Perpetually Cool : The Many Lives of Anna May Wong (1905-1961)

by Chan, Anthony B.

• ISBN13: 9780810847897
• ISBN10: 0810847892
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-01
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc

Summary

This is the first biography about Anna May Wong, a remarkable Asian American woman who became the country's most famous film actress of Chinese descent. This multi-faceted tale takes the reader on a compelling journey through Wong's early years in Los Angeles and her first Hollywood pictures--films that led to her international fame. It is also an examination into the scope of race, gender, and power and their impact on her personal growth as a Chinese American.

Author Biography

Anthony B. Chan is associate professor of communication at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Introduction	xv
Part 1. Living Globally
1 Los Angeles: A Chinese American Childhood	3	(24)
2 Hollywood: Film Apprenticeship	27	(18)
3 Berlin: Speaking Parts	45	(10)
4 London: Live Stage	55	(14)
5 The Journey Ends Halfway	69	(20)
Part II. Life's Fundamentals
6 China	89	(18)
7 Shanghai Cool	107	(24)
8 Life's Values	131	(14)
9 Daoist Butterfly	145	(18)
Part III. Life Is Cinema
10 "Yellowface," Masks, and Stereotypes	163	(28)
11 The Tull of the Sea (1922)	191	(16)
12 The Thief of Bagdad (1924)	207	(8)
13 Piccadilly (1929)	215	(10)
14 Shanghai Express (1932)	225	(16)
15 A Study in Scarlet (1933)	241	(6)
16 Chu Chin Chow (1934)	247	(10)
17 Nefarious Plots	257	(6)
18 Ladies from Chungking and South Chicago	263	(8)
Afterword	271	(8)
Milestones	279	(4)
Filmography	283	(12)
Index	295	(16)
About the Author	311