Anna May Wong
(See the Other Links page for a link to a great site with pictures of Anna May Wong.)
Some years ago I watched a restored version of the 1924 silent film classic The Thief of Bagdad, starring Douglas Fairbanks, a great actor of the era. A young Chinese-American actress, Anna May Wong, caught my attention. I intended to find out more about her but in that pre-internet time research was more difficult, I was working hard and I eventually forgot all about it. This year I happened upon a new book Anna May Wong: From Laundryman’s Daughter to Hollywood Legend by Graham Russell Gao Hodges and my interest was rekindled. Now that I have read the book I’ve spent some time seeking other material, including some of her old movies on tape and DVD and I’m glad I have. Having seen her in different roles and heard her voice, I've become very fond of her. I’m not the only one interested. The San Francisco film festival recently honored Ms. Wong, the British Film Institute is introducing a restored version of one of her best films, E-bay bidding is spirited for Anna May Wong items and I think her life and work will be more and more appreciated in the coming months and years.
Ms. Wong lived an inspirational but sad life. She's one of those I read about and immediately wish I could have known. She was beautiful, intelligent and talented, worked hard, and was loyal to friends and family. Unfortunately, she lived in a time of institutional and individual discrimination and racism and had continually to face contempt, rejection and even betrayal in her professional and personal lives. Even though born in the United States, she was treated as an alien every time she left and returned to the country, she normally was relegated to villainous roles because of her Chinese heritage and generally died at the end of every movie. She lost roles portraying Chinese women to Caucasian actresses made up to look Chinese. It was normally forbidden for her to kiss a Caucasian. Worst of all, perhaps, Chinese and Chinese-Americans criticized her because of the roles she was forced to take if she wished to work in Hollywood. Despite all of this abuse, she maintained her good qualities, including her sense of humor, and continued to seek work until her death (of alcohol-related liver problems) at age 56.
When I think about Ms. Wong, I feel a lot of different emotions. I'm so grateful for the technology that allows me to see her work over 40 years after her death. I think of great actors and actresses who worked before movies; we'll never know their work. I'm also grateful to the author who reminded me of my earlier interest in Ms. Wong and satisfied a part of my curiosity. I'm grateful that Ms. Wong received the acclaim she did receive and for the resurgence of interest in her. But mostly I'm sad. I'm sad that people are so cruel, that so many people, intentionally or not, participated in the anti-Chinese discrimination she faced. I'm sad that I may have been thoughtlessly guilty of allowing some of the same attitudes at an earlier time in my life. And I'm sad that someone who gave so much to entertain and inspire others didn't have a happy life.
I still have a lot to learn about myself and others and reading about Anna May Wong has taught me a lot about both. Don't make the mistakes I made. Follow your interests, don't wait years and years to satisfy your curiosity. Follow your heart and do what you can to stop cruelty in others. And even if you can't help, for whatever reason, don't make things worse.
3-15-04
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