Made-Up Asians: Yellowface During the Exclusion Era

By: Esther Kim Lee

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Synopsis: Made-Up Asians traces the history of yellowface, the theatrical convention of non-Asian actors putting on makeup and costume to look East Asian. Using specific case studies from European and U.S. theater, race science, and early film, Esther Kim Lee traces the development of yellowface in the U.S. context during the Exclusion Era (1862–1940), when Asians faced legal and cultural exclusion from immigration and citizenship. These caricatured, distorted, and misrepresented versions of Asians took the place of excluded Asians on theatrical stages and cinema screens. The book examines a wide-ranging set of primary sources, including makeup guidebooks, play catalogs, advertisements, biographies, and backstage anecdotes, providing new ways of understanding and categorizing yellowface as theatrical practice and historical subject. Made-Up Asians also shows how lingering effects of Asian exclusionary laws can still be seen in yellowface performances, casting practices, and anti-Asian violence into the 21st century.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
Book Size:: 296 Pages
ISBN-13:: 9780472220328
Related ISBNs:: 9780472055432, 9780472075430
Publisher:: University of Michigan Press
Date of Addition:: 07/25/22
Copyrighted By:: Esther Kim Lee
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Entertainment, Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Social Studies, Drama, Plays and Theater
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.