Slaying the Dragon (1988)

A highly critical documentary about the history of Asian-American actresses in Hollywood. Features interviews with pioneering Asian-American actresses and clips from classic films such as "... See full summary »

Director:

Deborah Gee

Stars:

Herb Wong, Amy Hill, Jaime Kibben

Cast

Credited cast:
Herb Wong	...	Narrator (voice) (as Dr. Herb Wong)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Amy Hill	...	Herself (actress, comedienne)
Jaime Kibben	...	Himself (filmmaker)
John Korty	...	Himself (director)
Nancy Kwan	...	Herself (actress)
Guy Lee	...	Himself (talent agent)
Nobu McCarthy	...	Herself (actress)
Kim Miyori	...	Herself - Actress
James Shigeta	...	Himself (actor)
Ben Tong	...	Himself (media critic, psychologist) (as Dr. Ben Tong)
Yeh Tung	...	Herself (TV producer)
Wayne Wang	...	Himself (director)
Eugene Wong	...	Himself (sociologist) (as Dr. Eugene Wong)
Emerald Yeh	...	Herself (anchor, reporter, San Francisco)

Storyline

A highly critical documentary about the history of Asian-American actresses in Hollywood. Features interviews with pioneering Asian-American actresses and clips from classic films such as "The Thief of Bagdad", "The Good Earth", and "The World of Suzie Wong", interspersed with Asian/feminist sociological commentary.

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Plot Keywords:

asian american | japanese american | chinese american | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Ziegfeld Follies (1945)

User Reviews

VERY EYE-OPENING VIEW OF DEPICTION OF AA WOMEN IN MEDIA

This is a really a fantastic, eye-opening, critical look at the history of American media's images of Asian/-American women. I do NOT think it's supposed to be a history of actresses (as a previous reviewer described).

I saw this in college and was blown away by the blatant archetypes (dragon lady v. lotus blossom), but also the subtle shifts in portrayal depending on how mainstream Americans feel about Asia. I valued the unknown attempts by actresses such as Anna Mae Wong to broaden their roles.

The most hilarious part was Asian American anchorwomen describing how broadcasters wanted to Connie Chung-ize them all. OK, almost as hilarious as the footage of Caucasian actors with taped eyelids, like Marlon Brando and Katherine Hepburn.

The only downside is that the documentary's 20 years old. I hope it gets updated soon.

This is must-see for all Asian American women, but would also be very entertaining/enlightening for everyone else.