Michael Guillen interviews Peter X. Feng, University of Delaware associate professor of film and author of Identities in Motion: Asian American Film and Video. From the interview:
"Guillén: Though I’m aware that you were trying to focus on the history of Asian representation and—as you say—the Asian experience in more or less classic Hollywood film, I’m curious what your thoughts are on some of the more contemporary Asian American filmmakers like Gregg Araki or Eric Byler, or Asian directors like Ang Lee?
Feng: I have different thoughts about all those filmmakers. I really love Gregg Araki’s films. Mysterious Skin was amazing. I love his earlier films and I’ve shown his films when I teach my film class; but, I thought Mysterious Skin—without compromising what made him completely unique and bizarre—was more a professional film. Eric Byler is a really intelligent filmmaker who really understands contemporary sexual politics between Asian Americans. That’s what his films have tended to focus on. Ang Lee hasn’t been really interested in Asian American issues. The Wedding Banquet happened to be set in New York but it’s really more about what it means to be Taiwanese, as well as gay obviously. The great success of Ang Lee is that he’s been able to make films like Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm and Brokeback Mountain that haven’t focused exclusively on Asian turf. He’s managed to break out of that ghetto."
Read the rest of the interview here.
- Sujewa
"Guillén: Though I’m aware that you were trying to focus on the history of Asian representation and—as you say—the Asian experience in more or less classic Hollywood film, I’m curious what your thoughts are on some of the more contemporary Asian American filmmakers like Gregg Araki or Eric Byler, or Asian directors like Ang Lee?
Feng: I have different thoughts about all those filmmakers. I really love Gregg Araki’s films. Mysterious Skin was amazing. I love his earlier films and I’ve shown his films when I teach my film class; but, I thought Mysterious Skin—without compromising what made him completely unique and bizarre—was more a professional film. Eric Byler is a really intelligent filmmaker who really understands contemporary sexual politics between Asian Americans. That’s what his films have tended to focus on. Ang Lee hasn’t been really interested in Asian American issues. The Wedding Banquet happened to be set in New York but it’s really more about what it means to be Taiwanese, as well as gay obviously. The great success of Ang Lee is that he’s been able to make films like Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm and Brokeback Mountain that haven’t focused exclusively on Asian turf. He’s managed to break out of that ghetto."
Read the rest of the interview here.
- Sujewa
