1905-1961
When we think "Hollywood," we might recall our favorite actors and actresses, or a movie that we recently watched. Or, we might think of #Oscarssowhite. This was a hashtag that started in 2015 and highlighted the lack of minority representation in the Oscars. Even to this day, it hasn't improved that drastically. However, it was definitely worse 100 years ago during the era of Anna May Wong, who is considered the first Asian American Hollywood star.
Early Life and Childhood
Anna May Wong was born in Chinatown in Los Angeles in 1905. She reportedly enjoyed watching movies and would skip school to go watch them, which added to her love for movies and eventually, acting. She made her acting debut when she was 14 in The Red Lantern. In 1922, she starred in The Toll of the Sea and started receiving wide recognition for her acting. Her later movies include Picadilly, The Good Earth, Daughter of the Dragon, Daughter of Shanghai, and Shanghai Express.
Difficulties
The early 1900s was a harsh time for Asian-Americans to prosper. By not offering major roles to Asian actors or making white actors use yellowface to look "Asian," Hollywood severely limited opportunities for Asians to reach their full potential. Wong had her fair share of discrimination and disappointment. In The Good Earth, she auditioned for the part of O-Lan, yet lost the role to Luise Rainer (who used yellowface to appear more "Chinese"). Instead, Wong resorted to roles like the oh-so-typical Asian murderess or exotic prostitute. As a result, mainland Chinese on the other side of the earth thought that she was humiliating them and did not accept her when Wong made a trip there. However, the Chinese public started warming up to her as she proved a much more thoughtful woman than they made her out as.
Not only was Wong discriminated against for her race, but also her gender. In most of the movies she starred in, she received around half of the salary than her male co-stars. While she received around $6,000 for her part in The Good Earth, white male actors who appeared in the movie for less than one minute would receive $12,000. This was more than enough to infuriate Wong, and led her to leave the US for Europe in the hopes of gaining more respect for her acting. The public's reaction was much more positive in Europe than in the US, and she was able to secure less stereotypical roles. In 1930, she returned to the US, where although at first producers gave her more promising roles, they eventually reverted to asking her to take on stereotypical ones.
Her Legacy
Unfortunately, Wong was a heavy drinker. In 1961, just before she was going to star in a new film, she passed away after a heart attack. However, her legacy still lives on. Even though for a while she was considered a disappointment to her culture, she was still the first Asian-American Hollywood actress. Besides, the extent to which she could choose her roles was strictly limited, and not something she could have controlled. She set a precedent for future Asian-American actors/actresses and paved the way for more racial representation. Although her roles were not ones she wanted, it still gave her an outlet to pursue acting and display herself on the screen, inspiring the future generations. We may not realize it, but that took an immense amount of courage to sacrifice so much of herself to do what she loved. Ultimately, this would earn her recognition for her acting, regardless of her race.
Anna May Wong was not fully appreciated while she was alive, but we can continue her impact and legacy by supporting Asian-Americans in film and acknowledging them for their roles. After all, we can attribute the increased racial representation to the work she did nearly 100 years ago.
Sources
https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a32345890/anna-may-wong-facts-real-story/