Daughter of the Dragon - Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History

Born into the steam and starch of a Chinese laundry, Anna May Wong (1905-1961) emerged from turn-of-the-century Los Angeles to become Old Hollywood's most famous Chinese American actress, a screen siren who captivated global audiences and signed her publicity photos-with a touch of defiance-"Orientally yours". Now, more than a century after her birth, Yunte Huang narrates Wong's tragic life story, retracing her journey from Chinatown to silent-era Hollywood and from Weimar Berlin to decadent, prewar Shanghai capturing American television in its infancy. As Huang shows, Wong's rendezvous with history features a remarkable parade of characters, including a smitten Walter Benjamin and (an equally smitten) Marlene Dietrich. Challenging the parodically racist perceptions of Wong as a "Dragon Lady", "Madame Butterfly" or "China Doll", Huang's biography becomes a truly resonant work of history that reflects the raging anti-Chinese xenophobia, unabashed sexism and ageism towards women that defined both Hollywood and America in Wong's all-too-brief fifty-six years on earth.

Product details

• Authors: Yunte Huang, Yunte (University of California Huang, Huang Yunte
• Publisher: Norton and Co Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 22.08.2023
• EAN: 9781631495809
• ISBN: 978-1-63149-580-9
• No. of pages: 400
• Dimensions: 165 mm x 242 mm x 32 mm
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Music, film, theatre; Biography: general, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Minority Studies, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Entertainment & Performing Arts, Films, cinema, Biography: arts & entertainment, Ethnic groups and multicultural studies, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / History & Criticism, Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies, Biography: arts and entertainment, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / General, Film Theory & Criticism, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Biracial & Multiracial Studies, Film history, theory or criticism, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Cultural & Regional