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Response #2 to"Last Samurai" Casting Call
by Sarah Park
posted 12/1/03
Dear Ms. Rave,
I am writing this letter in opposition to the casting call you recently sent out on UCLA's listserv. I have seen the preview for The Last Samurai and was incredibly disturbed by the romance between Tom Cruise and the female Asian woman. Granted, I have not yet seen the movie so I don't know how the relationship arose and how/if it ended at the conclusion of the movie, but the very idea of a white man going into an Asian country and sleeping with an Asian women is sufficient to spark my anger.
Historically in America, Asian women have been depicted as sex toys, commodified, exoticized, and hypersexualized in film, literature, and other mediums of art. Historically, white men have invaded Asian countries (such as Korea) with the facade that they are "helping" that country rise out of its third/second world status. Instead, white men have raped Asian women and robbed them of their dignity and honor. Hollywood is following suit by depicting Asians and Asian Americans as objects of commodification and hyper- or hyposexualization. Our women are too sexy and our men are not sexy enough.
Our cultures are trivial and can be lumped together. One example is when Pierce Brosnan [had sex] in a Buddhist temple in 007. If the producers of that film had done their research properly, they would have known that any type of profanity or indecency in a Buddhist temple is completely unacceptable and downright appalling in Asian cultures. Another example is in Mulan. Apparently she was a Chinese girl, yet she was wearing a traditional Japanese kimono. This reflects the little regard that Hollywood producers have for Asian cultures. Hollywood clumps us all together and it does not matter whether we are wearing kimonos or hanboks or saris. Each Asian country is a distinct country with its own history, cultures, values, food, and honor system. However, that is not to say that when one Asian community is attacked, the other Asian communities do not rise to their defense.
Having seen the preview for The Last Samurai, I fear that again Japanese women will be depicted as sex objects for white men - Tom Cruise sleeps with a Japanese woman. Regardless of how that relationship arose, the perpetuation of sexual imperialism by white man to Asian women is absolutely unacceptable. Your casting call requested "beautiful Asian women." Again, apparently we all look alike too, correct? During World War II and Japanese Internment, Korean and Chinese Americans had to wear pins that said "Korean, Not Japanese" so that the police officers - white people - could differentiate between who to take and who not to take to camp. In this case, you don't care. Any beautiful Asian will do. Any Asian woman can dress up in village clothing to scamper about among Hollywood's toughest white men. I wonder why your casting call did not call for handsome Asian men? Are they not also part of the scenery in an 1870s traditional Japanese village? It is my understanding that Asian women (oooh, forgive me if I make generalizations, but as long as you're doing it, why can't I?) were not allowed outside their homes. It was considered indecent for women to be outdoors among society. So if you really wanted to recreate a traditional Japanese village, you may want to change your casting call for ONLY men instead.
I also oppose the fact that you called the 1870s "ancient Japan." In the 1870s in America, Reconstruction was in full swing. The 17th and 18th centuries England saw the continual rise of the Industrial Revolution. Is that your definition of "ancient"? Asian countries are responsible for many renovative inventions; for example, the printing press was invented in Korea long before Guttenberg. Asian countries are NOT backwards, are NOT primitive, are NOT "ancient." (I added this after I sent it to her)
The fact that you asked for "beautiful" women also raises questions. Whose definition of "beautiful" are you using? Your western one or my Asian one? What purpose would the women serve? Were you also going to ask them to speak in "Ching chong cho" language to really get into character? Should they bat their eyes and appear docile, demure, servile and submissive? Would you like them to shuffle their feet? According to the character in your film, should the Asian women who respond to your casting call also sleep with Tom Cruise and the other white men who will be at the party?
You sold us the "American Dream" and we took the bait. We came to America. We built your damn railroads. We did your damn laundry. We sold you cigarettes in liquor stores. We fed you Chinese noodles and sushi. We grew your damn sugar and pineapples. We cleaned your houses while you worked in a real white collar job. We slept with you because you told us America and American men were better. You did not offer any pay for this job of dressing up and mingling with Hollywood's finest. Apparently you consider it a privilege to participate in this party. You think we do not have anything better to do than get dressed up in costume to meet Tom Cruise. Think again. Did you not see Asians rallying against Proposition 54 in the election last month? Do you not see Asians with the highest enrollment in top-notch universities? We're your doctors. We're your lawyers. We're your judges and police officers and governors and politicians. We're your teachers and your librarians and your Hollywood filmmakers and producers. We're your classmates and neighbors and friends. We are NOT free labor. We are NOT your servants. We are NOT objects of commodification or exotification or oppression. We are NOT your sex toys. So in response to your casting call... NO, we are NOT interested in the role to play "beautiful Asian women." And get it right: Asian AMERICAN women.
