Beyond the Black and White TV: Asian and Latin American Spectacle in Cold War America (Rutgers University Press, 2020) moves beyond a nation-centric model of studying U.S. television by highlighting how Asian and Latin American performers, such as the Kim Sisters, Miyoshi Umeki, and the De Castro Sisters, played a significant role in the cultural Cold War during the Korean War in 1950, the Cuban Revolution in 1959, and the statehood of Hawai’i in 1959. The book argues how popular variety shows, such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Chevy Show, used race to strengthen U.S. racial liberalism and internationalism to combat communism during the Cold War. It further examines the intimate moments of cultural interactions between white hosts and ethnic guests to illustrate U.S. aspirations for global power through the medium of television. The book also argues that the ethnic spectacle in the form of racialized bodies on popular variety shows illuminated the geopolitical function of variety shows as an early form of global television.
Event Details:
Presenter: Benjamin Han (Tulane University)
Discussants: Rebecca King O’Riain (Sociology Department, Maynooth University), Susie Woo (California State University, Fullerton)
Moderator: Wonjung Min (The Center for Hallyu Studies)
Language : English