Women's History Month: Anna May Wong

I will admit that I have never seen a film (that I know of) that Anna May Wong made. I haven't seen a large amount of silent films, so there you go. Be that as it may - Anna May Wong was the first Asian-American actress to become an international star. Born in 1905 in Los Angeles, she was unfortunately stuck with stereotypical Asian roles. At the point in time that she came onto the scene, white actors would still be acting "Asian" (see Myrna Loy's early film career, or The Good Earth). She was quite deterred and disappointed in the roles she was offered in America, so went to Europe and made a big splash.

Here's an excerpt from Asia Pacific Arts: Profile of Anna May Wong: Remembering The Silent Star:

In 1936, after being asked by MGM executives to screen test for the only villainous role in the adaptation to Pearl Buck’s novel about Chinese peasant life in "The Good Earth," Wong decried "you’re asking me - with my Chinese blood – to do the only unsympathetic role in the picture, featuring an all-American cast portraying Chinese characters." Distraught and disillusioned, she once again set out abroad - but this time to a place she had never been before, east of China. When she arrived, she was mobbed, feted and received as a major celebrity; she was even given an honorary state dinner in Nanjing. But she received quite a shock when her hosts unexpectedly denounced her choice in film roles. They publicly condemned Wong for her degrading and insulting portrayals of the Chinese race; many of her films were even banned for what was perceived to be anti-Chinese sentiments. Nonetheless, Wong would eventually stay for ten months in China traveling and learning about the culture that was as foreign to her as to any Westerner.

After finding out about this actress, I am determined to see one of her performances.

Ann May Wong: Frosted Yellow Willows - a documentary on her life
Wikipedia: Anna May Wong