Shang-chi: Racist Stereotype or Legendary Kungfu Superhero?
I did some work on Shang-chi for a project last year, which didn’t materialise due to the pandemic. The filming of the MCU movie was delayed, also due to COVID_19. Now that it’s finally in the can, I’m celebrating its shaqing by reworking the contents of that unfortunate project into an article that looks at the pitfalls and potential of Marvel’s cultural representation of a character whose origins were so problematic, and yet whose development through the decades of comics has been so interesting.
Posted in Commentary and tagged china, Chinese, cinema, comics, cultural appropriation, culture, diversity, film, kungfu, Marvel, MCU, movie, racism, representation, Shang-chi
Ghost Girl, Gwei Mui 鬼妹
There are many plays about being Chinese in Britain. Yet there was something about “Ghost Girl, Gwei Mui 鬼妹” that struck a chord with me, once a Cantonese girl transplanted from Guangzhou to London half way through her upbringing. Perhaps it was the title, the idea of being a living ghost – the invisible minority, or the daring reverse use of Gwei Mui, the Cantonese insult for foreigners, that prompted me to accept the offer to review this play.
Posted in Commentary and tagged adoptee, Britain, British Chinese, china, Chinese, Chinese Arts Now, culture, immigration, Jennifer Tang, minority, racism, review, theatre
An October of Theatre Part I
This October has been an extremely good month for Sinophiles in London, with so many China-related events in museums, theatres, conferences as well as TV and the radio. I have actually overexerted myself a little over this month, attending so many events, filling notebooks with article plans and talk outlines, that I gave myself no time to actually write and upload anything, so consider this article a guide to the highlights, and pitfalls, of Chinese culture through the Western lense.
Posted in Commentary and tagged china, Chinese, Edwardian, Fu Manchu, london, racism, theatre, women
On Being Chinese
I like to take quite positive things about China and Chinese culture as the starting points of my writing, or good things that have happened to me. This brief commentary though, is the result of some recent, very unpleasant, racially based encounters I’ve had around London. I have been told to “go back to Shanghai” (close kid, but no banana, I’m Cantonese), and had my platted hair grabbed because I “looked really Chinese”. Well, of course I Do. I am. And damned proud of it too.
Posted in Commentary and tagged Canton, china, Chinese, culture, National Day, Navy, racism