Joe Gutierrez Office of Strategic Communication (909) 537-5007 joeg@csusb.edu
Arthur Dong, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and author, will present a film and talk about his book that focuses on the Chinese American experience in Hollywood at the next Modern China Lecture series event at Cal State San Bernardino.
“Hollywood Chinese: A Book and Film Presentation with Oscar®-nominated Filmmaker/Author Arthur Dong” will take place Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. at the university’s John M. Pfau Library, room PL-4005. The talk is free and open to the public; parking at CSUSB is $6.
Dong’s presentation is sponsored by the CSUSB University Diversity Committee and the Modern China Lecture Series.
Dong’s latest book, “Hollywood Chinese: The Chinese in American Feature Films,” published in October 2019, presents an intimate look at the Chinese American role and influence in Hollywood, from some of the earliest films set in America’s Chinatowns to the contemporary artists remaking the face of Hollywood. Filled with more than 500 stunning, vintage photographs, movie posters, lobby cards and assorted ephemera based on the author’s extraordinary personal collection, this coffee-table book’s richly illustrated pages show the myths, misconceptions and memorable moments of the Chinese in film.
He will also share portions of his award-winning documentary, “Hollywood Chinese,” released in 2007, a captivating revelation on a little-known chapter of cinema: the Chinese in American feature films. From the first Chinese American film produced in 1916, to Ang Lee’s triumphant Brokeback Mountain nine decades later, Hollywood Chinese brings together a fascinating portrait of actors, directors, writers and iconic images to show how the Chinese have been imagined in movies, and how filmmakers have and continue to navigate an industry that was often ignorant about race, but at times paradoxically receptive.
Dong is an Oscar-nominee, a Peabody and Sundance award-winning filmmaker, author, and curator whose work centers on Asian American and LGBTQ stories.
Dong’s films about Asian American history and culture include “The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor” (2015), “Forbidden City, U.S.A.” (1989), and “Sewing Woman” (1987). Among his films on LGBTQ issues are “Coming Out Under Fire” (1994) and “Licensed to Kill” (1997).
He has also curated exhibitions showcasing his extensive archive of cultural ephemera, including “Chop Suey on Wax: The Flower Drum Song Album,” “Forbidden City, USA,” and his most recent, “Hollywood Chinese,” currently on display at the iconic Formosa Café in West Hollywood.
Dong’s first book “Forbidden City, USA: Chinatown Nightclubs 1936-1970” received an American Book Award in 2015.
The Modern China Lecture Series was initiated to promote awareness of important issues related to China for those on the CSUSB campus and in the community. In the series of more than 40 lectures, workshops, film screenings and roundtable forums since January 2014, China scholars from UC San Diego, UC Riverside, the Claremont Colleges, UCLA, USC, UC Irvine and other institutions have visited the CSUSB campus to share their expertise and opinions.
Speakers in the series have included specialists in history, economics, political science, philosophy, finance, security studies, literature, anthropology and other fields.
The next event in the CSUSB Modern China Lecture Series will be on Monday, March 2, with Julia Strauss, professor of Chinese politics from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. She will present on her new book, “State Formation in China and Taiwan: Bureaucracy, Campaign, and Performance” (Cambridge, 2019). The talk is set for 2 p.m. in the John M. Pfau Library, room PL-4005.
The series cosponsors are the CSUSB Department of History, the Department of Economics, the History Club/Phi Alpha Theta, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the College of Extended and Global Education, the Center for Global Management/Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration, John M. Pfau Library, and Margaret Hill and the World Affairs Council of Inland Southern California.
For more information on the Modern China Lecture Series, contact Jeremy Murray, associate professor of history, at jmurray@csusb.edu.
For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit inside.csusb.edu.
