Response to Flower Drum Song

The female characters in Flower Drum Song fit the two categories of Asian women that Renee Tajima talks about: Mei Li as the "Lotus Blossom baby" and Linda as the "Dragon Lady." In this sense, the film does perpetuate the stereotypical portrayal of Asian women, but at the same time it pushes those images outside the boundary of the typical objectification of women by providing females characters with their own voice. Helen's "Love, Look Away," Mei-Li's "I Am Going to Like It Here," and Linda's "I Enjoy Being a Girl" all narrate the story of Asian American females from the perspective of the female characters. The film could have narrated the story from a strictly male point of view, thereby possessing females within their language, keeping them silent and powerless like an object. Although male characters like Dr. Li and Master Wang do treat women like objects from time to time, the movie itself leaves some room for the female characters to speak. I am very surprised by how Dr. Li, although he is supposed to have just arrived from China, does not attempt to dominate every decision and action of his daughter, perhaps as a result of assimilation during his brief time in the United States. I notice that Mei Li's seemingly endless smiling face (which is unnatural and doll-like) finally relaxes its cheek muscles towards the end of the movie as she begins to believe that Wang Ta does not love her, breaking away from the "Lotus Blossom Baby" image. When she does confirms that Wang Ta loves her, however, Mei Li does not hesitate to kiss him, something that also disentangles her from the typical image of the modest Asian woman.

Another point I should mention from the movie is the process of assimilation represented by the Wang family. At one point Wang Ta says, "My father is Chinese, my brother is American, and I am both." Both his brother and Wang Ta are second generation immigrants, yet somehow one is Chinese American and the other is only American. Does this mean that Wang Ta is in the transition bridge between his father and his brother? If Wang Ta should be rebelling against the Asian ways of his father, why isn't he just like his brother? What prevents him from losing that Asian side of him, his age?

Flower Drum Song- Two Female Stereotypes

I was very intrigued by the film Flower Drum Song because I hadn’t seen a practically all-Asian cast musical before. I though the film presented a very interesting dichotomy between the two stereotypes of the Asian woman. In Laura Hyun-Yi Kang’s article “The Desiring of Asian Female Bodies: Interracial Romance and Cinematic Subjection,” Kang cites filmmaker Renee Tajima who argues that there are two basic types of Asian women representations. According to Tajima, there is “the Lotus Blossom baby (a.k.a. China Doll, Geisha Girl, shy Polynesian beauty), and the Dragon Lady (Fu Manchu’s various female relations, prostitutes, devious madams)” (Kang 77). Flower Drum Song continues to perpetuate these dual stereotypes in its portrayal of female Asian characters in the film.

The film focuses on the life of Mei Li, an illegal Chinese immigrant brought to San Francisco by her father in order to be married off to a stranger. Mei Li follows the stereotype of the shy, submissive, and virtuous daughter, the “China doll,” even as she is forced into marrying a man she does not love. In one scene, she is inspected by her potential father-in-law, Master Wang, who makes her stand on a table to be inspected, almost like she was a show dog at the Westminster Dog Show. Master Wang makes her open her mouth and inspects her whole body while Mei Li passively participates. Her father even says that she is “strong as an ox” to which Mei Li replies, “Thank you father.” While throughout most of the film, Mei Li prescribes to this submissive stereotype, she finds a way to marry the man she loves, although she does it in a way that does not dishonor her father. So although it appears that she is standing up for her beliefs and is bucking the stereotype of the passive daughter, in the end she continues to follow the quiet doll-like role, although at least she can use her brains to her benefit.

Meanwhile, Linda is presented as the opposite as Mei Li and instead is presented as more similarly to the stereotypical “Dragon Lady.” Linda is willing to manipulate Ta and trick him into offering to marry her—all with the ultimate purpose of her making Sammy jealous. Linda’s risqué dance numbers and dirty comments further demonstrate her devious and scheming behaviors as she also lies to everyone about her so-called brother.

Although I was happy to see a film in which Asian people are given star roles (or in this case, the cast of the entire film), I was still upset to see the same stereotypes of Asian women still presented to the audiences, further perpetuating them even more.