Yellowface: Orientals in Popular Culture the History

Yellowface: Orientals in Popular Culture

The history of the Asian presence in America presents evidence of racism and classism. As a result, the Oriental stereotype was developed in American culture that has negatively impacted the immigration and rights of naturalization, citizenship opportunities, economic rights, and social involvement of Asian-Americans. The cultural designation of the color yellow to identify Orientals is a classic example of race identification, and the categorical ideology that accompanies racial opposition to whiteness. In his article, "Yellowface," Robert G. Lee cites evidence of Oriental racism in American Popular Culture and discusses how it has affected the perception of Orientals as true Americans. The "alien" condition of Orientals assimilated into American culture has stereotypically prevented their full characterization as Americans.

The cultural stereotype rooting Orientals to misconceptions over loyalty to homeland and their identification as a racial presence is the basis of Lee's discussion. Through historical examination of Orientals' treatment in America, Lee determines the sources of class determination and cultural depictions of Asian-Americans. As a result of the conjured racist images of Orientals, alienation rather than true assimilation has occurred. Lee raises several main points to explain the "alien" condition of Asian-Americans. He first delves into popular culture and its effect on race identification, and then he considers the family as a stereotypical apparatus. He also presents six images of the Oriental person, each signifying a cultural viewpoint across American popular culture.

American popular culture categorizes citizens based on race, ethnicity and national identity, sexuality, and gender, producing a "common understanding" of groups like the Orientals as a race separate from the perceived norm. The ethnic identification of Orientals causes society to make distinctions of Asian class and race, generating a discernment of their national identification as Asian rather than American. When examining the family unit, the economic and social condition of the family further perpetuates class divisions and determines a minority status, as Lee demonstrates to be the case with Asian-American people.

Lee continues to desribe the social stigma by identifying six faces of the Oriental, stimulating the "alien" opinion. Through historical context he provides the images of the pollutant, coolie, deviant, yellow peril, model minority, and gook. The pollutant evolved during western expansion when Chinese settlers diluted the ideal of the white republic. The coolie represented the Chinese worker, segregated as a subordinate class of laborers, while the deviant of the late 1800s identified Chinese immigrants who were brought into middle-class households as servants, with a sexual innuendo. As the U.S. began its colonization campaign in Asia, the threat of increased numbers of Asian immigrants led to their identification as the yellow peril. During the last several decades, the images of the model minority and gook further symbolized the efficient yet counter-present symbol of Orientals as the enemy. As Lee states, "The Oriental is a complex racial representation, made up of contradictory images and stereotypes." The stereotype that has resulted has affected the Asian-American assimilation into American culture.