Module 3: Asian Americans and the Moving Image, Part 2: Media Activism, Community Advocacy, and New Hollywood
Can pop culture combat racism toward Asian Americans?
The fight for narrative power has been a part of Asian American activism since the early days of visual media. Even at the dawn of Hollywood, Asian civic, labor, cultural, and advocacy organizations mounted protests over offensive screen portrayals: The role that made Sessue Hayakawa a superstar, his portrayal of a predatory ivory trader in The Cheat (1915), drew angry criticism from the Japanese American community when it was first announced. As a result, the director changed Hayakawa’s role in the film (although disappointingly the change did not make him less repugnant but simply switched his ethnicity from Japanese to Burmese).
Since then, Asian American communities have organized to fight back against distorted portrayals in movies like Chinatown (1974), gangster movie Year of the Dragon (1985), and the anti-Japanese thrillers Black Rain (1989) and Rising Sun (1993).
This module explores how Asian American activists and communities have organized to advocate for better roles and more authentic stories in Hollywood.
Why has the media been such a critical space for activism in Asian American history?
In what ways do media images impact the real world experience of Asian Americans?
In what ways has the internet empowered people who didn’t have access to the tools to make visual media before?
