First-Year Seminar: Asians in American Film

3 units

This course surveys the history of Asian representations in American cinema from the silent period to the contemporary era. Throughout the semester we will focus on images of Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, and Vietnamese that have become most ingrained in American popular culture over the last century, from Fu Manchu and Madame Butterfly stereotypes popular during the classical studio era to more recent reconfigurations of racialized imagery in Jackie Chan and Jet Li films. We will also examine selected works by Asian American independent writer-directors-films and videos like Chan is Missing, History and Memory, and Better Luck Tomorrow that challenge the stereotypes and normative tropes of Orientalism still permeating mainstream media. Students will be asked to frame textual analyses of key films (such as The Cheat, Daughter of Shanghai, Battle Hymn, Flower Drum Song, and Enter the Dragon) within various political, social, cultural, and industrial contexts (e.g. anti-Asiatic immigration and labor policies; U.S. foreign policies; the practice of yellowface; censorship codes; wars in East and Southeast Asia; anti-miscegenation laws; grassroots campaigns to stem the tide of stereotypes and hate-crimes; etc.).