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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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I give to Lucu Liu for doin' her thang... i just wish she'd do a decent movie..ok..charlie's angls was cute and all, but how about something that will be timeless and classic, UNLIKE stupid Shanghai Noon (boring Hollywood formula movie) or Payback (just plain sucked, my husband said it should be called the "Pay Me Back" for seeing this movie)..but hey the girl is doing what she does and if you don't like her then don't watch her, but you can't criticize her for earning her living..if you are then you just hatin' on the gurl..
Free Lucy Liu!
Tuesday, June 04, 2002 at 23:33:40 (PDT)
You know, I think Lucy Liu did for Asian Women what Bruce Lee did for Asian men, breaking out of the "passive" stereotype but replacing it with a stereotype of the other extreme.
Bruce Lee broke the stereotype that all Asian men are sissy wimps with his martial arts films and raised the self-esteems of Asian men a few noches, but now mainstream Americans seem to think that all Asian men are Kung Fu masters or something like that. But now, other Asian stars, such as Chow Yun Fat are slowing adding breaking that stereotype.
Lucy Liu's role broke the "passive" stereotype of Asian women and replaced it with the "dragon lady" stereotype, but I think other Asian stars would be able to break that stereotypes as well.
Stereotype busting is definetly the way to go
Saturday, May 18, 2002 at 19:42:52 (PDT)
Hooray for Lucy Liu! I think she is definately a heroine for AAs. Liu is one of the first (whatever happened to Margaret Cho?) asian female television stars who does not portray a "subservient docile" stereotypical asian woman. As for her portrayal of a sexually charged woman, I say "aren't most women?" I say hooray for Lucy Liu and hopefully she won't be the last example of a strong asian woman on television.
Half Corean Gal
stlgirl2@yahoo.com
Thursday, May 09, 2002 at 09:38:05 (PDT)
"As far as Jet Li and Chow Yun-Fat being "sellouts", I would have to say that they are not"
When Asian men opposite white women, it's justified. When Asian women opposite white men, it's selling-out.
Even though Asian women have been playing roles oppositing White men, the roles have been scant throughout film history. Moreover, those roles have never been truly positive. They are only supporting roles to compliment or showcase the superiority of the white male hero.
But in Asian movies where an Asian man opposites a white woman, HE IS the hero. She is only there as a foil for the Asian male protagonist. Thus, though there have been fewer movies with Asian male leads, those have been truly positive ones.
Asian women in movies have NOT had this experience.
In Romeo Must Die, Jet Li and Alliyah together beats a Chinese girl to death. The killing is portrayed in a romantic collaborative dance between Li and Alliyah against an evil Chinese female villian. In that scene, Asian women are bashed to glorify the unity between Asian men and Black women.
I used to love Jet Li, until now. As for Chow Yun Fat, I don't watch any of his movies anymore.
Though Asian men complain about Asian women oppositing white men in movies, Asian men do the exact same thing once they get the chance. And worse, they cast the Asian female as the villian. What hypocrisy!
I hate Chow Yun Fat
Monday, May 06, 2002 at 03:37:59 (PDT)
chowyunpat,
Maybe she also realized that and has taken a hiatus from any major films or tv appearances. So that she can reinvent her image.
AC Dropout
Friday, May 03, 2002 at 08:19:12 (PDT)
there's this one episode of ally mcbeal where lucy liu gives part of her closing argument in chinese. first she says to the jury, "this case reminds me of an old saying in chinese." she then goes on to say in chinese, "i can say whatever the hell i want because you white people won't understand." i don't think there were subtitles either. anyhow, she speaks fluent chinese.
whether she is a heroine or curse is not the issue. she's just choosing between having a career as a actress or not having one at all. it's not as though she gets to choose her roles. and if she refuses to play a specific role, there will always be another asian girl to take her place. the problem runs deeper than that.
penelope
Friday, May 03, 2002 at 01:19:03 (PDT)
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