Screening Asian Americans
Peter X. Feng (Editor), Peter X. Feng, Mirella Jona Affron, Charles AffronBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title"Cover to cover, Screening Asian Americans, a collection of 15 essays, is fabulous."-AsianWeek.com
"This scholarly book uses 15 contributors to explore the various images of Asians, many of which have been negative."-Burlington County Times
This innovative essay collection explores Asian American cinematic representations historically and socially, on and off screen, as they contribute to the definition of American character. The history of Asian Americans on movie screens, as outlined in Peter X Feng's introduction, provides a context for the individual readings that follow. Asian American cinema is charted in its diversity, ranging across activist, documentary, experimental, and fictional modes, and encompassing a wide range of ethnicities (Filipino, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Taiwanese). Covered in the discussion are filmmakers--Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Ang Lee, Trinh T. Minh-ha, and Wayne Wang--and films such as The Wedding Banquet, Surname Viet Given Name Nam, and Chan is Missing.
Throughout the volume, as Feng explains, the term screening has a twofold meaning-referring to the projection of Asian Americans as cinematic bodies and the screening out of elements connected with these images. In this doubling, film representation can function to define what is American and what is foreign. Asian American filmmaking is one of the fastest growing areas of independent and studio production. This volume is key to understanding the vitality of this new cinema.
A volume in the Depth of Field Series, edited by Charles Affron, Mirella Jona Affron, and Robert Lyons
Peter X Feng teaches English and women's studies at the University of Delaware.
Synopsis
This collection of 15 essays explores how the representation of Asian Americans in the cinema contributes to the definition of American character. The authors consider the role that Asian bodies play on American movie screens, the history of Asian American media and cinematic production, and the various sociocultural and aesthetic contexts contained in Asian American films. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)