gil asakawa | pop stuff
Bits and bytes of Asian American pop culture and politics served up in small chunks
With China as partner in "Iron Man 3" production, "evil" Chinese stereotypes are underplayed
The buzz in Asian American circles had been that “Iron Man 3” would feature the Mandarin as Tony Stark’s foe, and he would be played by Chinese actor/singer Andy Lau. But Lau’s now cast as Iron Man’s friend (along with a bunch of other A-list Chinese actors), and Ben Kingsley is apparently the Mandarin, with little emphasis placed on his ethnicity.
That’s because the Chinese government is a partner in this Hollywood production, and has some say about negative depictions and stereotypes.
