A Charlie Chan Film Stirs an Old Controversy

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[JoeProBono]

The revival of a 42-year-old documentary on the fictional Chinese detective Charlie Chan has reignited the controversy surrounding that character specifically and, more generally, the portrayal of Asian-Americans in Hollywood.

The documentary, “The Great Charlie Chan,” made in 1968, was all but forgotten. But Harvey Chertok, who was vice president for advertising, promotion and publicity at Warner Brothers-Seven Arts when it was created, said he discovered it recently while cleaning out old files. The New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the group that organizes the New York Emmy Awards, held a screening in February and another is scheduled at the National Arts Club in Manhattan on March 16.

[JoeProBono]

[Stepan12]

What a bunch of whiners. I loved Charlie Chan when I was a kid.

And what about Peter Lorre's Mr. Moto who kicked butt on all sorts of white people? But everything is racism /sarcasm

[JoeProBono]

[real saxophonist]

We’re going to see a war between the ‘Offended by the depiction of Asians’ people, and the ‘OMG he has a GUN with his finger on the trigger; and there’s a Knuckle Knife!’ people...

[Dilbert San Diego]

These controversies are too funny. The liberals/radicals who run Hollywood and the entertainment industry are the ones who made these movies years ago. So now they have to explain why they used such allegedly belittling protrayals of minorities.

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[LostInBayport]

A screening of such films “indicates the level of disenfranchisement and disregard they hold for Asian Pacific Islanders,” said Ken Choy, a producer and community organizer in Los Angeles.

What complete and utter idiocy. If he really screened the films or read the novels upon which they are based, he would have seen that Chan is not disenfranchised OR disregarded. He is in a position of power (detective/inspector) and controls the investigation. Local police defer to him, as do hotel operators, ship's captains and the like. "It's the famous detective! How are you, Mr. Chan?"

There are characters who make racial slurs or perceive him as dim, but Chan, to his credit, lets it roll past him and often uses the false stereotype to his advantage in most cases. In other words, he rises above it. He's the hero of the series and solves the baffling case every time, for pity's sake!

If this Ken Choy actually watched these films, he didn't have a clear view because his own obsession with race was blocking the screen. Liberals make me ill.

[AD from SpringBay]

I always like Charlie Chan too. I had never thought much about the issues in this article. The Times sure can bring a different slant to a story.

[JoeProBono]

[MinuteGal]

In the good old days, Saturday morning TV would see The Little Rascals, Charlie Chan and Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone. I just loved those black and white films on the small screen....and I was no longer a "kid", at least year-wise, LOL.

Today, there's probably too many of the "ah so" comments by Charlie. The racism! The horror!

Confucius say liberalism is mental disease in the noodle.

Leni

[joelt]

How bout Chuck Conners as Geronimo; or John Wayne as Genghis Khan.

[ReneeLynn]

LOVE the Charlie Chan films. It seemed to me that they actually had more Asian actors in them than any films at the time. And they weren’t portrayed as sinister, etc. they were just regular people. The actor who portrayed number one son, adored Warner Oland. So much so that he wouldn’t do another Chan film Oland’s breakdown.

I can’t believe that people waste time getting offended over films that are so old.

And don’t forget Boris Karloff had a series of films as well as a Chinese detective. Mr. Wong.

[ReneeLynn]

I have all the Moto movies. Mr. Moto didn’t think twice about throwing a badguy overboard.

[JoeProBono]

[12Gauge687]

Hey, I’m of Chinese descent, too, like Ken Choy, but my parents and I watched those old films because they were entertaining. There were far bigger problems to worry about than a bunch of movies.

[Tennessee Nana]

Charlie Chan on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bGxI6J1M7M&feature=PlayList&p=76DEE1C229E807A5&index=0&playnext=1

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Not to mention Ricardo Montalban as “Nakamura” in “Sayonara” from 1957 and a hundred other TV and movie appearances as an Asian.

[JoeProBono]

Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto, “an adventurer, explorer, soldier of fortune.”

[kaehurowing]

“But some Asian-Americans say that although Charlie Chan was an amalgam of stereotypes, he should be looked at in a broader context 80 years after he was created.”

Charlie Chan was modeled after Chang Apana, also known as Ah Ping Chang, a real-life detective with the Honolulu Police Department.

Photo of Chang Apana with Warner Oland can be seen here:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9o9GcJ3CGUo/Sw5m0F0btCI/AAAAAAAAAWI/P4vx4Ce6jDo/s1600/Apana%20&%20Oland.jpg