It used to be in movies, dime novels and popular literature when referring to someone from the Orient the term Oriental was applied.
Actually, according to many of my former Asian students, the term Oriental refers to objects, such as pottery, food, etc. that originated in the Orient is the proper use of the word Oriental.
To refer to someone from the Orient, the proper term is Asian.
Not so long ago, movies and TV shows often referred to Asian persons as Orientals, especially when it pertained to Asian detectives, lawmen and nefarious gangsters and masterminds of the Asian persuasion.
To use the term Oriental as it pertains to people today would be considered highly politically incorrect.
Amazingly most movie sleuths of Asian descent weren’t played by actual Asian actors but Caucasian actors with Asian makeup. Perfect examples of this were Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, Peter Ustinov and even Boris Karloff.
In author David Rothel’s new book: The Case Files Of The Oriental Sleuths: Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto & Mr. Wong, published by BearManor Media, the long and illustrious history of Oriental (Asian) Sleuths is uncovered.
Starting roughly in the 1920s the crime-fighting careers of Charlie Chan, Mr. I. A Moto and Mr. James Lee Wong are examined in all of their various pop culture trappings.
Discover their exploits in print, radio, TV, comic books, movies, games and other mass media releases.
Anything and everything readers would ever want to know about these three individuals is included: their history, creation, various adventures, their associates and enemies and much, much more.
No comments:
Post a Comment