Is "The King and I" Problematic? — Page 3

Well said, PJ.

PalJoey said: "It's only in the light of today that we see the "orientalism" that Kad refers to, much of which comes from Oscar's sense of humor, which was to render all comic characters as "cute." When he makes white characters like Ado Annie and Will Parker cute, there is no inadvertent racism, but when he makes Asian characters similarly cute, it seems--in 2018--as if he is buying into cultural stereotypes and saying that ALL Asians are like those characters. To counteract this, always put in material ennobling the King or Bloody Mary or the parents in Flower Drum Song. But unfortunately, even that ennobling material can seem condescending in 2018.."

And a lot of this has to do with representation. Whether in 1943 or 2018, a white actress who's cast as Ado Annie will have lots of opportunities to go on to play characters that aren't a cutesy flirty ditz. But for an Asian or Pacific Islander actress playing Bloody Mary, what's she going to be seen for? (heck, the original Bloody Mary was Juanita Hall, an African-American who was cast as Pacific Islander and Chinese).

Updated On: 7/23/18 at 03:48 PM

Another thing to consider is that it's not just because it's 2018 that people are talking about it, but the fact that more Asian-Americans have been speaking out about past portrayals in western media (including the dreaded model minority myth and how that undermines Asians and is used to pit them against other minorities and how far too many Asian-Americans embraced that for too long and how it's used to prevent Asian-Americans from reaching higher management positions because they are just grateful to get a job and will stay quiet and do the work). These conversations and Asian-Americans who feel more empowered this generation to speak out are the ones shaping these conversations for the most part. Further, even in decades past when they aren't perceived to be as outspoken, Asian-Americans have spoken out before and re-analyzed certain portrayals like in Flower Drum Song, the World of Suzie Wong, etc. That Henry David Hwang reworking of Flower Drum Song did not come out of a vacuum but instead was a result of decades of Asian-Americans analyzing that work and finding things they didn't like about it. Sure his version was inferior to the original and didn't work out, but I'm just using it to show that these critiques didn't come from no where. I also don't think the fact that his version wasn't very good should be a reason to not keep critiquing work either, because I take that as more of a learning experience and an experiment to learn from for next time. Like all things, some times when speaking out and learning how to bark, people may attack the wrong things, as Nancy Kwan, who is proud of her work in a world where somebody like her were not just given opportunities, can tell you.

Updated On: 7/24/18 at 09:38 AM

Another possibly salient point - The King and I was written in an era when no one thought twice about the appropriateness of yellowface performances, and featured a cast with every principal role performed by Caucasians (even Yul, born Yuliy Borisovich Briner, who was primarily European, perhaps at most 1/8 Buryat) - Doretta Morrow (Doretta Marano from Bensonhurst), Dorothy Sarnoff (Brooklyn), Larry Douglas (Lipman Duckat from Philadelphia), and John Juliano (replacing Murvyn Vye out of town).