Suzie Wong/Many Splendours: Chinese culture in 1950s Hollywood

[Tabouli]

Since my happy purchase of a video recorder at last as my leaving work present to myself, I have been doing some serious movie watching.  Of late I've been blurring the line between work and play by taking a look at 1950s-1960s Hollywood takes on Hong Kong (hmmm, tax deduction?).   Most interesting.

Has anyone seen or read either "The World of Suzie Wong" or "(Love is) A Many Splendoured Thing"?

I read both of the books a few years ago, the first out of a lingering curiosity as to why my mother said in prim tones to my father  "Chee, how come you buy this terrible book?" (ooo!  said Tabouli, seizing it the moment her mother's back was turned) and the second in a sudden mid to late teen enthusiasm for Forging My Eurasian Identity (Han Suyin, the author of "A Many Splendoured Thing" was also half-Chinese, half-European... Dutch, I think).

Now, I'm aware that poor ol' Suzie cops a *lot* of flak.  She has been accused many times of presenting Asian women as demure, exotic, available sex objects and thereby corrupting their image irretrievably in the minds of Europeans.  Which made it all the more intriguing when I read the book and mused that it was incredibly ahead of its time in the cultural awareness stakes.  I was in fact impressed at the ability of Richard Mason (the author) to both capture Chinese attitudes and idiom and portray his cast of Hong Kong prostitutes with such respect and understanding.  In fact, if he was racist towards anyone, it wasn't the Chinese, it was the snooty colonial English.  As for the critics crying foul over its portrayal of Asian women, um, did they consider the fact that it *is* actually set in a brothel, and, um, all the Asian women in the book are in fact prostitutes whose very *job* is to sell themselves through sex appeal?  And that Suzie, an illiterate, 23yo Chinese prostitute, is in fact very independent and feisty indeed, putting your average white female character of the era to shame?

(The film, of course, restored a lot of comfortable colonialism and black and whiteness to the plot).

"A Many Splendoured Thing" I read a long time ago and can't remember all that well, except for the ending, which was in the very best traditions of tragic romance (and true, moreover).  However, having just seen the film, I found myself cringeing.

Both "Suzie" and "Splendour" changed the male lead from English to American and cast William Holden, whose acting should be sent straight to a furniture shop, or, preferably, a sawmill, in my opinion.  (What *was* the big deal with that guy in the 50s?  Rugged all-American looks are no substitute for the ability to act!)  The book of "Splendour" was touching, the film...!  I've seen more chemistry in a drive through McDonalds!

Also, I allowed myself some Genuine Eurasian sniffing at Jennifer Jones' attempts to look Eurasian by dyeing her wavy hair an unlikely blue-black, wearing a cheongsam and squinting.  Hers are European features if ever I've seen 'em.  Though of course, it must be said that when I went to China I found it very hard to convince anyone of my Chinese blood, and I'm the real thing.  Hmm.  Well, (she says huffily), at least I have straight, genuinely dark hair (very few Eurasians have blue-black hair - their hair is typically straight and very dark brown with a slight reddish tinge, like mine) and a light olive complexion, and there *are* some angles where you can see the Chinese in my eyes.

There were a few references to Eurasians in "Suzie", which made me heartily glad I was born in the 70s rather than the 40s.  Mason waxes sorrowful on the tragic plight of the Eurasian, who belongs nowhere and has no place in life except to hover hopefully on the fringes of a white society who snub them, longing for entry.  Though again, I suspect branding this "racism" is a bit silly - it strikes me as "highly accurate in its time", which is a different thing.  Han Suyin, of course, at least had the luxury of waving her own Eurasian pride banner!

The proudly Eurasian Tabouli (taking off her glasses and squinting at the screen)


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