hi, i'm jenny! i'm from san diego, ca currently living in new york city. the first character i distinctly remember seeing myself in was claudia in "from the mixed up files of mrs. basil e. frankweiler" because i identified with her spirit and resourcefulness, and i desperately wanted to live in the met after that. i would love to know more about anna may wong's feelings of being tokenized in hollywood...did she simply accept her roles or was she resentful or angry about it? i see a lot written posthumously about her importance in hollywood cinema but i wonder if there are any records about the things she said about her own legacy.
Hi, my name is Carole. I'm from Los Angeles, although I have lived in Bonn, Germany for the last 31 years. I was always a big reader, and one of the first books that I read was "Alice in Wonderland." The cover of the book that I had had a drawing of Alice falling down the rabbit hole (in a peaceful sort of way, more like floating down with her dress slowing her descent); she was wearing a aqua-colored dress with puffed sleeves and a white pinafore, and had her hair brushed back with a white hairband. At Halloween, when my mom asked me what I wanted to go as, I replied "Alice." So, my loving mother, who was terrific at dressmaking, looked at the cover of my (non-Disney) book and sewed me an aqua-colored dress with the cutest puffed sleeves and a white pinafore. She brushed back my bangs with a white hairband. My Halloween costume was perfect, except. . . with my black hair and Cantonese face, no one recognized me as the young blonde English girl. So, my clever mom wrote "Alice" on the bodice of my pinafore. In retrospect, I think that a stuffed white rabbit and maybe an old-fashioned gold pocket watch may have helped, but at the time, I was so in love with my Halloween costume that I went as "Alice" two years running, until I grew out of dress. I imagine that this is what Anna May Wong had to do, too, to think of creative ways to assist her audience in transcending her outer Cantonese appearance and think of her as a person or at least as the character role she was playing. In fact, I still do this in my every day life in Germany—help people to accept me as an intelligent Asian person who is well integrated into German culture and speaks the language quite well, despite my Chinese face and hair. More power to AMW! And to you, Katie!
Hi all! I just discovered this substack via the Substack Histories email! Living in the North East of England, but originally from New Zealand (and mixed-race myself, NZ/Pacific).
The first character I remember seeing myself in was Sara in A Little Princess: dark haired and a bit exotic in a strange place (I had the dark hair and unusual genetics, though sadly not the green eyes that Sara did), trying to fight her real urge to just read a lot and instead pay attention to Lottie without getting angry (hence her idea of acting like a little princess, even though her riches had all gone and she was poor). Looking forward to reading more about Anna May Wong!
Hi, everyone! I'm Bernadette, in Brooklyn. The first character I distinctly remember seeing myself in was Princess Jasmine in "Aladdin." She was the first Disney princess and heroine who had dark hair and a complexion like mine. I loved the movie and I dressed up as her for Halloween. I also had an affinity to Felicity in American Girls, for her fierce and independent spirit. I'm curious to learn more about Anna May Wong's formative years and how her relationships with her family members shaped her journey.
Hi, my name is Sunny. I'm from Illinois and Alabama. First character I identified with...maybe Jo as Joanne says below, or Alice in Wonderland. Bored, grumpy, curious, but pretty sure I knew a lot :)
I'm eager to hear whatever you want to share about Anna May Wong, but I'd love to hear the research, writing, figuring out the story parts.
Hi. I’m Bill, from Arcadia, CA. Tough second question… Dunbar from “Catch-22,” who shoots skeet. All I know about Anna May Wong I learned from you and I look forward to learning more.
Hi, my name is Joanne and I live in New York. The first time I ever recall relating to someone might be Jo, in Little Women. It made me so upset when little Amy burned her journal in a fire, even if I'm the youngest sister. But I liked writing and started going by Jo myself. I loved Pippi Longstocking also, along with another red-headed girl...Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables.
hi, i'm jenny! i'm from san diego, ca currently living in new york city. the first character i distinctly remember seeing myself in was claudia in "from the mixed up files of mrs. basil e. frankweiler" because i identified with her spirit and resourcefulness, and i desperately wanted to live in the met after that. i would love to know more about anna may wong's feelings of being tokenized in hollywood...did she simply accept her roles or was she resentful or angry about it? i see a lot written posthumously about her importance in hollywood cinema but i wonder if there are any records about the things she said about her own legacy.
Hi, my name is Carole. I'm from Los Angeles, although I have lived in Bonn, Germany for the last 31 years. I was always a big reader, and one of the first books that I read was "Alice in Wonderland." The cover of the book that I had had a drawing of Alice falling down the rabbit hole (in a peaceful sort of way, more like floating down with her dress slowing her descent); she was wearing a aqua-colored dress with puffed sleeves and a white pinafore, and had her hair brushed back with a white hairband. At Halloween, when my mom asked me what I wanted to go as, I replied "Alice." So, my loving mother, who was terrific at dressmaking, looked at the cover of my (non-Disney) book and sewed me an aqua-colored dress with the cutest puffed sleeves and a white pinafore. She brushed back my bangs with a white hairband. My Halloween costume was perfect, except. . . with my black hair and Cantonese face, no one recognized me as the young blonde English girl. So, my clever mom wrote "Alice" on the bodice of my pinafore. In retrospect, I think that a stuffed white rabbit and maybe an old-fashioned gold pocket watch may have helped, but at the time, I was so in love with my Halloween costume that I went as "Alice" two years running, until I grew out of dress. I imagine that this is what Anna May Wong had to do, too, to think of creative ways to assist her audience in transcending her outer Cantonese appearance and think of her as a person or at least as the character role she was playing. In fact, I still do this in my every day life in Germany—help people to accept me as an intelligent Asian person who is well integrated into German culture and speaks the language quite well, despite my Chinese face and hair. More power to AMW! And to you, Katie!
Hi all! I just discovered this substack via the Substack Histories email! Living in the North East of England, but originally from New Zealand (and mixed-race myself, NZ/Pacific).
The first character I remember seeing myself in was Sara in A Little Princess: dark haired and a bit exotic in a strange place (I had the dark hair and unusual genetics, though sadly not the green eyes that Sara did), trying to fight her real urge to just read a lot and instead pay attention to Lottie without getting angry (hence her idea of acting like a little princess, even though her riches had all gone and she was poor). Looking forward to reading more about Anna May Wong!
Hi, everyone! I'm Bernadette, in Brooklyn. The first character I distinctly remember seeing myself in was Princess Jasmine in "Aladdin." She was the first Disney princess and heroine who had dark hair and a complexion like mine. I loved the movie and I dressed up as her for Halloween. I also had an affinity to Felicity in American Girls, for her fierce and independent spirit. I'm curious to learn more about Anna May Wong's formative years and how her relationships with her family members shaped her journey.
Hi, my name is Sunny. I'm from Illinois and Alabama. First character I identified with...maybe Jo as Joanne says below, or Alice in Wonderland. Bored, grumpy, curious, but pretty sure I knew a lot :)
I'm eager to hear whatever you want to share about Anna May Wong, but I'd love to hear the research, writing, figuring out the story parts.
Hi. I’m Bill, from Arcadia, CA. Tough second question… Dunbar from “Catch-22,” who shoots skeet. All I know about Anna May Wong I learned from you and I look forward to learning more.
Hi, my name is Joanne and I live in New York. The first time I ever recall relating to someone might be Jo, in Little Women. It made me so upset when little Amy burned her journal in a fire, even if I'm the youngest sister. But I liked writing and started going by Jo myself. I loved Pippi Longstocking also, along with another red-headed girl...Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables.