The Fu Manchu and dragon lady characters were among the first Asian archetypes in the media. Fu Manchu and dragon ladies were typically depicted as evil and ruthless and arose from the "Yellow Peril" of the late nineteenth century.
Fu Manchu
Originating as a character from British author Sax Rohmer's comic books, Fu Manchu was a deceptive evil genius, mad scientist, sexual predator, and master criminal (Fuller 37). Nevins states that Fu Manchu was the "Yellow Peril" archetype, a character who stood as "the high point of the [Yellow Peril] stereotype."
Yellow Peril was a term originating in the late nineteenth century that stemmed from an American fear of Asians. After the mass migration of Asians in the nineteenth century, some Americans saw the increasing number of Asians as a threat to the white standard of living and the white way of life. In fiction and media, this fear culminated into the ultimate Yellow Peril figure - an "intelligent, evil mastermind intent on destroying the West" (Nevins). Indeed, as an evil genius who also preyed on white women, Fu Manchu arose as the culmination of the "yellow menace."
To further the image of Fu Manchu as threatening, theatrical effects and makeup were used on actors playing as Fu Manchu in order to portray the character as scary and alien as possible. In cinema, actors playing as Fu Manchu had their "eyes taped to appear smaller, a long mustache, darkly painted and upwardly sloped eyebrows, heavy eyeliner, and long fingernails" in order to create a "repellent, frightening appearance" (Fuller 36). This sinister and extreme appearance of Fu Manchu further illustrates the Americans' fears of the "Yellow Peril" and particularly the fear of "interracial sex and procreation" with Asians (Moon 117).
Originating as a character from British author Sax Rohmer's comic books, Fu Manchu was a deceptive evil genius, mad scientist, sexual predator, and master criminal (Fuller 37). Nevins states that Fu Manchu was the "Yellow Peril" archetype, a character who stood as "the high point of the [Yellow Peril] stereotype."
Yellow Peril was a term originating in the late nineteenth century that stemmed from an American fear of Asians. After the mass migration of Asians in the nineteenth century, some Americans saw the increasing number of Asians as a threat to the white standard of living and the white way of life. In fiction and media, this fear culminated into the ultimate Yellow Peril figure - an "intelligent, evil mastermind intent on destroying the West" (Nevins). Indeed, as an evil genius who also preyed on white women, Fu Manchu arose as the culmination of the "yellow menace."
To further the image of Fu Manchu as threatening, theatrical effects and makeup were used on actors playing as Fu Manchu in order to portray the character as scary and alien as possible. In cinema, actors playing as Fu Manchu had their "eyes taped to appear smaller, a long mustache, darkly painted and upwardly sloped eyebrows, heavy eyeliner, and long fingernails" in order to create a "repellent, frightening appearance" (Fuller 36). This sinister and extreme appearance of Fu Manchu further illustrates the Americans' fears of the "Yellow Peril" and particularly the fear of "interracial sex and procreation" with Asians (Moon 117).
Fuller, Karla Rae. Hollywood Goes Oriental: CaucAsian Performance in American Film. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 2010. Print.
Moon, Krystyn R. Yellowface: Creating the Chinese in American Popular Music and Performance, 1850s-1920s. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005. Print.
Nevins, Jess. "On Yellow Peril Thrillers." Violet Books: Yellow Peril. Violet Books, n.d. Web. 10 Dec 2012. <http://www.violetbooks.com/yellowperil.html>.
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