Wednesday 26 November 2008

Faux Chirayliqs #1: George Raft


We have had an off-blog discussion about fake chirayliqs some time. Hollywood has a long tradition of casting white people in crappy makeup as "Asians", which is very annoying for anyone who likes handsome Asian men, and very demeaning to the excellent Asian actors who have been struggling for decent roles throughout cinema history. This phenomenon is often referred to as "yellowface".
I'm a huge George Raft fan, so I was surprised to discover this "yellowface" performance from the 1934 film Limehouse Blues. I haven't seen the movie in its entirety, but here is a summary from IMDB:
Fresh from Chinatown in New York, Harry Young [Raft] has taken over the illegal import business in the seamy Limehouse district of London, where he cold-bloodedly disposes of rivals and runs a smoky nightclub. He falls for a low-class, white pickpocket [Jean Parker], diminishing his pride in the Chinese half of his heritage and sparking the jealousy of the nightclub's moody star performer [Anna May Wong].
One, if not THE reason for "yellowface", was that romantic and/or sexual relations between whites and non-whites were seen as immoral (and were also illegal in many states). In the infancy of Hollywood, this hadn't been enforced very strictly - Japanese-American star Sessue Hayakawa could play suggestive scenes with white actresses until the mid-twenties (though he never "got the girl" in the end). We're still suffering from the consequences of discrimination - can you think of one movie, Hollywood or not, where an Asian man has had successful romantic relationship with a non-Asian woman? Or a relationship at all? (French movies don't count!)

A reviewer notes that Raft didn't need much makeup to pull off a "half-and-half"-looking character - you be the judge.

Raft's parents were German immigrants in New York. He started his career as a professional dancer, but he often played vaguely ethnic gangsters. Apparently there was something in his looks that made him "foreign" enough to play different nationalities, as well as criminals. Coincidence? Check out groundbreaking criminologist Cesare Lombroso's physiognomy of criminals. All the physical traits that were argued to be typical of criminals, were also aberrations from the Eurocentric beauty standards of the time. Both in popular culture and "scientific" racism, non-white people were pushed out of normality, while people on the margins - whites who weren't quite "white" enough - led a precarious existence, sometimes having to prove their normality (=whiteness) by dressing up as the racial Other. Think about the Jazz Singer, a son of Jewish immigrants, proving his American identity by painting his face black and acting out a grotesque caricature of African-American entertainment (never mind that it was meant to honour it).
George Raft clearly didn't care much either way; he enjoyed a gangster lifestyle both on and off screen, and wasn't trying to prove his "whiteness". He didn't have to, he was on the safe side of the fence. Many popular "yellowface" actors were immigrants; interestingly, many were Scandinavians. Nils Asther, Warner Oland, Max von Sydow... Why would the blondest people in Europe make the most convincing "yellowface" actors? Or was there another reason?
If you want to know more, I'll continue this series of "Faux Chirayliqs".

4 comments:

Rozmin said...

This is an interesting entry. I especially enjoy this insight: "whites who weren't quite "white" enough - led a precarious existence, sometimes having to prove their normality (=whiteness) by dressing up as the racial Other." Honestly, the whole idea of racial purity just confuses me greatly. The human race is a thoroughly mixed one, I don't think that a "pure" person even exists.

Tinet said...

"... can you think of one movie, Hollywood or not, where an Asian man has had successful romantic relationship with a non-Asian woman? Or a relationship at all? (French movies don't count!)"

Maybe Kung Fu movies are exceptions to the rule, but at least Jet Li usually "gets" non-Asian girls in his movies when they are set in other countries. Or his non-Asian wife is killed and he has to take revenge ... (One example is Romeo Must Die.)

Rozmin said...

Yeah, it's true that Kung Fu movies may be an exception. But, they're pretty stereotypical anyway. So every Asian man is a martial arts expert out to prove his honor or take vengeance? :-) Granted, it's not necessarily a NEGATIVE stereotype, but it also says something when the only way an Asian character can be the hero and get the girl is to stay within this rigid mold.

Tinet said...

I guess the logic behind the exception is something like this: Asian guys in Kung Fu movies can be allowed to be heroes and get the girls because they have Very Special Abilities that redeem their unwanted race ... :o/