Asian Persuasion!!!

The other day we watched the Indy Jones clip and I had made a few comments about how the movie clumps all Asians together (e.g., the use of a Japanese name inserted into the spoken language (Chinese)). There was another inconsistency among that spoken language. There are many dialects in the Chinese language. However, the two main ones are "Mandarin" (spoken in most of China and what most U.S. universities teach), and "Cantonese" (spoken in parts of Southeast China and the main language of Hong Kong). The Asian men who delievered the scene in the lounge/bar spoke in Mandarin, some of it quite broken. But the little boy who helped Indiana spoke in Cantonese. For example, he was screaming at people to "get off to the side of the street" when he was driving through the side streets at the attempt to lose the men behind them.

Trying to incorporate an Asian culture into a Western film should be applauded, as it seems to be an attempt at pluralism (i.e., the idea of asserting a culture's distinctive identity) instead of simply attempting to assimilate the subservient culture. However, it was sloppy work (at least in the eyes of those who understand the language, behavior, and stereotype of the Chinese). I realize that it is not an easy thing to employ so many actors that may fully understand / speak the language (as most minorities born in the U.S. today are more eager to assimmilate and Americanize themselves than anything), but sometimes I still get annoyed at that seemingly lazy attempt. I guess whatever looks even halfway viable in the eyes of the mass audience (i.e. English-speakers) would suffice in inauthentic filming.