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Apr. 21st, 2009 12:22 pmI think I first learned about the existence of Sessue Hayakawa, silent film HOLLYWOOD DREAMBOAT, through an icon post that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
schiarire did a while back. Like um possibly years back. Uh. ANYWAY.
My first reaction, at the time: That is an attractive gentleman! (What, I am not allowed to be shallow about people who have been dead for decades?)
My second reaction: gosh, I have never heard of this silent film Hollywood dreamboat who was apparently as famous as Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, as well as being the only Asian actor to ever become a high-profile romantic idol in Hollywood! Maybe I should do something about that.
Which is how I ended up acquiring and reading Sessue Hayakawa: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom, by Daisuke Miyao. I was hoping for something with interesting biographical information; I did not get that, but I did get a completely fascinating study of Hayakawa's films and his idol status as it related to relations between Japan and America and perceptions of both the Japanese and Asian-Americans in general over the course of his career.
Warning: some of the firsthand material is pretty cringeworthy, not in terms of the writing, but in terms of race relations and perceptions of the day. The positive reviews of Hayakawa are actually the most embarrassing in terms of what they praise; it doesn't help that Hayakawa shot to stardom after playing a possessive rapist stalker in The Cheat. (Apparently the trend of fans often finding possessive rapist stalkers SUPER HOT was as prevalent in the 1910s as it is in fandom today!) Even when he wasn't a villain, of course, cinema codes of the day never allowed him to actually get the white heroine - generally he ended up sacrificing himself for her happiness with another dude while the audience cried over his honor and nobility. Especially creepy is the movie where, as the hero, he lures an ~evil Latina temptress~ into the middle of the lake AND DROWNS THEM BOTH so that the white couple can get together. But there were also movies in which he starred with his wife that had happy endings, even if they were incredibly problematic about Japanese stereotypes! And then there were the movies where he played Indians or Native Americans or Mexicans because all ethnic people are basically the same! And - honestly there was so much interesting material and analysis that I could go on for a really long time.
One of the things that comes out most strongly is the incredibly difficult balancing act that Hayakawa was always trying to pull off in terms of pleasing the American audience without alienating the Japanese community, with varying amounts of success. I also came out of it wanting to know more about Hayakawa's wife and often-costar, Tsuru Aoki, who was a breakthrough actress in her own right before Hayakawa's career took off and her press basically became 'Mr. Hayakawa's loving helpmeet.' Anyway, even if you're not fascinated by Sessue Hayakawa himself (although why not? He was fascinating!), this is an equally interesting book if you're just interested in Hollywood history, or film studies, or the history of Japanese-American relations. Also if you are a person who watches anime or jdrama it is kind of hilarious to read about the strict codes dealing with cinema in Japan in the 1910s and 20s! OH, HOW THINGS CHANGE.
(And also, depressingly, how some things stay the same - seeing as, despite all the problematicness of Sessue Hayakawa's films, there still has not been an Asian-American romantic film star in Hollywood to top him since. In ninety years. Why hello there, Avatar casting.)
schiarire did a while back. Like um possibly years back. Uh. ANYWAY. My first reaction, at the time: That is an attractive gentleman! (What, I am not allowed to be shallow about people who have been dead for decades?)
My second reaction: gosh, I have never heard of this silent film Hollywood dreamboat who was apparently as famous as Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, as well as being the only Asian actor to ever become a high-profile romantic idol in Hollywood! Maybe I should do something about that.
Which is how I ended up acquiring and reading Sessue Hayakawa: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom, by Daisuke Miyao. I was hoping for something with interesting biographical information; I did not get that, but I did get a completely fascinating study of Hayakawa's films and his idol status as it related to relations between Japan and America and perceptions of both the Japanese and Asian-Americans in general over the course of his career.
Warning: some of the firsthand material is pretty cringeworthy, not in terms of the writing, but in terms of race relations and perceptions of the day. The positive reviews of Hayakawa are actually the most embarrassing in terms of what they praise; it doesn't help that Hayakawa shot to stardom after playing a possessive rapist stalker in The Cheat. (Apparently the trend of fans often finding possessive rapist stalkers SUPER HOT was as prevalent in the 1910s as it is in fandom today!) Even when he wasn't a villain, of course, cinema codes of the day never allowed him to actually get the white heroine - generally he ended up sacrificing himself for her happiness with another dude while the audience cried over his honor and nobility. Especially creepy is the movie where, as the hero, he lures an ~evil Latina temptress~ into the middle of the lake AND DROWNS THEM BOTH so that the white couple can get together. But there were also movies in which he starred with his wife that had happy endings, even if they were incredibly problematic about Japanese stereotypes! And then there were the movies where he played Indians or Native Americans or Mexicans because all ethnic people are basically the same! And - honestly there was so much interesting material and analysis that I could go on for a really long time.
One of the things that comes out most strongly is the incredibly difficult balancing act that Hayakawa was always trying to pull off in terms of pleasing the American audience without alienating the Japanese community, with varying amounts of success. I also came out of it wanting to know more about Hayakawa's wife and often-costar, Tsuru Aoki, who was a breakthrough actress in her own right before Hayakawa's career took off and her press basically became 'Mr. Hayakawa's loving helpmeet.' Anyway, even if you're not fascinated by Sessue Hayakawa himself (although why not? He was fascinating!), this is an equally interesting book if you're just interested in Hollywood history, or film studies, or the history of Japanese-American relations. Also if you are a person who watches anime or jdrama it is kind of hilarious to read about the strict codes dealing with cinema in Japan in the 1910s and 20s! OH, HOW THINGS CHANGE.
(And also, depressingly, how some things stay the same - seeing as, despite all the problematicness of Sessue Hayakawa's films, there still has not been an Asian-American romantic film star in Hollywood to top him since. In ninety years. Why hello there, Avatar casting.)
