tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post1717650728442298427..comments2024-01-09T04:01:00.672+00:00Comments on Breakfast In The Ruins: Pre-War Thrills: The Mask of Fu Manchu (Charles Brabin, 1932)Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14951955227326548340noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-66607738688680098652018-05-03T16:47:10.110+01:002018-05-03T16:47:10.110+01:00Sure, or just strip out the Chinese elements entir...Sure, or just strip out the Chinese elements entirely, like DC Comics did with R'as al Ghul. <br /><br />I will say that I still enjoyed the novels. For me, at least, the brand of racism that Rohmer was pushing has lost most of its sting (unlike the treatment of blacks in some pulps, for example, which is still very distasteful). We still project our fears onto the Chinese, but not in the same way--Rohmer's characterization of them as inscrutable "celestials" lusting after our women is just weird and archaic now.<br /><br />That said, I'm sure many reasonable people would still be disgusted by them.Mighty Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16090715490338292022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-57273506781307721092018-05-02T10:32:14.197+01:002018-05-02T10:32:14.197+01:00Thanks for your comment Jim. Given that I have sev...Thanks for your comment Jim. Given that I have several Fu Manchu novels on my shelves waiting to be read, this is unfortunate news.<br /><br />I was actually going to do a quick follow up post featuring scans of the covers, but perhaps I should hold off for now -- I wouldn't want to seem as if I'm promoting full on racist material by failing to take the time to sufficiently acknowledge/unpack it.<br /><br />As you say, it's a shame... if I can put aside the racist/orientalist aspects of the character (which I'd argue is *just about* possible with the Christopher Lee movies), I actually find Fu Manchu and his antics quite appealing. <br /><br />Perhaps it's about time somebody wrote a revisionist version that repositioned him as the good guy, fighting Western imperialism etc..? I'd probably read it.<br /><br />Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14951955227326548340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-62893281482055329672018-05-02T04:07:22.617+01:002018-05-02T04:07:22.617+01:00In my experience, the Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu novels ...In my experience, the Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu novels completely transcend the kind of antiquated racial stereotypes or occasionally offensive language that you see in other contemporary pulps (and certainly vastly exceed anything in HPL's horror fiction). Setting aside the fact that Fu Manchu himself is inextricably intertwined with Orientalism, Rohmer has the omniscient narrator regularly stop the story to spend pages warning the readers about "the Yellow Peril." They are easily the most racist thing I've ever read outside of a Klan tract or Nazi propaganda. Not surprising that the film ended up mirroring that. Shame too, because otherwise all the death traps and such are a hoot.Mighty Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16090715490338292022noreply@blogger.com