Bai Ling vs Zhang Ziyi
Um, excuse me, Ms. Ling - I think you forgot your top. Oh, wait...that is your top!
It has come to my attention that a few recent comments have hinted at Bai Ling's repeated fashion faux pas (read: dish cloth skirts, nipples popping out of dresses) and, indeed, recent social faux pas.
Let us not concentrate on Bai Ling's fashion faults so much as revel in the fact that she serves as an appropriate foil to the couture prowess of the lovely Zhang Ziyi (or Ziyi Zhang, now that's she's gone all "Western" a la Bai).
Way to crush those stereotypes about Asian women, Ziyi! Oh, wait...you're not!
With her upcoming English-speaking debut in "Memoirs of a Geisha" (as a main character, anyway...let's close our eyes reeeaaal tight and try to forget "Rush Hour 2"), Ziyi is poised to reinforce all sorts of demure and exotic stereotypes about Asian women - not to mention the age-old myth that Chinese and Japanese really are the same. Yes, the three main actresses in the movie are Chinese (in ethnicity, if not nationality) - Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, and Gong Li. Represent!
Lest I sound like a hater, I actually like Bai and Ziyi. So Bai dresses like a two bit ho and has worse wigs than a Vegas drag queen, but at least she's got personality (plus, her co-stars have been quite an eclectic lineup - from Richard Gere in "Red Corner" to Will Smith in "Wild Wild West" to - who could forget - Anthony Anderson in "My Baby's Daddy)! So Ziyi is setting off a new generational wave of yellow fever, but at least she's a good actress (bonus points for the couture savvy). No Anna May Wong oppression for either of these chicks!
posted by YDubL @ 1:46 AM
7 ping(s) back!
7 Comments:
Sandra Oh, in Long Life, Happiness, & Prosperity. And the little girl, who, with her hat, glasses, and ancient Chinese curses, reminded me of Xiao a little bit.
(Although again with the pan-Asian thing, I should note.)
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ahahahah
gawd, bai ling used to have so much potential... now she's a c-lister on VH1 "celebreality" shows!!! (BARF). The show, by the way, is that terrible "But Can They Sing" or whatever. Anyway...
yeah, i was super excited for memoirs to come out... but gawd, now that the whole movie is in stilted engRish (i mean, at least it would be japanese engrish), i really don't know if i could handle it. stupid hollywood.
(Oops... i had to delete my previous post bc i posted it with my secret id ehehehe)
You know, I’ve thought about it, and I mildly hate them both. Bai Ling, though deliciously dressed, makes my ears bleed and that’s not ok for any culture. ZZ (I shall call her for simplicity) is the Asian Scarlett Johansson (or vice versa). Both are acclaimed actresses, but how hard could it be to act like you have a personality lobotomy? Snore-o! I’d rather pick my toes for two hours than watch those automatons of emotion. It’s not subtle; it’s just bland! Now Sandra Oh, oh Sandra Oh…how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…
Sandra Oh and Margaret Cho both need more work! Hmmm, not to make this into a discussion of race, but is it just coincidental that both are both Korean? Maybe Chinese actresses just suck? Plus, Sandra Oh is Canadian! Whee!
Actually, I still have a fondness for Joan Chen (sweet memories from "The Last Emperor"), and I think Maggie Cheung ("In the Mood for Love") is a pretty classy broad (yes, I just canceled out both the meaning of "classy" and "broad" by pairing them together). Any Asian actress that stars in an Western film (Ming Na, Rosalind Chao, and the whole Joy Luck Club gang) seems to blend into the background. Maybe that's Hollywood's fault, but, insuch company, this makes Mulan look like the most likely Asian candidate for the Best Actress Oscar.
Oh, and Natalia, you may have forgotten that Xiao has already made an acting turn in our 1st year Chinese movie! Now *that* performance should win an award!
that's right, say it like it is! how are you yuhwen? haven't talked to you in ages, hope all is well!
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