The Golden Screen: The Movies That Made Asian America

by Jeff Yang

From a  New York Times  bestselling author, this groundbreaking book celebrates and examines the history of Asian Americans on the big screen, exploring how iconic films have shaped Hollywood, representation, and American culture.

In 2018, the critical and financial success of Crazy Rich Asians ignited new fires in Hollywood to create and back Asian-centric stories. Since then, the number of movies featuring Asian Americans, either in front or behind the camera, has boomed and ushered in a new era of filmmaking. But many films, like The Joy Luck Club in 1993, paved the way for Asian American-led films before Crazy Rich Asians and to today. The Golden Screen is an in-depth look at those films, and the factors that played into their success.

The Golden Screen  includes commentary and conversations from Hollywood's most visible faces, such as Simu Liu, Lulu Wang, Daniel Dae Kim, Janet Yang, Ronny Chieng, Alice Wu, and Ken Jeong. See the movies that inspired today's modern stars to enter moviemaking, and how they're paying it forward to the next wave of creators.

Featuring beautiful, original artwork from nine esteemed Asian illustrators, Toma Nguyen, barbarian flower, Jun Cen, Cryssy Cheung, Cliff Chiang, Yu-Ming Huang, JiYeun Kang, Ashraf Omar, and Zi Xu.

A beautiful keepsake and collection of over 100 photographs and original art,  The Golden Screen  is perfect for movie and history fans alike, and reaffirms the importance of the Asian American film canon, and all the people involved, in an increasingly diverse Hollywood. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Race, History, Asian Literature, Media Tie In, Asian American

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2023

About the author

American writer, journalist, businessman, and business/media consultant who writes the Tao Jones column for The Wall Street Journal.[2] Previously, he was the "Asian Pop" columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My to-watch list has grown manifold because if this book. There’s a lot of history in here, told through pictures, reflecting society at-large, in its truest state. Fear and money are what drive Hollywood, but it’s because those are the driving factors behind the general US way of life. The interviews are the end of each chapter make that as clear as the movie synopses and reviews. Really liked the artwork, and often found myself wishing I’d seen this movie or that (especially The Joy Luck Club) with my mom.

Was surprised Big Hero 6 was excluded. Also, Pachinko was one of my favorite books and series in recent years. So I’d love to see a similar book for TV shows and books too.

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
----
A fantastic overview of Asian-American cinema! The illustrations are gorgeous, and the excerpts are lovingly crafted. My only complaint would be that the reviews often spoil the plots of the films they discuss, which isn't ideal. Still, I definitely want to check out all the movies featured. I bow down to our queen, Michelle Yeoh, for providing the forward to this book. I love that woman.

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

add so many movies to my watch list

[Quietly Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of reviews of important Asian American films ranging from greatness to negative impact movies. Also, nice interviews between directors and prominent actors. I got a great list of must-see movies from this book including documentaries, sci-fi, and historical drama. Highly recommend for movie fans.

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw the cover and thought this sounded interesting. I had read other books by the author, and was super curious about it. Movies with majority or entirely made up of APIA cast members have been rare and/or are typically found via the indie route. I am young/old enough to know of 'The Joy Luck Club' and watched the conversations around 'Crazy Rich Asians', the first APIA Marvel superhero in 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' to the Oscar wins of 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'. We have come a loooong way from the 'Breakfast at Tiffany' in some ways, and in some ways not so much.

The book is arranged with some thematic choices with short summaries/analyses for each. Some also include some additional commentary by various APIA people, like what it meant to them, additional context, etc. They range from some of the earliest films to very recent ones (EEAAO, etc.). Many of the movies you can think of are here. Movies that also have APIA cast member(s) in significant roles (but may not be the lead, etc.) also show up too. ('The Karate Kid', 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,' 'Up')

The movies I named are all listed, plus some genuine headscratchers (in my opinion). I am not sure why 'Lost In Translation' was included, except to show the contrast (same with 'Breakfast'), problems and issues, etc. Others are stretches: like seeing George Takei as Captain in 'Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country', after he had previously served at the helm. Author Yang talks about how important it was to see him as Captain of his own ship, which I can understand, but as a fan of the franchise I found it VERY odd that it left out the context: Takei and William Shatner hate each other and have for decades, hence why they're not on the same set. Obviously Yang wanted to discuss the importance of him being Captain, but for context that might have been good and useful to note.

I will say that while I enjoyed this, I am unsure who the audience is for this book. The looks at the movies are definitely geared towards a more general audience (vs. film critics or students), but I also felt that it was the type of book that would have been better as a magazine read. There are perhaps too many movies to cover in a "regular" edition, but something like a special version for APIA heritage month or something might have been a better format for this.

Then again, I also got this as an e-book vs. a physical book and I assume from some of the pictures it must make for a nice-looking coffee table-type of book. So you mileage may vary.

I enjoyed reading this overall, though, and certainly found a few films that I hope to watch on whatever streaming service, etc. Would recommend this as a library borrow but I would imagine it's probably a great buy for the right person.

[Sherry Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very pretty book and useful film catalogue, it was definitely very cool to see all of the Asian American films and Asian cinematic classics that influenced western films. I personally was surprised by the amount of queer Asian films on here and inflated my to-watch list a lot from reading this. Though I don't think it's very fair to rate a book on something it never intended to accomplish, this book's lack of further critical inquiry into the films limits it from becoming anything other than coffee table reading for me. I simply wish there was more time and space for us to unpack some of the films, rather than simply being read a page long plot summary. For example, I know many Southeast Asians with mixed feelings about Raya and the Last Dragon, and I personally have my strong misgivings about the Asian representation we've gotten in franchise films like Star Wars (I don't think Rose Tico was a very well written character and they let Kelly Marie Tran take the brunt of it so they could hide behind the inevitable racist backlash). But the book has little time to dedicate to film criticism once it is finished with lengthy summary, and sticks to positivity unless the film is often acknowledged to be blatantly racist. In that sense, it is cute--every film means something to someone, and Asian Americans deserve to have films like that even if I don't personally enjoy them. On the other hand, I'm a chronic can't turn my brain off hater, and I would've loved to see more critical discussions of the films they were spotlighting.

[Amy Lime · Rating 5 out of 5]

In showing the films that shaped Asian America, this book covers both representations that have been harmful in their depictions of stereotypes and ones that have been reparative, whether that is one shining Asian character, a small budget indie film with an all Asian everything, or a huge studio backed film post Crazy Rich Asians ✨

136 films are covered with each having a short summary about it and its significance, along with a blurb from a contributor about how the film impacted them.

There is a wide range of historically significant films, representations of different identities within the Asian diaspora, films that I personally love and have been impacted by, and some that I hadn’t heard of and added to my watchlist 😯

It’s very well curated, which isn’t surprising given Jeff Yang’s previous release, Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now, and his experience covering AAPI culture and film.

I highly recommend this for any cinephiles, especially Asian creatives and those working in the film industry or aspiring to work in it. This is such a valuable resource of information and inspiration! It’s also beautifully designed and pretty to look at 😌

* I received a gifted copy from the publisher.

[Richard L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously, this book is deeply personal and wholly subjective in its examination of an impressively broad range of movies, the portrayal of Asians in each movie, and thus how each movie contributed - positively or negatively, or both - to the meaning of being Asian in America.

In this way, the book casts a wide net, covering the (often) good, the (historically) bad, and the (more than occasionally) ugly as well as the (increasingly) wonderful.

It seems likely that the films chosen may resonate more strongly with people whose experience being Asian in America has been closer to the author's.

But, if nothing else: entertaining, thought-provoking, powerful, and perhaps an encouragement for others to develop their own list(s) of movies that have sparked, stunted, expanded, limited, and inspired their own sense of self.

[shalaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m always happy to have more movies to add to my watchlist! however, i do wish there were some more nuances in the discussions about the movies and i wish movies like lost in translation and breakfast at tiffany’s weren’t included when so many other films could’ve been. also not to be me but i do wish there were more south asian films! still, an impressive amount of movies that i’m excited to check out!

[sam]

really enjoyed how extensive this catalogue is and how it highlights intersectionality! i also appreciate that there was honesty about criticisms about certain films, and it's just generally a wonderful read <3

[Fiore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored this varied collection showcasing both the great and horrible movies (gosh don't we all wish the Avatar one didn't exist) that left their mark! Reminded me of a couple that I've been meaning to get to.

[carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw this book at my local library while looking at their new releases. This book gave me a lot of movies to add to my watchlist!

[Katta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book in visuals and content that showcased the complexities of Asian-American cinema while celebrating it. Learned a lot and can’t wait to check out some of these films!

[Annika Tamaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! Fun to read. Excellent pictures + illustrations. Great for a coffee table read

[Vito Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good overview of asian cinema coming thru to America. a deep bench and wonderful context.