry A. Gant. Perf. Clarence Brooks, Anita Thompson,

Webb King. States Rights Independent Exchanges, 1921.

Carlito’s Way. Dir. Brian De Palma. Perf. Al Pacino, Sean Penn. Universal Pictures,

1993.

Carolina. Dir. Henry King. Perf. Janet Gaynor, Lionel Barrymore, Stepin Fetchit.

Fox Film Corporation, 1934.

Car Wash. Dir. Michael Schultz. Perf. Franklyn Ajaye, Sully Boyar, Richard Brestoff.

Universal Pictures, 1976.

Casablanca. Dir. Michael Curtiz. Perf. Humphrey Bogart, Arthur “Dooley” Wilson.

Warner Bros., 1942.

Casualties of War. Dir. Brian de Palma. Perf. Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Thuy Thu Le.

Columbia Pictures, 1989.

Chan Is Missing. Dir. Wayne Wang. Perf. Wood Moy, Marc Hayashi. New Yorker

Films, 1982.

Charlie’s Angels. Dir. McG. Perf. Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore.

Columbia Pictures, 2000.

Chato’s Land. Dir. Michael Winner. Perf. Charles Bronson, Jack Palance.

United Artists, 1971

The Cheat. Dir. Perf. Fannie Ward, Sessue Hayakawa Paramount Pictures, 1915.

Cheyene Autumn. Dir. John Ford. Perf. Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker. Warner Bros.,

1964.

China Gate. Dir. Samuel Fuller. Perf. Gene Barry, Angie Dickinson. Twentieth Century

Fox Film Corporation, 1957.

Chinese Laundry Scene (see Roberta and Doreto).

- 115 -

Cinderella. Dir. Robert Iscove. Perf. Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Brandy

Norwood. Buena Vista Television, 1997. (TV)

The Clansman (see The Birth of a Nation)

Clearcut. Dir. Ryszard Bugajski. Perf. Graham Greene, Phil Harns, Michael Hogan.

Northern Arts Entertainment, 1991.

Cleopatra Jones. Dir. Jack Starrett. Perf. Tamara Dobson, Bernie Casey, Brenda Sykes.

Warner Bros., 1973.

Coffy. Dir. Jack Hill. Perf. Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui. American

International Pictures (AIP), 1973.

The Color Purple. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Perf. Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover.

Warner Bros., 1985.

Colors. Dir. Dennis Hopper. Perf. Sean Penn, Maria Conchita Alonso, Don Cheadle.

Orion Pictures Corporation, 1988.

Come See the Paradise. Dir. Alan Parker. Perf. Dennis Quaid, Tamlyn Tomita,

Sab Shimono. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1990.

Coming Home. Dir. Hal Ashby. Perf. Jane Fonda, John Voight, Bruce Dern.

United Artists, 1978.

Cooley High. Dir. Michael Schultz. Perf. Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs,

Garrett Morris. American International Pictures (AIP), 1975.

The Cotton Club. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Richard Gere, Gregory Hines,

Lawrence Fishburne. Orion Pictures Corporation, 1984.

Cotton Comes to Harlem. Dir. Ossie Davis. Perf. Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St.

Jacques, Calvin Lockhart. United Artists, 1970.

Coyote Waits. Dir. Jan Egleson. Perf. Adam Beach, Candice Castello, Jimmy Herman.

Granada Productions, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 2003.

Crazy Horse. Dir. John Irvin. Perf. Michael Greyeyes, Victor Aaron, Nathaniel Arcand.

Turner Pictures, 1996. (TV)

The Crow. Dir. Alex Proyas. Perf. Brandon Lee, Rochelle Davis, Ling Bay. Buena Vista

International, 1993.

Dance Me Outside. Dir. Bruce McDonald. Perf. Ryan Rajendra Black, Adam Beach,

Jennifer Podemski. Shadow Distribution Inc., 1994.

- 116 -

Dances with Wolves. Dir. Kevin Costner. Perf. Kevin Costner, Graham Greene. Orion

Pictures Corporation, 1990.

Dangerous Minds. Dir. John N. Smith. Perf. Michelle Pfeiffer, Georgie Dzunza,

Courtney B. Vance. Buena Vista Pictures, 1995.

Darktown Jubilee. Dir. Unknown. Perf. Bert Williams. Unknown, 1914.

The Daughter of the Dragon. Dir. Lloyd Corrigan. Perf. Warner Oland, Sessue

Hayakawa, Anna May Wong. Paramount Pictures, 1931.

Dead Man. Dir. Jim Jarmusch. Perf. Johnny Depp, Crispin Glover, Gary Farmer.

Miramax Films, 1995.

The Deer Hunter. Dir. Michael Cimino. Perf. Robert De Niro, John Cazale, George

Dzundza. Universal Pictures, 1978.

The Defiant Ones. Dir. Stanley Kramer. Perf. Sidney Poitier, Tony Curtis. United

Artists, 1958.

Demolition Man. Dir. Marco Brambilla. Perf. Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stalone. Warner

Bros., 1993.

Desperado. Dir. Robert Rodriguez. Perf. Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek. Columbia

Pictures, 1995.

Die Another Day. Dir. Lee Tamahori. Perf. Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 2002.

The Dirty Dozen. Dir. Robert Aldrich. Perf. Jim Brown,Telly Savalas, Lee Marvin.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1967.

Do the Right Thing. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee.

MCA/Universal Pictures, 1989.

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Dir. Rob Cohen. Perf. Jason Scott Lee, Lauren Holly.

Universal Pictures, 1993.

Dr. No. Dir. Terence Young. Perf. Sean Connery, Usula Andress, Joseph Wiseman.

United Artists, 1962.

Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Dir. Stanley

Kubrick. Perf. Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, James Earl Jones. Columbia

Pictures, 1963.

Drums Along the Mohawk. Dir. John Ford. Perf. Henry Fonda, Claudette Colbert.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1939.

- 117 -

Duck You Sucker [Giù la testa]. Dir. Sergio Leone. Perf. James Coburn, Rod Steiger,

Maria Monty. United Artists, 1972.

Empire of the Sun. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Perf. Christian Bale, John Malkovich,

Miranda Richardson. Warner Bros., 1987.

Enter the Dragon. Dir. Robert Clouse. Perf. Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Kien Shih. Warner

Bros., 1973.

Everybody Sing. Dir. Edwin L. Marin. Perf. Judy Garland, Allan Jones.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1938.

Equilibrium. Dir. Kurt Wimmer. Perf. Christian Bale, Dominic Purcell, Sean Bean.

Miramax Films, 2002.

The Far Horizons. Dir. Rudolph Maté. Perf. Fred MacMurray, Charleton Heston,

Donna Reed. Paramount Pictures, Citation Films Inc., 1955.

The Fast and the Furious. Dir. Rob Cohen. Perf. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Rick Yune.

Universal Pictures, 2001.

The Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu. Dir. Piers Haggard. Perf. Peter Sellers, Helen Mirren.

Warner Bros., Orion Pictures Corporation, 1980.

Flower Drum Song. Dir. Henry Koster. Perf. Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Benson

Fong. Universal International Pictures, 1961.

Foxy Brown. Dir. Jack Hill. Perf. Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Jehn Brown. American

International Pictures (AIP), 1974.

Freedomland. Dir. Joe Roth. Perf. Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore. Sony Pictures

Releasing, 2006.

The Fugitive. Dir. John Ford. Perf. Henry Fonda, Dolores del Rio, Pedro Armendáriz.

RKO Radio Pictures Inc., 1947.

Full Metal Jacket. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf. Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Kieron

Jecchinis. Warner Bros., 1987.

Gandhi. Dir. Richard Attenborough. Perf. Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox.

Columbia Pictures, 1982.

The Geisha Boy. Dir. Frank Tashlin. Perf. Jerry Lewis, Marie Macdonald, Seesue

Hayakawa. Paramount Pictures, 1958.

- 118 -

The General Died at Dawn. Dir. Lewis Milestone. Perf. Gary Cooper, Madeleine

Carroll, Akim Tamiroff. Paramount Pictures, 1936.

Giù la testa (see Duck You Sucker).

The Godfather. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James

Caan. Paramount Pictures, 1972.

Go for Broke! Dir. Robert Pirosh. Perf. Van Johnson, Lane Nakano, George Miki.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1951.

Gone With the Wind. Dir. Victor Fleming. Perf. Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Hattie

McDaniel. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1939.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly [Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il]. Dir. Sergio Leone.

Perf. Eli Wallach, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef. United Artists, 1966.

The Good Earth. Dir. Sidney Franklin. Perf. Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1937.

The Greaser’s Revenge. Dir. Unknown. Perf. Unknown. Frontier Productions, 1914.

The Green Berets. Dir. Ray Kellogg, John Wayne. Perf. John Wayne, David Janssen,

Jim Hutton. Warner Brothers/Seven Arts, 1968.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Dir. Stanley Kramer. Perf. Sidney Poitier, Spencer

Tracy, Katharine Hepburn. Columbia Pictures, 1967.

Hallelujah. Dir. King Vidor. Perf. Daniel L. Haynes, Nina Mae McKinney, William

Fountaine. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1929.

Harlem on the Prairie. Dir. Sam Newfield, Jed Buell (co-director). Perf. Herb Jeffries,

Edward Brandon, Leon Buck. Associated Features, Toddy Pictures Co., 1938.

Harlem Rides the Range. Dir. Richard C. Kahn. Perf. Herb Jeffries, Lucius Brooks, F.E.

Miller. Sack Amusement Enterprises, 1939.

Heaven & Earth. Dir. Oliver Stone. Perf. Hiep Thi Ly, Tommy Lee Jones.

Warner Bros., 1993.

The Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger [Wo hu cang long]. Dir. Ang Lee. Perf. Chow

Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi. Arthaus Filmverleih, Sony Pictures Classics,

2000.

Home of the Brave. Dir. Mark Robson. Perf. Douglas Dick, Steve Brodie, Jeff Corey.

United Artists, Astor Pictures Corporation (re-release), 1949.

- 119 -

The Homesteader. Dir. Oscar Micheaux, Jerry Mills. Perf. Charles D. Lucas, Evelyn

Preer. Micheaux Film Corporation, 1918.

Hoodlum. Dir. Bill Duke. Perf. Lawrence Fishburne, Tim Roth, Vanessa L. Williams.

United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1997.

House of Bamboo. Dir. Samuel Fuller. Perf. Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Shirley

Yamaguchi. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation,1955.

The Hustler. Dir. Robert Rossen. Perf. Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1961.

Imitation of Life. Dir. Douglas Sirk. Perf. Lana Turner, Juanita Moore. Universal

International Pictures, 1959.

Impact. Dir. Arthur Lubin. Perf. Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Anna May Wong.

United Artists, 1949.

In the Heat of the Night. Dir. Norman Jewison. Perf. Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger. United

Artists, 1967.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Perf. Harrison Ford,

Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri. Paramount Pictures, 1984.

Inside Man. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Danzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster.

Universal Pictures, 2006.

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Dir. Martha Coolidge. Perf. Halle Berry, Brent Spiner.

Loretta Devine. Home Box Office (HBO), 1999. (TV)

Jackie Brown. Dir. Quentin Tarantino. Perf. Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert

Forster. Miramax Films, 1997.

The Jazz Singer. Dir. Alan Crosland. Perf. Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland.

Warner Bros., 1927.

The Joy Luck Club. Dir. Wayne Wang. Perf. Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin, France Nuyen.

Buena Vista Pictures, 1993.

Judge Priest. Dir. John Ford. Perf. Will Rogers, Tom Brown, Stepin Fetchit. Fox Film

Corporation, 1934.

Juice. Dir. Ernest R. Dickerson. Perf. Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, Jermaine ‘Huggy’

Hopkins. Paramount Pictures, 1992.

- 120 -

Jungle Fever. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee.

Universal Pictures, 1991.

The Karate Kid. Dir. John G. Avildsen. Perf. Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki ‘Pat’ Morita,

Elisabeth Shue. Columbia Pictures, 1984.

Kill Bill Vol. I . Dir. Quentin Tarrantino. Perf. Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox.

Miramax Films, 2003.

The Killing Fields. Dir. Roland Joffé. Perf. Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John

Malkovich. Warner Bros., 1984.

The King and I. Dir. Walter Lang. Perf. Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Rita Moreno.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1956.

Kundun. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Perf. Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Tencho Gyalpo, Geshi

Yeshi Gyatso. Buena Vista Pictures, 1997.

The Last Emperor. Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci. Perf. John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter

O’Toole. Columbia Pictures, 1987.

The Last of the Mohicans. Dir. Michael Mann. Perf. Daniel Day-Lewis, Russell Means,

Eric Schweig. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1992.

The Last Samurai. Dir. Edward Zwick. Perf. Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe. Warner Bros.,

2003.

The Lawless. Dir. Joseph Losey. Perf. Macdonald Carey, Gail Russell, Lalo Rios.

Paramount Pictures, 1950.

Lethal Weapon. Dir. Richard Donner. Perf. Danny Glover, Mel Gibson, Darlene Love.

Warner Bros., 1987.

Lethal Weapon 2. Dir. Richard Donner. Perf. Danny Glover, Mel Gibson, Darlene Love.

Warner Bros., 1989.

Lethal Weapon 4. Dir. Richard Donner. Perf. Danny Glover, Mel Gibson, Darlene

Love, Yet Li. Warner Bros., 1998.

Like Water for Chocolate. Dir. Alfonso Arau. Perf. Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos,

Regina Torné. Miramax Films, 1992.

The Lion King. Dir. Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff Perf. Matthew Broderick, James Earl

Jones. Buena Vista Pictures, 1993. (Anim)

- 121 -

Little Big Man. Dir. Arthur Penn. Perf. Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan

George. National General Pictures, 1970.

Little Buddha. Dir. Bernardo Bertilicci. Perf. Keane Reeves, Ruocheng Ying, Chris

Isaak. Miramax Films, 1993.

The Littlest Rebel. Dir. David Butler. Perf. Shirley Temple, Bill (Bojangles) Robinson.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1935.

Lonely are the Brave. Dir. David Miller. Perf. Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Walter

Matthau. Universal International Pictures, 1962.

Lost Boundaries. Dir. Alfred L. Werker. Perf. Beatrice Pearson, Mel Ferrer, Carleton

Carpenter Film Classics Inc., 1949.

Lost in Translation. Dir. Sofia Coppola. Perf. Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray. Focus

Features, 2003

The Mack. Dir. Michael Campus. Perf. Max Julien, Don Gordon, Richard Pryor. New

Line Cinema, 1973.

Maid in Manhattan. Dir. Wayne Wang. Perf. Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Finnes, Natasha

Richardson. Sony Pictures Entertainment/ Columbia Pictures, 2002.

The Magnificent Seven. Dir. John Sturges. Perf. Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Charles

Bronson, Horst Buchholz. United Artists, 1960.

A Majority of One. Dir. Mervyn LeRoy. Perf. Rosalind Russell, Alec Guinness, Yuki

Shimoda. Warner Bros., 1961.

Malcolm X . Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Danzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Spike Lee.

Warner Bros., 1992.

A Man Called Adam. Dir. Leo Penn. Perf. Louis Armstrong, Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson.

Charter, Embassy Pictures Corporation, 1966.

A Man Called Horse. Dir. Elliot Silverstein. Perf. Richard Harris, Manu Toupou,

Corinna Tsopei. National General Pictures, 1970.

The Manchurian Candidate. Dir. John Frankenheimer. Perf. Frank Sinatra, Laurince

Harvey, Khigh Dhiegh. United Artists, 1962.

El Mariachi. Dir. Robert Rodriguez. Perf. Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Jaime de

Hoyos. Columbia Pictures, 1992.

- 122 -

The Mask of Fu Manchu. Dir. Charles Brabin. Perf. Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Karen

Morley. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1932.

M*A*S*H* (also M.A.S.H.). Dir. Robert Altman. Perf. Donald Sutherland, Elliott

Gould. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1971.

Mass for the Dakota Sioux. Dir. Bruce Baillie. Perf. Unknown, 1964. (S)

The Matrix. Dir. Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski. Perf. Keanu Reeves, Lawrence

Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Gloria Foster. Warner Bros., 1999.

Matrix Reloaded. Dir. Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski.Perf. Keanu Reeves,

Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Gloria Foster. Warner Bros., 2003.

Matrix Revolutions. Dir. Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski. Perf. Keanu Reeves,

Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Mary Alice. Warner Bros., 2003.

M. Butterfly. Dir. David Cronenberg. Perf. Jeremy Irons, John Lone. Warner Bros.,

1993.

McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Dir. Robert Altman. Perf. Warren Beatty, Julie Christie.

Warner Bros., 1971.

A Medal for Benny. Dir. Irving Pichel. Perf. Dorothy Lamour, Arturo de Córdova,

J. Carrol Naish. Paramount Pictures, 1945.

Memoirs of a Geisha. Dir. Rob Marshal. Perf. Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh,

Ken Watanabe. Sony Pictures, 2005.

Menace II Society. Dir. Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes. Perf. Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate,

Samuel L. Jackson. New Line Cinema, 1993.

Mi Familia. Dir. Gregory Nava. Perf. Edward James Olmos, Jimmy Smits, Jennifer

Lopez. New Line Cinema, 1995.

The Milagro Beanfield War. Dir. Robert Redford. Perf. Rubén Blades, Richard

Bradford, Sonia Braga. Universal Pictures, 1988.

Million Dollar Baby. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Perf. Hillary Swank, Morgan Freeman.

Warner Bros., 2004.

Missing in Action. Dir. Joseph Zito. Perf. Chuck Norris, M. Emmet Walsh,

Ernie Ortega. Cannon Group, 1984.

Mission: Impossible. Dir. Brian De Palma. Perf. Tom Cruise, John Voight, Emmanuelle

Béart. Paramount Pictures, 1996.

Monster’s Ball. Dir. Marc Forster. Perf. Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry. Lee Daniels

Entertainment, Lions Gate Films, 2001.

- 123 -

Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook. Perf. Miguel Ferrer, Pat Morita, Ming-Na.

Walt Disney Pictures, 1998. (Anim)

Munich. Dir. Steven Speilberg. Perf. Eric Bana, Daniel Craig. DreamWorks, Universal

Pictures, 2005.

My Geisha. Dir. Jack Cardiff. Perf. Shirley MacLaine, Yves Montand, Yoko Tani.

Paramount Pictures, 1962.

Northwest Passage. Dir. King Vidor. Perf. Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter

Brennan. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1940.

No Way Out. Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Perf. Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell,

Sidney Poitier. 20th Century Fox, 1950.

Oil for the Lamps of China. Dir. Mervyn LeRoy. Perf. Pat O’Brien, Jean Muir,

Josephine Hutchinson. Warner Bros., 1935.

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Dir. Miloš Forman. Perf. Jack Nicholson, Louise

Fletcher, Will Sampson. United Artists, 1975.

One Mile from Heaven. Dir. Allan Dwan. Perf. Claire Trevor, Sally Blane,

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1937.

One Potato, Two Potato. Dir. Larry Peerce. Perf. Hamilton, Barbara Barrie. Cinema V,

1964.

Le pacte des loups [Brotherhood of the Wolf]. Dir. Christophe Gans. Perf. Samuel

Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Mark Dacascos. MCA/Universal Pictures, GAGA

Communications, 2001.

The Painted Veil. Dir. Richard Boleslawski. Perf. Warner Oland, Greta Garbo.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1934.

Passenger 57. Dir. Kevin Hooks. Perf. Wesley Snipes, Bruce Payne. Warner Bros.,

1992.

The Pawnbroker. Dir. Sidney Lumet. Perf. Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Jaime

Sánchez. Allied Artists Pictures Corporation, 1965.

Payback. Dir. Brian Helgeland. Perf. Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Lucy Liu. Paramount

Pictures, 1999.

- 124 -

The Perez Family. Dir. Mira Nair. Perf. Marissa Tomei, Alfred Molina, Anjelica

Huston. Samuel Goldwyn Company, 1995

Philadelphia. Dir. Jonathan Demme. Perf. Tom Hanks, Danzel Washington, Antonio

Banderas. TriStar Pictures, 1993.

The Pillow Book. Dir. Peter Greenwaye. Perf. Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata.

Cinépix Film Properties Inc. (CFP), Ace Pictures, 1995.

Pinky. Dir. Elia Kazan. Perf. Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters. Twentieth

Century Fox Film Corporation, 1949.

The Planet of Apes. Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner. Perf. Charlton Heston, Roddy

McDowall, Kim Hunter. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1967.

Platoon. Dir. Oliver Stone. Perf. Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen. Orion

Pictures Corporation, 1986.

Pocahontas. Dir. Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg. Perf. Judy Kuhn, Mel Gibson. Walt

Disney Pictures, 1997. (Anim)

Portrait in Black. Dir. Michael Gordon. Perf. Anna May Wong. Universal International

Pictures, 1960.

PowWow Highway. Dir. Jonathan Wacks. Perf. A Martinez, Gary Farmer, Joannelle

Nadine Romero. Wraner Bros., 1989.

Psycho. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles.

Paramount Pictures, 1960.

The Quiet American. Dir. Phillip Noyce. Perf. Michael Caine, Brendan Frazer,

Do Thi Hai Yen. Buena Vista International, Miramax Films, 2002.

Quixote. Dir. Bruce Baillie. Perf. Unknown. Canyon Cinema, 1965.

Ray. Dir. Taylor Hackford. Perf. Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King. United

Artists, 2004.

The Realization of a Negro's Ambition. Dir. Harry A. Gant. Perf. Noble Johnson, Bessie

Baker, Lottie Boles. Lincoln Motion Picture Company, 1916.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Dir. Allan Dwan. Perf. Shirley Temple, Bill “Bojangles”

Robinson. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1938.

Replacement Killers. Dir. Antoine Fuqua. Perf. Chow Yun Fat, Mira Sorvino. Columbia

Pictures, 1998.

- 125 -

Reservoir Dogs. Dir. Quentin Tarantino. Perf. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael

Madsen. Miramax Films, 1992.

Return of the Country. Dir. Bob Hicks. Perf. Unknown, Unknown, 1984. (S,V)

Rio Conchos. Dir. Gordon Douglas. Perf. Richard Boone, Jim Brown. Twentieth

Century Fox Film Corporation, 1964.

The Rising Sun. Dir. Philip Kaufman. Perf. Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes,

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1993.

Roberta and Doreto (also Chinese Laundry Scene). Dir. Perf. Phil Doreto, Roberrta.

Edison Manufacturing Company, 1894.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Dir. Kevin Reynolds. Perf. Kevin Costner, Morgan

Freeman. Warner Bros., 1991.

Rosewood. Dir. John Singleton. Perf. Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle. Warner

Bros., 1997.

Rush Hour. Dir. Brett Ratner. Perf. Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker. New Line Cinema,

1998.

Salt of the Earth. Dir. Herbert J. Biberman. Perf. Rosaura Revueltas, Will Geer.

Independent Productions, 1954.

The Sand Pebbles. Dir. Robert Wise. Perf. Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough,

Richard Crenna. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1966.

San Francisco. Dir. W.S. Van Dyke. Perf. Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1939.

Satan Never Sleeps. Dir. Leo McCarey. Perf. William Holden, Clifton Webb, France

Nuyen. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1962.

Sayonara. Dir. Joshua Logan. Perf. Marlon Brando, Patricia Owens, Miiko Taka.

Warner Bros., 1957.

The Searchers. Dir. John Ford. Perf. John Wayne, Martin Pawley. Warner Bros., 1956.

Selena. Dir. Gregory Nava. Perf. Jennifer Lopez, Lupe Ontiveros. Warner Bros., 1997.

Se7en (also Seven). Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Morgan

Freeman. New Line Cinema, 1995.

The Seven Samurai [Shichinin no samurai]. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. Perf. Takashi

Shimura, Toshirô Mifune, Yoshio Inaba. Columbia Pictures, 1957.

- 126 -

Seven Years in Tibet. Dir. Jean- Jacques Annaud. Perf. Brad Pitt, David Thewlis,

B. D. Wong, Mako. Columbia TriStar Egmont Film Distributors, 1997.

Shadows. Dir. Dave Fleischer. Perf. Lon Chaney. Rodner Productions, 1922.

Shaft. Dir. Gordon Parks. Perf. Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn. Metro-Goldwyn-

Mayer (MGM), 1971.

Shaft. Dir. John Singleton. Perf. Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa L. Williams, Jeffrey

Wright. Paramount Pictures, 2000.

Shanghai Express. Dir. Josef von Sternberg. Perf. Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong.

Paramount Pictures, 1932.

Shanghai Noon. Dir. Tom Dey. Perf. Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Owen Wilson. Buena

Vista Pictures, 2000

Shawshank Redemption. Dir. Frank Darabont. Perf. Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman.

Columbia Pictures, 1994.

She’s Gotta Have It. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond

Hicks, John Canada Terrell. Island Pictures, 1986.

Shichinin no samurai (see The Seven Samurai).

Showdown in Little Tokyo. Dir. Mark L. Lester. Perf. Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee,

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Tia Carere. Warner Bros., 1991.

Sin City. Dir. Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller. Perf. Bruce Willis, Benicio Del Toro,

Clive Owen. Dimension Films, 2005.

Smoke Signals. Dir. Chris Eyre. Perf. Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard.

Miramax Films, 1998.

Soldier Blue. Dir. Ralph Nelson. Perf. Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, Donald

Pleasence. AVCO Embassy Pictures, 1970.

Son of Kong. Dir. Ernest B. Schoedsack. Perf. Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Victor

Wong. RKO Radio Pictures Inc., 1933.

Stand and Deliver. Dir. Ramón Menéndez. Perf. Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris,

Mark Phelan. Warner Bros., 1988.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Ewan

McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalia Portman, Samuel L. Jackson. Twentieth

Century Fox Film Corporation, 1999.

- 127 -

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Ewan McGregor,

Hayden Christensen, Natalia Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Temuera Morrison.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 2002.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Ewan

McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalia Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Temuera

Morrison. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 2005.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Mark Hamill, Harrison

Ford, Carrie Fisher. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1977.

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Dir. Irving Kerhner. Perf. Mark

Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation,

1980.

Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. Dir. Richard Marquand. Perf. Mark Hamill,

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1983.

The Steel Helmet. Dir. Samuel Fuller. Perf. Gene Evans, Robert Hutton, Steve Brodie.

Lippert Pictures Inc., 1950.

The Story of a Three-Day Pass (see La Permission).

Summer of Sam. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. John Leguizamo, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer

Esposito. Buena Vista Pictures, 1999.

Superfly. Dir. Gordon Parks Jr. Perf. Carl Lee, Ron O’Neil, Julius Harris. Warner Bros.,

1972.

Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Assss Song. Dir. Melvin van Peebles. Perf. Melvin van

Peebles, Simon Chuckster, Hubert Scales. Cinemation Industries, 1971.

Swing Time. Dir. Georgie Stevens. Perf. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers. RKO Radio

Pictures Inc., 1936.

Tai-pan. Dir. Daryl Duke. Perf. Bryan Brown, Joan Chen, John Stanton. De Laurentis

Entertainment Group (DEG), 1986.

Tang sha da xiong (see The Big Boss)

Teahouse of the August Moon. Dir. Daniel Mann. Perf. Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford,

Machiko Kyô. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1956.

Ten Pickaninnies. Dir. Thomas Alva Edison. Perf. Unknown. Edison Manufacturing

Company, 1904.

- 128 -

The Terrible Kids. Dir. Wallace McCutcheon, Edwin S. Porter. Perf. Unknown. Edison

Manufacturing Company, 1906.

Tequila Sunrise. Dir. Robert Towne. Perf. Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell.

Warner Bros., 1989.

The Thief of Baghdad. Dir. Raoul Walsh. Perf. Douglas Fairbanks, Anna May Wong.

United Artists, 1924.

Three Came Home. Dir. Jean Negulesco. Perf. Claudette Colbert, Patric Knowles,

Sessue Hayakawa. 20th Century Fox, 1950.

Tony the Greaser. Dir. Rollin S. Sturgeon. Perf. Charles Bennett, Grace Carpenter,

George Cooper. General Film Company, 1911.

Tokyo Joe. Dir. Stuart Heisler. Perf. Humphrey Bogart, Sessue Hayakawa. Columbia

Pictures, 1949.

Tomorrow Never Dies. Dir. Roger Spottiswoode. Perf. Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh.

United Artists, 1997.

Tora! Tora! Tora! Dir. Richard Fleischer, Akira Kurosawa, Kinji Fukasaku.

Perf. Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi. Twentieth

Century Fox Film Corporation, 1970.

Torch Song. Dir. Charles Walters. Perf. Joan Crawford, Michael Wilding, Gig Young.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1953.

Topsy and Eva. Dir. Del Lord. Perf. Rosetta Duncan, Vivian Duncan. United Artists,

1927.

Trial. Dir. Mark Robson. Perf. Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, Arthur Kennedy.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1955.

A Trooper of Troop K. Dir. Harry A. Gant. Perf. Noble Johnson, Beulah Hall. States

Rights Independent Exchanges, 1917.

True Romance. Dir. Tony Scott. Perf. Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis

Hopper. Warner Bros., 1993.

The Typhoon. Dir. Reginald Barker. Perf. Sessue Hayakawa, Gladys Brockwell, Frank

Borzage. Paramount Pictures, 1914.

Two Gun Men from Harlem. Dir. Richard C. Kahn. Perf. Herb Jeffries, Marguerite

Whitten, Clarence Brooks. Sack Amusement Enterprises, 1938.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Dir. Siegmund Lubin. Perf. Siegmund Lubin. S. Lubin, 1903.

- 129 -

Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Dir. Harry A. Pollard. Perf. James B. Lowe, Virginia Grey,

George Siegmann. Universal Pictures, 1927.

The Unforgiven. Dir. John Huston. Perf. Audrey Hepburn, Burt Lancaster. United

Artists, 1960.

Van Helsing. Dir. Stephen Sommers. Perf. Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard

Roxburgh. Universal Pictures, 2004.

A Walk in the Clouds. Dir. Alfonso Arau. Perf. Anthony Quinn, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón,

Keanu Reeves. 20th Century Fox, 1995.

War Party. Dir. Franc Roddam. Perf. Billy Wirth, Kevin Dillon, Tim Sampson.

Hemdale Film Corporation, 1988.

The Warriors. Dir. Walter Hill. Perf. Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright.

Paramount Pictures, 1979.

Way of the Gaucho. Dir. Jacques Tourneur. Perf. Rory Calhoun, Gene Tierney, Richard

Boone. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1952.

West Side Story. Dir. Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise Perf. Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno,

George Charikis. United Artists, 1961.

What Dreams May Come. Dir. Vincent Ward. Perf. Robin Williams, Cooba Holding Jr.

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1998.

White Fawn’s Devotion: A Play Acted by a Tribe of Red Indians in America. Dir. James

Young Deer. Perf. Unknown. National Film Preservation Foundation, 1910.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Dir. Mike Nichols. Perf. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard

Burton. Warner Bros., 1966.

The Wild Bunch. Dir. Sam Peckinpah. Perf. William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert

Ryan. Warner Brothers/Seven Arts, 1969.

Wo hu cang long (see The Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger)

The Wooing and Wedding of a Coon. Dir. Unknown. Perf. Unknown. Selig Polyscope

Company, 1904.

The World of Suzy Wong. Dir. Richard Quine. Perf. Nancy Kwan, William Holden,

Sylvia Syms. Paramount Pictures, 1960.

The Wrath of the Gods. Dir. Reginald Barker. Perf. Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki.

Mutual Film Corporation, 1914.

- 130 -

The Young Savages. Dir. John Frankenheimer. Perf. Burt Lancaster, Dina Merrill,

Edward Andrews. United Artists, 1961.

Zoot Suit. Dir. Luis Valdez. Perf. Daniel Valdez, Edward James Olmos, Charles

Aidman.Universal Pictures, 1980.

12 Angry Men. Dir. Sidney Lumet. Perf. Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney, Martin Balsam.

Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, 1957.

25th Hour. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Buena Vista

Pictures, 2002.

21 Grams. Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu. Perf. Sean Penn, Naomi Watts. Focus

Features, 2003.

55 Days to Peking. Dir. Nicholas Ray. Perf. Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David

Niven. Allied Artists Pictures Corporation, 1963.

- 131 -

RESUME

Ve své diplomové práci jsem se pokusila popsat vývoj stereotypů v americkém

filmovém průmyslu a vliv sociálních, společenských a politických změn na tento vývoj.

Stereotyp je zjednodušený a standardizovaný pohled považovaný za

charakteristický pro určitou skupinu. Ve svém životě jsme jimi obklopeni a ovlivňováni.

Nicméně náš život neovlivňují tolik, jako život členů etnických menšin. Stereotypy byli

součástí lidské společnosti od jejích počátků a nevymizely. Nejdříve byly ustaveny

v literatuře, poté na jevišti a nakonec i v masmédiích.

Práce je členěna do devíti kapitol zabývajícími se jednotlivými etapami ve

vývoji filmového průmyslu a v návaznosti vývojem stereotypů. První dvě kapitoly se

věnují historickým faktorům, které ovlivnily vývoj stereotypů a jejich vznikem, tedy

obdobími před vynálezem filmu. Návrhy na metodologické využití stereotypů jsou

předmětem kapitoly nazvané Suggestions on Methodology.

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RESUME

In this diploma thesis I have attempted to chronilogise the development of

stereotypes in the American film industry and the influence of social and political

changes on the development.

A stereotype is a simplified and standardised image given special meaning and

considered common by a group. Stereotypes surround us and influence our everyday

lives. However, they do so less to some people than to members of ethnic minorities.

Stereotypes have been part of human society for a long time and have not yet

disappeared. First they were institutionalised in literature, then on stage and afterwards

in mass media.

The thesis is divided into nine chapters dealing with individual periods in the

development of film industry and consequently the development of stereotypes. The

first two chapters focus on historical factors influencing the development of stereotypes

and their creation; they deal with the epoch before the invention of film. The chapter

entitled Suggestions on Methodology presents ideas on practical usage of films in

classroom lessons.