Sessue Hayakawa was one of Americas first famous non-white film actors. Gaining fame literally over night in The Cheat, Hayakawa played a villainous Japanese art dealer who blackmails a woman after she loses money for a Red Cross fund. His unique acting style and screen presence made him adored by white women and admired by critics. However Japanese Americans were negative for portrayal as it represented a negative stereotype that may influence more xenophobia towards Japanese which was already a problem at the time. To improve his star image Hayakawa later played mostly the hero characters, almost always falling for the white woman but never getting the girl due to controversies around miscegenation and in the end sacrificing himself in order to save the white American family. His popularity at the time was mostly due to the current famous in all things Japanese, mostly art, a great contrast on the times due to the Japanese being considered as the Yellow Peril and a threat to the nation because of their actions in Asia.
Hayakawa became a big part of the American propaganda train as the two Nations joined forces beliefly during the Great War. However afterwards Hayakawa's popularity declined as Japan continued to attack other Asian countries and the only films about Japan being made in America were all anti-Japanese.
After appearing in films in Europe and Japan Hayakawa was brought back to fame in the states with supporting roles in films such as Tokyo Joe, Three Came Home and the Oscar nominated role in Bridge over the River Kwei.
Throughout his silent career Hayakawa didn't just play Asian roles but also other races and nationalities such as Native Americans and Egyptians.
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Not having any experience with watching any of Sessue Hayakawa's films i became interested in the book after reading an article on it on JapanToday.com. Centered solely around his silent career the book is not only a simple biography but a fascinating history to both the film industry and America at the time. It tells us how the Hollywood system would not only mold other cultures to fit the films they made but also the actors themselves, for example fictionalizing Hayakawa's biography giving him a background in acting that never existed. The one aspect that grabbed me to read this book was the fact that Hayakawa was sometimes cast in non Asian roles, however this was actually a small handful. Hayakawa's story is in reality quite sad, often being shunned by his own country and fellow Japanese living in America as being a traitor for appearing in films that trivialized or mis-represented their culture but on the otherhand praised for creating a bridge between the two countries. But this parallel contrasting images seems to crop up a lot in his life, his acting style was admired for being minimalist but at the same time moments of becoming over the top.
The book is fascinating, a tale of an actor almost forgotten and the chapter of cinema I never knew existed. The only problems I really have with the book is that there isn't really any information on Hayakawa's transition from silents to talkies. A jump that left many stars of the silent era behind.
Now all I have to do is watch some of those silent films, The Cheat at least is available and The Dragon Painter is conveniently out on DVD this month with The Wrath of Gods and a short as bonus features.
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