Racial Stigma on the Hollywood Screen from World War II to the Present (PDF)

engaging in a critical examination of how male bonds forged between African American and white characters conjure up the illusion of racial equity in America by vilifying Asians as ineluctably "foreign." Locke reads Hollywood films against the backdrop of changing attitudes toward race in America and skillfully links fiction with contemporary discourse involving the politics of American racism and xenophobia. He highlights the importance of the Asian presence in what is too often reduced to a black-and-white analysis of Hollywood's racial dynamic, and the result is a very welcome addition to a growing body of scholarly literature on the position of Asian Americans in commercial cinema." - Gina Marchetti, University of Hong Kong and author of Romance and the "Yellow Peril": Race, Sex and Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Fiction

"Locke's innovative model of the 'racial triangle' challenges the conventional wisdom that understands race in America in binary terms. Racial Stigma makes a valuable contribution to the field of comparative race studies by showing how Hollywood has often depicted black and white Americans transcending their mutual animosity by joining together against an Asian threat. This is a fresh, provocative argument that allows us to see popular cinema and American race relations in new ways." - Christina Klein, Boston College and author of Cold War Orientalism: Asia in the Middlebrow Imagination, 1945-1961

"Locke here offers an exploration of Orientalist buddy films and their nefarious subtext of racial reconciliation through the force of Asian threats. Unlike many who have simply lamented racial binaries, Locke explores their production of illicit thirds and more. His writing is extraordinarily clear and alive, his analysis full of nuance and skill, and his knowledge of film, cultural theory, and American history superbly erudite. The result is a brilliant contribution to the cultural study of cinema, critical race studies, and Asian American studies - a tour de force with a destined place among classics in the study of race and film in the American context." - Lewis R. Gordon, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Philosophy, Temple University