The 1940s

Wartime Propaganda

The 1940s marked the wartime period of World War II, pitting the Allied (including the United States and the unified Chinese Army) against the Axis (including Japan). This meant that propaganda forces within the United States were in full force, as was anti-Japanese sentiment. Japanese Americans became embroiled in an identity crisis, with many hauled off to internment camps while others joined the US military to show their patriotism and that they were truly American. This was also a time when the United States needed to distinguish between Asian Americans, as the Chinese were part of the Allies. However, Hollywood wasn't always adept at this, being careless to make distinguishments between different ethnicities to begin with (such as Charlie Chan having been both Japanese and Chinese)1, so the problem arised that many film portrayals, coupled with the war anti-Japanese sentiment, led to difficult times with Asian Americans and the stereotypes that followed.

This was also a time of cintinuing yellowface, where "good" Asian roles were restricted only to white actors. Even Asian-American actors could only play some villains, who were also mostly portrayed via yellowface.

Representative Films of this Decade