DOWN GOES CHARLIE CHAN AGAINJust the other day I saw an announcement where the revival of the old Charlie Chan TV shows is being canceled because of the objections of some Asian or Chinese organization. They're still mad because Chan was played by a White person, with taped eyes. The producers are, I guess, going to cave in again.
What bullcrap!
For centuries all parts on the Chinese stage were played by men, and I do mean women's parts. Cripes. What do we need now, for Chinese women to begin protesting centuries of discrimination? Go rent the video or CD of
My Favorite Concubine. I never watched too much TV, nor much of Charlie Chan, but once in awhile I did and I enjoyed it, taped eyes or not. And, who knows, perhaps with a Chinese actor the series would have been a flop! There was no guarantee of success; it took the writing and the acting together, and obviously both were right for the time.
I'll tell you one thing, while the Chinese Communists were executing millions of the landowner/merchant class, watching an innocent half hour of Charlie Chan (or was it an hour), was a lot better for our view of the Chinese, than to read the horror stories of the despotic rule of the Red Regime in Peking.
We're seeing more and more Asian actors, and I rent foreign films, including Asian, so don't piss me off by shooting down Charlie Chan. That makes a hell of a lot worse impression on most of us than the absense of Chinese actors fifty years ago. Oh yes, we've got to be politically correct. Bullcrap, bullcrap again.
What weenies these TV producers are. They're afraid to stand up for their rights. I'm awarding them the BC Medal (Bullcrap Medal), and Wimp of the Week Membership. So solly, Cholly.
