Research Paper On Anna Wong

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Throughout Hollywood history, minorities have struggled to have representation of their culture on screen, and Asian Americans are no exception. This was true until Anna May Wong made her film debut in 1919. As the first Asian American actor in Hollywood, Wong has been an inspiration all around the world. Wong was an incredible role model because she stuck to her dreams, her career, but also overcame the hardships caused by her ethnicity; she overcame these challenges to become not only a world renowned actress but the person who changed the acting industry and also shattered stereotypes of Asians all across the world. Wong was born on January 3, 1905 in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles (Tikkanen 1). Her mother and father were both immigrants …show more content…

She arrived in Europe in the late 1920s (Tikkanen 3). Almost immediately, she would start to look for new opportunities. The first role she landed in Europe was in a film called Schmutziges Geld in 1928 (Alexander 6). This would reinvigorate her passion for acting and allowed her to become an overnight sensation in Europe (Hutchinson 3). She would start to act more in Europe and as she starred in many films such as Piccadilly in 1929, and her first talking film in 1930 called The Flame of Love (Alexander 7). She went as far to learn new languages such as French and German to acquire more roles (Tikkanen 3). This allowed her to star in the German operetta Tschi Tschi (Alexander 7). Her most notable theater credits was the production of The Circle of Chalk which featured famous actor Laurence Oliver (Tikkanen 3). She would continue to act in Europe until the early 1930s in which Paramount contacted her to come back to Hollywood to act again (Hutchinson 3). Little did she know how big of an impact her comeback would make on the U.S. Wong landed in the U.S. in the 1930 (Huchinson 2). She would start her debut back in the U.S. in a Broadway production called On the …show more content…

This movie was called Shanghai Express and was her most famous movie to date. Even though her role was brief, the emotion of the scenes that she was in fascinated the audience (Hutchinson 2). This was such a big hit she was interviewed by many people including Harry Carr. Harry Carr interviewed Anna May Wong to ask about being an Asian-American in the acting industry (Unknown E 1). She said “I am growing more Chinese each passing year,” (Unknown E 1). She said “I now found “solace and philosophy in the tradition of my own people,” (Unknown E 1). With this new found success throughout the world, Anna May Wong decided she would tour China to explore more of the traditions and culture knowing the impact she made to not just the Hollywood Industry but the whole world altogether. Wong was someone who just dreamed of becoming an actor. Not knowing anything of life would grant later on. Not only did she become The First Asian-American Movie Star, but she changed how the world perceived people like her. She became an inspirational figure to Asians around the world and showed that no matter what race or gender you are, you can achieve your

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