Watching Netflix is HollywoodI felt surprised to see Michelle Krusiec pop-up on the screen in episode two. Who was this glamorous, distressed woman in a beautiful cat-eye sunglasses and a flouncy purple dress? Your presence caught me off guard — I was not accustomed to seeing an Asian woman in modern American TV, not to mention an Asian woman in a show about the 1940s. On top of that, it was rare to witness an Asian woman speak with candor, almost with bitterness, about their frustrations, as Krusiec ago with Darren Criss, who plays Raymond, Ainsley. Soon I got that Krusiec portraying Anna May Wong, one of the most undervalued actresses in American history.
Culturally, Asian-American women has always felt like a modern concept to me, even though I know that this is not true.
Unfortunately, my knowledge of Wong has been very low, complemented with a couple of lines in the history books. The Pop culture that deifies white actresses such as Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. Even in the classic film of the courses, I only learned about the people as Ingrid Bergman and Claudette Colbert. Culturally, Asian-American women has always felt like a modern concept to me, even though I know that this is not true. I grew up in an Asian American girl with a little bit of knowledge of Asian women pioneers before the years ’80, only familiar with the beauty vloggers like Michelle Phan and comedians such as Margaret Cho. Seeing these icons, I have understood that the representation of topics, but still took it for granted. Hollywood‘s revisionist recount of Wong’s life, however, presented me with the historical context to really appreciate it.
The series shows us that it has been a long struggle of Asian women in the culture. Wong was the first prominent Chinese American actress in Tinseltown. While paving the way for Asian actors, the actress often found herself typecast. The directors will be trapped in functions such as reduction flowers of lotus (The Toll of the Sea) and the evil dragon ladies (Daughter of the Dragon). To make matters worse, anti-miscegenation laws prevented her from being able to kiss or marry a white male leads. MGM’s infamous past in your for the Chinese part of O-Lan The Good Earthinstead of going with the German actress Luise Rainer. As his career began to wane, Wong found his health in decline, finally dies at the age of 56 in 1961.
Hollywood put a little bit of respect for Wong’s name, even if it fictionalizes his later years. In the miniseries, Raymond, a half-Asian director, offers him a supporting role in Meg finally wins an Oscar. Despite the fact that its story arc is short, the fictionalized Wong is able to express their internal thoughts, in particular, their frustrations about racist functions. To quote his fantasy Oscar speech, she emerges as “a complex woman with a heart and a single soul” — or at least the idea of one.
“In the last instance, Hollywood it forces us to think, why not they are the guardians of the most difficult fight for the representation of today?”
The miniseries is an exercise in the desire of personal fulfillment, the postulation of what might have been if the minorities were simply to be given equal opportunities in Hollywood then. Without a doubt, this reduces the narrative of gambling. Although Wong is facing little resistance in Hollywoodthat affected me to see people clap for her at the Meg table read and Oscar. Ultimately, Hollywood it forces us to think, why not they are the guardians of the most difficult fight for the representation of today? The recent numbers show that Asian representation on TV still in a stalemate despite the success of Crazy Rich Asians.
It is worth diving in Wong biography after seeing the presentation of a more complete picture. It is tempting to say that she was a victim of an unfair system, but even without Ryan Murphy Hollywood treatment, Wong was a pioneer who fought against the odds are stacked against it. She he fought for his career at an early age, pushing back against the expectations of his family and a target of the industry. An independent spirit, Wong, spoke out against the roles that she considered to be stereotypical — when asked to try to the only a poor role in The Good Earthshe flat out refused. Catching herself, from this blow, then he turned My Chinese Filma documentary about his travels in China. Her determination kept her going, even when the work dried up. Towards the end of his life, the actress became the first Asian female lead in a TV series American in The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong and was the protagonist in the Flower Drum Song before his untimely death.
I am able to write this today because of the legacy He leaves behind. I hope that Krusiec humanization of representation will be the first of many, in honor of this Hollywood legend.
