The new film, The Social Network, is proving to be a critical and box office success, but that hasn’t prevented it from being called out for its not so flattering portrayal of Asian women as over-sexed, white boy-loving crazies (see different takes on this issue here, here and here).
But this isn’t the first time Hollywood has produced an otherwise decent film that has raised the ire of the community. Following are my choice for five quality films (in no particular order) that would have otherwise been indisputably greater if not for their problematic Asian characters.
1. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961)
Based on a novella by Truman Capote, many consider this film about a New York prostitute named Holly Golightly (the luminous Audrey Hepburn) and her search for love to be a bona-fide romantic classic. And what’s not to like? This is Hepburn at her most charming (I dare you not to fall in love with her after seeing this movie), director Blake Edwards brings a firm but still lighter-than-air touch to the proceedings and Henry Mancini introduced the great love song “Moon River” on the soundtrack.
It would have been absolutely perfect if not for Mickey Rooney’s yellow face performance as the Japanese Mr. Yunioshi. It’s not just that this is arguably the most offensive Asian character in an American movie (every stereotype from the buck teeth to the accent is represented here), but the character is so broadly drawn that it belongs in another movie altogether; only serving to pull the audience out of the story every time he appears.
(Director John Hughes with the cast of The Breakfast Club)
