Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History

di Yunte Huang (Autore)

WW Norton & Co, 2024

Born into the steam and starch of a Chinese laundry, Anna May Wong (1905–1961) emerged from turn-of-the-century Los Angeles to become Old Hollywood’s most famous Chinese American actress, a screen siren who captivated global audiences and signed her publicity photos—with a touch of defiance—“Orientally yours.” Now, more than a century after her birth, Yunte Huang narrates Wong’s tragic life story, retracing her journey from Chinatown to silent-era Hollywood, and from Weimar Berlin to decadent, prewar Shanghai, and capturing American television in its infancy. As Huang shows, Wong’s rendezvous with history features a remarkable parade of characters, including a smitten Walter Benjamin and (an equally smitten) Marlene Dietrich. Challenging the parodically racist perceptions of Wong as a “Dragon Lady”, “Madame Butterfly” or “China Doll”, Huang’s biography becomes a truly resonant work of history that reflects the raging anti-Chinese xenophobia, unabashed sexism and ageism toward women that defined both Hollywood and America in Wong’s all-too-brief fifty-six years on earth.

• Autore: Yunte Huang
• Editore: WW Norton & Co
• Anno: 2024
• Rilegatura: Paperback / softback
• Pagine: 400 p.
• Dimensioni: 211 x 140 mm
• Peso: 318 gr.
• EAN: 9781324095132

Testo in English