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Day 2 - Changes

Anna May Wong (1905-1961) was the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood and the first Asian American to become an international star. She started acting at 14, and made about 60 films in her career. Hailed as a fashion icon in 1920s and 1930s, she was a top billed player for over twenty years, working not only in Hollywood, but also in Austria, England, France and Germany. In 1922, at age 17, she became the first Chinese-American to break Hollywood's miscegenation rule playing opposite a white romantic lead in The Toll of the Sea. She was the first Asian-American actress to receive a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Wong lived at a time when laws discriminated against Chinese immigration and citizenship. Yellowface was a common Hollywood practice. She faced severe discrimination and often relegated to stereotypical roles. Production codes against interracial kissing meant she was often passed for bigger, or at least more sympathetic roles.

“Why is it that the screen Chinese is nearly always the villain of the piece, and so cruel a villain—murderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass,” she told Film Weekly in 1933. “We are not like that.”

She auditioned for the role of the heroine in Good Earth, which was about a Chinese farming family in China. The studio turned her down and gave the role to Luise Rainer, a German actress.

Disappointed with racism in Hollywood, she took a year tour in China but found that she couldn't fit in because of language barrier (she spoke Taishan dialect) and her film roles.

"I am convinced that I could never play in the Chinese Theatre. I have no feeling for it. It's a pretty sad situation to be rejected by Chinese because I'm 'too American' and by American producers, because they prefer other races to act Chinese parts."

In 1930s, she started to take on roles portraying successful, positive, and professional Chinese American characters. She was the heroine in Daughter of Shanghai (1937), which unusually featured two Asian American performers as leads. The film is tailored for her, and earned critical acclaim.

In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

In 1951, Wong made history with her television show The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first-ever U.S. television show starring an Asian-American series lead.

The Asian-American Arts Awards and the Asian Fashion Designers group named annual awards after her. She's also the first Asian American to be depicted on U.S. currency in 2022. In 2023, Mattel released a barbie doll to pay tribute to her.

Anna May Wong has heralded changes of perception of Asian American characters on screen. Recently, she's getting more acknowledgement of her career and achievement. I hope Asian American performers can get more recognition and opportunities.

Publicity photo of Anna May Wong from Stars of the Photoplay, 1930