Jun 11 2008
Shanghai Kiss: Is It Just Me Or…
According to the imdb summary for this film:
“A struggling Chinese-American actor, who unwittingly finds himself involved with a high school girl, learns he has inherited his grandmother’s home in Shanghai. The American-raised character moves to China in an attempt to connect with his ancestry, leaving behind quite possibly the only girl who has ever loved him.”
Now answer this question—Why is the main character featured in the far background, with his face blurred in a side view motion shot, and a supporting character featured in the foreground, perfectly posed in a perfectly clear still image?
Possible Reasons:
1.) More people want to see hot Caucasian girl up-close rather than a scrawny Asian guy.
2.) If the Asian guy’s not playing a kung-fu master or a computer hacker or a typical Asian role, why bother putting him up front (even if he was the main character)?
3.) It’s Hayden Panettiere vs. an unknown Asian actor. Guess who wins the close up.
4.) All of the above. Personally, I’ll go with #4.
Seriously, although this work, as a film, might be a step up for Asian portrayals in American cinema, its presentation is a real step back for it. True, Hayden’s over-magnified presence on the cover will probably get more people to see it as opposed to having the main character magnified, but something really says “keep the Asian man down” about it. What say you?
One Response to “Shanghai Kiss: Is It Just Me Or…”
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Asians definitely have distinct culture about them. But for some reason, they seem to assimilate the most out of any ethnic group in the country. What about eastern philosophy and religion, food, martial arts, Korean and Japanese pop and hip hop, etc?