Monday, April 18, 2005
Charlie Chan Isn't Dead
I saw a photo on flickr and it reminded me of being surrounded by Caucasian kids chanting "Chinese Japanese/Look at these/Dirty knees," while pulling their eyes into slants. Ouch. Bad memories.
That got me thinking about a story I heard where Fox Movie Channel planned to air a Charlie Chan marathon in 2003. Some people objected due to the blatant stereotypes of Asians in those films, which then led one commentator to express surprise because, he said, "these people are usually too [busy] acheiving to bellyache."
People mocked the objectors' complaints that Charlie Chan was a "painful reminder." Greg Crosby dismissed it as "witch-hunting activist groups on the left" out to save the world from evil.
Fox suspended plans, but finally showed the movies due to uproar from viewers. It seems that our pain doesn't count.
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
That got me thinking about a story I heard where Fox Movie Channel planned to air a Charlie Chan marathon in 2003. Some people objected due to the blatant stereotypes of Asians in those films, which then led one commentator to express surprise because, he said, "these people are usually too [busy] acheiving to bellyache."
People mocked the objectors' complaints that Charlie Chan was a "painful reminder." Greg Crosby dismissed it as "witch-hunting activist groups on the left" out to save the world from evil.
Fox suspended plans, but finally showed the movies due to uproar from viewers. It seems that our pain doesn't count.
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
