Asian Americans in Silent Film

How were asian actors and characters treated at the time in american films? Which of these actors stories could you relate to? Explain why you found their achievements so significant.

American films were determined to keep Asian Americans from becoming stars by keeping them in limited roles. The roles were often stereotypical and reflected their asian background. These films had little to no concern regarding their true ethnic culture. I can relate to Hayakawa's story with the difficulty of seeing asian representation in Hollywood. It is very rare to see asian lead actors in a film, and even if there were, the film would not be a big budget production that becomes seen by everyone. Hayakawa's achievements were so great because he was able to become a high paid actor despite his ethnic background and the racism in the time period.