HOLLYWOOD'S CHINATOWN

Straight Outta Central Casting

Oxford Dictionary defines “Chinatown” as a district of any non-Chinese town, especially a city or seaport, in which the population is predominantly of Chinese origin. Chinatowns exist all over the world. San Francisco’s Chinatown is one of the oldest in the world and boasts some of the greatest food in the city. It’s a woven masterpiece of old and new, of authentic and Americanized.

While San Francisco’s Chinatown is a must see for the flocks of tourists that flood the city year round, the locals know the best Dim Sum can be found between the districts borders of Powell and Kearney, and those into the San Francisco party scene know that you'll never have a boring night in the basement bars below Chinatown's colorful streets. And maybe no one has a bigger fascination with Chinatown than Hollywood.

Since the era of silent movies, Chinatown and its inhabitants have been a favorite subject for the film industry. From The Chinese Rubbernecks (1900) to Rush Hour (1998), Hollywood’s construction of Chinatown has evolved considerably. At one point on the silver screen, Chinatown was a breeding ground of illicit activity, as in The Heathen Chinese (1904), and then Hollywood began using Chinatown simply for its inherent beauty as a backdrop, as in Pretty In Pink (1986).

Media Take Out

Even more interesting and entertaining is Hollywood’s depiction of Chinese food and Chinese restaurants on the big screen. Many films featuring Chinatown, and even ones that don’t, feature a bustling Chinese restaurant, the quintessential Chinese take out boxes, or some of the Chinese food customs that some find so foreign. Here’s a list of some of my favorites…

• A Christmas Story (1983) – in this classic Christmas tale about a boy on a mission to convince his parents to gift him a B.B. gun for Christmas we learn about the bonds and hilarity within families. The Chinese food scene comes after a pack of neighborhood dogs get to the Christmas turkey. The family ventures out on Christmas Day to the only open restaurant in town, Chop Suey Palace. What follows is a great scene involving a meat cleaver and a roasted duck.

• My Favorite Year (1982) – A comedy that tells the story of a young comedy writer for a top rated variety show. When the show threatens to can an appearing guest the young writer must save the show. The scene comes when two under-appreciated assistants must work through the night so they order take out. "Catherine, Jews know two things: suffering, and where to find great Chinese food," says Benijy Stone, the main character. I just love this self-deprecating line.

• The Firm (1993) - A film base on the John Grisham novel of the same title follows the career of a young lawyer when he lands a job with a prestigious law firm only to discover most of their clients aren’t worth representing. The scene comes when the main character lands a job too good to pass up. He and his wife celebrate with a candle light dinner of Chinese take out. It’s such a classic depiction of the way Americans indulge with Chinese food.

• Rush Hour 2 (2001) – An explosion at the US Embassy in Hong Kong kills two agents investigating a currency scam and sends the unconventional duo Inspector Lee and James Carter to find the person responsible. Given the films setting, they talk a lot about food and they set up a restaurant as a front for their operations. The whole film pokes fun at the stereotypes of Chinese restaurants and uses food as a vehicle for humor.

Meet Xuyang Zheng... You Can Call Her Amy

After writing this post I was curious to get some perspective from a China native. Because of my position at Stanford University I am able to interact with students from all around the world. Many who have arrived in American for the first time with in the past year.

In the interest of Chinese food I spoke with Xuyang Zheng, a first year masters student in the School of Engineering at Stanford. Her chosen American name is Amy.

Amy arrived in Palo Alto in the summer of 2015. She has been in the United States for about 8 months. She is quiet and polite. She never interrupts or speaks out of turn.

“I feel almost all of the Chinese food in America is more or less Americanized. Not only the cooking methods, but also the spices, vegetables and the breeds of animals in China are different from that in US,” Amy says. Then she adds "The Chinese food in US is definitely more sanitary than that in China."

Amy attended Beijing Normal University before coming to Stanford. “I think the food options on campus can accommodate students from different cultures, but it's not that tasty..." she said trying to sound polite. "I miss a traditional food from my hometown made of donkey meat. Americans must think it ridiculous and horrible to eat donkey, but it's really delicious."

I asked Amy if she had any thoughts on the depiction of Chinese food in the media or if she had ever seen movies that included Chinese food in at least one scene. "Not in movies but in a sitcom named The Big Bang Theory. They order Chinese food once a week. The food is wrapped up with the white to-go boxes which are used in every Chinese restaurant in America, but we never use that kind of boxes in China, neither do we have fortune cookies..."

Mostly what I gained from my conversation with Amy was that Hollywood has a tendency to throw all Chinese food into one pot. "Since the cultures in different parts of China are very different, different provinces in China have very different traditional food and cooking styles. In America, I can easily find restaurants offering Chinese food from some very popular or prosperous provinces, such as Sichuan, Guangdong, but I can hardly get the food from some rural provinces in China, such as Yunnan, Xinjian," Amy says. This only gets me thinking; I have been doing my self a disservice by only using my wok for kung pao!