Anna May Wong Case

Anna May Wong

Anna May Wong is often a forgotten name in the Hollywood acting industry. A young Asian-American, Wong catapulted to stardom as a successful actress; however, her career is often overlooked. Looked down upon by Chinese nationalists, Wong was criticized for playing stereotypical roles that portrayed Asian women as weak, hopeless, or evil. She received star credits in many of her films, but received less pay than white actresses of her time. Tired of the stereotypical roles and discriminatory pay, Anna May Wong pursued an even more successful career in Europe. Upon returning to America, Wong still faced discriminatory pay and was unable to secure lead roles despite her dedication to her craft. Anna May Wong faced racial discrimination as an Asian-American actress, but despite her efforts to escape racial discrimination and properly portray the Asian woman, she never received the equality she desired as an actress.

Wong Liu Tsong was in her father’s laundry shop a third-generation Californian. Called by her American name, Anna May attended public schools until racial hostility forced her and her siblings to be enrolled in a private school for Chinese students near her home in Los Angeles’s Chinatown. It is here that Anna May Wong encountered the art of film that would catapult her to stardom. In her lifetime, Wong acted in 30 silent films and 25 sound films, both unprecedented by any Asian actor of her time. In her twenty year career, Wong acted in over 50 movies, received star credits for many of her roles, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; however, her career was plagued by Asian-American discrimination.

Anna May Wong’s successful career and consequently her fame were overshadowed by racial discrimination in the 19th century. When Wong was born, the Chinese Exclusion Act barred the immigration of Chinese families to America. In a time of such racial exclusion, Chinese-Americans lived together in neighborhoods, such as Chinatown, often as an attempt to avoid white intrusion. Laws were put in place that prevented the gathering of people in Chinatown and riots and protests were often organized against Chinese businesses and labor. By the turn of the century, the Department of Public Health had barricaded Chinatown and shutdown all businesses owned by Chinese. Racial hostilities lead to exclusion, which limited interaction between Chinese-Americans and non-Asian-Americans and the racial discrimination this hostility supported forced Chinese-Americans to accept discriminatory compensation and severity limited their employment prospects.

Despite being faced with racial discrimination, Anna May Wong had a successful career that was unprecedented by any Chinese-American actress of her time. Her career began as a movie extra, but soon Wong received starring roles. In her roles, Wong portrayed characters such as the daughter of an evil leader,