My keynote explores such questions as: What are the patterns in Hollywood representations of East Asian American women from romantic comedy to science fiction films? How do racism and sexism intersect in these patterns? Watch the video recording on YouTube (https://youtu.be/iHjKOYf-IXQ) to gain a better understanding how gender biases are racialized, and how racist attitudes draw on misogynistic assumptions.

In Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, metaphorical kinship informs the relationships among the otherwise unrelated characters. The 2014 sci-fi film is set in a remote and isolated house that serves as a research lab. This is where a white male inventor named Nathan creates a series of humanoids with artificial intelligence and human emotions. He is by default the father and God figure in this futuristic household.

Using the three interlocking concepts of yellow peril, yellow fever, and techno-Orientalism, this lecture revealed the manifestation of “yellow fever” in the depiction of Asian American women. Alexa Alice Joubin also suggested ways to identify tacit forms of misogynistic racism as well as strategies for inclusion.

Other films examined in the talk include Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, John Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet, and Mina Shum’s Double Happiness starring Sandra Oh