Andrew Hamlin
Northwest Asia Weekly
In 2014, “Ex Machina”, written and directed by Alex Garland, won an Oscar and is widely regarded as one of the most chic and profound science fiction films of that era.
But as the artist, curator, and scholar Astria Suparak pointed out, the two Asian robots Kyoko (played by Sonoya Mizuno) and Jade (Gana Bayarsaikhan) in the film were eventually sacrificed, so the white robot Ava (Alicia Vikander) can Survive. Ava even removed the robot skin and the entire arm from Jade to escape further-Suparak said, a prime example is the use of Asian skins by white people in science fiction (SF) movies and TV.
Suparak’s illustrated lecture “The Future of Asia Without Asians” was held at Jacob Lawrence Gallery via Zoom on November 30, and it stemmed from her careful scrutiny of about 400 science fiction films and TV shows. She decided to focus on 1965 to the present, because 1965 marked the removal of long-term restrictions on Asian immigrants in the United States—in other words, it paved the way for the percentage of Asians and Asian American culture seen today.
This lecture, which lasted about an hour, showed the “classification” of the eight metaphors Supalak said, which can be seen through a strong observation of her original materials. She started with “Anglicized names”, meaning that any long name that is difficult for Westerners to pronounce must be shortened. This includes Obi-Wan Kenobi being shortened to Ben Kenobi (she mentioned by the way that Toshiro Mifune, a famous Japanese action hero, was offered but rejected Kenobi’s part). Another prominent example appears in “The Fifth Element”, where an Asian-inspired character Leeloominaï Lekatariba Lamina-Tchaï Ekbat De Sebat simply becomes Leeloo. (Played by another white actor, Milla Jovovich. This leads to the question of whether “color blindness” casting is better than whitewashing.)
The second metaphor “chopsticks” shows the frequent abuse of Asian food in San Francisco. Sushi means wealth and power to those who eat it, while Chinese food always seems to be inferior, served in a rainy, dirty market. The “Fifth Element” is characterized by an obviously non-Thai salesman offering “Thai food” from this Chinese restaurant.
The third is “Kimono, a bit.” Suparak explored the idea of Asians as clothing that can be worn on the screen, similar to the concept of Asian skins.
She pointed out that the origin of Western bathrobes can be traced back to Japanese yukata, which is a casual kimono. But in science fiction you can find mixed versions of robes and kimonos, usually worn by non-Asian actors and characters-especially in “Doctor Strange” by Tilda Swinton in 2016 The ancient one.
“Shōji Screen” tracks the abuse of Japanese screens, as well as different kinds of Asian arches, metalwork and latticework. “Martial Arts Download” provides some examples of incoherent martial arts methods, especially Leeloominaï Lekatariba Lamina-Tchaï Ekbat De Sebat, also known as Leeloo, to learn about the entire history of unarmed combat through speed reading.
“Background Buddha” emphasized that non-Asian figures seem to have received “immediate enlightenment”, and only need to surround themselves with Asian cultural relics and signifiers. “American Geisha” are highly decorative and servile, but they are fatal in their hearts. Their Asianness makes them eternally treacherous.
She ended her list of metaphors with “giant geisha ads”, pointing out how many movies, including the original “Blade Runner”, let audiences see Asian faces, put rags on the video screen or presented them as holograms, but only Seductive, and sales, not full roles.
In her “(Ending)”, Supalak boldly stated that the overall vision of this future world has many Asians, but there are few real (and fewer) Asians, reflecting a belief of white people. They can absorb and control any culture or collection of cultures they wish, and ignore any aspect they wish. In a follow-up dialogue led by Professor Chandan C. Reddy of the University of Washington,
Suparak was asked about the positive depictions of Asian characters she found in contemporary visual SF. She listed the movies “Space Sweeper”, “Wandering Earth” and “Snow Country Train”-not surprisingly, all movies were planned by Asians.
She also gave a piece of advice to white sci-fi makers: Let Asian makers make important decisions, support those who create works with their own culture, and don’t try to take over.
Andrew can be at info@nwasianweekly.com.
