{"id":2004,"date":"2018-07-27T10:10:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T14:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.library.american.edu\/mediaservices\/?p=2004"},"modified":"2018-07-27T10:10:16","modified_gmt":"2018-07-27T14:10:16","slug":"sessue-hayakawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.american.edu\/mediaservices\/2018\/07\/27\/sessue-hayakawa\/","title":{"rendered":"Sessue Hayakawa"},"content":{"rendered":"
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smolder smolder smolder<\/p><\/div>\n

I’m not sure why, but the zeitgeist seems to want me to think a lot about\u00a0Sessue Hayakawa<\/a> these days. It’s funny, but on his\u00a0Wikipedia page<\/a> one of the things that’s remarked about him is that it’s weird how he was a huge sex symbol when later Asian men\u00a0in Hollywood were so desexualized. In fact, he was one of the first sex symbols of Hollywood, or so they say. I honestly don’t think that’s so weird when you also consider that he was a huge jock, and unbelievably handsome. Like, ridiculously so. What is intriguing, though, is that the Production Code both screwed him and made him since he could never portray the romantic hero if the lead actress was not Asian. But in a way, that also made him, because the villainous heartthrob may not get his costar, but he definitely gets the audience. It’s the Loki effect. No matter how wretched you make Tom Hiddleston look or behave, we all still know he’s Tom Hiddleston.<\/p>\n

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In The Swiss Family Robinson<\/p><\/div>\n

Here’s a selection of Hayakawa films in our collection. Tell us if any sweep you off your feet.<\/p>\n