|
|
|
|
|
GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Asian Men Deliberately Excluded from Star Wars?
ow that the fifth installment of the Star Wars saga has hit theatres, it's official: Asian men have no place in George Lucas's vision of the future. An Asian female Jedi was glimpsed in the most recent installment, but not one single Asian male has been spotted in any of the five movies.
The absence is all the more remarkable given that Star Wars borrows its themes and fight scenes so obviously from samurai and kung-fu flicks. On a purely demographic level, it's difficult to imagine a distant future in which Asians will not be the preponderance of humanity. Even on a mundane economic level, Asians account for at least a third of today's global box office and video revenues.
The utter absence of Asian men in the latest installment is even more glaring in light of the promises Lucas made in response to Asian protests over the omission of Asian actors coupled with suspicious attachment of Asian cultural traits to unsavory alien grotesqueries in The Phantom Menace. Lucas had even hinted that images of Bruce Lee would be used in the installment now known as The Clone Wars.
In The Phantom Menace Lucas used Asian martial artists both to choreograph and perform the kendo-inspired light-saber sequences. But as if wishing to take back the decision, in The Clone Wars Lucas's PR machine made a point of showing that the fight sequences were choreographed by a white man and performed by the actors themselves. That explains why they were so leaden and lackluster, but raises the question why?
Could it be that George Lucas wants to avoid calling attention to his large debt to Asian action films?
Is Lucas afraid that including an Asian man will invite critical focus on the new movie's sub-par swordfight sequences?
Is Lucus slyly inviting viewers to see wizened little Master Yoda as a winking representation of Asian men?
Despite his avowed interest in Chinese and Japanese martial arts, culture, literature and films, is Lucas a closet racist after all?
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
CONTACT US
|
ADVERTISING INFO
© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.
|
|
|
|
WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:56:05 PM)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm almost positive that there's actually an AM in one of the original Star wars (I think it's episode 6, Return of the Jedi). It's during the space battle--the dude with the pink eye shield flying one of the other strange looking fighter jets, not an X-wing. He screams something like "I'm hit!!!" and his plane crashes into one of the Star Destroyers. I'm pretty damn positive he's Asian.
UCI guy
Tuesday, May 21, 2002 at 10:50:43 (PDT)
The dudes at Star Trek beats this sorry bunch from Star Wars hands down. I hope in the 6th installment Ang Lee directs it showing the Enterprise vaporising Luke Skywalker and his mob into space dust.
Star Bores.
Tuesday, May 21, 2002 at 10:39:21 (PDT)
"Not mention the concept of The Force is borrowed from Asian culture (it bears an uncanny resemblence to Chi/Ki)"
The concept of the Force is NOT just of Asian Origin. The Notion of what is called the "Life Force" has deep roots in ancient Celtic Religions practiced by the Druids as well. Those religions are as old as Buddhism, if not older. One of it's symobls of was the Butterfly.
You're trying to grasp at every possible straw to find offence with this movie. While I agree there should have been more diversity within the Humanoids shown, don't try to attribute some concepts which have multiple cultural images that are independent of each other and ascribe them to being strictly Asian. That's very ignorant.
Druid
Tuesday, May 21, 2002 at 08:12:49 (PDT)
villageidiot,
Dude...some idiot perhaps u, was complaining about the nonexistence of AM in Star Wars. Let say if George decides to put an AM in episode 3, expect him to be bad guy and not a Jedi.
We all agree that episode 1 was based on stereotypes of different ethnicities, from the trade federation, the aliens to Queen Amidala's costume.
Get it right...
Ur wrong..ok!
Watto was a slave owner, has a hooked nose, greedy, morally corupt, rotten teeth, talked slurred yiddish-like english with a cunning motive. These are the negative stereotypes or negative images of JEWS and NOT ITALIANS. The Jews were the ones who allegedly practiced slave trade throughout the world and perhaps in the galaxies of Star Wars. They were also stereotyped as a people who corrupted the society at large and they did so in Star Wars beginning with Watto.
In the story, Watto was very shallow, he took Anakin away from his mother at a tender age which would ultimately cause fear and damage to his psyche, leading him to join the dark side and become a Darth Vader. Now doesn't Watto imprint a negative image of Jews as the root of all evil in a Western Christian Anti-Semitic perspective? Or Watto is just an Italian Mafiosa like character?
You tell me.....
whatever
Tuesday, May 21, 2002 at 08:04:20 (PDT)
NEWEST COMMENTS |
EARLIER COMMENTS
|