When film was first invented in the late 1800s and early 1900s, movie-goers could actually see images of far-away places, like China, and that fueled interest in the area. Throughout history, many Chinese Americans are devoted in this area. Now, the back room of the Formosa Cafe looks like a museum that honors the works of Chinese Americans and their contributions to Hollywood. Chinese stereotypes (刻板印象)
Stereotypes of the Chinese in America were strengthened by the otherness of U. S. China towns in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There was an idea that the Chinese was the "yellow peril", who you couldn't trust. And that resulted in the character called Fu Manchu. Fu Manchu was an evil character who wanted to destroy the western world. He appeared in movies and in a television series.
In 1926, Charlie Chan, a Chinese investigator from Hawaii, appeared for the first time in a movie. This created a different, yet still problematic Asian stereotype.
Yellow face" actors
Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu may have been Chinese characters, but the actors were usually white men made up to look like Asian. Actors Sidney Toler, Roland Winters and Ross Martin all played Charlie Chan. Yellow face meant they actually yellowed up their skin. White actors just played the lead characters in The Good Earth, a 1937 film about Chinese farmers. Asian actors had parts in the film, but they needed bankable actors, however, there were no Asian American bankable actors.
China factors
Over the years, Asian and Chinese Americans did find work in Hollywood, and a few earned a star on the Hollywood Walk for Fame. Hollywood is also changing the way it presents the Chinese culture. As the biggest market for movies outside the U. S, Hollywood has been making films that will not offend movie-goers in China or the country's government. The industry has been careful not to show the Chinese as evil. Co-productions between Hollywood and Chinese companies put Chinese characters and China in a favorable or satisfactory way.
