Asian cinematic stereotypes

Hemant Shah's article "Asian Culture" and Asian American Identities in the Television and Film Industries of the United States outlines four 'Asian stereotypes' persistently seen in American television and film productions. Shah has labelled these the 'Yellow Peril', 'Dragon Lady', 'Charlie Chan' and 'Lotus Blossom' stereotypes. 

Shah's identification of these stereotypes is very strong. Readers would recognise all of them. The 'yellow peril' stereotype depicts Asians as a corrupting, threatening force who endanger honest clean-living Caucasians. As the most overtly racist stereotype, this is also the least obviously present in contemporary television and cinema. The 'dragon lady' refers to Asian women, portrayed as self-willed and manipulative, who use the men they seduce as a means to an end. 'Charlie Chan', supposedly a more positive stereotype, depicts Asian men as being modest and quietly intelligent, content to work for their white superiors and assist in problem solving by using their 'Eastern wisdom'. 'Lotus blossom' describes meek Asian women who cater to the every need of white men, and look on them as protectors. This is not an exhaustive list of the stereotypes that can be found, but it is fairly comprehensive.

The one weakness of Shah's article is that it does not deal with cinema or television contemporary to the time of writing. The examples come from the period in and around the 1930s, with only one or two examples of more modern film or television in which these stereotypes can be seen. However, since Shah is arguing that these stereotypes are still prevalent, it would be more convincing to draw all the examples the article deals with from time at which it was written, to the greatest possible extent.

Reference
Shah, H. (2003). "Asian Culture" and Asian American Identities in the Television and Film Industries of the United States. Studies in Media and Information Literacy Education, 3(3): 1-10.