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ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
IS LUCY LIU A HEROINE OR A CURSE?
he isn't exactly playing Suzie Wong, but actress Lucy Liu has chagrined Asian Americans nevertheless. As Ling Woo of Fox's Ally McBeal, she spouts lines like, "A woman hasn't got true control of a man until her hand is on the dumb stick," and, "There's nothing I enjoy more than seeing a happy couple and coming between them." The character is a self-described "tramp" who is simultaneously addicted to casual sex and uses sex to have her way with men. Being a creature of American TV, Ling's sexual encounters are never with Asian men, only adding fuel to the fire.
But some think Liu deserves credit for having built near-icon status for a strong Asian female character out of the scraps she was initially thrown in her first Ally McBeal appearance in September 1998. Ling Woo was evidently to have been scenery for the Nelle Porter character but stole the spotlight and, thanks to a killer kiss, quickly became a regular.
Liu's latter-day dragon lady has been deemed so compelling by American TV audiences that she often shares top billing with Calista Flockhart. Her overnight notoriety won her a lead in the Charlie's Angels movie in which she kicked ass, literally and figuratively, on par with the far better-paid Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore. Liu also landed the female lead in Jackie Chan's comic western Shanghai Noon and the role of a mafia dominatrix in the Mel Gibson flick Payback.
Her sexual roles opposite mostly non-Asians have led many Asian Americans to call Liu a sellout. The facts suggest otherwise. Her family immigrated from China and settled in Queens where Lucy was born December 2, 1968. The area began its transformation from an Italian neighborhood to an Asian one as she entered grade school and Liu went through an identity crisis in the normal quest to fit in with peers. Upon graduating from Stuyvesant High, she spent an unhappy year at NYU, then transferred to Michigan at Ann Arbor where she managed to fit acting, dancing and singing into a degree program in Asian languages. She also studied an Indonesian martial art called Kali-Escrima-Silat. She speaks fluent Mandarin.
None of that matters much, of course, to the countless Asian American women who suffer unwanted attention based on Liu's portrayal of the sexual predator Ling Woo. But some AA women are grateful that she has at least helped them shed the image of passive, submissive wallflowers. Many AA, of course, resent Liu for playing roles that reinforce the old stereotype of Asian women as being available to non-Asian men even as they applaud her for showing Asians to be English-speaking members of American society.
All of which begs the question, is Lucy Liu a heroine or a curse for Asian American women?
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WHAT YOU SAY
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(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 04:38:55 AM)
The whole point of Fez's character is to display the blatant racism that was common in the era. And typecasting is hardly new to Lucy Liu. Since she's already been compared to Cameron Diaz once in this discussion, let's do it again. Cameron Diaz? Oh, you mean the former beauty queen with the gigantic smile who's famous for tossing her hair and shaking her butt? Hmm, sounds like she's been typecast to me. I'm not sure what would please some of the people here. They're angered by the submissive AF image, and angered by the Dragon Lady stereotype. They hate that Asian men are portrayed as nerds, and then hate martial arts stars. If something came out with a "perfectly balanced" Asian character, I get the impression that some people on this board would immediately start complaining that the character perpetuated the "model minority" image or some such. Think about it.
Schiavona
Wednesday, March 20, 2002 at 16:12:39 (PST)
Hello all,
To start off, Lucy Lui is indeed a curse to asian american women. All the parts she has played cater to the white male sexual fantasy. You know she's a sellout when she's never had a role in which she didn't have a white guy romantic lead. Hello??? asian men exist. Or have you forgotten? It's funny how sneaky the white tv exec's are now. They still show the same stereotypes, yet they put it in a subtle way so that no one can be totally offended. Like Fez from that 70's show. Because his nationality isn't mentioned at all, you really can't tell what he's suppose to be. Arab? Indian? He's just the funy foreign kid that can't get laid. This is the same with the Lucy Lui roles. So she's independent blah blah blah, but in the end she ain't nothin but a white man's hoe. If she was actually asian, then maybe she'd recognize what her fellow asian brother's have to go through and deal with. I can't wait for a day when the only asians we see on tv are asian guys and those asian guys are only with white girls. Recognize asian women. If ya don't respect your brother's, then you're a sellout. da point blank fact
y'all just forgot about asian men
Saturday, March 16, 2002 at 22:04:54 (PST)
Wow the peoples she was in the "50 most beautiful people issue" i am sure that is unbiased and not controlled by the opinion making white media..u "give me a friggin break". She is uglier then 95% of the chinese women out there...PERIOD.
Truth hits everybody
Friday, March 15, 2002 at 03:49:28 (PST)
Compared with other Asian actresses from Asia, Lucy Liu is rather plain looking. There is nothing exceptional about her look. Overseas Asians tend to think that AA actors and actresses aren't so hot looking as the local ones. As for her acting skills, she is always getting type cast by Hollywood, so I have no comments on that.
FOP
Tuesday, March 12, 2002 at 12:00:41 (PST)
Lucy Liu did not get "ripped off" for her pay in "Charlie's Angels." She made far above SAG minimums. Don't also forget that she was the last one cast (meaning much of the budget had been allotted), and at that point, she didn't really have a proven track record the way Cameron Diaz did (TV and film are different beasts). Cameron's asking price did not skyrocket until the success of "Something About Mary" - I'm sure if you went back to her first film, "The Mask," she probably made less than Lucy did for "Charlie's Angels."
Debates about her perceived attractiveness are really tiresome. I've seen photos where she looks really cute and natural, and others where she looks awful--kind of like the rest of us. Instead of picking apart her features, we should be admiring her for her longevity in the business. I remember reading that less than 5% of SAG members are even able to make a living acting, and last I heard, she was doing pretty well.
And debbie hsu, it takes all kinds to be beautiful, who are you to say she isn't? Who cares about all the "gorgeous Asian girls in California" if they don't (or can't) act?
L.A. Chica
Monday, March 11, 2002 at 17:53:26 (PST)
debbie,
are u saying that "ugly" asian women should not have a role in hollywood??? (not that lucy liu is ugly at all). So every asian who has really slanted eyes should be banned from the big screen because (god forbid!) they might give asians an ugly image, right? geez that is about the most shallow thing you can say. there's nothing wrong with dark skin (and lucy is hardly dark anyway!), small slanted eyes, or freckles...and i've never seen her crosseyed.
no one ever said lucy is representing the asian race when she is put on the screen ok? there are no arrows pointing to her that says: typical chinese female. she's just an actress who happens to be chinese!!!
Give me a friggin break
Sunday, March 10, 2002 at 16:20:24 (PST)
Lucy Liu isn't that ugly. The only problem is her eyes, their not symetrical. But overall, she has a nice body and she's kinda cute. So quit hating, at least she is making a name for herself while you haters are doing nothing with your lives!!!
ya'll just jealous
Sunday, March 10, 2002 at 11:15:32 (PST)
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