Beautiful Empire: The Asian/American Femme of the Televisual Age, 1950-1995

FAIN: FEL-289347-23

Danielle M. Seid
University of Hawaii (Honolulu, HI 96822-2216)

Research and writing of a book length study of Asian American women who worked across commercial TV genres in the network era (1950-1995).

Beautiful Empire: The Asian/American Femme of the Televisual Age, 1950-1995 constructs an archive of Asian/American women who worked across commercial TV genres in the network era (1950-1995) to better understand how Asian/American femininity has been constituted at the nexus of celebrity, TV, and U.S. empire. Focusing on case studies of celebrities like Anna May Wong, the Kim Sisters, and Margaret Cho, I both analyze the celebrities’ femme representation within TV programming and culture and situate the production of their minor(ity) celebrity within social, political, and industrial contexts. The first book-length study of Asian/American women in U.S. network television history, Beautiful Empire shows how Asian/American women, considered at best a benign and insignificant presence in U.S. television history, are in fact key celebrity and televisual figures that appear during crucial moments of national crisis to help paper over and justify U.S. racial-imperial projects.