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GOLDSEA |
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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Who cares. It appears her career is over anyway. The only thing she has to look forward to is a mind numbing string of Charlies Angels sequels. SHe took the gamble and tried to make the leap from from T.V. to Hollywood and was hammered by two harsh realities. One is that you have to have talent or charisma to make it far and the second is that even though she is marketed as a sexy female, she is still seen as an Asian and suffers from all the limitations that brings in Hollywood.
I think culturally speaking she was a very interesting experiment. There was no shortage of men who thought she was so hot and no shortage of Ally McBeal fans who thought she was a spunky actress; but in the end she was tripped up by her ethnicity and race which she spent a life time trying to avoid. ...Ah sweet irony.
The Critic
Thursday, August 01, 2002 at 23:36:43 (PDT)
the old stereotype of Asian women as being available to non-Asian men <<< It sounds quite incredible that one would expect oneself to be *limited* to one's own race and for that to be the norm. Too bad more AA's aren't breaking the mold and allowing themselves, males and females, to interact and perhaps even have a relationship with a non-Asian, and to see non-Asians as belonging to the same pool of *human beings*.
Ming M.
Thursday, August 01, 2002 at 12:57:52 (PDT)
Asian this and Asian that - how about people this and people that?
Booyeah
Thursday, July 18, 2002 at 22:45:45 (PDT)
I agree with John, and disagree with Flags. I am AF by the way.
I used to like Lucy Liu until a year ago that I met my current Chinese boyfriend. We started going out and everything, and he had to tell me that he thought that Lucy Liu was beautiful and that she looked exactly like his ex gf. BARFFFFF.....now I hate Lucy Liu's guts cuz I don't even think she is beautiful, she is old, and has weird ugly eyes (just to let u know its only my opinion before anyone barks at me for that comment). It's obvious. True, I am biased because she looks like my bf's ex. I get upset every time I think of LL.
Moonshineprincess
Friday, July 12, 2002 at 18:14:51 (PDT)
John,
You are an Asiaphile with no right to talk about Asian American issues. You are biased. Just as Asians have no comprehension of what it is to be white, you cannot undertsnd what it is to be asian.
Flags
Thursday, July 11, 2002 at 12:27:51 (PDT)
Lucy Liu is not colorblind. I went to Michigan when she was there. She was particularly mean towards Asians. She is not colorblind, in fact she is quite the opposite. She shuns her own race which I think is pitiful.
Michigan Alumn
Thursday, July 11, 2002 at 12:24:21 (PDT)
Speaking of Lucy Liu, where is she these days? Does she have any projects coming out soon?
wondering?
Wednesday, July 10, 2002 at 16:52:37 (PDT)
I agree with some previous postings that there is really nothing wrong with Lucy Liu not dating Asian guys. Ideally, we should all be color-blind and the ethnicity of her dates should not matter. In real life, there are just more white guys to date than Asian guys in America, so what is the big deal if she dates guys that she's interested in who happen to be white?
The only thing I resent about Lucy Liu being an AA woman icon is her looks. She looks just like a stereotyped Chinese American with squinty eyes and harsh cheekbones. In China she wouldn't be deemed as a beauty at all. Comparatively, Ming Na has softer features that I like.
Red Red Seashell
redshell00@yahoo.com
Monday, June 10, 2002 at 10:15:04 (PDT)
I Like Lucy Liu, and her role in Ally Mcbeal intrigued me, and made me want to watch the show just to see her. (i am female by the way). THought she was cute and also she reminded me of myself (in terms of personalty)
Princess
Friday, June 07, 2002 at 15:48:16 (PDT)
Interracial dating is a non-issue, but her character is such an incredible b!tch that it certainly doesn't create a very favorable impression of Asian Americans, or at least of Asian American lawyers. Then again, most of the characters on that show are nutcases anyway, so she just blends in.
Desslar
Thursday, June 06, 2002 at 14:03:06 (PDT)
It sickens me when I hear people complain that Asian actresses "Should have more roles opposite Asian male leads" and that because Lucy Liu (as Ling Woo) hasn't dated an Asian man, that she's a sell out! What a bunch of racist garbage!!! She is an amazing actress with great range...her skill at portraying the characters she has been given is wonderful.
I'm not Asian, but I've lived in Asia for a long time, and until people here begin to let go of the "Asians are Asians and then there's the rest of the world" mentality....many will continue to become angry because of situations like "Her sexual roles opposite mostly non-Asians have led many Asian Americans to call Liu a sellout."
Shame on you
John
jrvp88@hotmail.com
Wednesday, June 05, 2002 at 11:49:18 (PDT)
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