Belmont Public Library: Pop Goes The Culture!

Press release from the Belmont Public Library:

2021-08-19

In the pre-talkie early years of Hollywood, two of the biggest silent movie stars, Sessue Hayakawa and Anna May Wong were Asian. Portrayed as exotic and inscrutable, these stars graced the silver screen with great success. But suddenly and within a short period of time, all the major Hollywood movie studios began hiring white actors instead of actual Asians and gave them the “yellowface” treatment with taped-back eyes and makeup. Fast-forward to today, and Asians have attained an amazing level of stardom and success both on TV and the big screen. How, when and why did all those cultural shifts come about?

The Belmont Public Library is honored to host Gil Asakawa for this fascinating Zoom presentation. Mr. Asakawa is a journalist, editor, author and blogger who covers Japan, Japanese American, Asian American and Pacific Islander cultural and social justice issues. Mr. Asakawa is a nationally-known speaker, panelist and expert on Japanese American history and Asian American identity.

Please register here for this intriguing racial equity event.

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This press release was produced by the Belmont Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.