Fox revives "yellowface" for summer film marathon

Fox Movie Channel is reviving "yellowface" this summer with its Charlie Chan movie marathon every Monday night until Labor Day.

The practice of "yellowface" is analogous to blackface. Charlie Chan is typically played by a white actor - Sidney Toler and Warner Oland -- who uses tape to create overly slanted eyes for an "Asian" appearance.

In the series Chan plays a crime-solving detective whose mysterious reasoning is slowly slurred out in an exaggerated accent.

Additionally, another recurring character of color that appears in the series is Birmingham Brown, Chan's black chauffer. Although a black actor, Mantan Moreland, plays the role, his protrayal of the wide-eyed, docile and subservient chauffer adds to the films' offensiveness.

The Fox Movie Channel calls Charlie Chan the "most beloved serial in history," having "delighted audiences for over 70 years." Richard Konda, director of the Asian Law Alliance in San Jose, disagrees.

"These films use every stereotype about Asians and other minorities that is out there, and then they use them for 'entertainment' value," Konda said. "The movies are offensive to say the least, and they serve to further harmful images of already marginalized populations."

Fox claims the summer-long broadcast is due to "popular demand." Konda, however, says that there is "no excuse" for Fox to be broadcasting these films in today's day and age. "The films were racist in the 1930s, and they are still racist in 2003. What makes Fox's decision particularly inexcusable is that with all the diversity awareness that exists today, the channel is still choosing to broadcast the films."

Fox can be reached online at: http://www.thefoxmoviechannel.com/contact.asp