Asian-American Theatre
History
• 1. First Wave of immigration: the second half of 19th century. Mostly laborers from China
• 2. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
• 3. More immigrants from Japan, Korea, and the Philipines.
• 4. 1929 National Origins Act
• 5. 1952 McCarran-Walter Act gave all immigrants to apply for citizenship.
• 6. 1965 Hart-Cellar Act abolished quota system, establishing a limit to
immigration of 290,000 per year
• 7. As of 2002, Asian-Americans account for 5 percent of the population.
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Identity
• 1. Oriental: a derogatory term
• 2. Asian-American: politically correct
• 3. various degrees of assimilation: 1st generation, 1.5, and 2nd generation.
• 4. diverse and constantly changing population
• 5. “Asian-American” can erase differences of gender, national origin, class, education,
and age in favor of a totalizing “Asian American” identity.
Representation
• 1. Images of Asian American in
literatures by white American writers
• 2. Images of Fu Manchu and Charlie
Chan, ridiculing and disempowering the Asian American male. “gook”
• 3. Objectification of Asian female through the stereotypes of evil
seductresses, “dragon ladies,” geishas, frail lotus blossoms
Asian American literature
• 1. Important writers began to appear
after the 1960s: Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, David Hwang
• 2. second and third generation writers
• 3. double identity: facial features, appearance
• 4. the emergence of Asian American theatre: East West Players
And the Soul Shall Dance
Characters
• 1. Murata: 40, farmer, optimistic,
• 2. Hana: strong-willed, wise, realistic, serving wine and tea, her wisdom(843), mending basket (837) She speaks up, very caring person(850)
• 3. Oka: 45 years old. Shizue’s family exploited him.
• By marrying her, he lost his identity(838).
Manhood(852), role of father
• 4. Emiko: 30 years old. Favored one. Educated
woman, but she violated the tradition. Her behavior is different, refusing women’s role(840), breaking the taboo(drinking and smoking)
• Escapes into her fantasy
Theme
• 1. American Dream: to make money and to go back to Japan. Difficulty of getting
adjusted
• 2. Two-year lease, they cannot own land.
Not different from sharecroppers.
• Period : 1935. During the Depression.
Mistreatment of minority (847)
• 3. Clash between traditional and new ideal.
Hierarchical family structure. Women’s
submission to husband, no control of their own life
• 4. Madowman and wife-beating
• Woman as whore (844). Men’s attitude toward women regards women as workforce (837)
• 5. Women’s role: serving tea and wine. Exception
Nagata, henpecked and he is rich.
• 6. Japanese immigrants vs. European immigrants (845)
• 7. Illusion and reality
• Hana as a realistic character (845)
• Emiko: “Because I must keep the dream alive. . The dream would die . . I would die.
• 8. Mother-daughter relationship. Tableau.
Imagery
• 1. Very poetic langauge: the song contrasts with stark reality
• 2. Kimono and desert: exotic image contrasted with the barren desert
• 3. Landscape: lack of beauty, dryness, dreariness, mirrors their inner life.
• 4. Image of a bird with a broken wing
Structure
• 1. Two acts: introduction of a new
characters tips the balance of power
• 2. Who is the main character of the play?
• 3. Ambivalent ending: Is she leaving?
Is she committing suicide? Passing on of the dream.
• 4. Short story와 비교. First person narrator. Masako’s point of view.
• Japanese Internment: An action taken by
the federal government in 1942, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and brought US into WWII. Government officials feared that
Americans of Japanese descendent living in the West Coast might cooperate in an
invasion of the US by Japan. Accordingly,
over 100,000 of these residents were forced into relocaton camps inland, most losing
their homes, business, and other property in the process. About two-thirds of those
moved were US citizens.
