Asian American Studies Annotated Bibliography

J.A.- 1 ASAM 151E

2/8/2017

Short Identification

When it comes to Japanese people appearing in Hollywood superhero movies and television, the

result appears to typically be a samurai or ninja (despite the setting being a contemporary time

period) as a character of a mystic or archaic persona. Thus, the question becomes: How has the

concept of the samurai/ninja in American film/television culture influenced how Japanese

Americans are positioned in society in terms of power? Do these media instances degrade people

of Japanese ancestry into Orientalist and stereotypical terms or perhaps empower them through a

depiction of having super strength and a showcasing of Japanese culture?

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Annotated Bibliography

Daredevil, season 2, Netflix, 18 Mar. 2016. Netflix,

https://www.netflix.com/browse?jbv=80018294&jbp=1&jbr=1.

Daredevil will be one of the primary source, superhero films that I will analyze, as it contains

ninjas in a contemporary American setting, using Asian mysticism to conduct sinister and

horrific acts such as making children bleed into bathtubs. I want to analyze Daredevil in

particular as it seems to employ Orientalism in its narrative by way of its negative portrayal of

Japanese ninjas. I want to see if Daredevil has, perhaps, positive or nuanced portrayals of

Japanese people that dismantle, or at least complicate, stereotypical and Orientalist perceptions,

despite the show’s on-the-surface Orientalist premise.

Fang, Jenn. “The Wolverine: Memories of Miss Saigon.” Nerds of Color, Aug. 20, 2013,

https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/08/20/the-wolverine-memories-of-miss-saigon/. Accessed 6

Feb., 2017. Web.

Jenn Fang is an activist that continually blogs on Asian American issues in U.S. pop culture and

politics on her site Reappropriate.co. In her article, “The Wolverine: Memories of Miss Saigon,”

Fang analyzes Orientalist tropes and Asian American representation in the 2013 Marvel film The

Wolverine, particularly critiquing and scrutinizing the portrayal of Japanese characters and the

narrative of “your typical Orientalist love story” (Fang). Fang’s insight may prove especially

useful in my paper as she essentially poses a perspective that is representative of the concerns

generated by the Asian American community, considering she is an activist and she publishes

this article through the web-based, Asian American activist organization, Nerds of Color. I

believe, in terms of providing an objective level of analysis, it is important to consider what non-

J.A.- 3 ASAM 151E scholar-based Asian Americans think in terms of how their cultures are portrayed through media

and what entertainment does (or doesn’t do/doesn’t do enough of) for them, especially

considering films such as The Wolverine put them in the spotlight of American society; hence,

these films may have considerable impact on how the rest of America perceives and treats them.

Napler, Susan J. “The Wolverines’ Burden: Orientalism and the Superhero.” The Huffington

Post, Oct. 20, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-j-napier/the-wolverines-

burden-ori_b_3763815.html. Accessed 6 Feb. 2017.

Susan J. Napier is Professor of Japanese Studies at Tufts University in Massachusetts and holds a

Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. In her article, “The

Wolverines’ Burden,” Napier provides a review of the film, The Wolverine, just as Jenn Fang

does, but in a manner that is more scholarly, evidence-drawn, textually analytical, and

professional than Fang’s, as she examines how the setting, the characterizations of Japanese

people and Wolverine, and even the historical associations (she argues that the fact that The

Wolverine features a white man saving a Japanese man during the bombing of Nagasaki is no

coincidence) create a certain image of Japan that is not necessarily positive or empowering. As I

will be analyzing The Wolverine under similar analytical standards that Napier uses, I believe

that this article will help in considering the outside scholarly side to this discussion of The

Wolverine’s role in representing Japanese people, which is important as gaining the insight from

a scholar, who has studied Japan and American imperialism for years, will aid in thinking about

how The Wolverine may both empower Japanese people in some complicated ways, while de-

individualizing them in other, perhaps, subtle ways.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, Paramount Pictures, 2014.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be one of the primary source, superhero films that I will

analyze for my study. In summary, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is about a quartet of mutant

turtles who, using their ninja-trained skills, fight their sworn, samurai-clad foe, Shredder, and

attempt to foil his sinister plans with the help of new ally, April O’Neill. I chose this particular

film to analyze mainly because they situate Shredder as a Japanese villain that is visually

stunning and portrayed as powerful and formidable. So in this way, on the surface at least, the

film seems to portray Japanese people as powerful, but it also seems to portray them in

stereotypical ways. Considering also that not many scholarly sources have analyzed this film in

terms of representation and Orientalism, I believe it is important to include this film, so as to

gain a more complicated comprehension of a source material that has not yet been thoroughly

explored.

The Wolverine. Directed by James Mangold, Twentieth Century Fox, 2013.

The Wolverine will be one of the primary source, superhero films that I will analyze, particularly

because it has generated a vitriolic discussion on the part of academics and non-academics. In

summary, The Wolverine details the account of the superhero, Wolverine, traveling to Japan at

the request of a villainous character, rescuing his new love interest, and overcoming his past

demons by his experience in the Japanese landscape. Seeing as The Wolverine takes place mainly

in Japan and features both ninjas and samurai garb in good and bad roles, I believe this source

provides fertile ground in terms of how I might consider the potential empowering and/or

orientalist effects of American popularization of Japan’s ninjas and samurais.

Wagenaar, Wester. “Wacky Japan: A New Face of Orientalism.” Asia in Focus, no. 3, 2016, pp.

46-54.

J.A.- 5 ASAM 151E Wester Wagenaar is an Asian Studies scholar and a Euroculture MA student at Uppsala

University in Sweden. In his article, “Wacky Japan,” Wagenaar contends that, in addition to the

well-known types of racist understandings regarding Japanese society/culture, namely traditional

orientalism (exoticizing Japan through its antiquated, otherworldly aesthetics) and techno-

orientalism (exoticizing Japan as a culture obsessed with technology to an abnormal extent),

there exists a third type, “wacky orientalism,” which configures Japan as a culture of perpetual

weirdness, strangeness, absurdity, or even insanity, with some people citing examples such as

“squid-penises and liquor vending machines” (47). Besides directly referencing one of the

movies I plan to analyze in his article, this essay relates to my project in a wide variety of ways,

namely how orientalism associated with Japanese culture has evolved, shifted, and continued to

encompass an assortment of ways on how to dehumanize or delegitimize Japanese people. I

believe that I can use Wagenaar’s concept of wacky orientalism to analyze the chosen three films

in terms of whether they perpetuate a certain weirdness to Japanese people that is distinct from

how the other non-Japanese people are portrayed. Additionally, his quote arguing against

orientalism as being useful to Asian American representation (“There is also room for

fascination and admiration, but this is usually centered around decaying traditions” (48)) will

also be useful in better comprehending the overall debate of whether or not a movie with

Japanese people is empowering or harmful if it contains potentially Orientalist ideas.

J.A.- 6 ASAM 151E

Methods Statement

To answer the research questions outlined in the Short Identification, this paper will analyze

three superhero cinema/television works that particularly showcase Japanese people/Japanese

Americans in samurai or ninja garb. The works in question will be The Wolverine (2013),

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2011), and Netflix’s Daredevil – Season 2 (2016). Before going

into its analysis, this paper will first research the history of samurais and ninjas in Japanese

culture and how they appear in U.S. pop culture, while also citing notable examples such as

Samurai Jack (2001-2004), The Last Samurai (2003), Power Rangers Ninja Storm (2003-2004),

Samurai Girl (2008), and Lego Ninjago merchandise. Additionally, this paper will include brief

background information on the popularity of superhero movies and how they relate to Asian

American representation.

For each film I am analyzing, I will address several specific observational questions and sub

questions:

1) What Asian characters (that have speaking roles) appear in the film as being a

ninja/samurai? What roles do they occupy? Hero? Villain? Neutral (neither heroic nor

villainous)?

a. Are these Asian characters portrayed as being complex or complicated, i.e., three-

dimensional? For example, realistic characters would commit both good and bad

(or at the very least questionable) actions. In addition, how much does the film

work to ensure that its audience understand the motivations, feelings, and history

of its Asian characters?

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b. Are Asians the protagonist or hero-of-the-story in the superhero film? How does

gender play a role in how the story is told? How does race?

c. Of the Asian characters that appear on screen, how many have superpowers (or

extraordinary abilities)? Are their superpowers directly tied to Japanese culture? If

so, what is the nature of that connection and does is it a modern portrayal or more

archaic?

2) How much screen time do these Asian characters have throughout the film? Is a certain

amount of screen time purely devoted to showcasing a particular side of the Asian

character?

a. Screen times will be written as such: ex. (5:30-10:30); (20:25-21:23)

b. See “Screen Time Criteria/Rules” and “Important Notes”

3) How many lines do these Asian characters have?

a. See “Lines Criteria/Rules” and “Important Notes”

4) What costumes do these Asian characters wear? How are they made to appear like?

a. Additionally, how do these Asian characters behave or express themselves? Do

they tend to smile, frown, rage, fight, etc. a lot?

5) What have people discussed about the content of these films, in terms of how Japanese

people are portrayed?

*Asian characters refers mainly to those that occupy a samurai/ninja role. However, in some

cases, certain Asian characters that possess roles that are relevant to this discussion of Asian

people and what spaces of power they occupy in American culture, will be included in the

questions. For example, in The Wolverine, the character Mariko is neither a samurai nor a ninja,

J.A.- 8 ASAM 151E but she does occupy a role that critics have cited to be a typical Orientalism-themed damsel-in-

distress that is meant to highlight the superior masculinity and heterosexuality of the white hero.

Using these questions I will formulate a conclusion on whether these superhero films offer an

Orientalist/harmful depiction, an empowering/representational depiction, or a mix/match of both.

I will determine empowerment/representation depictions on the basis of visibility and voice (i.e.

amount of screen time for Asian characters vs. the amount of screen time for main hero and

number of lines for Asian characters vs. the number of lines for main hero). I will also take into

account how the film depicts these character (in terms of three-dimensionality and narrative) and

if the film portrays them as powerful or heroic (or the opposite). In determining

Orientalist/harmful depictions, I will also look at if and how Japanese people are portrayed as

especially villainous or archaic or stereotypical through the film’s mise-en-scene (acting, setting,

props, costumes), cinematic devices (music, camera angles, and framing), and narrative (story,

lines, good vs. evil tropes). I will additionally take into account what others, who have studied

this films, into account as I formulate these conclusions.

*Note: In this study, representation and having a voice in film/television will be affiliated with

having “power” or being respectfully positioned in an empowering light in society. However,

this does not necessarily mean that such representation is entirely positive, especially if that

“voice,” for instance, is mediated through an Orientalist narrative. Representation is empowering,

but the extent of that empowerment is dependent on other factors that this study will also

consider and explore.

J.A.- 9 ASAM 151E Screen Time Criteria/Rules

• To avoid bias, I will provide as much leniency as I can in terms of what constitutes “screen time.”

• Screen times less than a second (“fleeting glimpses”) will not be counted • Miniscule shots of an actor/actress’ body, such as scenes where only a finger or top of the

head of the actor/actress can be seen, will not be counted as “representation.” However, when said actor/actress is in a scene, such as an intense action scene involving quick cuts and a shaky cam, any miniscule indications or quick camera movements that shift back- and-forth between the said actor/actress and a different character will be counted.

• Additionally, full shots of either the back, the back of the head, the face, or 50 percent of the actor/actress’ body will also be counted, even if film techniques such as “out-of-focus” shots or “disorientation” effects are utilized.

• Shots of an Asian actor/actress wearing a mask or CGI face cover (as Andy Serkis had to do for playing the ape Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes) that covers up most or all of the face will be counted, so long as the actor/actress can identified as Asian through either the film or through outside sources, as well as that actor/actress having lines.

• If an Asian actor/actress appears on a television/movie/computer screen within the plot of the film, these shots will be counted as well. However, statues, cartoons, child drawings, T-shirt designs, etc. of the actor/actress’ character will not be counted as representation. A real image of the actor/actress appearance is what is needed.

Lines Criteria/Rules

• A line will be defined as a strand of dialogue spoken by one character/actor that ends when the character/actor stops speaking and/or when another character/actor speaks. A script line may contain very many sentences (or just one word) and still be considered one line (length of screen time will help determine the representation in the lines, so in this way showcasing how long each line lasts will not be crucial). Ex. In the following exchange between the Ancient One and Doctor Strange in Doctor Strange (2016) the lines are written as: Doctor Strange: “But even if my fingers can do that, my hands would just be waving in the air. I mean, how do I get from here to there?” Ancient One: “How did you get to reattach severed nerves and put a human spine back together, bone by bone?” Doctor Strange: “Study and practice, years of it.” Therefore, in this example block, Doctor Strange says two lines, while the Ancient One says one.

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• I will use the subtitle function of the three films to accurately determine when a character has started/finished speaking.

Important Notes

• For the “# of lines” section of each entry, the time period allotted next to the number on the left of it indicates how many lines were spoken during the actor’s screen time. Thus, for example, if Hogan’s “# of lines” in Thor: The Dark World is 1 (40:24-40:50), this means that in this period of screen time, the actor spoke only one line, not that the actor’s single line lasted for 26 seconds.

• This study will only focus on actors/actresses that have a speaking role in the film. Thus, silent actors/actresses in the background of the film will not be counted.

*STP = Screen time percentage = (screen time / total runtime) x 100. Meaning: If Hogan receives a 0.65%, this means that he appeared in less than one percent of the entire film’s runtime.