Cultural Imperialism (05:16)

FREE PREVIEW

See clips of the U.S. Navy training film, "Our Enemy—The Japanese." Hollywood has a track record of depicting minorities in a stereotypical manner, giving white actors access to all lead roles, and changing Asian roles.

Interracial Relationships (05:19)

Nancy Wang Yuen discusses the use of blackface, yellow face, and red face in minstrelsy; it carries over into early Hollywood. The Hays Code forbids romantic suggestions between races on screen; anti-miscegenation laws forbid it in society. Interracial marriages become legal in 1967.

Asian Characters (04:26)

Sessue Hayakawa depicts an exotic, barbarous character in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Cheat." Frank Capra's "The Bitter Tea of General Yen" is about interracial lovers. Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan define Asian stereotypes.

WWII Era Films and Cartoons (06:10)

Movies depict Asians as the enemy and savages. Racist clichés dominate the screen in "Know Your Enemy-Japan." Joseph McBride and Yuen discuss the use of the films as propaganda and entertainment.

Japanese Internment (07:01)

During WWII, over 120,000 Japanese Americans are sent to detention camps; many lose their land and homes. Tamlyn Tomita discusses her family's internment in Manzanar .Some Japanese American men join the U.S. military despite their families' internment.

Society After WWII (05:45)

The U.S. government places restrictions on Japanese American movements before identifying Japan as an ally; Russia becomes the enemy focus. U.S. soldiers arrive in Okinawa. McBride discusses the U.S. Army's film "Japanese Bride in America."

Fantasy in Hollywood (07:33)

"Sayonara" is a romantic movie about an American soldier and a Takarazuka dancer; geisha are not prostitutes. Experts discuss Hollywood's cliché portrayal of Japanese women and men, and the use of yellow face.

Civil Rights Era Films (04:57)

Tomita reflects on Americans becoming more global and educated. "The Crimson Kimono" depicts a romance between a Japanese American man and a white woman. Samuel Fuller addresses complex social issues in his films.

"Come See the Paradise" (07:01)

In the late 1980s, Tomita acts in the film based on a true story. Experts discuss Asian American representation in Hollywood; film may be the only source of world education for some people. Asian stereotypes have been long-lasting.

Credits: Hollywood and the Yellow Threat (00:39)

Credits: Hollywood and the Yellow Threat