Performance and Modernity: Enacting Change on the Globalizing Stage By Julia A. Walker. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021; pp. xiii + 299, 20 illustrations. $99.99 cloth, $99.99 e-book.

Abstract

evolution from stage to screen. Multiple factors, including photorealism, black-and-white films’ inability to present skin color accurately, and the emphasis on technology in film makeup, led to the obsession with the epicanthic fold, also known as the “Oriental eye,” and the subsequent invention of “prosthetic yellowface” (150–2). Regardless of technological innovations, screen yellowface remained at its core a manifestation of nineteenth-century scientific racism: whereas non–Anglo-Saxon European makeup became white makeup, Asian makeup was relegated to special effects on par with those of deformed or nonhuman characters, which reflected the contemporary ideology of “yellow peril” (154). After unpacking yellowface performances from Hollywood stars such as Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, and Katharine Hepburn, Lee proceeds to make clear in the Epilogue that yellowface goes hand in hand with casting effectively to push out Asian American performers. Made-Up Asians is a long-awaited work that fills a lacuna in theatre and performance studies, film studies, and American Studies. I especially appreciate Lee’s generosity. In addition to meticulous research and compelling analysis, the book provides valuable pictorial evidence (twenty-three figures) and an appendix that documents yellowface instructions in makeup manuals to spark further research. Lee’s lucid writing style also makes her work accessible to general readers. Made-Up Asians is truly a rare accomplishment that needs to be read, referenced, and taught.