Leiden University Student Repository

Van Muijden, Jantien (2020)

Representation Matters: The Portrayal of East Asian Characters in American Movies

Master thesis | North American Studies (MA)

This thesis researches the representation of East Asian characters and culture in two popular American movie productions that are based on novels; Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and Crazy Rich Asians (2018). To do so, it will examine the use of Asian stereotypes and gender stereotypes in these movies, and will investigate whether the East Asian characters in the productions are three-dimensional. In the end, this thesis will argue that while in Memoirs of a Geisha, East Asian characters are generally portrayed in a stereotypical manner and women are sexualized, Crazy Rich Asians exposes and combats existing stereotypes through exaggeration and clashes between various ethnic Chinese characters, and offers three-dimensional East Asian characters. .

Representation

Stereotypes

East Asian Stereotypes

Crazy Rich Asians

Memoirs of a Geisha

Popular Culture

Movie Industry

Hollywood

Author

Van Muijden, Jantien

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

North American Studies

Supervisors

Polak, Sara

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en