Anna May and Carmen are known today as talented women who were firsts in international recognition, and also known as women who struggled greatly to fight against stereotypes that limited their careers.
Anna May Wong
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“I was so young when I began that I knew I still had youth if I failed, so I determined to give myself 10 years to succeed as an actress.”
Anna May grew up in a poor area of Chinatown in Los Angeles, California. Obsessed with films, she hung around sets and begged for parts. She eventually got one and started down the path of her career. Unfortunately, Anna May was given roles of either the scheming dragon lady, slave girl, or submissive delicate flower. Her time in the industry was one long fight to be taken more seriously and not be typecast. However, she made great strides being considered the first Chinese American movie star and First Asian American actress to be recognized internationally.
1) Was nicknamed “Curious Chinese Child” by filmmakers because she was seen around sets so often
2) Her first leading role was in "The Toll of the Sea," the first technicolor film shot in Hollywood
3) Interracial romance on screen was so controversial that Anna May was never allowed to kiss white male costars
4) Even if the films she starred in tanked, she was critically praised for her acting skills
5) She became a huge star in Europe after leaving America for better roles. Funny enough, after her success overseas, an American studio selected her as a talented European actress to go BACK to America to work
6) Critics today conclude that Anna May outshined Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"
7) Once Anna May grew more confident in her skills developed in Europe, she refused to take stereotyped roles
8) MGM chose white actress Luise Rainer instead of Anna May, to play the role of a Chinese character
9) Anna started working in B-movies where she had more freedom to play a wider range of characters
10) When she went to visit China for the first time, she was disheartened when grilled by reporters on why she took such harmful roles.
Carmen Miranda
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“Look at me and tell me if I don’t have Brazil in every curve of my body.”
Carmen was born in Portugal and her family immigrated to Brazil when she was less than a year old. She performed as often as she could and became a sensation in America, performing on Broadway, film, and radio. Known for her fruit hat and "exotic" accent, she helped create awareness of Latin American culture. But the image Carmen crafted for her career prevented her from branching out. Because like Anna May Wong, she soon found that she was only seen as a stereotype.
1) Nicknamed the "Brazilian Bombshell"
2) She opened her own boutique and created hats
3) In 1993, she became Brazil's first radio contract singer
4) She was one of the first Latinas to have footprints outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater
5) First Brazilian performer to gain international success
6) Despite her success overseas, the media in Brazil felt Carmen perpetuated a harmful stereotype of Brazil and its people
7) At a charity concert for Brazil's First lady, Carmen was met with a cold response and booed until she left the stage in tears
8) Upper class white Brazilians criticized that Carmen's image was representative of lower class Afro-Brazilians and acted "too black"
9) After Hollywood grew tired of her, Carmen found success in nightclubs
10) Her death was mourned greatly in Brazil and a museum was constructed in her honor.
Future entertainers are able to continue to fight against stereotypical roles by using the lessons learned from Anna May and Carmen's careers.
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Anna May Wong
“I was so young when I began that I knew I still had youth if I failed, so I determined to give myself 10 years to succeed as an actress.”
Anna May grew up in a poor area of Chinatown in Los Angeles, California. Obsessed with films, she hung around sets and begged for parts. She eventually got one and started down the path of her career. Unfortunately, Anna May was given roles of either the scheming dragon lady, slave girl, or submissive delicate flower. Her time in the industry was one long fight to be taken more seriously and not be typecast. However, she made great strides being considered the first Chinese American movie star and First Asian American actress to be recognized internationally.
1) Was nicknamed “Curious Chinese Child” by filmmakers because she was seen around sets so often
2) Her first leading role was in "The Toll of the Sea," the first technicolor film shot in Hollywood
3) Interracial romance on screen was so controversial that Anna May was never allowed to kiss white male costars
4) Even if the films she starred in tanked, she was critically praised for her acting skills
5) She became a huge star in Europe after leaving America for better roles. Funny enough, after her success overseas, an American studio selected her as a talented European actress to go BACK to America to work
6) Critics today conclude that Anna May outshined Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"
7) Once Anna May grew more confident in her skills developed in Europe, she refused to take stereotyped roles
8) MGM chose white actress Luise Rainer instead of Anna May, to play the role of a Chinese character
9) Anna started working in B-movies where she had more freedom to play a wider range of characters
10) When she went to visit China for the first time, she was disheartened when grilled by reporters on why she took such harmful roles.
Carmen Miranda
“Look at me and tell me if I don’t have Brazil in every curve of my body.”
Carmen was born in Portugal and her family immigrated to Brazil when she was less than a year old. She performed as often as she could and became a sensation in America, performing on Broadway, film, and radio. Known for her fruit hat and "exotic" accent, she helped create awareness of Latin American culture. But the image Carmen crafted for her career prevented her from branching out. Because like Anna May Wong, she soon found that she was only seen as a stereotype.
1) Nicknamed the "Brazilian Bombshell"
2) She opened her own boutique and created hats
3) In 1993, she became Brazil's first radio contract singer
4) She was one of the first Latinas to have footprints outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater
5) First Brazilian performer to gain international success
6) Despite her success overseas, the media in Brazil felt Carmen perpetuated a harmful stereotype of Brazil and its people
7) At a charity concert for Brazil's First lady, Carmen was met with a cold response and booed until she left the stage in tears
8) Upper class white Brazilians criticized that Carmen's image was representative of lower class Afro-Brazilians and acted "too black"
9) After Hollywood grew tired of her, Carmen found success in nightclubs
10) Her death was mourned greatly in Brazil and a museum was constructed in her honor.
Future entertainers are able to continue to fight against stereotypical roles by using the lessons learned from Anna May and Carmen's careers.
SOURCESOURCESOURCESOURCESOURCESOURCESOURCESOURCESOURCE
