Home > Bibliographies > AAST298J (Spring 2004)

Asian American Cinema by Caleb Lee

Books

• Abrash, Barbara, and Catherine Egan, eds. Mediating History: The MAP Guide to Independent Video by and about African American, Asian American, Latino, and Native American People. New York: New York University Press, 1992.
• Chan, Jachinson W. Chinese American Masculinities: From Fu Manchu to Bruce Lee. New York: Routledge, 2001.
• Feng, Peter X. Identities in Motion: Asian American Film and Video. Durham: Duke University Press, 2002.

  Identities in Motion details how Asian American film and video makers define themselves and Asian American cinema through their work. The book uses film and video readings, sophisticated cultural analyses, and detailed production histories to show various factors involved in the making and distribution of Asian American films. Peter Feng covers a wide variety of film genres including detective stories, romantic comedies, newsreels, and even home videos. In particular, Feng focuses on three crucial moments in Asian American history: The arrival of Chinese and Japanese women in the American West and Hawaii; the incorporation of the Philippines into the U.S. Empire; and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Feng also discusses Asian American ideology, sexuality, ethnicity, and nationalism.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

• Feng, Peter X., ed. Screening Asian Americans. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2002.

  Screening Asian Americans is an essay collection examining how depictions of Asian Americans on screen historically and socially contributed to the definition of the American character. Throughout his book, Peter Feng places an emphasis on the double meaning of "screening." This term refers to the projection of Asian Americans as cinematic bodies and the screening out of elements connected with these images. Feng covers the various types of Asian American film such as activist, documentary, experimental, and fictional. Feng's discussion includes a broad range of Asian ethnicities (i.e., Filipino, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, etc.) as well as numerous noteworthy filmmakers (i.e., Ang Lee, Trinh T. Minh-ha, and Wayne Wang) and their films.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

• Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey. Women Filmmakers of the African and Asian Diaspora: Decolonizing the Gaze, Locating Subjectivity. Chicago: Southern Illinois University Press, 1997.
• Hall, Kenneth E. John Woo: The Films. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999.

  This book is about internationally acclaimed film director John Woo, known for his bold and textured action films. Woo shoots films in both his native Hong Kong - The Killer (1989) and Hard-Boiled (1992) - and in America - Broken Arrow (1996) and Face/Off (l 997). Kenneth Hall analyzes Woo's career from his early days in Hong Kong to his current presence in Hollywood. Hall delves into the cross-cultural influences that had an impact on Woo's filmmaking, including both Asian and Western film, literature, history, philosophy, and religion. These influences especially impacted Woo's depiction of the heroic.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

• Hamamoto, Darrell Y, and Sandra Liu. Countervisions: Asian American Film Criticism. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000.

  This book examines Asian American cinema over the last thirty years. The author focuses on Asian American independent films and crossover works, emphasizing a break from simplistic mainstream portrayals of Asian Americans in film. The material covered in this book is diverse. It includes discussions of Japanese American internment, essays on films by women and queer artists, and reflections of individual filmmakers who create stereotype-breaking independent films.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

• Hodges, Graham Russell. Anna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

  This biography examines the life of Anna May Wong, one of the most prominent Asian-American actresses to ever grace the silver screen. Between 1919 and 1960, she starred in over fifty films alongside legends Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Marlene Dietrich, and Warner Oland. Graham Hodges details Wong's struggles with racism both on- and off-screen. He reveals discrimination within the Hollywood industry, Wong's stereotypical roles, and criticisms Wong received from conservative Chinese communities. This book includes plot summaries of Wong's every film as well as a chronology of her career. Hodges also examines public perceptions of Wong through the lens of Chinese culture. He discusses interpretations of Wong's attire and hand movements in her performances.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

• Lee, Joann Faung Jean. Asian American Actors: Oral Histories from Stage, Screen, and Television. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2000.

  Asian American Actors looks at the experiences of Asian American actors in the entertainment industry. The book discusses actors in various venues, such as TV (e.g., Martial Law), film (e.g., Mulan), and Broadway (e.g., Miss Saigon). Joann Lee includes narratives of both aspiring and established Asian American actors across the country, detailing their opportunities, prejudices, fears, and personal goals. In particular, Lee examines the limited availability of roles to Asian American actors and the stereotypical nature of these roles.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

• Leibfried Philip. Anna May Wong: A Complete Guide to Her Film, Stage, Radio, and Television Work. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2004.
• Leong, Russell, ed. Moving the Image: Independent Asian Pacific American Media Arts. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center, 1991.

  Moving the Image is one of the first books to document the large body of media arts produced by the Asian Pacific American community from 1970 to 1990. Russell Leong includes three introductory essays by prominent figures in the entertainment industry. One essay, written by Stephen Gong of the Pacific Film Archives in Berkeley, explores the role of Asian American media organizations in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, and San Francisco. Another essay, written by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Renee Tajima, charts 20 years of Asian American filmmaking. Leong, editor of UCLA's Amerasia Journal, brings forth key issues on media culture and Asian American experiences. The bulk of his book consists of narratives from award-winning filmmakers, media artists, and writers. They speak to issues of generations, gender, ethnicity, and nationality. These issues shape Asian American media artists' onscreen imagery and identity.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

• Marchetti, Gina. Romance and the "Yellow Peril": Race, Sex, and Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Fiction. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.

  Gina Marchetti's work is a provocative book examining Hollywood films and interracial sexuality. Marchetti shows that while miscegenation seems an unlikely Hollywood topic, themes of interracial rape, lynching, tragic love, and marriage are alive and well in American cinema. In her analyses of film and television, Marchetti examines recent written works on race, ethnicity, and gender. She argues that media works perpetuate social and racial inequality in America. Marchetti also points out how Hollywood films set and then often break social norms and taboos. She touches on "Orientalist" ideas influencing the construction of American culture. Some of the films discussed in this book include D. W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms, Shanghai Express, Madame Butterfly, geisha movies, and films overlooked by critics until now.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

• Takei, George. To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, 1995.

  George Takei, best known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu in the TV series Star Trek, details his upbringing in a World War II Japanese American internment camp in this autobiography. Forced into an internment camp with his family at 4 years old, he talks about how the experience propelled him to become an actor, writer, businessman, and politician. According to Takei, the Star Wars saga parallels his personal journey through adversity. Both share elements of hope, disappointment, rivalries, and achievements. Takei's autobiography also reveals his close attachment to the Star Wars culture. He values it for more than just supplying him with an acting career; to him, it represents the American dream.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

• Xing, Jun. Asian America Through the Lens: History, Representations, and Identity. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 1998.

  Through the Lens examines the history of Asian American film, focusing on its aesthetic, cultural, and political diversity. Jun Xing includes the voices of filmmakers and actors in his examination of mainstream and alternative film. Xing discusses a wide range of theories and issues, drawing on African American and Latino film studies, Marxism, ethnic studies, feminism, and other scholarship.

  Edited by Jennifer Ordelt

Films

• 1st Testament: CIA Vengeance. Dir. Young Man Kang. 2001. Videodisc. C.a.V. Distribution, 2004.
• Better Luck Tomorrow. Dir. Justin Lin. 2003. Videodisc. Paramount, 2003.
• Blood of the Samurai. Dir. Aaron Yamasato. 2001. Videodisc. Hellcat Productions, 2003.
• Chan is Missing. Dir. Wayne Wang. 1981. Videocassette. New Yorker Video, 1989.
• Charlotte Sometimes. Dir. Eric Byler. 2002. Videodisc. Hart Sharp Video, 2003.
• Eat a Bowl of Tea. Dir. Wayne Wang. 1988. Videocassette. RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1989.
• Forbidden City, U.S.A. Dir. Arthur Dong. 1989. Videocassette. PBS Video, 1996.
• Golden Gate. Dir. John Madden. 1994. Videodisc. Walt Disney Video, 1998.
• Green Dragon. Dir. Timothy Linh Bui. 2001. Videodisc. Sony Pictures, 2002.
• The Joy Luck Club. Dir. Wayne Wang. 1993. Videodisc. Walt Disney Video, 1995.
• Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity. Dir. Mina Shum. 2002. Videodisc. Film Movement, 2005.
• Lumpia. Dir. Patricio Ginelsa Jr. 2003. Videodisc. Alica Way Entertainment, 2004.
• Robot Stories. Dir. Greg Pak. 2002. Videodisc. Kino Video, 2005.
• Too Tired to Die. Dir. Wonsuk Chin. 1998. Videodisc. Leo Films, 2003.

Journal Articles

• James, David. "Tradition and the Movies: The Asian-American Avant-Garde in Los Angeles." Journal of Asian American Studies 2.2 (1999): 157-180.
• Prashad, Vijay. "Bruce Lee and the Anti-imperialism of Kung Fu: A Polycultural Adventure." East Asia Cultures Critique 11.1 (2003): 51-90.
• Marchetti, Gina. "Transnational Cinema, Hybrid Identities and the Films of Evans Chan." Postmodern Culture 8.2 (1998).
• Williams, Tony. "Under 'Western Eyes': The Personal Odyssey of Huang Fei-Hong in Once Upon a Time in China." Cinema Journal 40.1 (2000): 3-24.
• Wojcik, Pamela Robertson. "Typecasting." Critiscm 45.2 (2003): 223-249.

Websites

• Asian American Film. 2004. Greg Pak Productions. Date Accessed: 7 Apr. 2004 <http://www.asianamericanfilm.com>.
• ACV: Asian CineVision. 2004. Asian CineVision. Date Accessed: 7 Apr. 2004 <http://www.asiancinevision.org>.